[0:20] Good evening. This is August 11th, 2026.

[0:23] We are right at 7 p.m. and this is the

[0:25] meeting of the board me altoman for

[0:26] Hendersonville, Tennessee. We welcome

[0:28] you and appreciate you all being here

[0:29] and those who are watching us online or

[0:31] on TV. We're going to begin our meeting

[0:33] as we typically do and that's with a

[0:34] prayer and the pledge of allegiance. And

[0:36] tonight providing our prayer is Doug

[0:38] Skinner. He is the pastor of Vic Victory

[0:40] Baptist Church. He's a new pastor there,

[0:42] but the church has been involved in our

[0:44] community for a long long time and has

[0:46] been uh a very important part of our

[0:47] community. Pastor Skinner, we appreciate

[0:49] you being here and appreciate what

[0:50] you're doing for our community.

[0:51] >> Thank you.

[0:53] >> Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord

[0:55] for this good day of life. We thank you

[0:57] Lord for health and the opportunity to

[0:58] be here this evening. We thank you Lord

[1:00] for the wonderful country and nation

[1:02] that you've allowed us to be born in or

[1:05] to live in. We're grateful for the

[1:07] freedoms that we enjoy. We ask that you

[1:08] be with those that make decisions for us

[1:10] on a grand scale. Lord be with the our

[1:12] military, those that keep us safe and

[1:15] sacrifice a portion of their life to

[1:17] protect the liberties that that we have.

[1:20] We thank you to God for uh your son.

[1:23] Most of all without him there would be

[1:25] no hope for any of us. We're grateful

[1:26] for the death that he died at Calvary,

[1:28] the price of our sin that he paid to

[1:30] make a way for all men to have equal

[1:31] access to what we need most, forgiveness

[1:34] of sins, eternal life. We ask, oh God,

[1:36] that you would be with those that have

[1:38] less than we, those that are struggling,

[1:39] those that uh struggle with things

[1:42] perhaps we've never experienced.

[1:44] Specifically, Lord, we ask that you be

[1:46] with Keith Free's mother-in-law. Ask

[1:49] that you give wisdom to those, Lord,

[1:51] that are caring for her tonight. be with

[1:53] this meeting. Dear God, we pray for

[1:54] wisdom as well for those that will be

[1:56] taking part in leading our community.

[1:58] These blessings, favor, we ask in Jesus

[2:00] name for his precious name's sake. Amen.

[2:02] >> Amen. And again, thank you. That's

[2:04] Pastor Doug Skinner at Victory Baptist

[2:06] Church. Thank you so much. Please join

[2:08] me in the pledge of allegiance.

[2:12] I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[2:14] United States of America and to the

[2:17] republic for which it stands. One nation

[2:20] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[2:23] justice for all.

[2:25] >> Thank you all.

[2:33] » I'm going to entertain a motion that we

[2:35] accept the agenda. And keep in mind that

[2:36] all three items under ordinance and

[2:38] resolutions are waving our twoe rule. I

[2:40] will hope that you will allow that. I

[2:42] gave you an explanation by email of why

[2:44] those are important. Namely that we

[2:45] won't meet for a month. Um there is one

[2:47] item on there that I have told a couple

[2:49] aldermen and I need to do it publicly

[2:50] that um I anticipate that I will

[2:53] withdraw after some discussion and

[2:55] that's resolution 2026-26.

[2:57] We had a conversation in um uh in

[3:00] general committee uh and we we received

[3:03] a a great amount of input and that's

[3:05] what I'm hoping for uh tonight and so

[3:07] I'm hoping that y'all will allow that to

[3:08] be on the agenda. I need a motion,

[3:10] please.

[3:11] >> Oh, 2628, sorry.

[3:13] >> Okay. Um, I need a motion.

[3:15] >> We have a motion from Alderman Goodwin

[3:18] >> and a second from from Alderman Dixon.

[3:22] Any discussion?

[3:25] All those in favor of approving the

[3:26] agenda as it was prov.

[3:29] >> Sorry about that.

[3:29] >> Go ahead. I um I would like for us to

[3:32] not hear

[3:35] item number two, which is resolution

[3:37] 2026-28.

[3:40] Um because and I think this will

[3:43] probably come up in citizen comments,

[3:45] but um in the general committee, we

[3:47] learned that there's actually another B

[3:50] business entity that's interested in the

[3:52] exact same concept. And so

[3:57] we need to do a RFP rather than a a a

[4:03] letter of intent. In my opinion, u when

[4:06] you have competing

[4:09] businesses for the same goal,

[4:12] it's just more transparent if you do

[4:14] that as a request for proposal. So I I

[4:18] feel strongly that that's what we

[4:19] actually need to do and then there's no

[4:21] need to discuss it because we would

[4:23] issue an RFP and then they would submit

[4:26] their proposals both of them formally.

[4:30] >> So I move to

[4:33] >> table uh resolution

[4:37] 26 2026-28

[4:39] which is item two under ordinances and

[4:42] resolutions. So you could only make a

[4:44] motion to table the whole motion uh not

[4:46] just part of it. So you would need to

[4:47] amend that or you would need to request

[4:49] that we remove that u that item from the

[4:52] agenda.

[4:52] >> Okay. I

[4:53] >> Okay,

[4:54] >> that's fine. I request that we remove it

[4:56] from the agenda.

[4:57] >> Okay. So that would be that would be

[4:58] item number two. Okay.

[5:02] >> We have a second from Alderman Burgdorf.

[5:04] Okay. As I mentioned in uh general

[5:06] committee, I think the the input from

[5:08] our general committee was very

[5:09] worthwhile and I'd like to hear from you

[5:10] all tonight, but that needs to be on the

[5:12] agenda in order for us to hear from

[5:13] y'all. Uh any other discussion on this?

[5:15] Jason, you ready for us? Okay. All those

[5:17] in favor of removing item two from the

[5:19] agenda, press the green button. Those

[5:22] opposed to removing item number two,

[5:23] press the red button.

[5:30] We're missing Alman Goodwin.

[5:32] [clears throat]

[5:34] Okay, so that fails with a tie vote of

[5:36] six to six. So we're now back on the

[5:38] main motion and that is to accept the

[5:40] agenda that was provided to you. Any

[5:42] other discussion? Any other motions?

[5:45] All those in favor of approving the

[5:46] agenda as provided to you, please press

[5:48] the green button. Those opposed, press

[5:49] the red one.

[5:55] Okay, that passes 12 to zero. Um,

[5:57] appreciate that. Now we're on to uh

[5:59] presentations and um could I have the uh

[6:02] Cal Ripken 12 and under team just sort

[6:04] of line up right here just like we were

[6:06] just a second ago and it'd be wonderful

[6:08] if I can meet the coaches over here by

[6:09] the podium.

[6:13] [snorts]

[6:21] » So first I'm going to tell you a little

[6:22] bit about these guys and then I'm going

[6:23] to ask one of the coaches to uh to fill

[6:26] in some of the details. Um, let me read

[6:29] here real quickly. Whereas the Twitty

[6:31] City 12U baseball team has demonstrated

[6:33] exceptional athletic skill, teamwork,

[6:35] and sportsmanship throughout the 2026

[6:37] season, proudly representing the city of

[6:40] Hendersonville on the national stage.

[6:41] And whereas the team achieved an

[6:43] extraordinary milestone by winning the

[6:45] inaugural Cal Ripken 12-year National

[6:47] Championship, let me say that again,

[6:48] National Championship. Forever securing

[6:51] its place in youth baseball history as

[6:52] the first ever national champions of

[6:55] this prestigious tournament. And whereas

[6:57] the championship games were broadcast

[6:58] nationally on CBS Sports, providing

[7:00] Twitty City and Hendersonville with the

[7:02] opportunity to rep represent

[7:04] Hendersonville before audience across

[7:05] the country with excellence, integrity,

[7:07] and determination. And whereas through

[7:10] countless hours of practice, discipline,

[7:11] and teamwork, these players have

[7:13] inspired young athletes throughout our

[7:15] community by demonstrating that hard

[7:17] work, resilience, and a commitment to

[7:18] one another can lead to extraordinary

[7:20] success. Now therefore, I, Jamie Clary,

[7:23] mayor of the city of Hendersonville, do

[7:24] hereby recognize and congratulate the

[7:27] Twitty City 12-ear baseball team for

[7:29] winning the inaugural Cal Ripken 12-ear

[7:31] National Championship and commend the

[7:33] players, coaches, families, and

[7:34] supporters for this achievement and for

[7:36] representing our city with pride and

[7:38] distinction. Now, I want to introduce

[7:39] you to them. Uh, Sam England.

[7:42] Perfect. Okay. Collins Brown.

[7:45] Okay. Trip Elliott. Okay. Uh, Weston

[7:49] Duke.

[7:50] J Jack Johnson,

[7:53] Jagger Medley.

