[4:12] Calling the beer board in session.

[4:16] Please roll call.

[4:18] Board Member McCowan.

[4:21] Aye.

[4:23] Board Member Dugan.

[4:24] Here.

[4:26] Board Member Sharlin.

[4:29] Board Member Curtis.

[4:30] Here.

[4:31] Chairman Eaton.

[4:32] Present.

[4:35] Each one of you has got the package.

[4:37] You got the minutes of the-

[4:38] Mm-hmm

[4:39] ... Tuesday, the May 19th. Do I have a motion?

[4:42] Move approval of the minutes as presented.

[4:44] Do I hear a second?

[4:45] I second.

[4:47] Roll call.

[4:49] Board Member McCowan.

[4:51] Aye.

[4:51] Board Member Dugan.

[4:53] Aye.

[4:55] Board Member Curtis.

[4:56] Aye.

[4:57] Chairman Eaton.

[4:58] Aye.

[4:59] There's no citizens

[5:02] comments, so we'll go into the old business, and there's no old business, so we'll

[5:06] go into the new business.

[5:08] Line item A, please.

[5:11] Item A is a beer permit

[5:14] for a restaurant doing business as Mexi Wing

[5:18] 2, Mexican Restaurant LLC, address

[5:22] 2616 Decatur Pike, Athens, Tennessee

[5:26] 37303. It is a restaurant

[5:30] and the class is on-premises consumption.

[5:34] Gentlemen, do I have a motion?

[5:35] I'll make a motion we accept the item.

[5:37] Do I hear a second?

[5:40] Any discussions, gentlemen?

[5:43] I'm just glad he's fixing to start.

[5:47] If not, roll call.

[5:49] Board Member McCowan.

[5:51] Aye.

[5:51] Board Member Dugan.

[5:53] Aye.

[5:54] Board Member Curtis.

[5:55] Aye.

[5:56] Chairman Eaton.

[5:57] Aye. There's no

[6:00] other business. We're adjourned.

[33:18] Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get this meeting started for the regular

[33:22] session, September 15th, 2026. At this time,

[33:26] Vice Mayor, will you do the invocation

[33:28] please?

[33:37] Let's all pray together.

[33:42] Gracious and loving God, as we prepare for the long days of summer

[33:46] to begin to give way to the season of fall, we thank you

[33:50] for all the reminders of your faithfulness from one season to the next.

[33:54] As students have returned to school, and families settle into new routines,

[33:58] and our community looks forward to the months ahead, fill us with

[34:02] your wisdom and a desire to serve each other.

[34:06] Guide this city council in its deliberations, that every

[34:09] decision may reflect care for our neighbors and a

[34:13] commitment to the common good.

[34:15] Help us to be faithful stewards of the blessings you have entrusted to us,

[34:20] and to show your grace in all we do.

[34:23] In the name of Christ, our Lord, we pray, amen.

[34:26] Amen.

[34:26] Ladies and gentlemen, attention. Salute. Pledge.

[34:29] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of

[34:33] America, and to the Republic for which it stands,

[34:37] one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty

[34:41] and justice for all.

[34:51] Ms. White, roll call, please.

[34:54] Council Member McCowan?

[34:56] Here.

[34:57] Council Member Dugan?

[34:58] Here.

[34:59] Council Member Shurlyn?

[35:02] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[35:04] Here.

[35:05] Mayor Eaton?

[35:06] Present.

[35:08] Gentlemen, you have the packages of the minutes of August the

[35:12] 18th. I hear a motion to approve.

[35:14] Make a motion to approve.

[35:15] Do I hear a second?

[35:17] Second.

[35:18] Motion been made and second. Any discussions? Roll call.

[35:22] Council Member McCowan?

[35:24] Aye.

[35:25] Council Member Dugan?

[35:27] Aye.

[35:28] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[35:29] Aye.

[35:30] Mayor Eaton?

[35:31] Aye.

[35:33] Okay, we're going to move into communications special presentations.

[35:37] The first one is

[35:39] an awesome one, a TWU National Championship baseball team.

[35:48] Go

[35:49] ahead. And we'll

[35:53] take a picture right up here after we're done.

[36:05] Ladies and gentlemen, what an honor it is to be with these

[36:09] gentlemen.

[36:10] Three-time national championships.

[36:13] But we want to give a proclamation to a well-deserving team.

[36:17] So, TWU,

[36:20] whereas Tennessee Wesleyan College is a valued

[36:22] institution in the city of Athens and a

[36:26] source of pride for our community.

[36:28] Whereas,

[36:30] on May the 30th, 2026, the TWU, Tennessee

[36:34] Wesleyan University Bulldogs baseball team defeated

[36:38] Taylor University by a score

[36:41] 21 to three

[36:44] to win the 2026 Avesta National

[36:48] Association of Intercol-

[36:51] ... Collegiate

[36:53] Athletics NAIA World Series Championship

[36:56] in Lewistown, Idaho. And

[37:00] whereas this championship marks the third national

[37:04] championship in the program's history, following the previous

[37:08] championships in 2012,

[37:11] 2019, and

[37:13] whereas under the leadership of Head Coach Billy Berry,

[37:17] the Bulldogs have established Tennessee Wesleyan Baseball as one of the

[37:21] premier programs in the NAIA. And

[37:25] whereas the Bulldogs' championship season reflects the

[37:29] dedication, discipline, teamwork, and excellence

[37:33] of its student athletes, coaches,

[37:36] and support staff. And whereas the

[37:40] City of Athens wishes to recognize the dedication,

[37:44] discipline, teamwork, and excellent demonstration of the

[37:48] student athletes and the coaches.

[37:51] Now, therefore, I, Larry Eaton, the mayor of Athens,

[37:55] Tennessee, on behalf of the Athens City Council and

[37:59] the citizens of Athens, Tennessee, do hereby

[38:02] recognize and congratulate the Tennessee

[38:05] Wesleyan University Bulldog baseball team

[38:10] on winning the 2026 NAIA

[38:13] National Championship.

[38:16] But it be furthermore

[38:18] proclaimed that the City of Athens commends the student

[38:22] athletes, coaches, and staff for the extraordinary

[38:25] accomplishment and extends its sincere appreciation for the

[38:29] pride they have brought to our community, and along with the

[38:33] best wishes of continued success for the years to come.

[38:36] Proclamation this day, the 15th September

[38:41] 2026, and I do appreciate each one of you all, and

[38:45] let's do it again this year. Yes, sir. Appreciate it.

[38:48] We're going to have a picture right up here.

[38:52] Gentlemen, if you guys will stand up, let's get right here in front, and we'll have

[38:55] a picture. And the City Council,

[38:58] you guys come around because you all are short.

[39:02] Come on up.

[39:04] Should we say a few words?

[39:05] Yeah. Yeah, please.

[39:05] Yeah, I can. So thank you, Mayor, and thank

[39:09] you, the Chamber. I want to thank

[39:13] our AD, Donnie Mayfield, our president, Dr.

[39:16] Tyler Forrest, for all of their continued support.

[39:20] I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Bobby Goodfriend, Alan Carter, for

[39:24] a lot of the renovations and things that have been done over the course of the

[39:28] last year. Our facility has taken on a whole new look.

[39:32] We are

[39:34] brand new. In 2027, these six

[39:38] guys right here are the only guys returning that were on the trip last year.

[39:41] So,

[39:43] it's a brand new roster, but

[39:45] Thomas Teal, Thomas is from Arizona, was a catcher on

[39:49] our team.

[39:50] Jalen Fullwood, Jalen is from Georgia.

[39:52] He is a senior this year as well. Thomas is also a senior.

[39:56] Michael Sahm, who's a right-handed pitcher. I'm going this way.

[39:59] So

[40:01] Michael is a right-handed pitcher. He's a senior also this year.

[40:05] Ethan Wright, Ethan is from California. He was an outfielder.

[40:08] He is also a senior this year. Baylor Homesley,

[40:10] Baylor, you're from Alabama? Georgia, that's right,

[40:14] is from Georgia. You went to school in Alabama.

[40:16] Maybe.

[40:16] That's right, okay, is from Georgia.

[40:19] He is also a right-handed pitcher.

[40:21] Colton Reynolds, Colton graduated last year.

[40:24] Colton is currently on our staff as a graduate assistant.

[40:27] He is from Arkansas. And Colton

[40:29] was an outfielder for our team last year.

[40:33] Logan Fleener, who is one of our assistants, Daniel Wood, who is one of our

[40:37] assistants. Definitely want to thank those two guys.

[40:39] The hard work that they put in, the time that they spend away on the road

[40:43] and doing those things, is definitely something that we cannot do what we do

[40:47] unless these two guys do what they do. So, thank you to our community.

[40:51] Thank you to our town. It means a ton.

[40:53] We've always said we feel the support when we're on the other

[40:57] side of the country,

[40:58] a three-hour time difference, but we also feel the support from our community, so

[41:02] we want to thank you for that. So, thank you guys for everything. Appreciate it.

[41:06] Line up right up here. Let's go right up here.

[41:12] I'm going to get right in the center of you all. I don't know why. Is my hair okay?

[41:15] Looks good.

[41:19] Yeah.

[41:19] Make a window.

[41:20] You, you-

[41:20] Let's make a window.

[41:22] You got it right there?

[41:23] Yeah, it's good. It's really good.

[41:25] I'll have to back up a little bit even more. Yeah, you may have to.

[41:28] I was up there.

[41:29] Yes.

[41:33] Just barely right here.

[41:45] Thank you.

[41:46] Perfect. Gentlemen, I appreciate you all. Thank you. Appreciate you.

[41:51] Congratulations to you all. Appreciate you all. Appreciate you. Thank you.

[41:53] Coach, appreciate it.

[41:53] Thanks, bud, appreciate it.

[41:53] Appreciate you, gentlemen. Appreciate you, gentlemen. Thank you.

[41:55] Appreciate you all.

[41:58] Appreciate you. We're good.

[42:02] Thanks.

[42:02] Yeah.

[42:02] Appreciate it.

[42:03] Thank you.

[42:04] Congratulations. Congratulations. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you.

[42:21] Appreciate

[42:27] you.

[42:27] Okay, gentlemen.

[42:29] The next one is a very special one,

[42:31] that means a lot to our community and just about

[42:35] everybody here. We're going to give the Vivid Award today

[42:39] to Johnny Coffman, and the vice mayor will be giving this to Mr.

[42:43] Coffman.

[42:53] Johnny, I'm going to invite you up in a moment to say a few words, but first, I

[42:57] want to invite Mr. Chris Adams up to share a few words.

[43:01] I reached out to Chris today to see if he might want to share a comment or

[43:04] remark, and he said, "I think I'll join the meeting and share my comments

[43:08] in person," which I think is absolutely appropriate. I will say this.

[43:12] I was sitting there as Westland's baseball team was being

[43:16] recognized, National Championship baseball team.

[43:19] Mm-hmm.

[43:19] And I think how appropriate that we're honoring Johnny Kauffman immediately

[43:23] after that, a man that has done so much for education, sports, and

[43:27] recreation in our community, among other ways.

[43:30] Just a few comments from the nomination form.

[43:34] Johnny was nominated by Parks and Rec

[43:39] Committee Chair Ron Starr, and to kind of summarize

[43:43] his comments and his nomination form,

[43:46] he is pleased to nominate Johnny Kauffman for the City of Athens Vivid Award

[43:51] in recognition of his decades of service, involvement, and

[43:54] dedication to the Athens community.

[43:57] He has served as a member of the City of Athens Parks and Rec Advisory

[44:01] Committee for more than 20 years, providing his time,

[44:05] experience, and perspective in support of recreational

[44:09] opportunities and programs for the citizens of Athens.

[44:13] His commitment to our community, however, extends far beyond his service

[44:17] to the city.

[44:19] For many decades, he has been actively involved in youth

[44:22] sports and numerous community organizations and activities,

[44:26] giving countless hours of his time to programs and events that have

[44:30] helped shape the lives of generations of young people and families in

[44:34] Athens and McMinn County. His service has been

[44:37] consistent, dependable, and carried out without seeking

[44:41] recognition for himself.

[44:44] Johnny is also, quite literally, one of the most recognizable voices

[44:48] in our community.

[44:50] For decades, he has been known as the voice of the Cherokees and has

[44:54] served as master of ceremonies for Junior Miss, along with

[44:57] participating in many other community events.

[45:01] Through these roles, he has helped celebrate the accomplishments of

[45:05] others, recognize young people, and contribute to

[45:09] traditions that have become an important part of our community's

[45:12] history.

[45:14] What makes Johnny particularly deserving of this recognition is

[45:18] not one single accomplishment, but the cumulative impact of a

[45:22] lifetime of service.

[45:24] He has spent many years supporting young people, recreation,

[45:28] athletics, civic organizations, and community traditions.

[45:32] Much of that service has occurred quietly and consistently year after

[45:36] year without expectation of acknowledgment.

[45:40] At this point, I believe it is fitting that the community he has supported for so

[45:44] many years take the opportunity to recognize him.

[45:48] His longstanding dedication to Athens represents the type of

[45:52] volunteerism, civic involvement, and community spirit that the

[45:56] Vivid Award is intended to honor.

[45:59] Also reached out to my McMinn County High School classmate,

[46:03] Johnny's son, Justin Kauffman, to see if he might want to share a remark about his

[46:06] dad for this celebration. "Dad is extremely

[46:10] devoted to and passionate about his community.

[46:13] He truly believes that you should give back to make this city a better

[46:17] place to live, work, and raise a family.

[46:20] It's shown in his actions, being on numerous boards, his involvement in

[46:24] Junior Miss, playing the piano at church, and being the voice

[46:28] that painted vivid pictures to listeners for McMinn County High

[46:32] School and TW Athletics for almost 50 years."

[46:37] What great words. I want to turn it over now to Mr.

[46:39] Chris Adams to share a few comments about Johnny, which I think

[46:43] may revolve around his involvement serving on the Athens City

[46:46] School Board. So, Chris?

[46:48] Thank you.

[46:49] I'm about to pull a Bruce Pearl here and sweat through my coat.

[46:52] So- ... I'll make this quick. But

[46:55] it is certainly my honor and privilege to be here tonight to speak about

[46:59] Johnny and his impact on the community, and specifically Athens City

[47:03] Schools.

[47:04] Johnny joined Athens City School Board in March of 2016.

