Board of Mayor & Aldermen

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2025 PAGE 1 CITY OF HENDERSONVILLE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETrNG May 27, 2025, at 7:00 P.M. 101 Maple Drive North, Hendersonville, TN 37075 PRESENT JAMIE CLARY, MAYOR MARK SKIDMORE, VICE-MAYOR, ALDERMAN MARK BURGDORF, ALDERMAN RACHEL COLLINS, ALDERMAN KAREN DIXON, ALDERMAN MARK EVANS, ALDERMAN JANNA GARTON, ALDERMAN BOB GARZA, ALDERMAN TERRI GOODWIN, ALDERMAN MlCHAEL MARTIN, ALDERMAN EDDIE ROBERSON, ALDERMAN JEFF SASSE, ALDERMAN DON WARD, ALDERMAN LANCE WRAY, CITY ATTORNEY ANNETTE HUNTER, CITY RECORDER DESTGNEE Xander Bloodworth, Mayor for the Moment. opened the May 27, 2025, BOMA meeting. Prayer was led by Socrates Holguin, Senior Pastor of Maranatha Assemblies of God. The Pledge ofAllegiance was led by Mayor Clary. AGENDA Goodwin moved; Burgdorf seconded the motion to accept the May 27, 2025, agenda. Clary asked to remove the presentation of the proclamation for Jeff Coker as he was unable to attend tonight's BOMA meeting. He also noted the two-week rule was waived for Item #3 Ordinance 2025-11 under Ordinances and Resolutions. Sasse noted the Finance Committee asked Ordinance 2025-11 to be added to tonight's agenda due to its urgency. Burgdorfmoved; Sasse second a motion to amend the agenda by removing Item C under Presentations. There was a unanimous vote to approve the amendment. Clary declared the motion carried. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2025 PAGE2 There was a unanimous vote to approve the agenda as amended. Clary declared the motion carried. PRESENTATIONS Kathy Paschal shared slides of projects Beautiful Hendersonville has been working on throughout the city. Country Hills Golf Course entrance, installation of planters on the fence around Lyncoya restaurant near the lake, wildflowers planted in stumps on Caudill left behind from the tornado of December 2023 were all completed in May. In addition to those projects, Beautiful Hendersonville was aided by a student completing service hours for Tennessee Promise. Public Works employees retrieved and rehomed City banners blown from their locations during one of the recent storms and the decorative trashcans, one of which is affectionately referred to as the Goofy Goose trashcan made an appearance upon request at the recently held Arts Festival and the plant sale by the Sumner County Master Gardeners. Beautification Awards were presented to the following for May: Business - Hampton Inn and Suites- 111 Saundersville Rd. Ward l - Bradley and Jenny Wilford - 105 Cumberland Shores Ward 2- Eileen Kahl - 214 Nokes Dr. Ward 3 - Brent and Kristina Butler - 119 Pana Dr. Ward 4 - Davy and Melany Glover- 199 Meadowlake Dr. (Present) Ward 5 - Dr. Kurt and Elsie Swauger - 133 Bluegrass Dr. Wacd 6 - Ron and Francine Daniels - l 000 Gadwell Circle (Present) Jerald Barrett, Chainnan of the Deer Herd Monitoring & Control Committee, presented an update on the Deer Dashboard, the Deer Hunting List, the USDA Deer Survey results and next steps. The Deer Dashboard is on the City' s website under the Deer Herd Monitoring and Control Committee Page. The Deer Hunting List will be posted on the Deer page on the website and is still in the development stage. This will provide homeowners with a listing of hunters for purposes of harvesting deer from their properties. The more hunter- specific infonnation included on the list wiJI increase credibility with the homeowners. The residents will be asked to keep statistics from the harvests to share. The results of the 2025 Deer Survey conducted by the USDA Wildlife Services were summarized and will be posted on the City's website. The 2025 survey indicates lower population than in 2023, particularly on the two peninsulas and identifies areas of continued concern. Mr. Barrett recognized Officer Hackett, Economic Development and Community Planner J. Ritterbeck, committee members Jim Flockencier and Mr. Travis, COO Jesse Eckenroth, Communications Manager Casey LaMarr and Communication and Executive Coordinator Natasha Tice for their hard work, input, and time invested in the committee and gathering of information. A deer workshop will be conducted prior to the hunting season and a second survey will be conducted in November of 2025. Several aldermen expressed their appreciation for the work that the committee has put into this project, especially as volunteers. Goodwin asked whether the number of deer harvested in Hendersonville would be reported by the homeowners to TWRA to help determine if a cull would ever be needed. Mr. Barrett stated currently harvests are reported only by County, but they have been in MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY27,2025 PAGE3 discussion with TWRA regarding potentially being able to report harvests by city. Sasse inquired how anonymity was going to be maintained with the hunters list. Mr. Barrett stated it was a concern that was still to be addressed and being worked through. Sasse suggested assigning a number to hunters instead of having personal information displayed on the website. PUBLIC