[7:55] Okay. Nolan Murphy, that's a good first

[7:58] name. Uh Bowen Parsons,

[8:01] uh some guy named Tiny.

[8:04] [laughter] His real name is Wit, but he

[8:06] asked me to refer to him as Tiny

[8:07] Sanders. SJ Su, uh Klein Watson, Eli

[8:12] Weekes, and Jason Word. Congratulations,

[8:16] guys. [applause]

[8:25] » [applause]

[8:31] » So, I appreciate many of the parents

[8:33] being here and know that you've got to

[8:35] get them to practice, you've got to get

[8:36] them to games, you've got to get them to

[8:37] tournaments, and you've got to get them

[8:38] to the uh uh to everything else that

[8:41] they have going on. We also have

[8:42] assistant coaches Josh Elliot, Kyle

[8:44] Johnson, Jeff Parsons, Klay Sanders, and

[8:47] head coach Zack Duke. And I'm going to

[8:48] ask Zach to fill in some details of what

[8:50] these guys actually accomplished. Go

[8:52] ahead.

[8:54] >> First of all, thank you. That was what I

[8:56] had to say will be nowhere near as

[8:57] eloquent as what you just said, just so

[8:59] you know. Um, but what I just want to

[9:02] put into a little bit of perspective of

[9:03] what these boys actually did accomplish

[9:05] this year as a team as of 12-year-old

[9:08] boys, they went 70 and five.

[9:12] We every tournament that we entered

[9:13] which was I think between the fall and

[9:15] spring combined was 10. We were in a

[9:16] championship game of every single one.

[9:18] We lost two championship games. We won

[9:21] everything else. And that is

[9:25] exceptional because it's not like we

[9:26] were just playing teams from the

[9:28] Nashville area. We put these boys up

[9:29] against the best possible competition we

[9:31] could find. Up in Coopertown for the

[9:34] Ripken Nationals. We beat teams from

[9:36] California, Florida, North Carolina,

[9:39] South Carolina, you name it. And what makes travel baseball different

[9:44] than what you're watching right now,

[9:45] Little League World Series on ESPN,

[9:47] everybody's watching that. So, the rules

[9:49] for Little League International is that

[9:52] you have to be live within the

[9:53] boundaries of a little league zone.

[9:55] Travel baseball, those rules do not

[9:56] exist. You can put together a roster of

[9:59] kids from wherever you want, however you

[10:01] can recruit them and get them to play

[10:02] for your team. What makes us unique is

[10:05] we are all from right here and we can

[10:07] compete with teams made up of kids from

[10:10] five and six different states and we can

[10:12] beat them and we proved it. We prove

[10:14] that we belong on that level on that

[10:16] stage and these boys don't shy away from

[10:19] it. And I'm so proud of them, so proud

[10:21] to coach them. What they bring every day

[10:24] is exceptional. They truly do represent

[10:26] the absolute best that this area has to

[10:28] offer and it's an honor and I appreciate

[10:31] all the parents trust and support and we

[10:34] my goal is not for them to be content

[10:38] with their 12U success.

[10:40] My goal is for them to be leaders on

[10:42] their high school team and continue to

[10:43] develop and possibly earn opportunities

[10:46] to play after high school. So this is

[10:50] step one for them. I hope they all

[10:52] continue to work and continue to be the

[10:54] example for the younger generations that

[10:56] they have been to this point.

[10:59] Thank you. [applause]

[11:05] Co coach, introduce your assistant

[11:07] coaches or I guess they're assistant

[11:09] coaches.

[11:10] >> This is Josh Elliot. He's actually our

[11:11] GM. We say he handles all of our

[11:14] communication and

[11:16] >> team details. Have Kyle Johnson behind

[11:18] him. have Klay Sanders and him and we

[11:21] have Jeff Parsons in the back and they

[11:23] truly are baseball royalty in this area.

[11:27] They're sort of well except for Joshua's

[11:30] Basketball, but I think Clay and Jeff have a rich history of what they accomplished

[11:37] as players in this area. Kyle played in

[11:40] college as well. I'm kind of relatively

[11:43] new to this area. I moved here about 10

[11:44] years ago, but I quickly learned that

[11:46] these are the guys that I need to have

[11:48] in my corner if we're going to do

[11:49] something special. And they have been

[11:51] instrumental in developing these boys to

[11:53] this point and will continue to be

[11:54] moving on.

[11:56] >> Thanks, guys. Congratulations.

[11:59] [applause]

[12:03] » Coach, make sure to grab your

[12:04] proclamation.

[12:07] » [laughter]

[12:14] » Don't Don't let me see you at the

[12:16] grocery store cuz I'll be asking.

[12:23] » Wow.

[12:24] >> I bet Gilly knows where he lives.

[12:28] >> Text Gilly right quick.

[12:35] Next item on our agenda is public

[12:37] hearing, but we don't have any. And then

[12:38] the minutes, those are the minutes that

[12:39] were provided to you from our July 28,

[12:42] 20126 meetings.

[12:44] >> We have a motion from Alderman Garza

[12:47] and a second from Alderman Goodwin. Any

[12:49] discussion? All those in favor of

[12:51] approving the minutes that were provided

[12:52] to you in your packet, please say I.

[12:54] Those opposed, please say no. That

[12:56] passes unanimously. Next, we have

[12:57] citizen comments.

[12:59] We have four people signed up. Uh,

[13:01] speakers must identify themselves by

[13:03] name and address. Public comment shall

[13:04] be limited to five minutes per

[13:05] individual, which time is not

[13:06] transferable to other speakers. All

[13:08] comments are to be directed to the

[13:10] presiding officer, that's me, me, not to

[13:12] the alderman, city staff, or other

[13:13] members of the public. Comments must

[13:15] address issues, not individuals or

[13:16] personalities. Personal attacks shall

[13:18] not be tolerated. Comments may support

[13:20] or oppose particular issues or measures,

[13:23] but the motives of those with differing

[13:24] views shall not be questioned or

[13:26] attacked. Malicious comments will not be

[13:27] allowed. Speeches for or against

[13:29] particular candidates running for office

[13:30] shall not be allowed. We have Thomas

[13:32] Kian of Carolyn Lane in Gal.

[13:40] » Yes, ma'am.

[13:42] >> How you doing?

[13:43] >> Good. Uh how are y'all doing? Um uh so I

[13:46] was want to speak to I think it's

[13:49] resolution the the second item there. Uh

[13:51] just to clarify. Uh so

[13:55] a month ago

[13:58] thereabouts the whole country was proud

[14:01] to be American swept up into 50th fever.

[14:04] Um also at that time uh the board u

[14:11] was ready to celebrate Hendersonville's

[14:13] history by protecting it. Um now just a

[14:17] month later uh we've got a resolution

[14:20] for the upper Raptor Berry House to be

[14:22] considered under development.

[14:24] Um

[14:26] my opinion of this is that the city is

[14:28] now looking at a choice.

[14:31] Uh they can choose to maintain ownership

[14:34] of the property or to let a developer

[14:38] uh take it over and do what they see fit

[14:42] with it uh within the bounds. Um, now as

[14:46] a historian, my opinion is that the city

[14:49] should retain the ownership of this

[14:51] property because it's a historical

[14:53] treasure.

[14:54] Um,

[14:56] it represents

[14:58] the first some of the first founders of

[15:02] Hendersonville um as they moved here

[15:05] from their fight in the Revolutionary

[15:07] War. Um,

[15:12] with that, I think that one of the best

[15:14] things that the city could do is to

[15:18] retain that and use it as a a historic

[15:21] city center. Um,

[15:25] if you allow the sale of this, then as

[15:29] my understanding, you'd have to ask

[15:30] them, hey, can we use this to do certain

[15:34] things that we would might want to do as

[15:36] the city there? Um,

[15:39] you can own a piece of your history if

[15:43] you continue that. Um,

[15:48] [snorts]

[15:49] the developer I assume has some

[15:52] historical obligation to it. Uh, but

[15:55] I've seen that in the past and they have

[15:58] not

[15:59] uh they have not done things in the way

[16:01] that a historian would appreciate things

[16:03] to be done. um even when you know

[16:06] they're told like hey you need to do

[16:08] things you know to maintain the history

[16:11] of the site um

[16:15] I think the best way for the history to

[16:17] be preserved and bear in mind that this

[16:19] is Hendersonville's history

[16:22] um is for it to be restored very

[16:25] respectfully to the full history that

[16:28] represents the entire history of that

[16:30] site and you probably know a a lot of

[16:35] that history, so I don't need to go

[16:36] through all of it here again. Um, but it

[16:40] needs to have its rightful place as a

[16:42] historical monument for the town instead

[16:46] of

[16:47] whatever somebody wants to do with it.