[47:08] Immediately, I recognized his passion for public education,

[47:13] his desire to advocate for all students, and his unwavering drive for Athens

[47:17] City Schools to achieve excellence.

[47:20] One of our first big projects was somewhat already in motion when Johnny joined our

[47:24] board. A consolidation of Athens City School buildings into an efficient and

[47:28] effective school campus where pre-K through eighth grade would be situated

[47:32] in the City Park area was a part of many school board discussions.

[47:36] This required proper planning, budgeting, negotiating, and most importantly,

[47:40] communication over a number of years between Athens City Schools, Athens

[47:44] City Council, and our community. Johnny was immediately on

[47:48] board, diligent, and always a voice of reason as we worked through the

[47:52] process to see this plan come to light.

[47:55] I've heard Johnny say many times, "This is a project that I will always be proud of

[47:59] to be a part of."

[48:00] I can't agree more, Johnny, and to be honest with you, I don't think

[48:04] we could've accomplished it without you.

[48:07] This is a project that has impacted the students of Athens City Schools

[48:12] and those now in the future, and we absolutely appreciate your

[48:15] participation.

[48:18] Johnny has served as our Athens City School

[48:19] legislative

[48:24] representative for many years. This is a huge responsibility,

[48:28] just from the amount of information that is generated from the legislative

[48:32] session, our legislators, and the Department of Energy--

[48:37] Education.

[48:38] Johnny's leadership, his stance on the importance of public

[48:42] education, and keeping Athens City Schools' needs in front of our

[48:46] legislators has been commendable.

[48:49] Most recently, Johnny assumed the role as a vice chair of our board.

[48:52] I cannot think of a better person to help lead, guide, and direct our school system

[48:56] and our board than Johnny. It is truly a privilege to serve with you

[49:00] As recognition of his efforts as school board member, Johnny was recognized most

[49:04] recently in 2025 and inducted into the Tennessee All School

[49:08] Board. It's hard to drive through McMinn County and

[49:11] Athens without seeing something Johnny Kauffman has impacted in a positive way.

[49:16] Newspapers, both from a employment standpoint and as a

[49:20] contributor, radio, local sports, Junior Miss,

[49:24] education, Marsh Hill Presbyterian Church, McMinn County High School, Tennessee

[49:28] Wesleyan, Athens City Schools, and Camp Utanay Ochi,

[49:32] and the list goes on. His desire to help others and his

[49:36] personal joy

[49:38] to see others succeed is evident in his daily actions.

[49:42] I will officially go on record tonight as being one of the many people that

[49:45] encouraged Johnny to commit his knowledge and history of all things McMinn County

[49:49] and Athens to paper.

[49:52] No doubt a book with the voice of the Cherokees as the author would be a

[49:55] best seller.

[49:58] Johnny, congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.

[50:02] You have certainly shown the way to be a true community servant.

[50:13] Johnny, share a few words for us.

[50:20] Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Jordan.

[50:22] I texted Larry last night, the mayor, and said, "I wonder if I

[50:26] can have just a couple of minutes to talk about some things we've gotten done in 25

[50:30] years on the

[50:31] Parks and Rec board," and he said, "You've got three minutes, and it'll has to be-

[50:35] ... remained to the agenda." So I'll do the best I can. My family is here.

[50:39] I want to recognize them before I get out of here tonight.

[50:41] But Athens city has been blessed with parks and rec

[50:44] directors. I can remember back to the days of Larry Zender, who

[50:48] came here by way of Clemson University and ended up down

[50:52] in Chattanooga. He's now the administrator of parks and recreation in

[50:56] Chattanooga now. Then we had Brad Chambers, who I worked with, not on the board,

[51:00] but

[51:01] for several years in several different projects.

[51:04] Brad was involved in that. He's gone on to bigger and better things.

[51:08] He's been in parks and rec. He's been parks and rec directors at different

[51:12] places. He's also been in city management in

[51:15] Tennessee and Georgia and Kentucky and Missouri, so he has done very

[51:19] well. And then Austin Fesmire, who I worked

[51:23] with prior to getting on the board when I was running the Little League.

[51:26] He

[51:27] was

[51:28] my liaison here at the city, and we had some battles over

[51:33] building a new press box and a new

[51:36] concession stand, so on and so forth.

[51:38] But Austin turned into a dear friend of mine.

[51:41] He had great vision, and he was also very

[51:45] talented at writing grants. And man, that's the lifeblood of your

[51:49] city right there and your programs.

[51:50] That's free money that you just cannot give away.

[51:54] And then he retired, and then Matt Senio is the new guy, and you talk about

[51:58] energy. This kid, man, he

[52:00] makes me tired, just watching him go from one thing to another.

[52:04] But

[52:05] you're in good hands with Matt. He's going to do good things for the

[52:09] city. Just a brief rundown of some of the things that

[52:12] Parks and Rec has been involved with, and I called Mike Heath to

[52:15] do a little research, and it was 2001 when I was first

[52:19] appointed to the board. And

[52:22] I guess the biggest thing there was

[52:26] Regional Park. That's our crown jewel.

[52:28] And there's a Frisbee golf course out there.

[52:31] There's walking trails out there. There's a pond out there.

[52:36] There's a

[52:38] splash pad out there, and right now they have just

[52:41] recently turfed the fields, and now they're

[52:45] realizing finally, after I have campaigned in front of this council

[52:49] for several times about putting turf out there, so you can

[52:52] generate

[52:55] income for your city. Those are dollars that

[52:59] you're just missing out on all those years.

[53:01] Anyway,

[53:03] that's proven this year when we had all those

[53:07] softball tournaments, baseball tournaments, people coming in from everywhere.

[53:11] The

[53:13] local league has actually even picked up, I think, a number of teams.

[53:19] And I'm still going to advocate for additional turf at those fields.

[53:23] We need them fully turfed. And

[53:26] it's just

[53:28] good common sense because you're bringing people in all the time.

[53:31] At Cook Park, we have done some things there.

[53:34] We

[53:35] put in new playground equipment there.

[53:37] We have put in a new

[53:41] pavilion. We went out there, Matt sent a guy out there

[53:45] about five or six months ago and put some new lights in, put a

[53:48] light up on a pole, shining right in Eddie Arnwine's- ...

[53:52] bedroom window, right in his window.

[53:55] Yeah, we heard about that, so we got that light moved.

[53:58] And Eddie's happy. But

[54:01] once again, I'm not going to let this

[54:04] pass me by. We still need parking at Cook Park.

[54:08] There's some nice level ground over there where that monument is.

[54:11] We can move that monument. We can set it up there by the playground, and we can get

[54:14] a whole bunch of parking places down there where that monument is.

[54:17] So I'm not going to let you forget that.

[54:20] Heritage Park was just recently reopened.

[54:22] That's a ballpark that's been there for many years, had a lot of softball played

[54:26] out there.

[54:28] Got into some disrepair, and we had a grand reopening of that

[54:32] just not too awful long ago. Veterans Park came on

[54:36] during my tenure, and it's open now, and it's

[54:40] a beautiful place. There are dedicated bricks.

[54:42] My

[54:43] youngest son, I've got a brick in his name, as he was in the Army, and

[54:48] turned that into just a showplace.

[54:50] The Parks and Rec Foundation was formed during this time,

[54:54] during these 25 years. The pickleball courts at Ingleside.

[54:58] I know there was-- Man, this was

[55:01] You either loved it or you hated it.

[55:02] But once again, the citizens wanted it, the citizens got it.

[55:06] It's a good thing. They're there. We need more pickleball

[55:09] courts. We could generate income off pickleball courts and not

[55:13] just take care of your citizens, but you can generate income off of

[55:17] that. And I talk about income, but at the same time, and

[55:21] we talk about growth sometimes, but growth is a whole lot more than

[55:25] just population. It is you're growing

[55:28] things for your city, for what your citizens want to do.

[55:33] And I see Joe Barnett here tonight, who's our director of schools for

[55:37] Athens City, and he and the city council went

[55:40] together to

[55:42] build a playground up there behind the middle school, right where those pickleball

[55:46] courts are, where they converted those tennis courts into pickleball courts.

[55:48] They needed some place for the kids to play.

[55:50] So that was a nice joint venture between the city schools and the city council.

[55:54] It's 50/50, and it's worked out very, very well.

[55:58] The Soapbox Derby came to town during this

[56:02] 25 years.

[56:03] Market Park came to town. Market Park is where they have all the

[56:07] Sounds of Summer, where they have

[56:10] festivals, and Pumpkin Town is coming up, and it'll be heavily used there.

[56:15] Also,

[56:16] one more thing that I'm going to campaign for, which I've already approached the

[56:20] council about on one occasion, and that is a community

[56:24] center. Somehow, some way, that is going to happen.

[56:27] It's going to come to fruition. That was one of the

[56:31] negatives of closing all our

[56:35] smaller schools and our neighborhood schools

[56:39] and putting in the new campus. We lost a bunch of gyms.

[56:42] And with the

[56:45] basketball program here that the city offers, there's nowhere to

[56:48] practice. And so now they've worked some things out now with the

[56:52] new school, but there's still a need for that, not only just for basketball courts,

[56:56] but for other things as well. So you guys need to keep that in mind.

[57:02] Also,

[57:04] my family is here tonight, and I'd like for them to just stand up.

[57:07] I won't make you come up here, but I'm going to recognize them.

[57:11] Stand up, please. My youngest son, Garrett, is on the back.

[57:14] He's a firefighter in Chattanooga.

[57:17] My oldest son, Justin, is right here. He works at Star Regional.

[57:21] His wife, Dana,

[57:23] who is a nurse, ICU nurse at

[57:26] Tenova in Cleveland. I guess it's still Tenova, isn't it?

[57:29] Yeah.

[57:29] Whatever it is. It's the old Bradley Hospital.

[57:31] Bradley.

[57:32] What is it called?

[57:32] Bradley Methods.

[57:33] Bradley? Okay. Garrett's fiancée, Crystal Shipley.

[57:38] This is my naturally blonde-headed grandson, Marshall

[57:41] Goodner who is a senior football player at McMinn

[57:45] and is a baseball player. He's headed to Lee in the fall to play baseball

[57:49] for the Flames. And my two cancer survivors right here,

[57:53] two of them. My wife, Mary, who has been with me the

[57:57] entire 25 years, and I appreciate you so much.

[58:00] She survived breast and ovarian cancer last year.

[58:03] She's on the road to recovery.

[58:06] Clean PET scans.

[58:08] And my sweetheart here is my granddaughter, Kennedy, who

[58:12] was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma when she was three

[58:16] and went through 29 months of chemo.

[58:18] And I probably shouldn't be talking about this, but 45-day hospital

[58:22] stay. Just turned 11 in June. She's been

[58:26] five years cancer-free. God is good.

[58:36] And I'm out of here, but the ironic thing was is

[58:39] the terms on these council, this Parks

[58:43] and Rec committee, I think it's four years.

[58:45] This year, I didn't realize that

[58:49] my term was up, and so somebody, I think they didn't tell me on purpose.

[58:53] But then I found out very late in the process that I was supposed to

[58:56] reapply to do this. It has to go before council.

[58:59] And so I hadn't done anything about it, and so I thought, well,

[59:03] I was going to retire sometime anyway.

[59:04] I told Austin at one point, I said, "I'm going to stay until you retire anyway."

[59:08] But

[59:11] so I

[59:14] filled out the application online and sent it in,

[59:19] and I guess Bridget got it, and it got all hosed up, and

[59:23] it wouldn't go through, and I couldn't get it to work.

[59:25] And she said, "Well, just

[59:28] do this and do that." And I said, "No, I think this is just a sign.

[59:31] I think it's just time." So it's been 25 years.

[59:34] And

[59:35] one more thing before I go, and with Tennessee Wesleyan here tonight, that baseball

[59:39] team, sometime when you got about two hours, I'll sit down and talk to you about

[59:43] the Wesleyan baseball program of the '70s when they rejuvenated that

[59:47] program and brought Wayne Norfleet in to coach,

[59:50] and the baseball team was recruited by the

[59:54] administration. That means the dean of students,

[59:58] the president of the college, they had no baseball coach.

[1:00:01] So they went out and recruited these kids to play baseball, and

[1:00:05] Norfleet comes in, and some of them can't line up.

[1:00:08] So the difference between the '70s and right now is astronomical.

[1:00:12] But what a great job Billy Berry has done at Tennessee Wesleyan College, and

[1:00:16] what a great job Tyler Forrest is doing there as well.

[1:00:19] Thank you, City Council.

[1:00:23] I get recognized from time to time for things, but this one is just, for some

[1:00:26] reason, is very, very special because Parks and Rec has been very close to me.

[1:00:30] It's been an honor to be associated with it for 25 years, and

[1:00:34] I do love this city. Thank you very much.

[1:00:40] Congratulations, Johnny. Of course, we've got to get a photo.

[1:00:44] Oh.

[1:00:44] Would you like your family to join you for the photo?

[1:00:47] Sure, let's do it outside.

[1:00:48] Yep.

[1:00:49] You want to do it in here?

[1:00:50] Probably do it right here in front of the desk.

[1:00:52] All right.

[1:00:55] That's it.

[1:00:57] Yeah.

[1:00:58] Just like that.

[1:01:00] We can do it right here?

[1:01:02] Yeah.

[1:01:03] You have to push this chair back.

[1:01:11] Come here, bud.

[1:01:16] Come here, girl.

[1:01:16] Come on in here.

[1:01:19] All right.

[1:01:22] Good practice.

[1:01:29] Thank you.

[1:01:30] Thank you. Thank you.

[1:01:33] Congratulations.

[1:01:38] Yeah.

[1:01:39] Don't be a teacher.

[1:01:40] Oh, yeah.

[1:01:44] Good to see

[1:01:45] you.

[1:01:48] I can't find my agenda.

[1:01:51] What are you looking for?

[1:01:52] My agenda.

[1:01:57] Where's my agenda at? You haven't seen my agenda?

[1:02:00] There's one on me.

[1:02:03] Athens City Middle School.

[1:02:05] Is it right?

[1:02:07] Yes, that's it.

[1:02:09] Okay. So we're at-

[1:02:10] Athens City Middle School's next

[1:02:16] Okay, now we're going to Athens City Middle School.

[1:02:20] Principal Mr. Simmons, please.

[1:02:23] Greetings from Athens City Middle School and Athens City Schools, and

[1:02:27] we're glad to be here for our first of two visits.