HEARING The caption of the Public Hearing was read and continued until June 24, 2025, BO.MA Meeting at 7:00 pm. There was no one signed up to speak. Eckenroth corrected the language of the Public Hearing stating that Ordinance 2025-09 was the correct ordinance number, but the wrong language of the ordinance had been inserted on the agenda. The Public Hearing should have read "for comments to be heard on an ordinance of the City of Hendersonville, Tennessee adopting the annual budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026". MINUTES Garza moved; Dixon seconded a motion to approve May 13, 2025, BOMA Meeting minutes. There was no discussion. There was a unanimous vote to approve the minutes. Clary declared the motion carried. CITIZENS' COMMENTS The guidelines were read by Mayor Clary. Robert Little of 314 Raindrop Lane addressed the Board regarding his continued concern and his request for speed humps to be added On Creekwood Lane. He's questioning why a neighborhood with a dead-end street had speed humps installed. He is disappointed in not hearing directly from his aldermen and called on all citizens to contact their respective aldennen to request speed humps to keep children and citizens safe while riding bikes, walking dogs and playing outside. He encouraged citizens to send a letter to the Hendersonville Standard requesting their neighborhoods be made safe. CONSENT AGENDA None. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS The caption was read for first reading of Ordinance 2025-10, an ordinance granting franchise to Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2025 PAGE4 Burgdorf moved; Collins seconded a motion to approve Ordinance 2025 -10. Discussion included Attorney Wray explaining the City had a franchise agreement with Piedmont as it was the only vendor offering a gas utility in the City limits. This agreement is not exclusive and does not prohibit another provider from coming in. It is customary with all the cities and counties Piedmont operates in. It is good to provide an agreement for liability issues. Collins still has questions for Piedmont including what the average residential bill would be to determine how much it would add to resident's bill as the percentage can be anywhere between 0% - 5%, explaining the fee is on the bill, but the funds go to the City. Martin expressed his support for the ordinance as a means for generating more revenue and asked to be added as a sponsor. Without objection, Martin was added as a sponsor. There was a unanimous vote to approve Ordinance 2025-10 on first reading. Clary declared the motion carried. The caption was read for first reading of Ordinance 2025-09, an ordinance of the City of Hendersonville, Tennessee adopting the annual budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. Dixon moved; Martin seconded a motion to approve Ordinance 2025-09 on first reading. Roberson moved; Dixon seconded a motion to amend Ordinance 2025-09 by approving the Mayor's proposed budget with the exception of the treatment of employee salaries by replacing the current language in Section 13 with Salary Scenario 5 language and that staff identify any case where an employee subject to a 2.5% raise will be eclipsed in base pay by any employee subject to the 6% raise. Tf such cases exist, staff is authorized with BOMA's approval to raise the employee's base salary a step within their existing pay grade, so they are not eclipsed by a subordinate's base pay who receives the 6% raise and such pay adjustments are not to exceed two steps in the pay grade, or 5%. $150,000.00 will be moved from the pay study to a non-operating expense. Roberson continued by explaining Scenario 5 and the reasons for the way it was designed. He shared two objectives he had for addressing employee salaries: l.) Budget an across the board pay raise that was for employees not addressed at the mid-year budget without raising property taxes and 2.) Address the salary problems realized in the 2023 Pay Study. Upon Roberson's request, Director Gallo shared the 2023 Pay Study comparisons with the big takeaway showing the mid-management leadership positions were further behind the market. Clary asked Gallo to explain the application of the COLA and the 6% pay increase. Gallo explained the COLA would be added to the current pay scale first, then the 6% would be added to the newly created table to result in the new salaries for FY 2026. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2025 PAGES Martin shared he was disappointed in referencing the pay study again and using Scenario 5 as he feels it doesn't give parity to the Fire Department. He wishes to use Scenario 1 in which only Firefighters will receive raises above a 2.0% COLA with no additional City employees receiving raises, stating the vote will see who is for parity and who is not. Martin moved; Sasse seconded an amendment to the amendment replacing Scenario 5 with Scenario 1, and the 1 item for compression in Fire. Martin explained Scenario 1 with the tiered structure is the same that was given to Police hence his support for that option. Stating that $200,000.00 was found with Piedmont, he feels that the funds can be found between this year and next to be able to take care of giving the rest of the City staff a raise next year. Clary clarified with Martin that with his amendment he was proposing there would be no raises for any other employees to which he responded "Yes". Clary further clarified that this proposal would remove funds from the other departments to fund raises for Fire to which Martin responded in the affirmative. Skidmore inquired whether Scenario 1 included a 2% COLA and a 2.5% merit raise to which Eckenroth responded it does include both as all scenarios do. Skidmore stated that fact made the previous statement untrue. Skidmore inquired of Martin what the exact difference was between Scenario 1 and Scenario 5. Director Ingersoll clarified Scenario I would include a 2% COLA and a 2.5% merit (4.5%) and Scenario 5 would include a 2% COLA, a 6% raise, and a 2.5% merit (10.5%). Using examples of various positions throughout the City such as Planner, Codes Inspector, Engineer, and Park Maintenance, Mayor Clary asked Martin if he agreed that Scenario l would give 4.5 % to those positions instead of the proposed 10.5% in Scenario 5, to which his answers were "yes" to all. Martin added that the rest of the staff would receive raises in FY 2027. Attorney Wray clarified that it would not be enforceable for next year's budget. Burgdorf asked for clarification whether Scenario 1 excluded Police to which Martin replied it does. Burgdorf gave his support for Scenario 1 stating it would satisfy the First Responders and make them whole. Referring to the positions mentioned by Clary earlier he stated he feels they do not keep the City safe on a First Responder basis. Sasse gave his support to Scenario 1 as it would make Fire whole now then look to the next budget cycle to make the remainder of City staff whole. Roberson stated he could not support Scenario 1 as it leaves out all the rest of the employees. He doesn't think the Board has the flexibility to agree to give raises to employees for next year's budget, not to mention the morale issue it will cause. Perhaps it could be addressed at the Mid-Year Budget of FY 2026. Dixon applauded Roberson for his efforts in coming up with a scenario that was the best for all and addresses the largest number of employees. She cautioned fellow aldermen to MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY27,2025 PAGE6 not base their vote on Martin's statement about finding $200,00.00 as that potential was still on first reading and there were still lots of unanswered questions. She stated her support for Scenario 5. Evans reminded all to be civil and respectful when speaking. Referencing the exchange between Clary and Martin, he stated aldermen do not have the same daily exposure to information as staff does and having staff answer the questions was appropriate. He feels calling out is inappropriate. He feels both sides should be presented in fairness and while the opposite of the examples as far as the firefighters are concerned was not addressed. Garton added that the Mid-Year Budget gave Police an increase. If Scenario I is chosen, the Board will be doing the same thing for Fire. She supports Scenario 5. Garza inquired what the dollar amount would be if the rest of the City employees only received a 4.5% increase. Director Ingersoll stated she would get that together and send it out. He agrees with Roberson that there is nothing that shows growth; projections look flat and regardless of what the dollar amount is, he doesn't think there will be any way of adding increases for the remainder of City staff to an already flat FY 2027 budget. He went on record stating he would not vote for a property tax increase. Collins stated she had a conversation with a firefighter after the last meeting who shared his perspective that changed her line of thinking. That perspective was City staff who work outside of Public Safety can go into the private sector. To continue to be a firefighter or police officer, there is typically no opportunity to work anywhere except a government agency. Even moving from city to city, lateral moves are unlikely. That conversation changed her perspective on what the Board was doing with the pay. Martin called the question with Burgdorf seconding. Clary stated he was planning to say something. A two-thirds vote is required to cease discussion. Skidmore asked for a point of parliamentary question, stating that Clary should be allowed to speak, clarifying that if the Call the Question motion were to result in a "no" vote, Clary could then speak, and someone else make a motion to Call the Question again. Martin yielded to Clary who clarified the mid-year budget adjustments in which the Police were given raises were about vacancies. It wasn't about making someone whole or morale. This ordinance is not about vacancies. As recent as a couple of weeks ago vacancies in other departments were discussed and none came close to the situation Police were in. The closest one currently is Public Works and Clary stated he has a difficult time with leaving Public Works out of a 10.5% raise and reducing it to a 4.5% raise. After the December 2023 tornado, the City would not have bounced back so quickly if it had not been for Fire and Police keeping order, Codes making sure buildings weren't falling down, no significant flooding due to Planners and Engineers, Accountants facilitating all getting paid, and Parks employees who as recently as this weekend enabled a concert to move from an outside location to an indoor venue in a couple of hours. He stated he was against Scenario 1 as he cannot look the other employees in the eye and tell them they are not getting anything above COLA and a merit increase. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2025 PAGE7 The amendment to the amendment to amend Ordinance 2025-09 failed six (6) to seven (7) with voting as follows: Aye: Burgdorf, Collins, Evans, Martin, Sasse, and Skidmore. Nay: Dixon, Garton, Garza, Goodwin, Roberson, Ward, and Clary. Clary declared the motion failed. Roberson urged the Board to approve the amendment now on the floor stating if it passed, this would be the largest across the board pay raise in the history of the City. Sasse asked a parliamentary question concerning continued discussion on pay after the vote on the amendment currently on the floor. He inquired whether he could make a motion to consider Scenario 2A to which Clary responded he could. Collins moved; Goodwin seconded a motion to take a 10-minute break at 8:52 pm. There was a unanimous vote to approve the motion to take a break. Clary declared the motion carried. Discussion continued after the break with Collins expressing she also likes and prefers Scenario 2A. She inquired what the lowest entry level pay grade would be. Director Gallo responded stating General Grade 9 Full Time would be the lowest at $19.44 per hour as of March 2025. There is a General Grade 7 that is not used as there are no positions with that grade level. She continued stating that the .7% difference between Scenario 5 and Scenario 2A for the lowest entry level employees would become meaningful to the employee over the course of their career. Sasse would like to do some additional work on Scenario 2A and bring it back for second reading on June 24, 2025. Goodwin voiced her support for Scenario 5, stating this all began with the pay study and should continue to be a consideration. Fire mid-level is low, and the 6% raise should get them to where they should be. Roberson stated that both Scenarios 2A & 2B looked good, but like Goodwin, he looked at the pay study which showed 12% under market for Battalion Chief and Division Chief. He inquired of Director Gallo as to how much more a Battalion Chief and a Division Chief would make under Scenario 5 than they would under Scenario 2A. Battalion Chief would earn $483.00 more, and Division Chief would earn $543.00 more. While he is open to other and better ideas, Scenario 5 addresses all areas better than 2A. Evans added Scenario 2 is out due to cost constraints. Scenarios 2A and 5 are the ones he is looking at. There are 200 employees between grades 9 and 20: 30 employees between grades 2lw26. He supports 2A over 5, believing it would solve most problems for most employees. MIN UTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2025 PAGES Roberson's motion to amend Ordinance 2025-09 passed eight (8) to five (5) with voting as follows: Aye: Collins, Dixon, Garton, Garza, Goodwin, Roberson, Ward, and Clary. Nay: Burgdorf, Evans, Martin, Sasse, and Skidmore. Clary declared the motion carried. Sasse complimented the Mayor and staff for addressing all the issues and priorities that BOMA requested to be considered in the budget. There was a unanimous vote to approve Ordinance 2025-09 as amended on first reading. The caption was read for first reading of Ordinance 2025-11, an ordinance amending budget Ordinance 2024-08 to reflect adjustments to the City's 2025 Fiscal Year budget. Sasse moved; Garza seconded a motion to approve Ordinance 2025-11 on first reading. Sasse shared the Finance Committee recommended approval to move Ordinance 2025- 11 to BOMA. There was no discussion. There was a unanimous vote to approve Ordinance 2025- J I on first reading. Clary declared the motion carried. The caption was read for reading of Resolution 2025-17, a resolution directing staff to explore the relocation of the United States Post Office currently located at l 05 Imperial Blvd., Hendersonville, Tennessee. Burgdorf moved; Skidmore seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2025-17. Skidmore noted there are amendments to be proposed coming out of the General Committee to which all are agreeable. He expounded on the topic stating it was time for a new Post Office as the one and only one for Hendersonville was constructed in 1976. The City has no responsibility, authority, or jurisdiction to move or build a Post Office. This resolution is to put in motion notification to Washington DC leaders that the City needs a new or additional Post Office. Garza added there were some wording issues in the resolution relating to