[16:51] Um,

[16:55] one of the things that I've been working

[16:57] on in with the site is, uh, we know that

[17:01] there's graves there. Um, currently

[17:05] there's one monument there. Uh, well,

[17:07] there's two. One was put up by the D,

[17:09] but one historical monument. Um, in the

[17:13] 1930s, the WPA

[17:16] took up a project to document historical

[17:19] cemeteries around the state and in other

[17:21] places. And depending on whose report

[17:25] you read from that WPA finding, there's

[17:28] 11 to 18 graves that were known, and

[17:32] most of those were marked at the time.

[17:34] Um, at this point, I haven't found but

[17:37] one marker up there. Uh, so there's a

[17:40] lot more going on and that's of the

[17:41] graves that we know of if we just go on

[17:43] the WPA.

[17:45] Um, it's not

[17:48] it's history, so it can be what it can

[17:50] be, but we're also aware that there were

[17:53] slaves owned at that property and those

[17:56] grades are typically not marked and

[17:59] they're not necessarily easy to find. I

[18:01] don't know if there's any of those

[18:03] there. I highly suspect that there are,

[18:05] but we haven't had the time. You know,

[18:08] bear in mind that we've had an

[18:11] agreement, and I represent the part of

[18:14] the Bradford Berry Society. You know,

[18:15] we've had an agreement

[18:16] >> in 30 seconds.

[18:17] >> Thank you, sir. Uh, we've had an

[18:19] agreement for a month. It's hard to do

[18:21] things in a month with that. And I would

[18:26] prefer

[18:27] for those graves to be found in a

[18:29] respectful way, not when somebody runs a

[18:31] track room. That has happened before

[18:34] with developers that had archae

[18:37] archaeologist attached. U so I would

[18:40] respectfully request that you delay or

[18:43] preferably just

[18:47] reconsider a different

[18:48] >> Mr. Killian. Thank you. Next we have uh

[18:51] Rick Fox from Walnut Drive.

[18:55] Good evening. My name is Rick Fox. I

[18:57] live at 108 Walnut Drive, uh, Ward One.

[19:01] And as some of you know, I'm not only

[19:03] the representative for the war, the beer

[19:05] board from Ward One, but have been

[19:07] honored the last few years to be elected

[19:10] as its chairperson. And that's a

[19:12] responsibility I am very grateful for

[19:14] and hold with a lot of respect and a lot

[19:16] of dignity. And it would be

[19:18] inappropriate if I didn't immediately

[19:20] thank my two aldermen, the Marks, for

[19:23] all their help and support. That's about

[19:26] as the cutest way as I can say it. Um,

[19:30] you folks have been very good about

[19:32] always congratulating and thanking those

[19:34] of us who serve, but there's been a

[19:36] couple of events recently that have

[19:37] involved the rear board, and I'm going

[19:40] to try to do this without emotion that I

[19:42] thought it was time that we stood up and

[19:44] said the same thing back.

[19:47] I would put our beer board up against

[19:49] any volunteer board I've ever worked on

[19:51] in my life and I've been around for a

[19:53] day or two

[19:55] and I know there's others that are good,

[19:58] but we've got a great board and a great

[19:59] membership.

[20:02] But as good as they are, I think there's

[20:03] three other things that need to be

[20:05] mentioned and that's why I'm really here

[20:06] tonight. Three-point sermon.

[20:10] One of those is the staff.

[20:13] I have a fair idea of what goes on

[20:15] before, after, and during our meetings,

[20:17] between our meetings to get us ready and

[20:20] make us so efficient and so effective.

[20:22] But I don't know it all.

[20:25] But I've got a great appreciation for

[20:27] what our staff does to help us. And

[20:30] we've got two sitting up there that

[20:33] really, really help us on an ongoing

[20:37] regular basis.

[20:41] The second thing is the board liaones.

[20:45] We've had some great liaison. When I

[20:48] started on this board of beer beer

[20:49] board, it was Russ Edwards.

[20:53] Then it became Karen Dixon. And for the

[20:56] last two years, it's been Terry Goodwin.

[20:59] I know that my board members and I would

[21:02] put Alderwoman Goodwin up as the shining

[21:05] star and the excellent example of what

[21:07] it means to be a liaison.

[21:10] She's there at every meeting. She's

[21:11] professional. She's helpful. She's

[21:13] appropriate. She shares when she should.

[21:15] She gives us guidance and direction. She

[21:18] supports us. And the neat thing about

[21:21] having Alderwoman Goodwin as your

[21:23] beerboard liaison is that you get two

[21:27] for the price of one.

[21:32] But the other thing that really brought

[21:33] me here was there have been times with a

[21:35] number of you where there's been a

[21:37] beerboard issue that I've needed to

[21:39] reach out. Maybe it was something that

[21:41] happened with somebody and you know had

[21:43] come to us or a business

[21:45] upon occasion. It's been a time for

[21:47] somebody to be re nominated and I wanted

[21:51] to be sure that happened.

[21:54] Most recently, it's been where we had a

[21:57] beer board representative who relocated

[21:59] out of state and we had to get a

[22:00] replacement.

[22:04] I want you all to know

[22:07] that every conversation I have ever had

[22:10] with the senior alderman from Ward 6 has

[22:13] been nothing but happy, positive,

[22:16] professional, helpful, supportive.

[22:20] You can list all the adjectives you

[22:22] want.

[22:25] I've been greeted with a smile. I've

[22:27] been greeted with respect.

[22:29] And there's never been a time when I

[22:31] haven't hung up that phone or walked

[22:32] away where I didn't feel that the the

[22:35] plan of action or the consensus we came

[22:37] to would not benefit the people involved

[22:41] or the business involved, the citizens

[22:43] of this city, Hendersonville as a whole,

[22:46] and the beer board.

[22:50] So, I'm going to bend the gavl rule a

[22:52] little bit.

[22:54] I want to thank you for everything you

[22:56] have done to support me personally and

[22:58] support the beer board. I will miss you.

[23:03] I wish you a long and happy, joyful,

[23:06] well-deserved life.

[23:08] >> Amen. [laughter]

[23:09] >> Eddie, may God bless you always. I

[23:13] yield.

[23:14] >> Thank you, Mr. Fox. Appreciate that. And

[23:16] for the record, the other two people

[23:17] he's talking about are Gabby and Lance.

[23:19] Um

[23:21] [laughter]

[23:22] >> uh next is JD ter JD Tatum of Merit

[23:25] Drug.

[23:36] » Good evening. My name is JD Tatum. Um I

[23:39] live at 1011 Merrick Road. Uh we also

[23:41] have a property in Manser Farms and uh

[23:44] behind the hospital over off Homestead

[23:46] Place. Uh my husband and I have been in

[23:48] this community. I've been here over 25

[23:50] years. He's been here his entire life.

[23:52] This is our home. Um we have been

[23:55] spending countless hours and many years

[23:57] working on trying to put together um a

[24:01] food truck and music venue park for our

[24:04] community that fit our community. Not

[24:06] just one that you see up the road that

[24:08] might last a few years, but one that's

[24:10] truly for our community. Tonight, you're

[24:13] going to hear that there is a letter of

[24:15] intent to be presented um on the same

[24:18] property that we're interested in. Um

[24:20] you're going to hear a lot about the

[24:22] Bradford Berry House and those of us

[24:24] that want to preserve it both inside and

[24:27] out, making sure that it remains with

[24:29] the city while still being able to have

[24:31] our venue that will bring so much to our

[24:34] community. Um, across the way, Terry and

[24:38] I have dedicated countless hours to

[24:40] researching successful venues and

[24:42] studying why some concepts succeed and

[24:44] why others fail. We visited similar

[24:46] facilities, met with food truck owners,

[24:48] consulted industry professionals. We've

[24:50] analyzed operating models, and completed

[24:52] extensive market and financial research.

[24:55] Based on that work, we've developed a

[24:57] comprehensive business plan with a

[24:58] detailed concept drawing specifically

[25:00] designed to create a financially

[25:02] sustainable, family-friendly destination

[25:04] in Hendersonville. All while while

[25:07] partnering with the Bradford Berry House

[25:09] Presentation Society to make sure that property is renovated in such a way

[25:14] that it's back to its original condition

[25:16] using the correct tools and the correct

[25:19] people. Um,

[25:22] I'm not asking the board to approve our proposal tonight. I am respectfully

[25:26] asking that no decision be made and no

[25:29] letter of intent or other agreement be

[25:30] accepted, authorized, or executed for

[25:33] this property until we have been given a

[25:35] reasonable opportunity to formally

[25:37] present our proposal. We are prepared to

[25:39] present our complete proposal promptly

[25:42] and would welcome the opportunity to

[25:43] meet with the appropriate city

[25:45] representatives. We are simply

[25:46] requesting a fair and transparent

[25:48] process in which both proposals can be

[25:50] reviewed before any decision is made.

[25:53] Thank you for your time and

[25:54] consideration.

[25:55] >> JD, thank you. Uh Tom Williams, Time

[25:57] Bay.