[1:02:30] And so

[1:02:33] I have a young lady, one of our

[1:02:36] teachers, that's going to present something that's very special and very

[1:02:40] exciting. I

[1:02:42] would say that, and you probably will not be surprised at this,

[1:02:46] but the most competitive thing at Athens City Middle School is

[1:02:50] not the athletics.

[1:02:52] The biggest competitive thing is trying

[1:02:55] to get our students to love reading as

[1:02:59] much as they do their phones.

[1:03:02] Okay. That's the biggest competition we have, and we

[1:03:06] are working hard.

[1:03:08] And we've had a lot of students that have captured their

[1:03:12] love for reading, and once they capture a love for reading, the phone

[1:03:16] just can't measure up.

[1:03:18] So I have invited Mandy Million here, and she's going to

[1:03:22] talk a little bit about it.

[1:03:24] Council members, you got some information on the front, and on the back, there is

[1:03:28] some dates for you. Just as you know, we always want to invite you

[1:03:32] to come to anything we have at the middle school. Now for Mandy.

[1:03:37] I'm going to drop that. Oh.

[1:03:40] My name is Mandy Million. I've taught at Athens City Middle School for 20 years.

[1:03:44] January will start 21 for me.

[1:03:47] We've always had the Accelerated Reader Program, which has been fantastic for

[1:03:51] us. We used it for a short time as a grade.

[1:03:55] We tried to encourage students to read, and three years ago, Mr.

[1:03:59] Simmons came to me and said, "Let's change it up." So I said, "Okay, let's do

[1:04:03] it." So we developed a program that is

[1:04:07] incentive-based. And so kids love nothing more

[1:04:10] than a field trip. So what we did was we

[1:04:14] created a program our own, and we use Accelerated Reader to back it.

[1:04:19] So we started with four levels, the first level being a Light

[1:04:23] Reader. The first year it was you had to read 10 books.

[1:04:27] So which is not a huge feat, but for some, we wanted to make sure that all got the

[1:04:30] opportunity.

[1:04:32] The next was the Avid Reader. They had to read 15 books for the year.

[1:04:36] The third one was Committed Reader, which was 20 books.

[1:04:39] And our last one was the Obsessed Reader at 25 books.

[1:04:44] And that year, we served over 100 students that were able to go

[1:04:48] on all of those trips.

[1:04:50] Last year, the ELA department met in the summer and decided, let's change it to

[1:04:54] Words Read,

[1:04:56] which allows a little bit more of the lower levels, mid levels, high levels

[1:05:00] to all get the same opportunity.

[1:05:03] So last year, we sent over 100

[1:05:07] kids on our trips.

[1:05:10] The first one, the Light Reader, was 400,000 words read,

[1:05:14] and that was an extended day at Camp Utan and Oche, which they love.

[1:05:18] The next one was 800,000 words read, and that was to the movies, the

[1:05:22] local movies, and to Dairy Barn for lunch.

[1:05:25] The third one was 1.5 million words read, and we took them to

[1:05:29] Dave & Buster's for lunch and McKay's in Chattanooga with

[1:05:33] spending money. And then the Obsessed Reader was 2.25 million

[1:05:37] words read, and that was a trip to Dollywood.

[1:05:42] None of the students had to pay for anything.

[1:05:44] Wow.

[1:05:44] Mr. Simmons has been very, very good to us in the fact that he said, "If

[1:05:49] you can get them to read, I'll pay for it." So we did.

[1:05:53] We put up something in the beginning at the front of the school with their pictures

[1:05:57] on it when they reach a goal, and they travel along the road of

[1:06:01] success.

[1:06:03] We've spent thousands of dollars on brand-new books.

[1:06:06] We've taken polls of our students, "What are the books you want

[1:06:09] to read?" And we've made sure to put those on

[1:06:13] the shelves in our library.

[1:06:16] Last year, we did DEAR Time for 20 minutes read, and every student in

[1:06:20] our school had a book in their hand.

[1:06:21] It's on their level, they're interested in reading, and they want to do it.

[1:06:25] This last summer, we opened up summer reading.

[1:06:28] So in June, we have summer school, so students were allowed to come in on certain

[1:06:32] days and take AR tests through the summer.

[1:06:34] And then this summer, we did it as well through June and July.

[1:06:37] This year alone, we've already had

[1:06:39] 18,603,111 words read.

[1:06:44] I want to introduce you to our top reader.

[1:06:48] She and another student last year read

[1:06:52] more words than I can account for.

[1:06:55] This one, Ms. Kinsley Durham, I want to introduce you to her.

[1:06:58] I have never seen a reader like her.

[1:07:01] She is a speed reader. She has, and I'm going to tell you, she read

[1:07:05] 55 books this summer that were not on AR, so she couldn't take

[1:07:09] the test in order to earn it. So she has read because she loves to

[1:07:12] read, and that's what we want to provoke at our school is reading.

[1:07:17] So I'm going to introduce Kinsley Durham to you

[1:07:21] She's got some things to say.

[1:07:26] So, Dixie read over seven million words last year, I can tell you.

[1:07:29] God.

[1:07:29] She would know exactly how many.

[1:07:33] Accelerated Reader has impacted my life in unimaginable

[1:07:36] ways, whether it was through my education, relationships, or

[1:07:40] personal growth. Without the AR-induced motivation to

[1:07:44] read, I would not have realized the impact reading can have on an

[1:07:48] individual. Reading is informational, emotional, and personal,

[1:07:52] therefore extremely powerful.

[1:07:54] AR brings a sense of confidence and completion into my life, of

[1:07:58] which I continue to be astonished as to how valuable and

[1:08:02] influential that is to my education journey.

[1:08:05] I could not be successful in school without the guide reading sustains.

[1:08:09] For example, my vocabulary is much higher than if I had not

[1:08:13] had the Accelerated Reader experience.

[1:08:16] In addition, my comprehension has improved tremendously as a

[1:08:20] result of reading various and diverse genres.

[1:08:23] Furthermore, the speed of my reading has increased due to the

[1:08:27] increasing number of books I've read throughout the year.

[1:08:30] All of these major components of reading are addressed through my participation

[1:08:35] in the AR program.

[1:08:37] Relationships is not an area that one would expect AR to impact.

[1:08:41] However, I have seen firsthand situations where it has been a vital

[1:08:45] factor. For instance, conversations with adults have proven to be quite

[1:08:49] difficult, no matter what the topic consists of, and yet I have seen how

[1:08:53] reading has improved my choice of words in social situations.

[1:08:57] Reading has broadened my knowledge base so that I can discuss topics with many

[1:09:01] people at different levels of difficulty.

[1:09:03] Knowing about different subjects has led to more relationships with a wider

[1:09:07] variety of ages. I now have commonality with many others that I would

[1:09:11] not have had if not for the motivational factor of the Accelerated

[1:09:15] Reader program.

[1:09:17] AR has also contributed to growth on a personal level.

[1:09:20] There is a sense of accomplishment after completing hundreds of AR tests with near

[1:09:24] 100% accuracy. The sense of accomplishment inspires me and

[1:09:28] pushes me to do more in other areas of my life.

[1:09:32] The sense of accomplishment I get from Accelerated Reader makes it easier

[1:09:36] to continue when my first attempts are not always successful.

[1:09:39] This is evident through my participation in sports, academics, and

[1:09:43] performances. Personal growth also equates with higher levels of

[1:09:47] maturity. I have seen this through my ability to resolve personal

[1:09:51] conflicts in a more mature manner.

[1:09:53] Through reading, I have seen many examples of how people have resolved

[1:09:57] conflicts in a positive or negative way.

[1:10:00] I choose to learn from this and create positive avenues of

[1:10:04] resolution. Personal growth has been an unexpected evolution of

[1:10:08] my journey through the AR program.

[1:10:10] The purpose of the AR program is to encourage students to read more and increase

[1:10:14] the complexity of the material. Even though this does occur,

[1:10:18] I have personally experienced even greater benefits.

[1:10:22] As stated, my fluency and comprehension have improved, as well as my

[1:10:25] general knowledge. I have learned about different cultures, religions, and

[1:10:29] family dynamics, along with many interesting and unusual facts.

[1:10:33] Through all of this, I have grown and matured as a person.

[1:10:37] In other words, the Accelerated Reader program has opened my eyes to a whole

[1:10:41] new world.

[1:10:43] Ms. McKeassey. Ms. McKeassey.

[1:10:47] I want all y'all to come down here and take a picture with her, please.

[1:10:50] I want all the city council to come out and take a picture with her.

[1:10:53] I just want to say, that was very well-written.

[1:10:56] That was very well-written.

[1:10:58] Very humbling what you just said.

[1:11:00] Yeah, very well-written. I enjoyed that.

[1:11:03] Here you go.

[1:11:04] You got it too, okay? I want to take a picture with you.

[1:11:07] I do appreciate you.

[1:11:09] Ready?

[1:11:12] You got to wait for this old man.

[1:11:14] I can't get around with

[1:11:17] that.

[1:11:21] Hey, thank you very much. I appreciate you.

[1:11:23] Congratulations.

[1:11:31] We appreciate the council, and I hope it encourages you to know that your

[1:11:35] support of Athens City Schools is why we can do these kinds of things.

[1:11:39] We really appreciate it.

[1:11:40] Thank you for doing this.

[1:11:41] Mr. Sammons, I really appreciate everything you do for the kids, and I

[1:11:45] personally know because you had my kids, so I do appreciate you.

[1:11:54] Awesome reading.

[1:11:58] Okay, line item D, Jack Hedrick.

[1:12:07] Amazing. This is

[1:12:08] amazing.

[1:12:17] Good evening, everyone. My name is Jack Hedrick, and

[1:12:21] I am a student at Tennessee Wesleyan, but I am also

[1:12:25] an intern at Simmons Bank.

[1:12:28] Today I'm here to tell you all about a partnered

[1:12:32] initiative between Simmons Bank and Tennessee Wesleyan

[1:12:35] called the

[1:12:39] Red Sand Project.

[1:12:41] What is this Red Sand Project I'm speaking about?

[1:12:45] Well, it's an art installation created by Molly

[1:12:48] Goochman that raises awareness about human trafficking.

[1:12:52] Essentially,

[1:12:54] participants will pour red sand into cracks of concrete

[1:12:58] in order to raise awareness for human trafficking.

[1:13:03] And I know how it sounds, it's a little weird,

[1:13:06] pouring sand on the ground for such a big issue like human trafficking,

[1:13:11] but the importance of the initiative is not the sand

[1:13:16] or even the cracks in the concrete, but rather what the cracks in the

[1:13:20] concrete and the red sand represents

[1:13:24] Talking to the council,

[1:13:26] I can say, and I can bet that you guys have heard

[1:13:30] over and over about cracks in concrete, potholes,

[1:13:33] whatnot.

[1:13:36] But cracks in concrete are not what we think about

[1:13:39] before we go to bed, or

[1:13:42] even from a week-to-week basis. There's something that

[1:13:48] just don't take priority in our life.

[1:13:51] And the things that do take priority may be football,

[1:13:55] Tennessee football,

[1:13:58] work, family,

[1:14:00] things that are pertaining to us.

[1:14:03] But

[1:14:05] all of us, and I mean everyone in this room, and some of you may have

[1:14:08] even fallen over a crack in the ground on the way here.

[1:14:12] I hope not. But

[1:14:15] all of us step over cracks in concrete every day.

[1:14:19] Every single one of us.

[1:14:22] So the Red Sand Project is essentially saying that the victims of

[1:14:26] human trafficking represent the cracks in the concrete that we

[1:14:30] walk over daily.

[1:14:33] And

[1:14:34] this may seem like an issue that Tennessee may not deal with,

[1:14:38] maybe a more secular state.

[1:14:41] But statistically speaking, Tennessee ranks ninth,

[1:14:46] according to

[1:14:47] a study done by the National Human Trafficking Hotline,

[1:14:52] Tennessee in 2024 ranked ninth

[1:14:55] in reported human trafficking

[1:14:57] cases.

[1:15:02] That is a sobering reality.

[1:15:05] And this gets to the Red Sand piece of the Red Sand

[1:15:08] Project. These cracks in the concrete,

[1:15:14] when I'm talking about people walking over them,

[1:15:16] something is necessary

[1:15:18] for there to be some type of illumination

[1:15:22] or a way for us to look down at the ground, at the

[1:15:26] victims,

[1:15:27] and the problems

[1:15:29] surrounding why things like human trafficking happen.

[1:15:34] So on September 22nd at 11:00 a.m.

[1:15:38] at Tennessee Wesleyan University,

[1:15:41] I have the address memorized, but I don't know if you guys are taking notes to have

[1:15:44] that down. But

[1:15:47] we will be pouring red sand

[1:15:49] on cracks in the concrete.

[1:15:52] And not just to look down at the cracks and to

[1:15:55] think about these victims, but to also

[1:15:59] think of solutions to issues like human trafficking and

[1:16:03] problems as such.

[1:16:07] So on the behalf of Tennessee Wesleyan students, as I can say,

[1:16:11] and on behalf of Simmons Bank,

[1:16:14] we wanted to invite everyone in the council to September

[1:16:17] 22nd, 11:00 a.m.,

[1:16:20] the Red Sand Project, in order to honor

[1:16:23] and spread awareness about human trafficking.

[1:16:26] But not just the council members, but the people of Athens.

[1:16:30] This isn't an invite-only.

[1:16:32] No one is above

[1:16:34] spreading awareness for human trafficking.

[1:16:36] So if you're able

[1:16:39] to pour red sand on the ground and to speak about

[1:16:44] hard issues like that, then we would love to have you.

[1:16:48] Thank you.

[1:16:49] Where at on September the 22nd?

[1:16:51] It's going to be...

[1:16:53] There you go.

[1:16:54] It's at

[1:16:56] Tennessee Wesleyan in the quad, so in front of Old College.

[1:17:00] Like I said, I have the address memorized, but it's really right

[1:17:04] down the way.

[1:17:07] Thank you, Mr. Hedrick.

[1:17:07] Thank you.

[1:17:09] Thank you.

[1:17:15] One thing that

[1:17:17] Councilman

[1:17:18] Perry McCown's asked me to bring up was the Cook Park parking

[1:17:22] update. Do we have an update that we can

[1:17:25] have, or do we need to have it sent out?

[1:17:29] They are working on it now. I can have an email sent out with the

[1:17:33] exact point, but they are working on it.