the City's responsibility. Attorney Wray has taken care ofremoving that issue. Without objection, Martin and Sasse were added as sponsors. Collins moved; Garza seconded a motion to amend the language of Resolution 2025-17 under #3 aJler "within 180 days" by adding ", and every 90 days thereafter until MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY27,2025 PAGE9 resolved ... ". Collins explained the reasoning behind the amendment saying it may take longer than 180 days to have a resolution or even get infonnation since forward progress will rely on a response from the federal government. There was a unanimous vote to amend Resolution 2025-17. Clary declared the motion carried. Dixon is for the spirit and intent of the resolution but expressed concern with the wording putting the onus on City staff to help the federal government find a new location. She is going to hold on making amendments for the moment. She also clarified that no City- owned land was going to be given to the federal government for the purpose of a new Post Office. Roberson gave his thoughts on proper protocol being to send a letter to our two (2) United States Senators and Congressmen expressing the City's thoughts and desires and requesting their support. Skidmore stated the local US Senator and Congressman requested the City pass a resolution showing support for a new Post Office. If the resolution passes, the Mayor will be asked to draft a letter to the leaders in Washington with the resolution attached. Sasse inquired of the sponsors if they would be open to having an ad hoc committee to perfonn some of the duties of the resolution. Clary asked how they felt about adding Section #5 to include an ad hoc committee. Clary added there are approximately 800 homes in Hendersonville city limits that have a Gallatin zip code of 37066. When speaking to the Postmaster a few years ago, it was recommended getting a second Post Office that could perhaps serve both zip codes and/or get the Gallatin zip code changed. At that time, Clary also spoke to Congressman Rose's office and Senator Haggerty's office regarding getting those homes into the 37075 zip code. He follows up with them every five to seven months. Tt comes down to funding, which they continue to seek, but it is not a high priority in Washington. Clary inquired who on staff would be the best person or persons to explore the relocation of the Post Office. Eckenroth stated he felt the best persons would be him working with Planning staff, specifically Director Free, Assistant Planning Director Timothy Whitten and Economic Developer and Community Planner J. Ritterbeck. These are the same staff members that are currently working on the impact fees. Clary then inquired about how the impact of postal delivery would be assessed. Skidmore moved; Sasse seconded a motion to defer Resolution 2025-17 to the next BOMA meeting. Collins added she receives lots of complaints from the Hendersonville residents in the 37066 zip code. She added that sometimes a committee can be a burden. She questioned when the committee should be formed. Eckenroth responded his preference would be to do a preliminary investigation using staff as opposed to a committee. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETrNG MAY 27, 2025 PAGE 10 There was a unanimous vote to approve the deferral of Resolution 2025-17 until the next BOMA meeting. Clary declared the motion carried. OTHER AGENDA ITEMS None BRIEF COMMITTE.E REPORTS Finance - Sasse • Met May 27, 2025 • Discussed Ordinance 2025-11, an ordinance amending budget ordinance 2024-08 to appropriate funds for insurance claims and other adjustment to the City's 2025 fiscal year budget. Public Works - Skidmore • Met May 27, 2025 • Discussed Trash Collection Update. Going well. • Discussed PATH LED Conversion. Will be coming up for additional discussion in Public Works Committee. • Discussed Light Synchronization. Going well. Contracts with additional bids will be coming in. Traffic congestion is better but can still improve. • There are requests from Walton Ferry to change the name of Sunset Park, but it is a federal property so the City cannot take that action. BOMA Report-Eckenroth • Eckenroth thanked Director Ingersoll for her work on the budget. • Eckenroth thanked Director Gallo for his work on all the pay tables and salary scenarios to make sure there are no issues with pay. • Eckenroth thanked Andy Gilley and the Parks employees for the quick and efficient move of the Isaacs concert inside. • The carnival continues through May 31, 2025, at Veterans Park. • Eckenroth commended Jerald Barrett of the Deer Herd and Monitoring and Control Committee for his presentation. • June 10, 2025, SOMA cancelled. • The BOMA report in the packet is a static report from May 13, 2025 . • April Sales Tax is just in and was up. The prior month was down from the prior year. Upon motion by Dixon and second by Collins there was a unanimous vote for approval to adjourn. MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY27, 2025 PAGE 11 clared the meeting adjourned at 9:51 p.m. Approved: Jamie Clary, Mayor