[25:58] >> Oh,

[26:09] I apologize for my slowness here. Um my

[26:13] name is Tom Williams. I live at 209 Tiny

[26:15] Bay Drive in Hendersonville. That's Ward

[26:18] Two. And I, Mr. Mayor, I appreciate the

[26:22] opportunity to speak again. Uh, some of

[26:24] you have already heard a lot of what I'm

[26:26] going to say and then I'm going to have

[26:28] to add lib. So, that scares the devil

[26:30] out of me. Um,

[26:33] last month in a Bulma meeting or

[26:35] actually probably June, I recall a

[26:37] unanimous approval by the board to allow

[26:38] the city to enter into a partnership

[26:40] with the society, the U. Bradford Berry

[26:44] Preservation Society for the purpose of

[26:47] allowing the society to proceed with

[26:48] explorations and plans to find ways to

[26:51] serve save the the house and eventually

[26:54] turn it back to the city as a potential

[26:56] historical, cultural,

[26:58] and educational venue. And so, as I

[27:02] asked earlier in the meeting, what has

[27:04] happened to the spirit of that meeting?

[27:05] That goes to the proposal that's I think

[27:08] on the board here. Um, November 28th,

[27:11] 2023, Bulma approved conveyance of

[27:14] Bradford Berry at all, that would be

[27:16] their property from Mayfair Development.

[27:18] The Bradford Berry House and cemetery

[27:20] combined were 1.63 acres and were

[27:23] proposed for donation to the city. In

[27:25] addition, a $100,000 donation and the

[27:28] construction of a rod fence around the

[27:31] cemetery were proposed for gifting to

[27:34] the city. Uh, BA approved the amendments

[27:37] and donations. Then the developer

[27:39] proposed an amended plan that would have

[27:41] included 13.24 acres and no monetary

[27:44] gift. And I believe the deed of the

[27:46] property does include the total 13.24.

[27:50] Um

[27:52] let me see. Resolution is defined as a

[27:54] firm decision or intent to act or not

[27:56] act in a particular way. It is the act

[27:58] of finding a solution to a problem,

[28:00] dispute or challenging situation. Over

[28:02] the years, there have been many re

[28:04] resolutions made concerning the the

[28:06] Bradford Berry property. On February

[28:08] 24th, 2005, resolution 2005-1

[28:12] designating the Bradford Berry House,

[28:15] family cemetery, and property to be

[28:16] historical landmark that was signed into

[28:19] the city records. Um,

[28:22] now, ordinance is defined as a law,

[28:25] rule, decree, or command usually made by

[28:27] a city or regional government. As far as

[28:30] I can tell, there's only been one

[28:31] ordinance concerning the property, and

[28:32] that's ordinance 200512 designating the

[28:35] property as to be historic and was

[28:38] approved on May 24th, 2005, and upon

[28:41] second reading passed on June 14th,

[28:43] 2005. [gasps]

[28:45] Now, we've learned of the new resolution

[28:48] possible um ordinance being uh being

[28:52] presented uh allowing the lease of the

[28:55] property and ultimate transfer of of

[28:58] ownership and I think we've discussed

[29:01] that in depth earlier. Um

[29:05] [snorts]

[29:06] at the the lease would be for two years

[29:08] and at the end of that two years the uh

[29:11] the proposed owners would become

[29:13] proposed leaseors would become owners.

[29:17] So my question was what assurances do we

[29:19] have that they will retain the

[29:20] historical nature of the property um

[29:23] under their control will Bradford Berry

[29:25] House and grounds ever be accessible to

[29:27] the citizens of Hendersonville?

[29:30] Um so I have to ask a couple of

[29:32] questions. What is the status of the

[29:33] total acreage? I know I know this has

[29:35] been bounced around before. Can a

[29:37] property designated as historic be

[29:39] developed commercially? Uh what and um

[29:45] I think those of us on the board on this

[29:47] on the society,

[29:49] we we have a passion for saving our

[29:51] history and and and uh advancing our

[29:54] history and teaching people our history.

[29:56] As I said in the last meeting I

[29:57] attended,

[29:59] there are people who've lived here most

[30:01] of their lives who've never never heard

[30:03] of or seen the Bradford Berry House. Um

[30:06] so that that that that's kind of sad,

[30:09] but um that that's what happens. Those

[30:12] of us on the board all remember what it

[30:13] was like when it was up and running. Um,

[30:15] so there are a lot of questions and I

[30:17] think as [clears throat] we consider

[30:19] these proposals that are coming before

[30:21] us tonight, we need to look at the

[30:25] overall picture, what the what is

[30:27] brought to the table, what is going to

[30:29] be left for the city and what the city's

[30:31] responsibilities will be and what the

[30:34] proposed owners will be. And and I've

[30:36] talked with both groups a little bit

[30:38] tonight. So, um I I I think I think we

[30:41] need to slow down on making any firm

[30:43] decisions at this point and and look at

[30:47] all comers and all give our committee

[30:49] again a chance to make this happen.

[30:50] >> Tom, 30 seconds.

[30:51] >> Okay. Ultimately, the last question that

[30:53] I have to ask I said this earlier is I

[30:56] have to put on my dad hat from when my

[30:57] daughter was dating. I would ask the

[30:59] young gentleman, "What are your

[31:00] intentions?" Thank you.

[31:02] >> Thank you, Tom. Appreciate that.

[31:05] We have nothing on the consent agenda

[31:06] and now we're to ordinance and

[31:07] resolutions. The first one is resolution

[31:09] 2026-25.

[31:11] This is a resolution authorizing the

[31:13] city's department of parks and

[31:14] recreation to apply for a property

[31:16] conservation grant with public entity

[31:18] partners. Alderman Gart, would you like

[31:20] to make a motion?

[31:21] >> We have a motion from Alderman Garton

[31:23] >> and a second from Alderman Evans.

[31:25] Alderman Gart, would you like to speak

[31:26] or go to Alderman Goodwin?

[31:30] >> You could go ahead.

[31:30] >> No. Um this is just a um a resolution um

[31:33] with public entity partners. Um it's a

[31:36] 50/50 match um asking for $8,000. So

[31:40] we'd have a $4,000 match contribution

[31:42] there and this will go towards lights um

[31:46] or cameras.

[31:51] » Okay. Thank you, Alman Gart. All

[31:52] >> good. I'm sorry.

[31:55] We c brought it through public safety

[31:57] tonight and it passed with a positive

[31:59] recommendation

[32:01] and they are on a time crunch.

[32:04] >> Alman Gartner, Alman Goodwin, thank you.

[32:06] Alman Sassy,

[32:08] >> just to get clarification, I wanted to

[32:09] make sure the full 8,000 as I understand

[32:13] it was appropriated in the budget. Is

[32:15] that correct? In the 2027 fiscal budget,

[32:19] uh this will actually reduce that amount

[32:21] to 4,000. So, I wholly support this and

[32:24] we'll be voting in favor of it. Thank

[32:25] you,

[32:25] >> Alman. Sassy. Thank you. Any other

[32:27] discussion?

[32:29] All those in favor of resolution

[32:31] 2026-25,

[32:33] please say I.

[32:34] >> Those opposed, please say no. That

[32:36] passes unanimously. Next, we have

[32:37] resolution 2026-28.

[32:40] This is a resolution approving a letter

[32:41] of intent between the city of

[32:42] Hendersonville and Landing Spot

[32:44] Properties LLC regarding the proposed

[32:46] lease and future conveyance of the

[32:47] Bradford Berry House property. I so

[32:49] move.

[32:52] Second.

[32:52] >> We have a second from Alderman Dixon. Um

[32:55] Marty, you shared some information in um

[32:57] general committee a few minutes ago. If

[32:59] without objection, I'd like to suspend

[33:00] the rules and hear from Marty Cook, the

[33:02] attorney for this project. You shared

[33:04] some information toward the end of the

[33:06] consideration in the general committee.

[33:07] I think it' be worthwhile um for all of

[33:09] us to hear. Um do you want to give us a

[33:11] little bit of explanation of what's

[33:12] going on here?

[33:14] And if there's anybody, so there's a

[33:15] couple people here with this group. Um

[33:17] there's four of them. Um, and so without

[33:19] objection, if y'all have some questions

[33:20] for any four of them, um, I think it'd

[33:22] be good for for them to speak on that.

[33:24] Uh, Alderman Robertson,

[33:25] >> uh, you sent us a map of the area. Could

[33:28] you put it on the screen so that the

[33:30] public can see it as well?

[33:31] >> Jason has it. Yep.

[33:32] >> Okay. Thank you.

[33:34] >> Give me just a second. Marty, Jason, did

[33:36] I

[33:37] map? Oh, I didn't.

[33:40] >> I can send it to him if he's got his

[33:42] email.

[33:43] >> So, Alderman Dixon's going to email it

[33:45] to you. Um there is a picture that I

[33:47] sent him that I want to show at some

[33:48] point. Uh Alderman Dixon is going to

[33:50] take care of that. Marty, go ahead.