[1:17:36] Okay. So they're working on it, but they're going to send an

[1:17:40] email out to confirm everything.

[1:17:43] Yeah. Okay.

[1:17:46] All right. Okay.

[1:17:50] All right.

[1:17:52] So next is citizens germane to the agenda,

[1:17:56] and the first one is Ms. Luxmore. Anna Luxmore.

[1:18:02] I'm here to support my neighborhood senior center.

[1:18:06] I was asked on the fly by the director, Crystal Miller-

[1:18:09] Can you come up here, please?

[1:18:12] Oh, sure.

[1:18:12] I won't have you in front of the speaker.

[1:18:22] I'm not sure how all that process works,

[1:18:25] but I'm an investigator with the Tennessee Adult Protective Services,

[1:18:29] and I am assigned to McMinn County, so I see the ins and outs of this county

[1:18:33] and this city every single day. It's heartbreaking.

[1:18:38] Oftentimes, it's not a happy ending.

[1:18:41] I don't get very many of those.

[1:18:43] But

[1:18:44] when I have a need, it's the people like Crystal and the senior center,

[1:18:49] her crew at the senior center, they feel it every time.

[1:18:51] If I have somebody that needs food, I call Crystal.

[1:18:55] I'm working on services, Meals on Wheels.

[1:18:58] All of those things take time to get put in place.

[1:19:01] In the meantime, you've got somebody can't get out of their house, that

[1:19:04] they have no access to food. So I give Crystal a call,

[1:19:09] her crew up there as well. Any of them, if I call up there, she'll

[1:19:14] come running or she'll tell me to come up there.

[1:19:17] She's helped out quite a few folks.

[1:19:21] Quite a few. I can't even count them on all my fingers and toes.

[1:19:25] It's a good group up there right now.

[1:19:27] I think they're doing a lot of rebuilding.

[1:19:29] They've been a lot more involved in the last few years

[1:19:33] than I've ever seen them before, and that's refreshing, and it's

[1:19:37] nice to have. I see a lot of the folks going up there,

[1:19:41] and they're involved. So it's because of

[1:19:45] Crystal and her group up there at the senior center that I

[1:19:49] have

[1:19:51] less bodies to pull out of a home when I go to visit, and that happened today.

[1:19:56] It's a very sobering event.

[1:19:59] But because of the help from these folks, it is very important,

[1:20:03] and I think it's crucial to our community that it continues to

[1:20:07] exist and gets the funding that they need.

[1:20:10] Thank you.

[1:20:11] Thank you very much.

[1:20:16] I will say this about Ms. St. Lexmore, I know she does a lot of good work.

[1:20:20] I personally have seen this, personally.

[1:20:23] Gwen Whiting.

[1:20:26] I want to talk about the grant that you're asking for more money.

[1:20:30] That grant started in 2023,

[1:20:33] and we waited till September. Now, the last month that it can be

[1:20:37] fulfilled, we're waiting now to try to ask for more money.

[1:20:40] If we had done the project in 2023, would it be this much money?

[1:20:44] Because things were cheaper back then.

[1:20:46] But now we wait till last minute, and waiting last minute

[1:20:50] has caused not just the money,

[1:20:52] we canceled a ladies event to get into the park and say, "Well, we can't let

[1:20:56] you in because we're now doing what we should've done in 2023."

[1:21:00] And that led to a major black eye on the city.

[1:21:04] But we got a further black eye because now we're saying we want more money

[1:21:07] because we didn't do our job back when we should have.

[1:21:11] And that's just poor planning. And

[1:21:15] the question comes in, how much more would it have cost us if we'd done the job at

[1:21:19] the time? And so that's the first thing.

[1:21:22] And like I say, the management to cancel a ladies event

[1:21:26] because we didn't have the money or we didn't do the job, that's unacceptable.

[1:21:29] That should never come before the council to start with.

[1:21:32] Should never have happened, period, and it happens because of the planning.

[1:21:36] And this money is being asked for because of poor planning.

[1:21:39] Now, the other issue is the handbook. Want to redo the handbook.

[1:21:43] Some of you made a promise to do that when you campaigned last time.

[1:21:45] Is this another campaign promise? But what's wrong with the handbook?

[1:21:49] Well, we don't follow it.

[1:21:51] In fact, we have the

[1:21:53] orgy issue over at the police department, and we said

[1:21:57] we don't investigate that. And yet the handbook says there's zero

[1:22:01] tolerance for anything, and yet we have documentation

[1:22:05] to show that an officer, a female officer, complained about the

[1:22:09] harassment she was taking, and Nina destroyed that evidence.

[1:22:13] We don't care about that. She openly said on the record,

[1:22:16] in a trial, she shredded the documents.

[1:22:20] She had lied and said that she did investigate it in a federal court, and then she

[1:22:24] said, "I didn't investigate it there." So why do we have to change a handbook if

[1:22:28] we're not going to follow it? It also says that complaints have to be followed.

[1:22:32] It says if a citizen makes a complaint, it's to be looked into.

[1:22:36] None of them are looked into. So we ought to just have Nina shred

[1:22:40] the handbook. We don't follow it. We only

[1:22:44] follow complaints only if it offends somebody on this council.

[1:22:48] If the mayor has a complaint, he'll have it investigated.

[1:22:51] But any other complaint, when he tells citizens to F off and calls them

[1:22:55] names, we don't investigate that.

[1:22:58] That's acceptable. So

[1:23:01] other than trying to campaign, why are we changing a handbook that we have no

[1:23:05] interest in following anyways?

[1:23:07] Thank you.

[1:23:08] Thank you.

[1:23:13] Ms. Brooks, Debbie Brooks.

[1:23:18] Okay, you've been-- okay.

[1:23:23] Jason Wright?

[1:23:25] He's not.

[1:23:27] Oh, he's not. I apologize. Okay, well, that's all that's germane to the agenda.

[1:23:31] We'll go to the consent-

[1:23:40] Yeah, okay.

[1:23:42] Ms. Brooks.

[1:23:45] Now, we're voting on probably the things that you're going to be talking about.

[1:23:58] Like I said in the workshop that we had a week ago, my name is Debbie Brooks, and

[1:24:01] I've been a volunteer at the senior center for 11 years.

[1:24:05] So

[1:24:06] my mom passed away in 2017. My

[1:24:10] dad passed away in 2014.

[1:24:13] We had taken my mom to the senior center for the gospel music on Tuesday mornings

[1:24:17] and stuff. She loved gospel music, stuff like that.

[1:24:20] So anyway, after my mom's passing, we went ahead, and

[1:24:24] the friends encouraged me there to go ahead and volunteer in the senior center like

[1:24:28] that. So I'd attend the Tuesday morning gospel singing on Tuesday morning, and

[1:24:32] I would go ahead and help with the craft room projects on Wednesday morning and

[1:24:35] stuff.

[1:24:36] In the past few years, I was asked to be the acquired chairman on Tuesday

[1:24:40] mornings to inform the people of different events happening around the center.

[1:24:44] I volunteered in three First Look Yard Sales.

[1:24:47] We actually had First Look Yard Sales because we wanted to give the people that

[1:24:51] come there every day a chance to look at the yard sale items before we invited the

[1:24:55] public in. So that gave them time to look at the stuff and everything,

[1:24:59] and we just finished our first week of yard sale, and we made almost

[1:25:03] $900 out of about eight days. For two hours a

[1:25:06] day for about eight days, we made about $900 for the senior center.

[1:25:09] So

[1:25:12] participated in four annual yard sales, craft projects,

[1:25:16] Christmas tree decorating, and cleaning and

[1:25:20] organizing the storage shed like that.

[1:25:23] And now I play the piano at the gospel singing some.

[1:25:26] We also have Shirley Dingess plays the piano, and Janet Valentine plays

[1:25:30] the piano

[1:25:31] I also, when I have inquiry, I call the people

[1:25:34] individually. Takes me about two and a half hours to call them

[1:25:38] and do wellness checks on them if I haven't seen them for a while.

[1:25:41] I say, "Oh, you doing okay? You need anything?" Or whatever.

[1:25:43] I check on the seniors and stuff like that with them,

[1:25:46] everything. We provide special music books at my cost, because I

[1:25:51] ate all the cost on that one, the black books with some special music in it.

[1:25:54] So we not only use the redback church hymnal, but we also use the special

[1:25:58] music and stuff from older music that the

[1:26:02] elderly would know the music from that there.

[1:26:06] The choir donated money to buy our new church hymnals and have the piano

[1:26:10] tuned, like that.

[1:26:13] The senior center's meant a lot to me.

[1:26:15] I would like to ask for increase in funding, which would help us so much.

[1:26:20] Our regular funding from the City of Athens was

[1:26:22] $22,000. Last year, the funding was cut

[1:26:25] 10%, which was about $2,200.

[1:26:29] This directly affects some of our crucial programming as the

[1:26:33] wellness, nutrition, and our senior advocacy program, which provides

[1:26:37] help in dire needs.

[1:26:39] The girl was talking earlier, and I think she was involved.

[1:26:43] I was sitting there one day as a greeter, and we had this lady pull up in this

[1:26:47] van, and she dropped off these two people and got all these plastic

[1:26:51] bags. And we're sitting there looking, "What in the world's going on?"

[1:26:56] And she had got tired of them being in her apartment, so as far as

[1:26:59] I know, they were put out in our parking lot.

[1:27:03] So we're sitting there going, "Okay." So we worked with the lady, and

[1:27:07] I think it was late back there, and everything, found them housing for the weekend

[1:27:11] and stuff like that, so that they would have somewhere, and they wouldn't be

[1:27:13] spending the night in the cold and stuff like that.

[1:27:15] But it took

[1:27:18] the

[1:27:20] keen eye to go ahead and see this

[1:27:24] happening and stuff like that. So we are there to help the senior center.

[1:27:27] Can I ask a question?

[1:27:30] Yes.

[1:27:31] If the people here that support the senior center, if they will stand, I would

[1:27:34] appreciate it.

[1:27:38] This is all volunteers and people that come to the

[1:27:42] senior center and everything, and I mentioned it today, and

[1:27:46] this is how many showed up.

[1:27:48] Thank you very much. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

[1:27:57] Okay, that's all germane to the agenda.

[1:28:00] Appreciate each one of you all. Can we go on to the consent agenda,

[1:28:04] please? Ms. Massey, please. Ms. White.

[1:28:07] Item A,

[1:28:08] award bid RFB number

[1:28:12] 26-05 to Outdoor Solutions

[1:28:16] Services LLC for the demolition and clearing of

[1:28:20] condemned structures at 1506 Adam Street,

[1:28:24] 704 Haley Street, and 1504 View

[1:28:28] Street. Bid amount $18,035.

[1:28:34] Item B, declare as surplus property and

[1:28:38] authorize the sale of each through GovDeals.

[1:28:41] 1994 John Deere Flail Mower,

[1:28:45] asset number 2551.

[1:28:48] 1997 John Deere 5300

[1:28:52] Tractor, asset number 2757.

[1:28:56] 1998 John Deere Gator, asset

[1:29:00] number 2871.

[1:29:03] 2002 Bannerman Top Dresser, asset

[1:29:07] number 3299. 2003

[1:29:11] Toro 5500 Reel Mower, asset number

[1:29:15] 3404.

[1:29:18] 2015 Snapper Pro Zero Turn Mower,

[1:29:22] asset number 4243, and a

[1:29:25] 12-foot ramp trailer, asset number

[1:29:28] 594.

[1:29:31] Item C, declare as surplus property a

[1:29:35] Hallmark tandem axle trailer, asset number

[1:29:39] 001338, and authorize its

[1:29:43] sale through GovDeals.

[1:29:46] Item D,

[1:29:47] approve the purchase from the fleet fund the following fleet

[1:29:51] replacement vehicles for public works department

[1:29:55] from Ford of Murfreesboro via statewide contract

[1:29:59] SWC-209, number

[1:30:03] 88762. Three Ford

[1:30:06] diesel F550 trucks with rear dump

[1:30:10] beds for

[1:30:11] $274,965.

[1:30:17] One Ford F250 with dump body for

[1:30:21] $74,607,

[1:30:25] and one Ford F150 crew cab for

[1:30:29] $45,972.

[1:30:34] Item E,

[1:30:35] approve the purchase from the sanitation fund the following

[1:30:40] fleet replacement vehicle for public works department

[1:30:43] from Ford of Murfreesboro via statewide contract

[1:30:47] SWC-209, number

[1:30:51] 88762. One Ford

[1:30:55] F150 crew cab for

[1:30:57] $45,972.

[1:31:03] Item F, declare as surplus property

[1:31:07] and authorize each item to be sold through

[1:31:10] GovDeals after the replacement vehicle is put into

[1:31:14] service.

[1:31:15] Ford F150 street cleaning truck, asset

[1:31:19] number 4306. Ford

[1:31:22] F350 street maintenance truck, asset number

[1:31:27] 4308.

[1:31:29] Ford F350 street maintenance truck, asset

[1:31:33] number 4319.

[1:31:36] Ford F-350 street construction vehicle,

[1:31:40] asset number 4320. Ford

[1:31:44] F-250 street cleaning vehicle, asset number

[1:31:48] 4314, with dump bed asset number

[1:31:53] 4321. And Ford F-350

[1:31:57] truck sanitation vehicle, asset number

[1:32:00] 4326.

[1:32:03] Item G:

[1:32:05] Approve resolution

[1:32:07] 2026-24, a resolution of the

[1:32:11] City of Athens, Tennessee, authorizing the

[1:32:14] acceptance of the donation of a

[1:32:17] 1925 American LaFrance fire

[1:32:21] truck from the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center,

[1:32:25] and authorizing the execution of all documents necessary

[1:32:29] to complete the transfer.

[1:32:32] Item H: Approve Hughes environmental

[1:32:35] proposal for City Hall mold remediation in

[1:32:39] the estimated amount of

[1:32:41] $30,592.08,

[1:32:46] plus a 15% contingency of

[1:32:49] $4,588.81,

[1:32:54] for a total not to exceed

[1:32:56] $35,180.89,

[1:33:01] and the execution of all documents necessary to

[1:33:04] complete the project.

[1:33:07] Item I:

[1:33:09] Declare as surplus

[1:33:11] certain firearms currently in the possession of the Athens Police

[1:33:14] Department that are no longer of evidentiary value

[1:33:19] or are considered abandoned property under state law

[1:33:22] after being held for more than six months, and authorize

[1:33:26] the exchange of the firearms with Craig's Firearms for

[1:33:30] in-store credit toward the purchase of law enforcement equipment.

