City Council

August 12, 2020 The City Council of the City of Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee, consistent with the Governor’s order, members of the City Council are participating by electronic means as has been determined necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare in light of the coronavirus pandemic at 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, in the Community Room at Murfreesboro Police Headquarters with Mayor Shane McFarland present and presiding and with the following Council Members present and in attendance, to wit: Madelyn Scales Harris Rick LaLance Ronnie Martin Bill Shacklett Kirt Wade Vice-Mayor Scales Harris and City Attorney Adam Tucker participated telephonically at this meeting. Council Member Eddie Smotherman was absent and excused from the meeting. The following representatives of the City were also present: Craig Tindall, City Manager Adam Tucker, City Attorney David Ives, Deputy City Attorney Melissa Wright, City Recorder/ Finance Director Gary Whitaker, Assistant City Manager Darren Gore, Assistant City Manager Sam Huddleston, Executive Director/ Development Services Angela Jackson, Executive Director/ Community Services Raymond Hillis, Executive Director/ Public Works Michael Bowen, Chief of Police Mark Foulks, Chief of Fire & Rescue Erin Tucker, Budget Director Joey Smith, Solid Waste Director Joe McCoy, Purchasing Director Chad Gehrke, Airport Manager Gary Anderson, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Joshua Miller, Administrative Assistant Mayor McFarland commenced the meeting with a prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The following letter from the Budget Director was presented to the Council: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to Governor’s Local Government Support Grant.) Mrs. Erin Tucker, Budget Director, presented information that the City had received $3.15 Million from the State to use at the discretion of the City, with the caveat that the funds must be obligated or spent by June 30, 2021. She stated that staff’s recommendation is to use these funds to offset priority one-time capital expenses which are: Police Radio IP Logger purchase ($350,000); Transit Rover Bus replacement ($161,500); Fire Rescue  August 12, 2020 Page 2 Apparatus replacements ($2.3-$2.6 Million); and School Bus replacement ($300,000). Council engaged in discussion regarding staff’s recommendation for the spending of the State funds. Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve purchase of the Police Radio IP Logger in the amount of $350,000 and the Transit Rover Bus replacement in the amount of $161,500 but save the remainder of the State funds at this time. Mr. Wade seconded the motion and all members of the Council present voted “Aye’. The following letter from the Executive Director of Public Works was presented to the Council: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to Rental Agreement for Garbage Truck.) Mr. Raymond Hillis, Executive Director of Public Works, presented the request of the Solid Waste Department to approve the garbage truck Rental Agreement with Sansom Equipment for $7,500 per month to fill the need created by the excess amount of rubbish resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve the garbage truck Rental Agreement with Sansom Equipment at a monthly rate of $7,500. Vice-Mayor Scales Harris seconded the motion and all members of the Council present voted “Aye”. The following letter from the Assistant City Manager was presented to the Council: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Award of Contract.) Mr. Darren Gore, Assistant City Manager, presented the recommendation of the Water Resources Department to award the 2020/2021 Sewer Rehabilitation Contract to SBW Constructors, LLC for $4,250,092. Vice-Mayor Scales Harris made a motion to award the 2020/2021 Sewer Rehabilitation Contract to SBW Constructors, LLC in the amount of $4,250,092. Mr. Wade seconded the motion and all members of the Council present voted “Aye”. As an item of other business, the following letter from the Airport Manager was presented to the Council at this time: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to full terminal parking lot plan completion.) Mr. Chad Gehrke, Airport Manager, presented the request to approve the construction of the 30-space additional parking lot for $41,345 with Hawkins Paving. He stated that utilizing the City Street Department to prepare the site resulted in significant savings.  August 12, 2020 Page 3 Mr. Wade made a motion to approve the second bid from Hawkins Paving in the amount of $41,345. Mr. LaLance seconded the motion and all members of the Council present voted “Aye”. The following letter from the City Recorder/Finance Director was presented to the Council: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to Beer Permit Application for Mahi Market at 2414 E Main St.) Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve the Beer Permit for Mahi Market, 2414 East Main Street (New Ownership). Mr. Martin seconded the motion and all members of the Council present voted “Aye”. The City Recorder/Finance Director announced that there were not any statements to be considered. The following letter from the Assistant City Manager was presented to the Council: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to Benefits of an Automated Waste Management Solution (AWMS).) Mr. Darren Gore, Assistant City Manager, presented a review of the benefits of an Automated Waste Management Solution and explained his return on investment analysis which focused on the cost avoidance of “go backs” and the added revenue that could come from potential payback on new services. Council discussed the proposals that were received regarding an Automated Waste Management Solution and directed Mr. Gore to proceed with researching in utilizing such a system in the City. Mayor McFarland introduced the new Purchasing Director, Mr. Joe McCoy, who was replacing the retiring Mr. Paul Boyer. The following letter from the Budget Director was presented to the Council: (Insert letter dated August 12, 2020 here with regards to June 2020 Dashboard packet.) The June 2020 Dashboard Update included Financial, Building & Codes, Risk Management, Construction Data, Sales Tax Revenues, Solid Waste Revenues, State Revenue Collections, City Schools Cash Flow Statements and Revenue & Expenditure Budget Comparison Reports. There was no discussion regarding the update. Mr. Mark Foulks, Chief of Fire and Rescue, presented the Council with an overview of the City’s attempt to work with the County to develop a working relationship between the Fire and Rescue Department and County EMS. He explained what his goals were to allow his employees to practice EMS to the level of their licensure and the persistent issues that continued to cause problems in developing the relationship with County EMS. These issues included dispatch issues, medical direction issues, and primary care issues. He said that,  August 12, 2020 Page 4 due to these issues and a resistance from the County to address these issues, was the reasoning behind the request for competitive sealed proposals for ambulance service for the City. Chief Foulks stated that, by requesting the sealed proposals, he was attempting to find a service that would meet the needs and the standards that the City requires and added that County EMS was invited to enter a bid themselves. Council discussed the information that Chief Foulks had presented and addressed the following questions. Are we going to dictate what the standard of patient care is? Do we have the space to house the contractual staff? How many contractual staff will there be? What would the contractual EMS staff’s rate of pay be? Who would oversee the contractual staff? Would they wear our uniforms? Would we lose Fire and Rescue employees to the proposed contractual service? Will the proposed model of service be better for the residents of Murfreesboro? Would it be beneficial to try and work with the County to try and resolve these issues? What liability issues is the City taking on with the proposed contractual staff? If there is no cost to the City for the proposed EMS services, what is the cost going to be for the taxpayers? Council came to the consensus that a meeting needed to be scheduled between representatives of the County, the City and the Council to try and work together to resolve these issues. Council Member Bill Shacklett gave a summary of the City School Board meeting held on August 11, 2020 in which the candidates for the Superintendent of Schools position were rejected; the Interim Superintendent of Schools was considered for the position; and finally, that it was decided the Interim Superintendent of Schools would remain in the interim position while more progress was made towards filling the position permanently. There being no further business, Mayor McFarland adjourned this meeting at 2:10 p.m. SHANE MCFARLAND – MAYOR ATTEST: MELISSA B. WRIGHT - CITY RECORDER