[33:52] Thank you.

[33:52] >> Sure. So I think what we discussed in

[33:54] general committee is just what the

[33:57] process would look like. [clears throat]

[34:00] Um I was approached some time ago by my

[34:02] clients landing spot properties who had

[34:04] this idea, this concept that they wanted

[34:06] to bring to the city. Um, and we

[34:09] discussed that with the mayor and with

[34:12] city attorney. And uh, as as we see

[34:15] often in any kind of business deal, the

[34:18] first step is you do enter into a letter

[34:21] of intent, which is not a binding

[34:23] [snorts] contract. It's simply both

[34:25] parties saying agreeing to begin

[34:30] negotiations. Um and so usually in that

[34:33] letter in of intent there is a general

[34:35] framework um that is agreed upon by the

[34:39] parties but it always contemplates what

[34:42] we'll oftenimes call a definitive

[34:44] agreement that will come uh later on in

[34:47] the process. And so that was the goal in

[34:50] putting this letter of intent to the

[34:51] city and in front of you all was to um

[34:55] begin discussions um of of what a

[34:59] potential uh partnership,

[35:02] private public partnership um of this

[35:05] property could look like that would

[35:07] accomplish purposes of restoring the

[35:11] Bradford Berry House. I don't think

[35:12] there's any question. I've been involved

[35:14] in discussions over the years of of how

[35:17] that could happen. And as many of you

[35:20] know and can imagine, the largest hurdle

[35:22] is the cost. Um

[35:24] >> Marty, let me interrupt you real quick.

[35:26] Lance, what Marty just gave us of his uh

[35:28] explanation of a letter of intent. Would

[35:30] you agree with that?

[35:31] >> Yes. That's it allows the parties to

[35:33] evaluate the feasibility. There may be a

[35:36] couple abiding terms to it like uh

[35:38] exclusivity whatnot but for the first

[35:41] time in my life I will agree with Marty

[35:43] >> Cook [laughter]

[35:45] that's not true. Um

[35:47] >> but yeah I mean I you know I don't think

[35:49] there's any question that to do anything

[35:53] with this property is going to take an

[35:55] incredible amount of money. Um, and so

[35:58] it is going to take some collaboration.

[36:02] Um, that that that makes sense. And the purpose of us putting this before

[36:08] you all was to look at what that might

[36:11] look like and then move forward towards

[36:16] seeing if a ultimate [snorts] deal could

[36:18] be reached that would then become a a

[36:21] binding agreement.

[36:23] >> I appreciate that. I want to say a

[36:24] couple things that I sort of uh hinted

[36:26] at earlier. Um I've seen a couple

[36:29] comments uh past couple days um about

[36:33] how um I don't care about Hendersonville

[36:35] history. Um [laughter and gasps] about

[36:38] the only thing worse you could say about

[36:39] me is I don't love my children. Uh um so

[36:42] I felt like I need to to try to explain

[36:44] a little bit hopefully with a smile on

[36:46] my face. Um I've got to appreciate first

[36:48] though Alderman Mark Skidmore. He and I

[36:49] were both here in 2000 2003

[36:52] uh when really this situation sort of

[36:54] climaxed um and and required action uh

[36:58] from the border mayor and alderman to to

[37:00] save that house. What had happened was

[37:02] the house is owned by the family until

[37:04] about 1968 1969. GE bought it as part of

[37:08] all the property uh I want to say like

[37:11] 29 acres or so. Uh that property was

[37:14] then sold to Bosch Bosch Automotive

[37:16] which included the house. Bosch allowed

[37:19] the arts council to use the house uh for

[37:22] a good portion of the time. Then the

[37:23] arts council moved to Mont Haven and

[37:25] there was a family living in that house

[37:27] with with Bosch's permission. Um at that

[37:29] time what we're talking about when when

[37:32] Bosch had it um is really so the the

[37:36] what is now the Aladdin plant which

[37:37] later became Aladdin and from Gallatton

[37:39] Road um past the house and another 10

[37:43] acres behind the house. That's really

[37:45] what what was one one lot at that time.

[37:49] Um the May the um the May family bought

[37:53] it and I can't remember the actual name

[37:55] um of the organization. It wasn't Jack

[37:58] May himself uh but the LLC bought it and

[38:02] they uh told the tenants to to move. Um

[38:05] and that was the beginning of the

[38:07] decline of the house. Um,

[38:10] in 2003, anybody who was on the board

[38:13] then had a very fresh memory of the

[38:15] Halfway House. Halfway House was a

[38:18] historic home, not near as not near as

[38:20] old, probably half as old, that sat on

[38:22] the corner of Centerpoint Road and

[38:23] Gallatin Road. Um, that property had

[38:26] changed hands in the middle 1990s, and

[38:29] there was sort of a grassroots effort of

[38:33] residents who wanted to preserve that

[38:35] house uh, and restore that house. Um it

[38:38] slowly deteriorated. The city didn't

[38:40] really step in. Uh it was owned

[38:42] privately. Didn't really step in uh to

[38:45] do anything. The community didn't get

[38:47] moving um as quickly as it needed to.

[38:50] Slow deterioration of the house and then

[38:52] a suspicious fire. So that was very much

[38:55] on our minds in 2003 when now we have

[39:00] the Bradford Berry House looking like

[39:02] it's headed toward a a similar destiny.

[39:05] Uh, does anybody know what's in the

[39:08] space and what's on the lot that was the

[39:11] halfway house?

[39:14] It's now Tractor Supply Company.

[39:16] Um, because of the time and because of

[39:19] the delays, uh, the house, like I said,

[39:22] suspiciously burned. Um, basically the

[39:25] community, the city moved too slowly.

[39:27] Um, so when Mr. May bought that

[39:29] property. He presented a plan to the

[39:31] city uh for a Walmart on that property.

[39:34] Um which include demolishing the house

[39:36] and removing the cemetery. Uh Alderman

[39:38] Skidmore and I acted. We saw the need

[39:40] for the the city to stand up uh for the

[39:43] community that wanted to see the house

[39:45] uh preserved. Um I actually met Frank

[39:48] May at the house and got him to lock the

[39:50] doors after he uh had the family move

[39:53] out of there. he didn't step in and

[39:56] become responsible for the house. Um,

[39:58] and I met him over there one day. He

[40:00] claimed that he was going to take care

[40:01] of the house, but the doors weren't even

[40:02] locked. Um, I remember meeting him over

[40:04] there. Uh, Alderman Skidmore and I um

[40:07] led the effort to create a historic

[40:08] zoning commission that prevented him

[40:10] from demolishing the house.

[40:13] Ideally, it would have prevented

[40:14] demolish uh demolition by neglect. Um,

[40:18] ideally, um, but you see what's what

[40:21] happened during the time that he owned

[40:22] it. Um the board did approve um a plan

[40:26] to move the house as part of Mr. May's

[40:29] um development. The house is going to be

[40:31] moved and deeded to the city and the

[40:33] board approved that. Um I proposed that

[40:35] no development would take place on that

[40:37] property until the house was moved.

[40:39] Ideally, I'd never want to see the house

[40:41] move, but I felt like the best we could

[40:43] do is make sure that nothing happened on

[40:45] that property to give him an incentive

[40:46] to take care of it and uh until until um

[40:49] uh until the house was restored. Um,

[40:52] does anybody want to take a guess at how

[40:54] I was appreciated for that effort?

[40:58] Um, Mr. May was the number one by far

[41:01] contributor to my opponent when I ran

[41:03] for re-election in 2006.

[41:05] Um,

[41:08] good things came out of that. Um,

[41:09] personally, um, but the owner of the

[41:12] house, he did not take kindly to our

[41:15] effort to uh to prevent the house from

[41:18] being torn down. Um,

[41:21] fortunately, Mayor Foster suggested some

[41:23] alternatives later. Uh, but Mr. May was

[41:26] unresponsive. In fact, he rejected any

[41:28] certified mail that the city sent him.

