City Council

City of Murfreesboro City Council -Workshop Regular Session Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 11:30 am T E N N E S S E E Municipal Airport Business Center 1930 Memorial Boulevard Murfreesboro, Tennessee MINUTES The City Council of the City of Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee, met in regular session at its workshop meeting place at the Municipal Airport Business Center at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The meeting began late due to an Executive Session held prior. Proper notice of this meeting was published in the Murfreesboro Post on Tuesday, June 26, 2025. Council Members Present Mayor Shane McFarland - Presiding Jami Averwater Madelyn Scales Harris Austin Maxwell Bill Shacklett Kirt Wade Shawn Wright City Representatives Present Darren Gore, City Manager Jennifer Tag, Assistant City Attorney Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer Melanie Joy Peterson, City Clerk Ben Newman, Director of Land Management and Planning Cary Gensemer, Deputy Chief of Police Chad Gehrke, Airport Director Chris Griffith, Executive Director of Public Infrastructure Craig Tindall, Special Counsel Jim Kerr, Transportation Director Lexi Stacey, Project Coordinator Lesley Short, Assistant Finance Director Mark McCluskey, Fire Chief Michael Bowen, Chief of Police Michael Nevills, Communications Michele Emerson, City Engineer Mike Browning, Public Information Officer Randolph Wilkerson, Human Resources Director Sam Huddleston, Assistant City Manager Steve Jarrell, Deputy Chief of Police Other City Staff Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 1 of 8  Mayor McFarland called the meeting.to order and commenced the meeting with a prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment on Actionable Agenda Items Mayor McFarland indicated there was one person registered to speak at public comment. He invited the registered speaker forward and instructed him to address Council for up to three minutes. Will Lehew, 2455 Oak Hill Drive, Murfreesboro, spoke in favor of Agenda Item No. 7 traffic calming program and requested that intervention be provided for traffic issues in his neighborhood, the Villages of Garrison Cove, regardless of whether they qualified for the program. Action Items 1. Wine Sales Certificate of Compliance - Middle TN Tobacco Vape & Beer (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication and information regarding issuance of a certificate of compliance for a wine sales in a grocery store by George Kelada for Middle TN Tobacco Vape & Beer at 710 Middle Tennessee Boulevard, Suite 10. The request complies with statutory requirements, and the application was recommended for approval. Ms. Averwater made a motion to approve the wine sales certificate of compliance. Mr. Wade seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion was passed by the following vote : Aye: Jami Averwater, Madelyn Scales Harris, Austin Maxwell, Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, Shawn Wright, Shane McFarland Nay: None 2. Yard Sale Lease Extension 204 S. Front Street (Administration). Sam Huddleston, Assistant City Manager, presented a Council Communication and Second Lease Extension Agreement requesting a lease renewal of the retail building at 204 S. Front Street with Yard Sale, Inc. The lease renewal will maintain the lease rate at $10,000 per month on a month-to-month basis and will terminate at the earlier of thirty (30) days after the authorization of a City right of way permit to start construction on the South Front/West Vine/NW Broad intersection improvements, or January 31, 2028. City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 2 of 8  Ms. Scales Harris made a motion to approve the lease extension. Mr. Wade seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion was passed by the following vote : Aye: Jami Averwater, Madelyn Scales Harris, Austin Maxwell, Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, Shawn Wright, Shane McFarland Nay: None Ms. Averwater left the meeting. 3. Communication Tower 3489 Halls Hill Pike Easement Acquisition (Administration). Sam Huddleston, Assistant City Manager, presented a Council Communication and easement offer letter requesting approval for acquisition of the easements necessary to support the construction and operation and maintenance of a Communications Tower on Halls Hill Pike and to authorize condemnation proceedings if negotiations fail. The easement acquisition of $96,724 plus any administrative settlement and closing costs will be funded by Communication Tower allocations in the CIP. Mr. Wade made a motion to approve the easement acquisition and condemnation, if necessary. Ms. Scales Harris seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion was passed by the following vote: Aye: Madelyn Scales Harris, Austin Maxwell, Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, Shawn Wright, Shane McFarland Nay: None Absent: Jami Averwater Workshop Items Ms. Averwater returned to the meeting. 4. CIP Transfer (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication and documents regarding notification of CIP transfers. This information was provided to Council as notification only and no action was taken. 5. Retail Liquor Store Certificate of Compliance Annual Report (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, requested that Agenda Item 5 be moved to Other Business. Mayor McFarland agreed and announced that Item 5 would be moved to Other Business. City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 3 of 8  6. FY25 Public Records Request Annual Report (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication regarding Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report of Public Records Requests pursuant to Resolution 24-R-32. The FY25 Public Records Request annual report was presented for informational purposes only-no action or vote was required. While the number of requests continues to rise, the rate of growth has slowed in FY25. The implementation of the JustFOIA software this year by Melanie Peterson and Raven Bozeman has significantly improved the efficiency of responding to requests and coordinating with other departments. 