[1:33:35] Gentlemen, what's the will of the council?

[1:33:37] Move approval of the consent agenda as presented.

[1:33:40] Do I hear a second?

[1:33:41] Yeah, I second.

[1:33:42] Motion being made and seconded. Any discussions?

[1:33:45] I just have to comment that

[1:33:47] I think we're all, and I'll speak for the whole group, but I think we're all

[1:33:50] excited about item G, the historic fire truck

[1:33:53] returning. It was discussed at great length in our work session, so I

[1:33:57] think

[1:34:00] all residents of the city will be excited for that item to return to us.

[1:34:04] Yes, I agree.

[1:34:06] Any other discussions?

[1:34:08] If not, roll call.

[1:34:09] Council Member McCowan?

[1:34:11] Aye.

[1:34:12] Council Member Dugan?

[1:34:13] Aye.

[1:34:15] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[1:34:16] Aye.

[1:34:17] Mayor Eaton?

[1:34:18] Aye.

[1:34:23] There's no ordinances at this time.

[1:34:26] There's no old business, I don't think, County

[1:34:30] City Manager. And in new business, we'll go to line item A,

[1:34:34] please.

[1:34:36] Item A: McMinn Senior Activity Center

[1:34:39] request for additional funding and other outside

[1:34:43] agencies' funding.

[1:34:46] I'd like to just make a motion of just the Senior Activity

[1:34:52] Center funding,

[1:34:53] and not add on all the other agencies at this point, just to have the

[1:34:57] discussion of

[1:34:59] Senior Center. Make a motion for just Senior Center.

[1:35:02] I'll second the motion.

[1:35:03] Yeah.

[1:35:04] Yeah.

[1:35:05] Motion's being made and seconded. Any discussions? You got the floor first.

[1:35:09] Yeah. I think we

[1:35:11] need to evaluate those that come before us one at a time

[1:35:15] in that sense. We've received the information that you requested

[1:35:19] concerning all the other outside agencies.

[1:35:21] I think jumping forward and just trying to...

[1:35:27] They're coming to plead their case of why they need funding, and

[1:35:31] I'm

[1:35:33] sorry, I'm kind of biased. I'm on their board. I've been assigned to their board.

[1:35:37] So I'll have to recuse myself from voting on this.

[1:35:40] But I wanted to make the motion on this.

[1:35:42] You don't have to.

[1:35:43] And

[1:35:45] just full disclosure out there,

[1:35:48] but I think it's something for our community that, as they

[1:35:52] presented, it's

[1:35:55] a high need.

[1:35:56] We need to fully support our seniors. We will all be there at that point.

[1:36:01] Everybody. Even those that we saw on the baseball team will be there at some point.

[1:36:06] And-

[1:36:07] I might be there now

[1:36:08] ... I need to stop at this point, but I just want to say that we need to

[1:36:12] look at this item as presented by those who brought it forth.

[1:36:18] I absolutely agree.

[1:36:21] We have to take care of our seniors.

[1:36:25] Listen, I honor you all for coming out,

[1:36:29] and it's a shame that you have to come out,

[1:36:33] but we have to honor you all. You all went before us,

[1:36:37] and whatever we can do to help the seniors,

[1:36:41] it's mandated to do.

[1:36:43] So thank you all for coming.

[1:36:49] After our work session, I asked staff to just

[1:36:52] provide

[1:36:54] a list of what it may look like to reinstate the

[1:36:58] 10% cut that we had in our budget this year for all outside

[1:37:01] organizations.

[1:37:04] I think that we have to remember that this was a

[1:37:08] really, really tight budget year, where we made some very deliberate,

[1:37:12] tough decisions

[1:37:14] for some very specific reasons, primarily because of the capital

[1:37:18] project we have underway for the fire hall, the staffing that's being

[1:37:22] added there, our program for that, and just other factors.

[1:37:27] Not in any way to discount the credibility or

[1:37:31] validity of the request before us, but I think we have to

[1:37:35] look at

[1:37:37] these allocations collectively.

[1:37:38] We made the decision to

[1:37:41] take that cut across the board

[1:37:44] So I think it sets a precarious precedent for this group

[1:37:48] to pick one organization and reinstate the cut that we made in our budget

[1:37:52] process.

[1:37:55] As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to vote against this motion.

[1:37:57] I might be the only one that's going to sit here and do it, but I feel that it's

[1:38:01] the right thing to do because we have to remember what we did in the budget

[1:38:04] process.

[1:38:05] And I'm very sorry to do that. And you

[1:38:09] all provide wonderful services there, without question.

[1:38:13] As I mentioned in the work session, I saw firsthand open and center to the

[1:38:17] community for the fish fry to benefit St. Mark's.

[1:38:20] But I think that

[1:38:23] this was part of our budget process this year, and it's unfortunate, but I

[1:38:27] think we need to hold the line and reevaluate it next year.

[1:38:30] That's just the way I feel about it.

[1:38:35] Well, I'll say this.

[1:38:38] Children and our older

[1:38:41] senior citizens, I support fully. And children.

[1:38:45] And,

[1:38:46] Councilman Dugan,

[1:38:50] you disclosed that you was part of that, and you can vote on this,

[1:38:54] but I just want to make sure of that because sometimes I have to vote when I'm on

[1:38:58] a committee, but I let it know, and you did.

[1:39:01] Furthermore, there was some

[1:39:04] budget things that we did

[1:39:06] do and then

[1:39:09] got voted down three to two. We had other things that we could've cut out of the

[1:39:12] budget, but we didn't.

[1:39:15] But as far as our seniors

[1:39:17] and children, if it's for our seniors or children, then I'm fully

[1:39:21] for it.

[1:39:24] But anyway, if there's any more discussions,

[1:39:27] not roll call.

[1:39:29] Council Member McCowan?

[1:39:32] Aye.

[1:39:34] Council Member Dugan?

[1:39:36] Aye.

[1:39:37] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[1:39:39] Nay.

[1:39:40] Mayor Eaton?

[1:39:41] Absolutely, yes.

[1:39:48] Line item B, please.

[1:39:49] Item B,

[1:39:51] AARP Stormwater Grant Contract Amendment

[1:39:55] to the agreement with Wilson Construction Group,

[1:39:58] increasing the contract amount by

[1:40:01] $213,330.70

[1:40:07] to a new total of

[1:40:08] $2,244,885.69.

[1:40:15] Gentlemen, what's the motion?

[1:40:17] Move approval.

[1:40:18] Do I hear a second?

[1:40:19] I'll second.

[1:40:20] Motion being made and seconded. Vice Mayor, you've got the floor if you need it or

[1:40:25] you don't. Anybody else?

[1:40:29] Anybody discussions? Roll call.

[1:40:32] Council Member McCowan?

[1:40:33] Aye.

[1:40:34] Council Member Dugan?

[1:40:36] Aye.

[1:40:37] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[1:40:39] Aye.

[1:40:39] Mayor Eaton?

[1:40:40] Nay.

[1:40:45] Item C.

[1:40:47] Item C, Bid

[1:40:50] RFB Number 26-06,

[1:40:54] Repair, Maintenance, and Rehabilitation of Local

[1:40:58] Streets.

[1:40:59] Do I hear a motion?

[1:41:03] Do I hear a motion?

[1:41:04] Aye.

[1:41:05] I'll make a motion. Do I hear a second?

[1:41:08] I'll second for discussion.

[1:41:10] Can you clarify your motion

[1:41:12] real quick? We just need to know-

[1:41:15] For the bid-

[1:41:15] Between the two bids

[1:41:16] ... Okay, there's two bids.

[1:41:17] Or what... Just clarify your motion, please.

[1:41:21] For the

[1:41:22] lowest bid for the repair of the streets.

[1:41:25] The Rogers Group, I guess.

[1:41:28] Rogers Group was the lowest base bid at

[1:41:30] $1,000,327.84.

[1:41:36] And there was a second, so any discussions?

[1:41:40] Just for clarification, that bid exceeds the

[1:41:43] budgeted amount of 1.15 million.

[1:41:47] That's correct.

[1:41:48] Okay.

[1:41:50] Just thought that was worth noting.

[1:41:52] So I did note here that

[1:41:55] the request was to consider the lowest bid, which

[1:41:58] you clarified,

[1:42:02] but you move forward with the understanding that the

[1:42:05] additional funding over the budgeted amount will come

[1:42:09] out of next fiscal year's allocated amount.

[1:42:12] So, with that being said, the next fiscal

[1:42:15] year will essentially be less than 500,000

[1:42:19] if you move forward.

[1:42:20] And the thing about it, though, here's the problem.

[1:42:22] We've heard that from Public

[1:42:26] Works, that the Iran war was

[1:42:30] astronomical, and what I'd looked at is around 6%, but we can't

[1:42:34] guarantee what next year's pricing's going to be.

[1:42:37] So, the citizens require us to make sure that the

[1:42:41] roads are drivable and fixable, and that's what we need to

[1:42:45] do. And I know Public Works is doing the

[1:42:49] best they can, I know that,

[1:42:52] but moving forward with the incentive of the

[1:42:55] taxes being increased and everything else, as

[1:42:58] far as tax revenue,

[1:43:01] I think we'll be okay. But, we need to get our roads

[1:43:04] paved.

[1:43:05] So I have a question, and Ben may be able to

[1:43:09] answer. We've done the bidding for all of this that's listed,

[1:43:13] all these different streets, the overlay, the mill, and overlay of

[1:43:17] certain streets, and then the full depth-

[1:43:20] Yeah

[1:43:20] ...

[1:43:21] reclamation.

[1:43:24] I

[1:43:27] know we bid out the whole thing, the whole shebang, but is there a way

[1:43:31] of...

[1:43:33] Choosing my words specifically.

[1:43:38] Can we condense and do high-priority

[1:43:41] areas

[1:43:43] for this fiscal year,

[1:43:46] and

[1:43:47] would that be a rebidding-type scenario?

[1:43:52] Kind of like we had discussed before, Councilman Dugan,

[1:43:56] when you put that list out there, that's why I'm always

[1:43:59] very cautious about doing that.

[1:44:03] We discussed that.

[1:44:05] The previous city manager wanted to put the list out.

[1:44:09] We did. We didn't have bids. We couldn't do bids, right?

[1:44:13] We can't do a bid for a budget that's not been approved yet, so we had to

[1:44:17] wait until after we got into the fiscal year,

[1:44:19] and unfortunately, you've just got a little bit of discrepancy between

[1:44:24] what we estimate for that and what we don't.

[1:44:26] I will tell you, when looking at the numbers between the different

[1:44:30] improvements that are in that scope of work,

[1:44:33] we were pretty much dead on the money with respect to the paving and

[1:44:37] the overlay

[1:44:39] component and the milling.

[1:44:41] The discrepancy was more so on the FDR,

[1:44:45] and that's a hard moving target to hit because it

[1:44:48] is a complex operation. There's a lot of moving parts to it.

[1:44:53] Trying to pin down a specific unit quantity price for

[1:44:57] that for our estimation was kind of hard.

[1:44:59] So we were a little bit short on that one.

[1:45:01] That's what most of that differential is.

[1:45:04] I would say that despite that being the case,

[1:45:08] you really don't want to cut, because let's just say that's where you would

[1:45:11] gravitate towards cutting, right?

[1:45:13] "Well, that's the highest cost item we've got, let's cut those out." But the

[1:45:16] roads that that's spec'd for are the ones that need a more

[1:45:21] invasive treatment like that. Go over to Spring Place and

[1:45:25] look at the entrance and tell me we don't need to fix it, right? It's terrible.

[1:45:29] But that type of condition goes beyond what we can do with the

[1:45:32] conventional mill and overlay. So it demands that.

[1:45:37] To the point, like we discussed previously,

[1:45:40] and Larry's got a point. Again, he asked the question in the study session,

[1:45:44] you wait, does the price go

[1:45:47] down, does it not? You don't know. I can't promise you that it won't, or that it

[1:45:50] will.

[1:45:52] That's

[1:45:53] part of doing business. This is 11%

[1:45:58] over

[1:45:59] what we had budgeted,

[1:46:01] and in my opinion, not great, not terrible.

[1:46:06] I think you do it, you lock in the price now.

[1:46:10] As you guys can see on the bid form, both contractors could

[1:46:14] be here within

[1:46:15] mid-October to do some stuff. We're going to have Rogers Group in

[1:46:19] town probably latter end of October to November to do

[1:46:23] some work to finish View Street North Jackson anyway.

[1:46:26] My expectation, just to read between the lines with this, so you all know

[1:46:30] what we would be looking at, I have no intention of doing the full-depth

[1:46:33] reclamation or anything that is a mill and overlay this going into winter.

[1:46:38] I would purely target the overlays. Those are easy.

[1:46:41] There's no real surprises to that.

[1:46:43] We can coordinate that work with AUB, and we might be able to sprinkle some of

[1:46:46] those in before we get to cold weather, and then whatever we don't do, we'll pick

[1:46:49] up and do in the spring. I would hate to cut someone's road, right?

[1:46:53] We've told them

[1:46:54] it's in our scope. I would

[1:46:57] not want to do that, just to answer

[1:47:01] your question. I think we've put it out there.

[1:47:04] You either commit to it, and we do what we can.

[1:47:06] And again, like Bridget said, we've

[1:47:09] worked with Mike before. You pull funds forward.

[1:47:12] We don't generally spend $500,000 per year.

[1:47:14] We usually consolidate a few years at a time, and then we do

[1:47:19] get a bundle. You get a little better economy of scale when you do that.

[1:47:23] Sometimes you pay more, sometimes you pay less.

[1:47:26] In the case of this one, like I said, it's within 11% of target.

[1:47:31] I think you-

[1:47:32] So is this-

[1:47:32] You make the decision you want to move forward

[1:47:33] ... really all going to be a whole year later?

[1:47:35] Because your estimate actually is estimated over the budget by

[1:47:39] $30,000-

[1:47:40] Mm-hmm

[1:47:40] ... at 1.18.

[1:47:42] Right.

[1:47:42] And we have in the budget 1.15, so that's

[1:47:46] $30,000 more.

[1:47:47] Correct. Again, we're talking about-

[1:47:49] And that's your staff estimate

[1:47:51] that you were looking for, you were hoping for.

