City Council

March 11, 2021 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 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2021 in the Community Room at Murfreesboro Municipal Airport, 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 Shawn Wright Vice-Mayor Scales Harris participated telephonically at this meeting. The following representatives of the City were also present: Craig Tindall, City Manager Adam Tucker, City Attorney Melissa Wright, City Recorder/ Finance Director Darren Gore, Assistant City Manager Trey Duke, Director of City Schools David Ives, Deputy City Attorney Joshua Miller, Administrative Assistant The following Murfreesboro State Legislative Delegation were also present: Senator Shane Reeves Senator Dawn White Representative Tim Rudd Representative Mike Sparks Representative Bryan Terry Mayor McFarland opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the Murfreesboro Municipal Airport and invited the members of the State Legislative Delegation to give an update on the Bills they were working on that affected the City. The Legislative Members shared their top priorities which included: TANF Planning Grants; Public Safety Initiatives; Violent Mental Health Bill; Campaign Finance Reform; Unborn Child Dignity Act; County Powers Act; Covid Relief; learning loss resulting from Covid and distance learning; TNReady Testing; sex trafficking; Dr. Linda Gilbert Act; Amazing Grace as a State Song; Gun Safe Tax Exemption and Property Tax Relief Bill. Mr. Trey Duke, Director of City Schools, described the accomplishments of the City School District which included: 75% of the schools in the district listed as award schools at the last measured assessment; four STEM schools in the district and that Murfreesboro City Schools is one of the largest school districts in the State to be recognized by Vanderbilt for our mental health program. He stated that parents pulled about 266 students from the district this year, mostly from kindergarten, and that the demand for summer school was  March 11, 2021 Page 2 up. He stressed to the Legislative Delegation that although enrollment numbers for the district were down currently, which will result in less BEP funding, his worry is that enrollment numbers will be elevated next year with less BEP funding to support the district. Mr. Darren Gore, Assistant City Manager, provided an update regarding the odor issue affecting the City stating that Middle Point Landfill is the cause of the odor due to solid waste not being covered quickly enough as a result of the sheer volume the landfill receives daily. He stated that the landfill expanding could be a real concern for the City regarding the odor issue and described the City’s attempts to dry biosolids to reduce the amount taken to the landfill. Mayor McFarland discussed the MED proceeds study committee that was created and stated that hopefully a City Charter amendment that restricts the way the MED proceeds can be spent will be presented at the next legislative session. Council Member LaLance addressed his concerns regarding Federal Funds for State and Local Aid being based on unemployment numbers and, that since the City has kept unemployment numbers low, his worry is that the amount of Federal Funds the City receives will be significantly lower than anticipated. Mr. Russ Farrar, City’s Lobbyist, with Ramsey, Farrar, Russell & Smith, L.L.P., introduced the lobbyist team Mr. Ross Smith, Mr. Matt Russell, Mrs. Addison Russell and mentioned the final member of the team former Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey who was not present. Mr. Farrar provided an update on current bills his team were watching that could affect the City and thanked the members of the delegation for their openness to hear from members of his team. There being no further business, Mayor McFarland adjourned this meeting at 6:02 p.m. SHANE MCFARLAND - MAYOR ATTEST: MELISSA B. WRIGHT - CITY RECORDER