[41:30] Um, he was unre he was unresponsible uh

[41:34] for the house which allowed the

[41:36] demolition by neglect really starting in

[41:38] about 2004 2005. The city became the

[41:42] default caretaker of the house. Um, even

[41:44] though the city didn't own the house. Uh

[41:46] when I became mayor, I continued that uh

[41:48] encouraging the city to our city staff

[41:50] to take care of it. There were some

[41:52] things that we couldn't do. Um but spent

[41:55] some time over there because we knew

[41:57] that eventually we were going to become

[41:59] the default owner of the house. So why

[42:00] didn't it it made sense to take care of

[42:02] that before it got worse. Unfortunately,

[42:05] um you you can't fix a roof when you're

[42:07] not the owner and you you there's some

[42:09] things you just you just can't do. One

[42:11] of the first meetings I had after I

[42:12] became mayor was to meet with Jack May's

[42:14] representatives. um and tried to get

[42:17] some things worked out um and and

[42:20] weren't weren't real successful that

[42:23] fortunately Jeff Kundiff who was later hired by Mayfair that's what I was

[42:26] thinking later hired by Mayfair is a

[42:28] local guy who also had interest in

[42:30] seeing the house uh house preserved um

[42:34] so the city was deeded the house end of

[42:35] 2023 a couple things have happened since

[42:38] then is we have spent much more time um

[42:42] maintaining the house and protecting the

[42:44] house not restoring ing the house. We

[42:46] did have uh some engineers and

[42:48] architects take a look at the

[42:50] foundation, the whole house inside and

[42:51] out. Um we spent money on that. The

[42:54] board approved that money and came back

[42:55] with an assessment of about $1.5 million

[42:58] if the city wrote a check uh to restore

[43:00] that house. Um I let Bowman know that

[43:02] back then. I've let you all know a

[43:04] couple times since then. Nobody has

[43:05] stood up and said, "Hey, let's let's

[43:07] spend that money." I have a hard time

[43:09] spending that money, too, because I

[43:11] think we have a higher priority with

[43:12] public safety. I think we have higher

[43:13] priority with roads. um and I committed

[43:16] to looking for folks that could possibly

[43:20] um donate to that house. Um we also

[43:22] researched grants um we able to find

[43:25] some that we might be eligible for if we

[43:27] do some work on it, but none of them are

[43:29] 1.5 million. Um uh so I continued to

[43:33] look for some of those. Um, and I think

[43:35] I said to Bulma about a year ago that anybody I talked to about using a

[43:41] house, we would expect the house to be

[43:44] restored and maintained. Um,

[43:47] there wasn't an appetite that I saw from

[43:49] the board to to to spend $1.5 million or

[43:53] more. Um, and I have a hard time

[43:56] maintaining uh a piece of property that

[43:58] really doesn't give value to the

[44:00] residents. um that might be a little bit

[44:02] questionable because I think there would

[44:03] be some value in that but um I have a

[44:06] hard time maintaining something that

[44:07] like that um and hopefully could find

[44:10] somebody to to help us with that. Um

[44:12] another thing we did is we looked at

[44:14] really separating that instead of the 14

[44:16] acres really 10 in the back and the uh

[44:20] up front is about four acres I think 3.9

[44:22] which is the house the cemetery and some

[44:24] surrounding property. as we talked to

[44:25] people about uh helping us with with the

[44:28] house. I probably talked to a dozen

[44:30] different people or different

[44:31] organizations. Um and for the most part

[44:34] they had one person seemed like she was

[44:37] willing to write a check and just give

[44:40] that money to the city, but that didn't

[44:41] work out when it came to some of the tax

[44:43] uh needs that she had. Um but everybody

[44:45] else I talked to, they were looking for

[44:47] a way that they could uh recoup the

[44:50] money that they would invest in the

[44:51] house. they wanted some equity in the

[44:53] house, some way to make uh some money on

[44:56] the house. Um, and so that's where we

[44:57] are today. Talked with Jenny and Terry.

[44:59] Um, talked with, like I said, probably

[45:00] 10 or 12 other folks that have been

[45:02] interested in the house. Um, I do feel

[45:04] like when we get to the point that we

[45:07] have a letter of intent, I need to bring

[45:08] that to you. I need to let you know that

[45:10] that's where we are. It's not a final

[45:12] agreement by by any matter, but I felt

[45:15] like we were at the level that no other

[45:17] organization has reached with the city

[45:20] as far as what they want to do with the

[45:22] house as far as their oblig as far as

[45:23] their um uh commitment to the house.

[45:26] This was the only one of everybody I

[45:28] talked to that said, "We're going to put

[45:30] money in that house upfront." And as I

[45:32] said, I felt like the board um and

[45:34] myself expected restoration and

[45:37] maintenance of the house at the very least. And finally we had somebody

[45:39] that was interested in restoring the

[45:41] house before anything else uh anybody

[45:44] else wanted to do that. Um so um we also

[45:48] made it America 250 project. I sought

[45:50] media about this house and what we were

[45:52] willing to do Nashville media uh did

[45:54] many many online updates. We did a

[45:57] request request for proposals and this

[45:59] was the the only one that got to this

[46:02] level. And so I felt like I I I should

[46:04] bring that to you. Um, meanwhile, and I

[46:07] explained that I feel like pretty well a

[46:09] month ago when we talked about the um,

[46:11] preservation society that I thought the

[46:13] preservation society the point of that

[46:15] was to look for multiple partners, not

[46:17] just one. And I think I got an agreement

[46:19] that that's what we were doing is we

[46:21] were talking about one partner and the

[46:23] possibility of more. Um, and I feel like

[46:25] we all agreed with that. Nobody ever

[46:26] told me that profession the preservation

[46:28] society would have exclus exclusivity

[46:32] uh to the houses restoration. Nobody

[46:34] ever gave me the impression that the

[46:36] Restoration Society could veto somebody

[46:38] else. Um I thought that when we approved

[46:41] that that we were looking for multiple

[46:42] partners and I hope we still are and

[46:44] that's the impression I get. But in some

[46:46] of the comments I've seen lately like

[46:48] somehow we're pulling the rug out from

[46:50] under the the Preservation Society.

[46:52] That's not the I would have never voted

[46:54] to do that a couple weeks ago um if if

[46:57] that was the case. Um I voted in favor

[46:59] of that partnership. I'm hoping that one

[47:01] day we could hand the house over to them

[47:03] or somebody to restore the house. I have

[47:06] no desire to for the city to own this

[47:09] house long term. My desire is to see the

[47:11] house restored and maintained and used.

[47:13] It doesn't bother me if the city's not

[47:15] the one doing that. Um I would like a

[47:18] report from the preservation society. I

[47:19] know it's just been a little while, but

[47:22] I think all of us expected something at

[47:25] some time if we're in partnership. We've

[47:27] gotten a lot of information from the

[47:28] folks that are interested right now with

[47:30] a letter of intent. We haven't heard

[47:32] anything from the preservation society.

[47:34] Um and so um hopefully we'll we'll get

[47:37] that too. We'll get that soon. But right

[47:40] now, as I sit here the past couple days,

[47:43] I worry that this is 2003 all over

[47:45] again. Um first similarity, halfway

[47:48] house.

[47:50] Second similarity, um, well, the halfway

[47:52] house, as as I mentioned, there's all

[47:54] sorts of ambitious plans, but it took

[47:56] too much time. Then the house

[47:58] suspiciously burned. Um, very

[48:00] suspicious. Moving slowly has its risks

[48:03] in these situations. Just the other day,

[48:06] Jason, can you pull this up? This was,

[48:08] uh, this was last week. Had vandals get

[48:11] in the house. Right next to city hall.

[48:13] Police pass by there and park there on a

[48:15] regular basis. Right next to right

[48:17] there, vandals in the house. I'm not as

[48:19] worried about weather. I am worried

[48:21] about weather, but weather for a couple

[48:23] weeks or a couple months and we've sort

[48:25] of gotten through that, but vandals are

[48:27] what what I worry about. Um, and what kind of damage they could do.

[48:32] The second similarity with 2023. Um,

[48:35] supposedly we're moving too quickly. We

[48:37] heard that. Um, we heard that with the

[48:39] halfway house as well. Uh, we heard that

[48:42] back when Jack May uh wanted to demolish

[48:45] the house that the city was moving too

[48:46] quickly. Third similarity, um, we're

[48:49] exposed to accept promises from groups

[48:51] without resources.

[48:54] This went back 2003 when Jack May talked about the house and

[48:58] we had a lot of people stepping forward,

[49:00] but they didn't have resources. Um, and

[49:02] so that's why we had to go with with

[49:04] everything else with whatever we had.

[49:06] The fourth similarity is poor

[49:07] information is be being repeated just

[49:09] like it was in 2003 when Mr. May was up

[49:12] here. And I'll give you some example.

[49:13] There's one cemetery, not two. Um we've

[49:15] had um some some uh uh some people some

[49:19] grave explorers over there. It doesn't

[49:21] make sense. Sa slaves were not buried at

[49:23] the front of the house. Um you had the

[49:25] family cemetery and then you had the

[49:26] slave cemetery further away. We have not

[49:28] found any graves, any reason to believe

[49:31] there's graves on those 3.9 acres other

[49:33] than the cemetery. Very similar to some

[49:36] of the concerns that um as far as poor

[49:38] information. Also, architects and

[49:41] engineers have already assessed the

[49:42] house. We don't need any more architects

[49:44] or engineers over there if it means more

[49:45] time. And I've heard lately that we need

[49:48] to have a full architectural evaluation

[49:50] of it. We have that. In fact, I I

[49:52] provided to that to all of you all

[49:53] probably about a year a year and a half

[49:55] ago. Um I've also met with more than a

[49:57] dozen parties to restore and maintain

[49:59] the house. This isn't the only one. Um

[50:01] the city owns the house, not the

[50:03] preservation society. I can't tell you

[50:04] how many people have talked about how

[50:06] we're looking at taking this away from

[50:08] the preservation society. They don't own

[50:10] it. The city owns it.