[1:47:54] That's correct.

[1:47:55] And then all the estimates probably from this point further

[1:47:58] are going to be higher.

[1:48:02] So are you saying we need to wait until next year's budget for the next

[1:48:05] $500,000?

[1:48:07] No, you're going to be pulling a portion of that next year's allocation

[1:48:11] forward to do the full amount that we're proposing to do that

[1:48:15] we've got in that bid. You're going to be pulling some forward to

[1:48:19] do all of this.

[1:48:19] So at this point, we're going to cross our fingers and hope

[1:48:23] that 1.3 doesn't jump to 1.4 next month?

[1:48:26] Well, it shouldn't. The thing you've got to keep in mind, and again,

[1:48:30] the number that you're looking at on paper is an estimated

[1:48:34] quantity, right? This isn't a

[1:48:38] takeoff for a building where everything is a defined quantity.

[1:48:42] We've done a good amount of due diligence on our end to try

[1:48:45] to be as conservative as we can with the figures

[1:48:49] so that we don't get sticker shock when the rubber hits the road, and we're

[1:48:53] actually doing this.

[1:48:55] We may come in under.

[1:48:57] You may run into a situation where we're $10,000 or $15,000, $20,000 over

[1:49:01] it. It depends on what you really get into-

[1:49:03] At the end of the journey

[1:49:03] ... once you get out there.

[1:49:05] It's like the-

[1:49:05] Yeah. Exactly.

[1:49:06] Yeah. And we also have to take in mind contingency as well.

[1:49:09] So even with this 1.3, we're not listed a

[1:49:13] contingency.

[1:49:14] I don't do a contingency on a project like this-

[1:49:16] Okay

[1:49:16] ... because, again, you

[1:49:18] define the quantity as best you can.

[1:49:20] You get a unit price based on that, and then who's

[1:49:24] most responsive and most qualified?

[1:49:26] And in this case, you've got, I think, a good bid.

[1:49:30] Again, it's within pretty reasonable tolerance of our estimation.

[1:49:34] So-

[1:49:34] Okay

[1:49:35] ... like I said, it may come in lower.

[1:49:37] We may end up getting through this, and it'd be 1.25 or

[1:49:41] 1.3, or

[1:49:43] we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there.

[1:49:45] Well, if anything, this gives us a roadmap for

[1:49:49] the future at this point.

[1:49:50] Sure. And again, like anything, costs go up, costs go

[1:49:54] down, everything's volatile. And you'll continue to see that.

[1:49:57] You've got a price at this point that we can work with No matter what happens,

[1:50:01] we'll get this stuff done for what you got in that package, and we'll be done by

[1:50:04] June 30. And we'll get the next round together, and we'll talk about that when we

[1:50:08] get there.

[1:50:09] Thank you. I appreciate you. Any other questions?

[1:50:11] Well, I was going to say, when would you bid out the next round?

[1:50:15] I would probably jump another two years.

[1:50:18] I'm probably going to look at going forward two more years and then trying to

[1:50:20] combine two budgets' worth of paving to do.

[1:50:24] Okay.

[1:50:24] And again, we may look at doing some other STBG or

[1:50:28] funded type improvements between now and then, but you generally see us stagger

[1:50:32] those.

[1:50:33] Okay.

[1:50:35] Thank you. Appreciate you.

[1:50:37] Mayor?

[1:50:37] That's fine.

[1:50:38] May I just make a clarification?

[1:50:40] It's over budget by $177,000, not 30.

[1:50:44] I just wanted to, for the record, note that.

[1:50:46] Oh, yeah. I was quoting what they were estimating. Yeah.

[1:50:50] Oh, okay.

[1:50:51] The staff had estimated proposed streets to cost

[1:50:54] 1.18. That was 30 over what's budgeted in our-- I

[1:50:58] was quoting the staff-

[1:50:59] That was my

[1:50:59] ... number. Yeah. Not the Rogers number. Sorry about that.

[1:51:03] Any other questions?

[1:51:05] Roll call.

[1:51:06] Council Member McCowan?

[1:51:07] Aye.

[1:51:09] Council Member Dugan?

[1:51:17] Nay.

[1:51:19] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[1:51:21] Aye.

[1:51:22] Mayor Eaton?

[1:51:23] Let's pave the roads. Aye.

[1:51:30] Pave the roads.

[1:51:32] All right.

[1:51:36] Line item D.

[1:51:39] First reading of an ordinance 1161 to

[1:51:43] amend title one, chapter 1-2

[1:51:47] of the Athens City Code by replacing section

[1:51:51] 1-44 to revise the order of business for

[1:51:55] city council meetings.

[1:51:57] Gentlemen, do I hear a motion?

[1:51:58] Move approval.

[1:51:59] Do I hear a second?

[1:52:00] Second.

[1:52:01] Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussions?

[1:52:04] I just wanted to mention,

[1:52:06] like I did in the study session,

[1:52:09] and before everybody jumps the gun and throws words in my mouth, I am not against

[1:52:13] citizens speaking.

[1:52:15] I kind of like the way it's mapped out.

[1:52:17] You have items for the agenda about the agenda, so we can focus on the

[1:52:21] agenda.

[1:52:22] And then we have those who need

[1:52:27] or have information and attention items that we can focus

[1:52:31] on after the meeting and make notes of that as well.

[1:52:34] And it gives people a chance to speak.

[1:52:36] And plus, there's also times to speak, of course, for ordinances and second

[1:52:41] readings of ordinances as well. But I say all that to say that

[1:52:46] I'm

[1:52:51] a fan of the way it is already, just for

[1:52:54] my own personal sake of focus.

[1:52:57] But if anybody else has any other thoughts.

[1:53:00] Only thing I'll say is this. The TCA has changed, and now the

[1:53:04] germane to the agenda is totally different.

[1:53:06] And that's the reason why we're changing it.

[1:53:08] It's not that

[1:53:10] we're trying to split it up or anything like that.

[1:53:12] It's the germane to the agenda is

[1:53:15] obsolete basically now. So that's the reason why. Any other discussions?

[1:53:20] I just want the citizens to be able to speak, okay?

[1:53:25] We

[1:53:26] go through the work sessions, and we already

[1:53:28] hash out a lot of things in the work sessions.

[1:53:30] So

[1:53:32] just let the citizens speak. That's what I'm concerned about.

[1:53:36] Any other discussions?

[1:53:38] Roll call.

[1:53:39] Council Member McCowan?

[1:53:40] Aye.

[1:53:41] Council Member Dugan?

[1:53:43] Nay.

[1:53:44] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[1:53:45] Aye.

[1:53:46] Mayor Eaton?

[1:53:47] Aye.

[1:53:52] Line item E.

[1:53:55] Item E, proposed revisions to the employee

[1:53:58] handbook.

[1:54:00] Member-

[1:54:00] The title of the revised employee handbook,

[1:54:04] specifically including the revised longevity pay policy, was provided to

[1:54:08] us in an additional attachment.

[1:54:10] Is there a second?

[1:54:13] Is there a second?

[1:54:14] I second.

[1:54:15] Motion's been made and seconded. Discussion?

[1:54:17] I'd like to make an amendment to have the longevity as a

[1:54:21] separate vote.

[1:54:23] I

[1:54:24] just want to make an amendment to have the longevity as a separate vote

[1:54:29] instead of all in one.

[1:54:37] Is there a second?

[1:54:41] I think I may second that one. I think that we need to split that one up because I

[1:54:45] didn't look at the longevity.

[1:54:48] Because we have two options to vote on.

[1:54:49] Yes.

[1:54:51] Motion's been made and seconded on the amendment. Any other discussions on this?

[1:54:55] I feel like this needed to be voted on first, and

[1:54:59] I was going to address the handbook thing after that.

[1:55:02] If we threw it all, lumped it all together, it would just get confused, and they

[1:55:05] need guidance on which option the council wants anyway.

[1:55:09] So that's why I wanted to amend and have that option voted on.

[1:55:13] Okay. Any other discussions? This is for the amendment only.

[1:55:18] Okay, amendment only. Roll call, please.

[1:55:21] Council Member McCowan?

[1:55:22] Nay.

[1:55:24] Council Member Dugan?

[1:55:26] Aye.

[1:55:27] Vice Mayor Curtis?

[1:55:28] Nay.

[1:55:30] Mayor Eaton?

[1:55:31] Aye. Two to two, it fails. We're going

[1:55:35] back to the main motion.

[1:55:43] You did the main motion.

[1:55:44] No. Is there any more discussions on this? Okay. I'm sorry. I apologize.

[1:55:47] Well, yeah.

[1:55:49] For me,

[1:55:51] I can't vote on something that I have a lot of issues with.

[1:55:55] Not policy-wise, but

[1:55:58] I mentioned this in the study session, there's errors.

[1:56:02] I can't vote on a final

[1:56:05] ... project that's haphazardly done.

[1:56:10] I can sit here and give examples of things.

[1:56:14] I gave a couple in the study session, and then I sent an email saying that

[1:56:18] I was going to send those corrections

[1:56:22] to the HR department, but I felt like it wasn't my job to correct

[1:56:26] a piece of work that I wasn't involved in.

[1:56:29] It's not my job to

[1:56:31] do that job. So, I felt like a reevaluation, a look through

[1:56:35] again,

[1:56:36] and I just recently finished looking through, and I think there's one more

[1:56:40] section I got to finish. But I have found over

[1:56:45] one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,

[1:56:49] nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13 different errors in different

[1:56:53] sections.

[1:56:54] One section deals with,

[1:56:57] on page 40, it says section two, but it doesn't

[1:57:01] reference anything. There was no section one.

[1:57:04] It's just random wording, section two.

[1:57:08] There's another one that's,

[1:57:10] I think, on page 46, section eight. What is that?

[1:57:14] There was no section seven or six or anything else.

[1:57:17] So, it's like it was copy and pasted and thrown together.

[1:57:21] The other thing is spacing throughout the whole thing.

[1:57:25] I know that's an OCD thing of mine, but

[1:57:30] it's supposed to be a finished product that's going to be brought forth to people

[1:57:33] who are going to be employed. And if they read through and see

[1:57:37] either grammatical or just things like that, and I know

[1:57:41] there'll probably be some issues about that, but

[1:57:44] it's just editing issues.

[1:57:47] Another issue,

[1:57:50] the ironic factor is,

[1:57:53] if we're at Will State, we have a lot of policies where

[1:57:57] we actually give second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth chances.

[1:58:01] I just thought that was an ironic thing.

[1:58:04] I'm not against that, by the way. I'm also for redemption and

[1:58:08] reconciliation.

[1:58:11] But

[1:58:12] I wanted to

[1:58:16] say I can't vote for something that's not

[1:58:19] finalized.

[1:58:21] And I understand it was, I don't want to say it was thrown together.

[1:58:25] It was put together because it was separate policies.

[1:58:28] It's the way it was explained to me is they were all separate policies, and she was

[1:58:31] putting it together in one handbook format.

[1:58:35] But one issue is

[1:58:38] that there is no revision page. I worked with

[1:58:42] policies as well, and we had a page where we

[1:58:47] listed for every time the board met, we had a revision

[1:58:50] page, and it was updated. And then also

[1:58:54] each section, there was only one section that listed,

[1:58:59] let me find it. Social media section has a policy of review section

[1:59:03] concerning how the council will review, but all the other sections of policies

[1:59:07] don't even talk about the council reviewing.

[1:59:10] So, either it needs to be at the tail end of the whole handbook that is going to be

[1:59:14] reviewed by the council, or each section, the policy

[1:59:18] section needs to

[1:59:21] have that. Only social media, page 48, was the only one that

[1:59:25] had that it'll be reviewed by the council.

[1:59:28] And then, if you look at the whole,

[1:59:33] like I said, some people might get upset about this, but

[1:59:38] I felt like we have the city policies here.

[1:59:42] Background checks, I felt like should be put further dealing

[1:59:46] with employment. We shouldn't have background checks

[1:59:50] halfway through the policy right before benefits.

[1:59:54] To me, I think letting them know after general provisions, the

[1:59:57] pay plan, and recruitment and employment, I thought

[2:00:03] background checks should be informed of that in that section.

[2:00:07] So, I really think

[2:00:09] there could be a little more streamlining of the whole

[2:00:13] thing. I can't vote for something that's not very streamlined and

[2:00:17] presentable to the public.

[2:00:20] Mayor, may I respond?

[2:00:22] Yes, go ahead.

[2:00:24] Well, the first thing, on page 18 of your packet-

[2:00:26] Mm-hmm

[2:00:26] ... there is actually a summary of revisions.

[2:00:29] So, everything that was changed is listed.

[2:00:31] It has the page number,

[2:00:33] what changed.

[2:00:34] Right.

[2:00:35] I mean, it's all there. So, you can see what was changed.

[2:00:38] As far as one of your examples,

[2:00:42] on page 40, where you mentioned section two, that you don't know what it's

[2:00:45] referring to,

[2:00:47] it states

[2:00:49] in section two of the City of Athens Workplace Violence Policy.

[2:00:54] So, it's referring to the Athens Workplace Violence

[2:00:56] Policy. So that's what that's referring to, which

[2:01:00] I didn't catch the second one you said, but-

[2:01:02] Yeah

[2:01:02] ... I'm sure it's something similar, but most-

[2:01:04] Oh, there's a separate policy concerning that?

[2:01:06] Well, there's a separate section here.

[2:01:08] Now, your job as a council is to approve policy,

[2:01:12] so that's a given. That it's included in the social media

[2:01:16] policy, that's the newest policy that's added.

[2:01:19] That was the most recent that you actually have not seen

[2:01:23] before it was put into this.

[2:01:26] Mm-hmm.

[2:01:26] This is the first time you're actually seeing that, so that's probably why it's

[2:01:29] included there is because it is the newest.

[2:01:34] But it is a given that you all pass the policies, and that's basically what these

[2:01:38] revisions are, are policies that have passed over time,

[2:01:42] and now our human resources director is just adding

[2:01:46] them all into one book-

[2:01:47] Right

[2:01:48] ... so that we have it in one place now.

[2:01:50] And

[2:01:53] if all the issue is, is formatting, we can change that without a

[2:01:57] vote-

[2:01:58] Well, I-

[2:01:58] ... anytime. It can be a work in progress.

[2:02:00] Well, I know, but it's not all just formatting.