7. Traffic Calming Program Update (Engineering). Michele Emerson, City Engineer, presented a Council Communication and PowerPoint regarding an update on the Traffic Calming Program. The program uses a data-driven process to evaluate speeding concerns reported by residents. Ms. Emerson outlined the steps taken when a request is received, including confirming eligibility, issuing application and petition packages, collecting signatures, evaluating using a scoring matrix, and, if qualified, designing and implementing traffic calming measures. Eligibility criteria include speed, volume, crash history, proximity to schools, road classification and sidewalks. To date, 137 requests have been received. Of those, 12 did not meet the criteria, 125 applications were issued, 43 returned, 17 petition packages were received, and 7 qualified for the traffic calming program. Measures implemented through the program include speed cushions (with an average speed reduction of 14%) and digital speed limit signs (which remind drivers of the speed limit, alert drivers when they are going too fast and collect speed data for ongoing monitoring). Ms. Emerson encouraged Council members to direct interested or concerned citizens to Engineering for eligibility review. Council discussed neighborhoods that did not qualify for the traffic calming program. Ms. Emerson clarified that roads classified as community collectors, commercial collectors or arterials, do not qualify for speed cushions. It was also mentioned that roads with speed cushions cannot be snowplowed and will be removed from the snowplow list. Speed limit changes would require City Code amendments and associated costs. Digital speed signs were also discussed as potential alternatives for ineligible roads. City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 4 of 8  Council expressed interest in allowing HOAs to fund and install speed cushions if built to City standards, with HOAs potentially responsible for installation and upkeep. Ms. Emerson provided cost estimates for speed cushions and digital speed limit signs and updated Council on a Riverbend petition to reverse a previous request and installation of speed cushions. Staff will explore developing a process to allow HOA-funded speed cushions on public roads with City oversight and HOA responsibility for upkeep and update Council at a future meeting. No action was taken. 8. Hangar Design Work Authorization (Airport). Chad Gehrke, Airport Director, presented a Council Communication and PowerPoint presentation regarding approval of Work Authorization No. 2025-02 with Barge Design Solutions for engineering design professional services for a proposed hanger to be located on the north end of the airport. The proposed fee is $298,883, which will be paid through t he Airport Fund. Discussion ensued about monthly rent and recouping funds to develop the hangar. Mr. Maxwell made a motion to approve the work authorization. Vice Mayor Shacklett seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion was passed by the following vote: Aye: Jami Averwater, Madelyn Scales Harris, Austin Maxwell, Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, Shawn Wright, Shane McFarland Nay: None 9. May 2025 Dashboard (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication and documents regarding May 2025 Dashboard. There were no questions and no action was taken. Board & Commission Appointments No board and commission appointments were presented. Licensing 10. Beer Permits (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication regarding Beer Permits. The following were offered for approval: City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 5 of 8  Regular Beer Permits Name of Name of Type of Type of Address Reason Applicant Business Permit Business 175 Spark by 175 Chaffin Murfreesboro On-Premises Hotel New Location Hilton Place Hotel, LLC 165 Garner by 165 Chaffin Murfreesboro On-Premises Hotel New Location IHG Place Hotel, LLC 2135 Nesr El Baraia, Maria Grocery/ Manchester Off-Premises New Location LLC Market 1 Market Pike Special Event Beer Permits Name of Applicant Date of Event Type of Event Location of Event Main Street Murfreesboro 7/19/2025 Annual Fundraiser 900 N. Maney Avenue Applicants met requirements for the Beer Permits and were recommended for approval pending final building and codes inspections for the Regular Beer Permits and Special Event Permit issuance for the Special Event Beer Permits. Mr. Wade made a motion to approve the Beer Permits. Mr. Wright seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion was passed by the following vote: Aye: Jami Averwater, Madelyn Scales Harris, Austin Maxwell, Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, Shawn Wright, Shane McFarland Nay: None Payment of Statements No payment of statements was presented. Other Business Ordinance 25-0-26 Retail Liquor Certificate of Compliance Term {1st Reading) (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication to amend the City Code Section 4-8, regarding the retail liquor certificate of compliance term by modifying the June 30, 2025 deadline to June 30, 2026. This change will provide certificate holders with amply time to apply for a license with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The ordinance titled, "ORDINANCE 25-0-26 amending the Murfreesboro City Code, Chapter 4, Alcoholic Beverages, Section 4-8 regarding retail liquor certificate of compliance term expiration" was offered for passage on first reading. City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 6 of 8  Ms. Averwater made a motion to approve Ordinance 25-0-26 on first reading. Mr. Wade seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion was passed by the following vote: Aye: Jami Averwater, Madelyn Scales Harris, Austin Maxwell, Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, Shawn Wright, Shane McFarland Nay: None 5. Retail Liquor Store Certificate of Compliance Annual Report (Finance). Erin Tucker, City Recorder/ Chief Financial Officer, presented a Council Communication regarding an annual report presented pursuant to City Code Chapter 4-l0(D) regarding Certificates of Compliance for Retail Liquor Stores. As of July 1, 2025, the City's population estimate increased to 168,387 but the number of retail liquor stores was not due to increase. No further action was needed. Future Meetings. Mayor McFarland announced Council meetings were scheduled for July 17, 2025 and July 31, 2025, and no meeting on July 24, 2025. Adjourn There being no further business, Mayor McFarland adjourned this meeting at 12:30 p.m. SHANE MCFARLAND MAYOR ATTEST: ~ -= CITY RECORDER/ CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER APPROVED BY COUNCIL: -:r~,~ 3\ )~c:G.S City Council Workshop Meeting M inutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 7 of 8 PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes July 10, 2025, 11:30 am Page 8 of 8