[50:13] Also, it's very important to me, and

[50:15] this is something that that has bothered

[50:17] me, that restoration comes first in this

[50:19] letter of intent. We haven't given away

[50:22] the house expecting something later on.

[50:24] I don't think that that would be

[50:26] responsible to the city. Also, I've

[50:28] heard this is this is irreversible. It's

[50:31] not irreversible. This is just the first

[50:33] step. This isn't an agreement or

[50:35] contract. This is not a resoning. This

[50:37] is not a subdividing. This is not

[50:38] transferring public pro property into

[50:40] private hands. Like I said, I've got an

[50:42] obligation when we have this kind of

[50:44] opportunity to bring it to you. I'm

[50:46] excited about the options. I'm excited

[50:47] about some of the options we heard from

[50:49] uh JD and Terry just a little while ago

[50:51] that I heard uh several months ago. I'm

[50:53] excited that we have a preservation

[50:54] society uh that's interested in it. I'm

[50:57] excited anytime I get a phone call or

[50:58] anytime I get an email that there are

[51:00] other organizations, other people

[51:02] interested in that. Um, but we don't

[51:05] want the house to fall down. We don't

[51:08] want to be vandalized. We need to take

[51:10] advantage of the time we had to do that.

[51:12] We need money.

[51:14] We don't have much time. We don't have

[51:16] much money. If we've got somebody

[51:18] willing to help us and make an

[51:19] investment, I think we've got to take

[51:21] advantage. Having said all of that,

[51:25] I don't have a problem waiting for a

[51:26] month. The reason that I wanted to move

[51:28] this and put on the agenda this this meeting is because we don't meet

[51:31] for a month and I felt like these folks

[51:34] that have put a lot of time and expense

[51:36] already coming up with this proposal,

[51:40] not in the house itself. I felt like

[51:42] they deserve some input from us. Um

[51:44] there are some items in the letter of

[51:46] intent that I absolutely think that need

[51:48] some tweaking, but I would love to hear

[51:50] from you all. Um and I think they would

[51:52] too. That's why they stuck around. Um,

[51:54] but like I like I said, um, we need

[51:58] money. We don't have much time. Um, and

[52:01] if we defer it for longer than a month,

[52:04] I worry that more demolition by neglect,

[52:07] um, more vandalism

[52:10] [clears throat]

[52:10] and we're possibly going to lose

[52:13] something that is very important to the

[52:14] history of Hendersonville. Um, also, if

[52:16] we defer it for a month, um, I would

[52:18] hope that the Preservation Society would

[52:20] tell us what they actually have on hand.

[52:22] Uh we've heard of some ideas. We've

[52:24] heard those about a month ago. I want to

[52:26] know what progress has been made. Uh

[52:28] because we've got some folks, we have at

[52:29] least two organizations right here that

[52:31] want to make progress right now. Um so

[52:33] yeah. So any other discussion or do you

[52:35] want me just go ahead and withdraw it? I

[52:36] I'd love to hear some input. I know that

[52:39] some of the folks here, Alderman

[52:40] Collins, thank you. Um, I alluded to

[52:42] this earlier, but I just want to

[52:43] reiterate that um, as we now all have

[52:47] heard, we have two very similar

[52:50] offers coming to us. And while I know it

[52:54] certainly is true that you can have

[52:55] multiple letters of intent and work

[52:58] through those, I think the cleaner, more

[53:01] transparent way is to issue a request

[53:04] for proposal and allow people to respond

[53:07] to those. And I don't want to shut down

[53:10] the concept of a private public

[53:13] partnership,

[53:15] but um I do want to be cautious about

[53:18] it. I think an RFP is

[53:22] one thing is the Jesse I asked him about

[53:25] the RFP earlier and he told me that it

[53:28] was the last one was issued in 2022

[53:32] and that's before we had the deed

[53:34] restrictions lifted. So that in and of

[53:37] itself to me indicates that it's

[53:39] appropriate to issue a second RFP and

[53:42] see now that there are no deed

[53:45] restrictions what ideas might come from

[53:47] the community for that. I think that um

[53:51] it's the most transparent way. It

[53:53] protects all of us involved from being

[53:56] accused of backroom deals and cronyism

[54:00] and all of the things that we know are

[54:04] going to be said. An RFP protects

[54:07] everybody. Does it slow down the

[54:10] process? Yes, it does. But I think it's

[54:14] worth it to be transparent and upfront

[54:16] about what's going on. Um, so I strongly

[54:20] encourage an RFP

[54:22] and um to the point that I'm not going

[54:25] to vote for a letter of intent at all.

[54:29] Thank you,

[54:29] >> Alman Collins. Thank you, Alman Evans.

[54:31] >> I I just want to follow up with that,

[54:33] too. Um, I too would like now that I

[54:36] hear that the last time we had one was

[54:38] 2022,

[54:39] I wasn't on Bulma at that time. So, I

[54:41] would like to to have that out there. I

[54:43] think again to Alderman Collins uh

[54:47] comment about the transparency, I think

[54:48] that's important here. Um one thing I

[54:51] think it's important to note is that um

[54:54] I don't know about the rest of you, but

[54:56] I had not seen any of this this letter

[54:59] of intent or any of this information

[55:00] until late last week. And the fact that

[55:03] we were getting this late last week and

[55:05] it's Tuesday, so maybe four or five days

[55:07] that we've had this to digest it, read

[55:10] it, and that's a lot of information. I

[55:12] have a long list of questions I have

[55:14] about it and and I understand that uh

[55:17] what a letter of intent is, but you

[55:19] know, now we're finding out that there

[55:21] is someone else that uh would like the

[55:23] opportunity and and I think that there

[55:25] are others. I I think that we should be

[55:27] cautious and we should step back and and

[55:30] not rush through this having I I get the

[55:33] understanding of wanting to um wave the

[55:36] rule and and and try to but this to me

[55:39] it seems like it's been pushed too

[55:40] quickly and there's a lot of questions

[55:42] on this and and I can't be in favor of voting on this uh to push this along

[55:48] to today. I'd like to have another uh

[55:50] some more time on this and I would too

[55:53] would like to hear from the preservation

[55:54] society about what the pro progress is

[55:56] there and the plan there. I think that

[55:59] this is now gaining some momentum and

[56:02] that we're hearing from a lot of

[56:03] different people that we can make a good

[56:05] educated decision about the future of

[56:07] this and that taking a little bit of

[56:10] extra time is prudent in this manner.

[56:12] Um, I did hear attorney Ry mention

[56:16] something about when he talked about the

[56:17] letter of intent and I heard him say the

[56:19] word exclusivity. And I want to be

[56:22] careful that when when this one letter

[56:24] of intent comes to us, um, we're not

[56:28] saying that that just gives them the

[56:29] exclusivity and that no one else has the

[56:32] opportunity to u present a letter of

[56:35] intent as well,

[56:36] >> just for a a limited time during their

[56:39] due diligence. And see, I have a problem

[56:42] with that.

[56:42] >> Yeah. But just to be clear, it's

[56:44] >> Thank you.

[56:45] >> Um, so that's that's all it Thank you.

[56:48] >> Did you want to ask questions?

[56:49] >> No.

[56:50] >> Okay. I appreciate the question. I don't

[56:53] think now is the time. I think we all

[56:55] need more time to dis to discuss this,

[56:57] ask questions, and do more research.

[56:59] >> Alderman Evans, thank you for your

[57:00] input. Alman Garza.

[57:02] >> Uh, yeah. I'm coming from a little bit

[57:04] of a different angle on this. Um, I was

[57:07] here in 2003 and I saw that there was

[57:09] nothing really done and it's so easy to

[57:11] kick the can down the road. I'm not

[57:13] saying anything about this letter of

[57:14] intent. I'm saying it's time if we're

[57:16] going to do something to get off our

[57:18] butts and do it. And I'm not saying it's

[57:21] going to be fast, but uh it's so easy to

[57:24] keep postponing and we'll work on this

[57:27] and we'll change that, we'll do this and that's not leadership, right? We got

[57:31] to get on top of this thing and find the

[57:33] right partners

[57:35] that are going to do right by the city

[57:36] and themselves, too. They're here to

[57:38] make a profit. I don't know what that

[57:40] is. That could be many different

[57:41] options. And maybe these this uh refusal

[57:44] proposal uh will bring more people out

[57:46] of the woodwork and and look at it. But

[57:48] I want to I want to go on record. I'm

[57:50] not supporting this tonight, this

[57:52] resolution, just so you know. But I want

[57:53] to go on record as it's time to do

[57:55] something. It's easy to do nothing.