[2:02:03] There's some others that I don't want to take up time to talk about because

[2:02:08] It's going to take a while because, like I said, I have a whole separate list of

[2:02:12] those.

[2:02:13] But I just wanted that to be known, is that I

[2:02:18] would think

[2:02:22] it would

[2:02:23] look better for the city to have something a little more

[2:02:26] streamlined.

[2:02:31] I don't know how much more streamlined it could be, but

[2:02:35] obviously we value your opinion.

[2:02:37] Right.

[2:02:38] But if we need to get this approved as soon as possible

[2:02:42] so that we can continue giving it to our employees, I understand that

[2:02:45] there may be some misspelled or wrong words,

[2:02:49] because I think it was just the wrong word that was placed.

[2:02:51] And you know how it is when you write something up, and you read it

[2:02:55] yourself, and you know what it's supposed to say.

[2:02:58] I think the example you gave was police and policy.

[2:03:02] Right.

[2:03:02] It was just-

[2:03:03] Well, another big one is on page 31,

[2:03:07] definitions. They gave a definition for robbery.

[2:03:12] "A machine gun, a shotgun,

[2:03:15] and

[2:03:17] shot-barreled rifle shotgun-

[2:03:19] Nope

[2:03:19] ... and a handgun." Those are all firearms.

[2:03:22] Now keep in mind, these policies were not written from

[2:03:26] scratch.

[2:03:26] Right.

[2:03:26] They're basically model policies that we've used

[2:03:31] from MTAS mostly, am I correct?

[2:03:35] So it's not something that she wrote up from scratch.

[2:03:39] Right.

[2:03:39] Most of this is model, and we've built upon it over the years.

[2:03:44] Yeah, and then it lists aggravated robbery twice on page 31, right after

[2:03:48] itself. But like I mentioned, you can't have the

[2:03:52] word firearm after you just listed all the firearms.

[2:03:56] It's redundancy at

[2:04:00] that point.

[2:04:00] Yeah, that is something we could-

[2:04:01] I think what we need to do moving forward is,

[2:04:06] and I'm not telling anybody how to vote, but I think that we can go ahead and

[2:04:09] adopt this, and then the next work session,

[2:04:13] city manager, you can address these things, and then we can

[2:04:18] continue on

[2:04:21] making it better instead of-

[2:04:22] Oh, yeah. It was always a work in progress.

[2:04:23] I like it that it's all in one instead of a bunch of separate policies

[2:04:28] you have to hand people when they're being hired.

[2:04:30] I actually appreciate all in one.

[2:04:33] Right.

[2:04:33] It's better. It's streamlined. It's a better thing, and I appreciate that

[2:04:37] she was doing that. But

[2:04:40] I think there's ways of... Like I said, I

[2:04:43] worked with many different policies at different banks.

[2:04:46] I even wrote a few myself. So

[2:04:52] I guess I'm done at this point.

[2:04:54] We're a policy-making board by very definition.

[2:04:57] We were presented with staff with a policy.

[2:05:00] We had an extra month to review it. We had a specific ask

[2:05:04] to determine, to pick a path going head to head policy.

[2:05:09] I brought forward my opinion work session. There was no conversation there.

[2:05:13] There again, the ask of this body was to

[2:05:18] pick a choice. Make a decision.

[2:05:22] And I think the question was answered in the work session.

[2:05:25] Hey, look, we can handle

[2:05:28] some formatting issues. Staff's fully capable of handling that.

[2:05:32] The question for this policy-making body was the

[2:05:36] content of this document. So I think we just have to be cognizant

[2:05:40] of what our role and what our higher responsibility is, and that we

[2:05:44] need to be moving this city forward.

[2:05:46] We could sit here and discuss minutia all over this

[2:05:50] packet until the wee hours of the morning, but I think what we need to do

[2:05:54] is approve this so that we can move

[2:05:57] forward. And let me say this, too. This is a holistic team effort.

[2:06:02] From the conversations I had with staff to sort of ask the questions I had to be

[2:06:05] informed about this vote,

[2:06:08] many of our... Really, everyone on our team was involved in providing input to

[2:06:12] this. As the city manager said, this is a model MTAS

[2:06:16] document. There was input provided by our insurer for different

[2:06:20] matters of risk management that have changed. The attorney had input.

[2:06:24] So I just want to express appreciation to our whole team for the heavy

[2:06:28] lift of coordinating all this, letting all the different department

[2:06:32] heads review it, and get it to a state to get it to this group to approve, to then

[2:06:36] put in final form. So thank you all so much for the hard work to do

[2:06:40] that. It's much appreciated.

[2:06:41] Well, I didn't say that the hard work wasn't appreciated.

[2:06:44] I just said-- And actually, there was a discussion. I brought it up.

[2:06:48] I said

[2:06:49] I gave the errors that I mentioned.

[2:06:51] I gave two, and then the next morning, I decided to send

[2:06:55] an email saying, "I'm not going to sit here and give all the errors

[2:06:59] that I found for somebody else to correct when it's not my

[2:07:02] document to correct."

[2:07:05] So

[2:07:08] I discussed it through that meeting to let it know that there's

[2:07:11] stuff there, and then I asked if it could be reviewed one more time before we came

[2:07:15] to this meeting,

[2:07:17] and I got nothing. I got a

[2:07:20] very berating and belittling email from another council

[2:07:24] member

[2:07:26] questioning my resume.

[2:07:28] So

[2:07:30] like I was saying,

[2:07:31] I

[2:07:32] appreciate the effort, and it's multiple departments. I do appreciate it.

[2:07:37] But like I mentioned in the email as well as the meeting,

[2:07:40] there's

[2:07:43] mistakes that I found, and I'm not an English major.

[2:07:47] So

[2:07:50] I just don't like putting out documents for the public

[2:07:53] to recruit

[2:07:55] with haphazardness.

[2:07:57] All right. I'm going to say this.

[2:08:00] I'm going to try to lighten the atmosphere.

[2:08:04] Like the old guy said one time, "Okay, I might not have dotted all the

[2:08:08] everything correctly, but did you get the message?"

[2:08:13] That's the...

[2:08:14] Did you get the message?

[2:08:16] And we can always... It's just like when I

[2:08:20] made a gospel album. Okay? And

[2:08:25] I go back over, and you want to try to correct

[2:08:28] every single little thing that you did, but you

[2:08:32] get to a place where you say, "Okay, I'm done."

[2:08:35] So did you get the message? So I think we got the message.

[2:08:40] I'm sure

[2:08:42] you can go through that document.

[2:08:45] You, city manager, you all can go through that and correct

[2:08:49] whatever needs to be corrected. Okay?

[2:08:52] I have faith that you can do that.

[2:08:55] Any other discussions, gentlemen?

[2:08:58] Roll call.

[2:09:02] Council Member McCowan.

[2:09:04] So I understand what we're voting here.

[2:09:06] So

[2:09:06] We're voting for the-

[2:09:08] Not to change anything. Right?

[2:09:10] It's for technically both. He put a motion for both the longevity and

[2:09:14] the-

[2:09:15] The longevity

[2:09:15] ... handbook all in one.

[2:09:16] It's all a part of the employee handbook.

[2:09:18] The, uh-

[2:09:19] But he listed option one instead of we're negating option two.

[2:09:23] So he-

[2:09:24] We were provided two options to choose from.

[2:09:27] We had a discussion work session. I recommended the option

[2:09:31] that has been presented here because there was no further discussion about it.

[2:09:34] That's-

[2:09:34] That's why I amended to have that discussion.

[2:09:37] I thought we already turned... Well.

[2:09:41] Chairman Campbell, we're voting on the whole thing.

[2:09:43] Yes.

[2:09:44] All the updates collectively in one vote.

[2:09:46] And

[2:09:47] his option number one for longevity.

[2:09:51] No, sir, it's not my option number one. It's the staff recommendation.

[2:09:54] What is the one?

[2:09:54] No, there was option one and two.

[2:09:56] The one that you, the motion.

[2:09:57] That's what you recommended. There was two options.

[2:09:59] Go ahead, city manager.

[2:10:00] I just want to clarify. On page 15 and 16, if you'll turn to

[2:10:03] your packet, there are still two options

[2:10:07] listed in the memo.

[2:10:10] Option one was the no prorated longevity, and

[2:10:14] option two was the prorated longevity for voluntary

[2:10:17] separation.

[2:10:20] Just to clarify.

[2:10:21] Right. And he mentioned option one in study session,

[2:10:25] and I tried to amend to have that discussion for option one and two.

[2:10:30] But is that the council member's motion?

[2:10:33] My motion is for the prorated longevity-

[2:10:37] Option one

[2:10:39] ... which is option two.

[2:10:40] Oh, option two? Did it change?

[2:10:41] Yes.

[2:10:42] That's correct.

[2:10:42] Option two.

[2:10:43] Option two.

[2:10:44] And that's been seconded. We're ready for a everybody, every-

[2:10:48] So we're at for number two. Okay.

[2:10:49] Number two.

[2:10:50] Okay.

[2:10:50] That prorates longevity pay-

[2:10:52] Okay

[2:10:52] ... for voluntary separation.

[2:10:54] Okay.

[2:10:55] Aye. Roll call.

[2:10:57] Council member-

[2:10:58] Aye.

[2:10:59] Council member Dugan.

[2:11:01] Nay.

[2:11:02] Council member Charland. Sorry. Vice Mayor Curtis.

[2:11:06] Aye.

[2:11:07] Mayor Eaton.

[2:11:08] Aye.

[2:11:11] Okay, there's two more things I want to bring up in the

[2:11:17] new business,

[2:11:19] and this is from Article 1, Section 7 of the

[2:11:24] code, city codes.

[2:11:26] I'm asking the city attorney,

[2:11:29] I'm requesting an investigation of the following matters involved, the

[2:11:32] alleged misappropriation of funds that

[2:11:36] may have occurred over an extended period of time.

[2:11:39] These concerns should be thoroughly reviewed and

[2:11:43] investigated at a potential civil or maybe criminal

[2:11:47] violations, allegedly, that are

[2:11:50] identified. The findings should be referred to the appropriate

[2:11:54] authorities for further use if the investigation deems so.

[2:11:58] So

[2:11:59] given the nature of the allegations and the individuals who are involved, I

[2:12:02] recommend the investigation be conducted by an independent agency.

[2:12:06] The issues outlined

[2:12:08] below should be fully examined. Documents I have obtained,

[2:12:12] and the city attorney will obtain them too for the investigation,

[2:12:16] over the past years, and I believe additional records, even earlier

[2:12:20] years, might even be relevant. In light of this request, I

[2:12:24] ask all records related to this matter be preserved until investigation

[2:12:28] complete.

[2:12:30] This includes records maintained in accordance with the applicable

[2:12:34] Tennessee Code Annotated, TCA, provisions, Tennessee

[2:12:38] laws, and policy and procedures of Athens, Tennessee.

[2:12:41] Preservations should include all physical and digital recordings, as

[2:12:44] well as personal or city cell phones that may have been used in

[2:12:48] connection with these matters. Number one, investigation of funding

[2:12:53] provided by the City of Athens to the Parks Foundation, including

[2:12:57] all city funds contributed to the 501 [c]

[2:13:00] organization, any absence of the document, city council approval for

[2:13:04] these

[2:13:05] contributed. Identify the individuals involved

[2:13:10] and the identities of the individuals

[2:13:13] involved, including all positions they hold with both City of

[2:13:17] Athens and the Parks Foundation. There allegedly

[2:13:21] looks like a potential of over

[2:13:24] $100,000

[2:13:27] being moved around. Number two, sanitation fund.

[2:13:31] Descriptions provided by three commercial accounts,

[2:13:36] which we have no records of being shown

[2:13:39] or found in city council approval.

[2:13:43] These discounts

[2:13:45] appear to be in place for an extended period of

[2:13:49] time, and does not

[2:13:53] reflect in any city budget during the past four years of my service.

[2:13:57] The practice was discontinued this year, August the

[2:14:01] 22nd, 2026, after it was identified and stopped by

[2:14:05] former mayor, city manager.

[2:14:07] Available records indicate that discounts were applied

[2:14:11] annually for more than over four years that I know of. ...

[2:14:14] for significant long periods of time.

[2:14:17] And number three, vehicle allowance reimbursements provided to three

[2:14:21] directors and one project manager should be reviewed to determine

[2:14:25] whether mileage claims comply with city policy.

[2:14:28] Available information indicates the individual who received car allowance may not

[2:14:32] be permitted to claim mileage for the first 65 miles from the city

[2:14:36] hall, yet such claims appear to have been submitted over an extended

[2:14:40] period of time. Records suggest these practice may

[2:14:44] have occurred for many years,

[2:14:47] particularly among the employees with longer tenures.

[2:14:51] This matter should be

[2:14:53] thoroughly investigated, and I'm pulling the Article 1, Section

[2:14:57] 7, which is

[2:14:59] it does not require a city council vote, but I'm going to give this to the

[2:15:04] city attorney for the investigations.

[2:15:07] So I want to make sure this is open to the public.

[2:15:09] Will you please give this to him?

[2:15:11] And I will send you all the documents I have also, and you can retrieve them too.

[2:15:16] Mayor, may I ask a question?

[2:15:18] Yes, ma'am.

[2:15:20] This is dealing with staff and administrative issues from what

[2:15:24] I gather. Why am I being blindsided?

[2:15:27] I was not aware that this was-

[2:15:28] You was told that I had turned in to the comptroller

[2:15:33] all of these issues.

[2:15:34] That's right.

[2:15:35] I did tell you to your face or on a phone call that I had turned

[2:15:39] it in. And

[2:15:42] furthermore, with what had happened

[2:15:45] last Monday with the letter that I'm fixing to read,

[2:15:49] it's more imperative that two of the council members

[2:15:53] had been

[2:15:57] improperly attacked,

[2:15:59] and that's my next

[2:16:01] one. I'll let... But saying this, this is the taxpayers' money.

[2:16:06] It's been going on for

[2:16:09] a long time, and even when I was a private citizen,

[2:16:13] I had been following this, but could not

[2:16:17] get into it until the former city manager had been digging

[2:16:21] into this and finding these issues.

[2:16:24] And

[2:16:25] that's

[2:16:26] one of the reasons why that me and him had been doing this.

[2:16:29] And you knew that I had been asking for the documentation.

[2:16:34] There's nothing that was blindsided because you knew I have all

[2:16:38] the documentation. You knew what I was doing because I told you that I sent...

[2:16:42] So this right here is just another

[2:16:46] that the

[2:16:48] chief ethics officer is the city attorney of Athens, Tennessee, and

[2:16:52] according to Article 1, Section 7, we can call for an

[2:16:56] investigation. And that's clear what I'm

[2:17:00] doing. I'm not doing anything blindsided.

[2:17:02] I'm doing everything for the taxpayers,

[2:17:05] not for individuals. And

[2:17:10] so be it. If the

[2:17:13] taxpayers are not aware of what we're doing, then we got a serious

[2:17:17] problem. Now, I'm not saying you because you're just an intern right now.

[2:17:20] Yes, sir.

[2:17:20] This has been going on for a long time before you, okay?

[2:17:24] There's nothing about you on this, okay?

[2:17:27] This has been going on for quite a bit of time, and it needs to be looked at, it

[2:17:31] needs to be handled, it needs to be resolved.

[2:17:34] And the only way to do it is through the comptroller and also the city

[2:17:38] attorney.

[2:17:39] And I have also requested that

[2:17:43] because of

[2:17:46] the

[2:17:47] amount of documentation I have, that probably an outside entity would

[2:17:51] probably be the best. But saying that, there's one

[2:17:54] more item

[2:17:57] that-

[2:17:57] With respect, if it's at the Comptroller's office,

[2:18:03] there could be a little bit-- there could be the issue of too many cooks in the

[2:18:05] kitchen, so to speak. I mean,

[2:18:08] they're the ones, they're the financial watchdogs, so to speak, so-

[2:18:12] They're financial watchdogs, but they're not

[2:18:15] watchdogs of our city other than doing the

[2:18:20] systems. If there's issues, it's going to take a while, but

[2:18:24] our city attorney needs to be aware of this.

[2:18:26] Our taxpayers need to be aware of this.

[2:18:28] This is a serious matter that's been going on for numerous of years.

[2:18:33] And

[2:18:36] I'll forward you all of the stuff that I have.

[2:18:40] And I'm seriously, I've been seriously thinking, just waiting for the

[2:18:43] comptroller, but I really believe that the city

[2:18:48] attorney needs to look into this very

[2:18:51] in-depth because this has to do with our

[2:18:55] taxpayers' money.

[2:18:57] This has to do with our city of Athens, and

[2:19:01] I don't take that lightly because ever since I was a citizen, I was

[2:19:05] pulling records, public records, to find these things.

[2:19:09] And the things that have been coming up is really worrisome to

[2:19:13] me.

[2:19:15] I just want to add, I am curious because you are correct.

[2:19:19] I am aware of some of the documents you have requested and some

[2:19:22] citizens have requested. But in those documents,

[2:19:26] from what I have seen, I have personally not seen

[2:19:30] anything that would cause any concern.

[2:19:34] So I am curious what documents you are referring to and-

[2:19:37] I'll let the investigation-

[2:19:39] ... welcome the investigation

[2:19:39] ... take over and I'll let the investigation because I've called for an

[2:19:42] investigation and that's

[2:19:44] where I'll stand right there because the documentation that I have is

[2:19:49] something that I take serious. And I would not bring this out to the public if

[2:19:53] I didn't. And everybody knows the way that I am.

[2:19:57] I'm always very detailed with everything. I've asked questions.

[2:20:00] I've got documentation. And I believe

[2:20:03] that

[2:20:05] this needs to be resolved. It's been going on too

[2:20:08] long. And

[2:20:14] the best thing to do is turn it over to the comptroller like I did, and also

[2:20:18] to the city attorney So that's what I've done.

[2:20:22] And that's number one. And number two,

[2:20:29] and

[2:20:30] City Manager, you're aware of the public records, very aware of them.

[2:20:34] You're very knowledgeable.

[2:20:36] Heck, I carry two phones with me because one is my city phone and I

[2:20:40] do city business with. And just like you, you've got city phone,

[2:20:44] and all of us do, because I think

[2:20:48] all my city business will be done on my city phone.

[2:20:51] Now, sometimes I get text messages on

[2:20:53] something of mine, but it's something simple, one of the citizens wanting to know

[2:20:57] about a yard being mowed. And I tell them to send me an email, and I send it

[2:21:01] straight to you. But anyway,

[2:21:03] saying that,

[2:21:06] last week I received an email, and the rest of the city

[2:21:10] council did, about

[2:21:13] a direct hostile work environment that I provided and

[2:21:17] also Councilman

[2:21:21] Dugan,

[2:21:23] during last week's study session.

[2:21:26] And the emails are right here, and City Manager, I will be giving

[2:21:30] this to you.

[2:21:32] I mean, not City Manager, City Attorney.

[2:21:34] I will be giving these

[2:21:37] documents to you that it was clearly

[2:21:40] that

[2:21:42] we were being accused of a hostile work environment last work

[2:21:45] session, where we were asking why the roads weren't being paved.

[2:21:48] And you even heard Mr. Birchfield up here today explaining

[2:21:52] some things,

[2:21:54] why we

[2:21:56] were paving certain roads in that regional park when

[2:21:59] we were leaving some of the other parts,

[2:22:02] and evidently-

[2:22:04] Mayor, I'm sorry. Respectfully, I do think that that is an

[2:22:07] administrative issue concerning-

[2:22:09] This is not an... You accused. This was an

[2:22:13] accusation of city council, and I'm letting the public know.

[2:22:16] It was sharing of information.

[2:22:18] Okay, sharing, but you gave it all to city council.

[2:22:21] Yes.

[2:22:21] And that is open to public-

[2:22:23] Because you all do need to be on the same page

[2:22:24] ... that is open to public

[2:22:27] request.

[2:22:28] Okay.

[2:22:28] So therefore, it is open to the public, and I want to make sure the public

[2:22:32] knows when you

[2:22:34] say to me that I'm causing a hostile work environment for asking

[2:22:38] questions of your staff in an open public meeting while

[2:22:41] we're having a discussion. There was nothing

[2:22:45] volatile. And I've even asked for the recordings, which I have not got

[2:22:49] yet.

[2:22:52] But anyway, saying this,

[2:22:55] there is one thing that's really bothering me with all of this.

[2:22:59] And

[2:23:01] you sent me the documentation, the resignation

[2:23:05] letter

[2:23:06] from... This is the letter that was sent to us. Okay?

[2:23:11] And I'm actually, at this point in time, I'm filing a public records

[2:23:14] request on all apps

[2:23:18] that the city manager and anyone else is doing in the city,

[2:23:23] because this right here was on an RSC app. It's not on a public app.

[2:23:26] No, it was on a cell phone.

[2:23:29] Yeah. It was on a RSC chat.

[2:23:31] And I do want to point out-

[2:23:33] And that is not a public forum, so all of

[2:23:36] this chat is supposed to be in public forum.

[2:23:41] Not necessarily. This is a...

[2:23:44] And I'm not going to say employee, because she is technically not an employee.

[2:23:48] She is a contractor. She is a temporary through an agency that

[2:23:52] we use.

[2:23:54] That was her notice to me, as her supervisor, that

[2:23:58] she was not comfortable being in that environment

[2:24:01] any longer.

[2:24:03] Let me read it to you. I'll read it to the city.

[2:24:06] This is an RSC chat, which is an app

[2:24:09] on Google that is not subject to public

[2:24:13] records. You cannot get this as public records.

[2:24:15] So this was sent to the city manager on the city...

[2:24:24] This is relevant because this is public

[2:24:28] information that we cannot retrieve.

[2:24:30] This is a chat-

[2:24:32] These are pending HR matters.

[2:24:34] These are not pending HR matters. This is something that

[2:24:38] I've got a public records right here that-

[2:24:40] There was no accusations. It was, like I'm saying-

[2:24:43] No accusations. Let me read.

[2:24:45] It was information.

[2:24:45] Hold on a second. Let me read it, okay? Bridget.

[2:24:48] Mayor, please.

[2:24:49] No, I'm going to read this.

[2:24:51] This is a staff issue.

[2:24:52] You sent this resignation documentation.

[2:24:56] This is even subject to public records, but I'm going to read this to the open

[2:25:00] public so the public knows that two council

[2:25:04] members called it a hostile work environment.

[2:25:06] There's nothing, City Attorney, that I'm doing negative.

[2:25:09] This was an attack on two city council members for asking

[2:25:13] questions of the staff. And here it is. Bridget.

[2:25:16] Can I say something? I think something needs to be said.

[2:25:20] As a member of the board of directors of this organization,

[2:25:24] from someone who has experience in a supervisory role professionally,

[2:25:29] you cannot discount or discredit

[2:25:33] what an employee says if they feel uncomfortable about their work

[2:25:37] environment. This is inappropriate, and this needs to be handled in the

[2:25:41] proper venue. So I just have the good conscience to say that.

[2:25:45] This is inappropriate.

[2:25:45] Well, thank you.

[2:25:46] Here's-

[2:25:47] Let me say this. Now, let me say this.

[2:25:49] This is

[2:25:53] totally

[2:25:55] out of line. Okay?

[2:25:56] Yeah, I agree.

[2:25:57] No, it's totally out of line where we're going with this right here.

[2:25:59] Okay.

[2:25:59] Because

[2:26:01] it's not appropriate. I've been in settings,

[2:26:05] believe me, and anything that's going on within the HR, or anything

[2:26:09] going on with the staff,

[2:26:13] we are a governing body, but we're not here to run what's going on

[2:26:17] day by day. And I would think it'd be

[2:26:21] Not appropriate to go any further with this, okay?

[2:26:24] I would think that would be-

[2:26:26] Mayor

[2:26:26] ... here's what's going-

[2:26:27] Mayor,

[2:26:28] I would say stop.

[2:26:29] No, I'm going to read this right here.

[2:26:31] They can do a public records request.

[2:26:32] This is derogatory.

[2:26:33] I would say stop.

[2:26:34] If everybody would know about

[2:26:36] self-publication, and you can probably,

[2:26:40] city attorney can do this, this is defaming

[2:26:44] of an individual.

[2:26:45] I think we should adjourn.

[2:26:47] I move we adjourn. Yes, I move to adjourn. Second.

[2:26:50] The motion has not been made up yet.

[2:26:53] So, and we still-

[2:26:54] I just made it. It's been seconded.

[2:26:55] It's been-

[2:26:55] All in favor. We have the majority council want to adjourn this meeting at this

[2:26:59] time.

[2:26:59] We don't even have the reports- Ken, you're in violation of the charter.

[2:27:04] The reports are included in your packet.

[2:27:07] But you're in violation of the charter.

[2:27:08] Citizen's comments haven't been done either.

[2:27:10] Nope.

[2:27:12] So...

[2:27:14] I'm not going to be a part of this.

[2:27:15] No. No. No,

[2:27:17] this is not right.

[2:27:20] I'm not going to be a part of this.

[2:27:21] No, especially if it was you. That's okay.

[2:27:31] Just leave those, Randi. Yeah, go. I need it anyway.

[2:27:42] I'm going to go ahead and read this anyway because this should be

[2:27:46] public information, and it is, because the DPA was CC'd on

[2:27:50] this. And, this record, this RSC, is a private

[2:27:54] chat, and I've done a public records request, and all

[2:27:59] documentation should be frozen.

[2:28:01] And I'm not saying that it's not public record, but out of common

[2:28:05] decency, out of someone who is

[2:28:08] emotionally disturbed,

[2:28:11] sharing this information with you all

[2:28:14] may not be confidential in the sense of

[2:28:18] public records,

[2:28:20] but out of decency should-

[2:28:22] Okay, what was the decency of her calling a hostile working environment and calling

[2:28:26] two people-

[2:28:26] Okay

[2:28:26] ... when we were asking questions of our local staff?

[2:28:28] I could argue that, but I'm not going to.

[2:28:30] There is a certain case that you have also

[2:28:33] considered this environment a hostile workplace,

[2:28:37] but I'm not going to get into that. But there is no difference between what

[2:28:41] you have done and what she has done.

[2:28:45] No, what I do is I make sure it's open to the public.

[2:28:49] And, for the ones that-

[2:28:52] For real?

[2:28:52] ... are elected to support the city, and

[2:28:56] they go up and leave is pretty bad. But this right here,

[2:29:01] making a statement of a hostile working environment when we were in a work

[2:29:05] session and we don't even have-

[2:29:07] And that is assumptions, by the way.

[2:29:10] She does mention-

[2:29:12] I asked for-

[2:29:13] ... those boys, but there were other instances, too, and I think-

[2:29:16] Okay

[2:29:16] ... what you're referring to was her tipping point.

[2:29:19] Yeah.

[2:29:19] She did not list all the-

[2:29:21] She didn't list anything

[2:29:22] ... instances. No, she didn't.

[2:29:23] She didn't list anything.

[2:29:23] Right. She kept it very vague.

[2:29:25] But then again, it was on a personal chat, that we don't even know what the other

[2:29:28] chat was about.

[2:29:31] That's it.

[2:29:39] Well, the quorum's not here, so we can't even adjourn.

[2:29:42] City attorney?

[2:29:47] You seem to believe that you are ready to proceed.

[2:29:51] We can't. We don't have a quorum. You have to have X

[2:29:55] amount of,

[2:29:57] because they walked out,

[2:30:06] and we still have business.

[2:30:12] Business. Well, thinking about it, there's nothing...

[2:30:15] I'm going to leave it up to city attorney.

[2:30:19] Well,

[2:30:21] I didn't come prepared for this

[2:30:26] on the Robert's Rules.

[2:30:30] Quorum, the meeting can't go on.

[2:30:37] And then you just do

[2:30:38] it.

[2:30:47] It can't be adjourned. Perhaps we can be in recess until this can be...

[2:30:52] That's the only thing we can do. That's it.

[2:30:56] Recess until somebody comes back.

[2:30:59] Well,

[2:31:00] I don't think it has to be today.

[2:31:03] It don't have to be. It can be postponed to another time, but we have to have

[2:31:06] a...

[2:31:08] What we'll have to do is we'll have to recess

[2:31:11] until

[2:31:12] the quorum comes back.

[2:31:17] We're in recess?

[2:31:18] Yes, sir.

[2:31:19] Recess.

[2:31:21] Yeah, we have to. Yeah. The same as if there's a new

[2:31:24] meeting.

[2:31:31] Someone just dropped

[2:31:35] a bomb head.

Regular Session - 09/15/26

Transcript