[57:57] That's all I got. Mayor Alman Garza.

[57:59] Thank you. Alderman Robertson,

[58:02] >> who who here would represent the

[58:04] preservation society if I have a

[58:06] question to them?

[58:11] » Um

[58:13] [sighs]

[58:15] Tom, would you want to do it?

[58:17] >> I I don't know that I can answer all the

[58:20] questions. I defer a lot to Mark, but

[58:22] >> Okay. I think between two or three of us

[58:25] >> I I guess all the the the basic question

[58:28] is where does the preservation committee

[58:31] uh stand as far as trying to get money

[58:34] to help restore the house?

[58:36] >> Mark has information on this that I

[58:38] don't have.

[58:39] >> Well, we do have several board members

[58:41] who are very active in grant seeking and

[58:44] uh they've turned over every um stone,

[58:47] lots of them. If you would like a

[58:49] summary, I don't think this is

[58:50] necessarily the time to do this. Again,

[58:52] as we're reading this particular um uh

[58:55] resolution, I would be happy to share

[58:57] that stuff with you. You can go to

[58:58] bradford.org if you'd like to know any

[59:01] more information about that. I believe

[59:02] we've uh published our um minutes on

[59:06] those too.

[59:07] >> Okay. So, so we have applied for grants,

[59:09] but none

[59:11] >> No, we have not applied for grants. We

[59:13] are seeking

[59:14] >> Okay.

[59:15] >> the process. We've only been uh actively

[59:17] seeking for about a month.

[59:19] >> Okay. So,

[59:19] >> and I know Alderman Burgdorf, you've

[59:22] worked hard on this project. I've seen

[59:23] you at a lot of events, you know, with

[59:26] your poster and your handout cards. So,

[59:30] all right. As we move forward, and I

[59:33] like what re what Alderman Collins is

[59:36] suggesting, a new RFP,

[59:39] but let me ask you, mayor, uh, and I

[59:42] apologize for my lack of knowledge on

[59:44] this. is parcel E. Does the city own

[59:46] parcel E on the map?

[59:50] Is that part of the land that was given

[59:52] to the city?

[59:53] >> Parcel E.

[59:56] >> I don't see a parcel

[59:58] E.

[1:00:00] >> Oh, it's not.

[1:00:00] >> So, the one that says city owned, is

[1:00:02] that parcel E?

[1:00:04] >> That's my question.

[1:00:05] >> You have to scroll down on this map.

[1:00:08] >> It's on our page.

[1:00:08] >> Jason, you scroll down a little bit.

[1:00:11] >> Uh, there we go. Yes. So, um, parcel E

[1:00:15] is also ours. Um, it is the back 10

[1:00:19] acres and it includes part of the

[1:00:22] parking lot for Aladdin

[1:00:24] >> and and no restrictions on that land.

[1:00:27] Correct.

[1:00:28] >> I wouldn't say no, but it's pretty close

[1:00:29] to none. And we have to thank Jesse for

[1:00:31] that.

[1:00:32] >> Yeah.

[1:00:32] Yeah. Absolutely.

[1:00:33] >> Great. So, what I would like to see uh

[1:00:37] on an RFP, just so that at least two of

[1:00:40] the interested parties are here,

[1:00:42] >> is I'm not really interested in uh

[1:00:45] giving up any of the city- owned land

[1:00:48] where the property where the home is,

[1:00:50] but if we could possibly use some of the

[1:00:54] land in that's identified in parcel E

[1:00:57] for this purpose of the food trucks

[1:01:01] um and and uh and and then [cough] the

[1:01:05] restoration but but not affect the land

[1:01:08] if if that's a possibility. Do does the

[1:01:10] city have any plans for partial E?

[1:01:14] Jay, have you heard any

[1:01:17] So we the city has no plans. I would

[1:01:20] have brought those to you. Jay has had

[1:01:22] some conversation with some folks. Do

[1:01:23] you want to share those or should I just

[1:01:24] leave it at that?

[1:01:25] >> Okay.

[1:01:25] Well, that to me that that that's

[1:01:28] a possibility is for is for the the the

[1:01:32] city to to provide this land for the for

[1:01:35] these food trucks in parcel E. And part

[1:01:39] of that is to restore the house. But I

[1:01:42] and I'm also opposed to to giving any

[1:01:45] part of the ownership of that house to to an outside private entity. I would

[1:01:51] like for that to to be maintained by the

[1:01:54] city and then at the appropriate time as

[1:01:56] you mentioned uh deed over to the

[1:01:59] preservation society. So those are just

[1:02:01] two of my wishes as the RFPs

[1:02:06] look at proposals. Thank you Robertson.

[1:02:08] Thank you. I do feel like we this is

[1:02:10] suspicion of mine Jay. Is the back

[1:02:12] portion significantly more valuable than

[1:02:13] the front portion?

[1:02:21] Okay. Okay. Just to let y'all know that.

[1:02:23] But I appreciate that input and that's

[1:02:25] certainly something that we should

[1:02:26] entertain.

[1:02:27] >> Uh, Alderman Evans,

[1:02:29] >> going off of what Alderman Robertson was

[1:02:31] just saying. I'd like to hear as a part

[1:02:33] of the whole um discussion to hear from

[1:02:38] Director Ritterbach about, you know,

[1:02:40] what might be used or what's being

[1:02:42] proposed in that section E. I think that

[1:02:45] makes a difference

[1:02:46] >> uh as far as what we might be looking at

[1:02:48] in the future here.

[1:02:49] >> Can we do that in a month?

[1:02:50] >> I I don't know. Yeah, in a month. Yeah.

[1:02:53] When whenever we look at everything, I

[1:02:55] think just having a book big picture of

[1:02:56] everything and what we're looking at

[1:02:58] would be helpful.

[1:02:59] >> Okay.

[1:02:59] >> Thank you.

[1:03:00] >> I think you're right. Thank you,

[1:03:00] Alderman Collins. Alman Collins.

[1:03:02] >> Um just a clarification for Mr. Renbach.

[1:03:05] Is it more valuable because it's 10

[1:03:07] acres or is it more valuable per acre?

[1:03:11] >> Is it significant? So, um, go ahead,

[1:03:14] Jay. You're not really prepared for

[1:03:15] this, but and don't answer anything that

[1:03:19] [laughter]

[1:03:19] you you can't back up, please.

[1:03:22] >> I believe it would be more significant

[1:03:24] because there it's it's a green space or

[1:03:27] it's it's it's not developed with a

[1:03:28] house in the middle of it. So, it's

[1:03:30] basically a blank canvas. Um, and it is larger. Um, and the way that you

[1:03:36] can access that potentially from

[1:03:39] multiple directions make make its

[1:03:41] potential much more than the Bradford

[1:03:44] Berry House.

[1:03:47] >> Alman Collins, anything else?

[1:03:48] >> Uh, no. It sounds like we have a really

[1:03:51] good bargaining chip with that 10 acres,

[1:03:52] so we might be able to really milk it.

[1:03:55] >> Alderman Collins, thank you. Alman

[1:03:57] Skidmore.

[1:03:58] >> Thank you, Mayor. I I just want to say a

[1:04:00] couple of things, but I'm I'm not going

[1:04:02] to go into detail on what I what I

[1:04:06] really want to say because I don't think

[1:04:08] it's appropriate to do it this evening.

[1:04:10] Um, a lot of this I, you know, and I'm

[1:04:14] going to remind the board and I know

[1:04:15] they know this because this happens

[1:04:17] every time when we wave the rule.

[1:04:20] Sometimes I don't have a problem with

[1:04:21] it. tonight. I do have a problem with it

[1:04:24] because this really, honest to God, is a

[1:04:28] serious issue that is coming before the

[1:04:31] city on a historical level. I mean, this

[1:04:35] is probably the last home that the city

[1:04:40] uh right now is responsible for. Um, and

[1:04:45] I cannot and I will and I'll say this

[1:04:48] anywhere. So, that's why I'm saying this

[1:04:50] publicly. I appreciate uh Mayor Clary

[1:04:55] years ago stepping up as he did when he

[1:04:58] and I helped with u actually I'm just

[1:05:03] you know I'm not going to be what was that in the old days? I think

[1:05:07] Al Gore said that he was the he created

[1:05:10] the web or whatever.

[1:05:11] >> He invented the internet.

[1:05:13] >> I'm not going to say that we saved the Bradford Berry House. I'm not going

[1:05:18] to say that. But I by the actions that

[1:05:22] were taken by that board at that time, I

[1:05:25] think that I think it was the the house

[1:05:27] was saved. Um, and I am and I'm forever

[1:05:32] grateful to that, Jamie. I'm very

[1:05:34] forever grateful for that. Um, that that

[1:05:38] showed a lot of foresight. And so now

[1:05:40] when I I'm like everybody else in the

[1:05:43] here tonight and on TV is when I go by I

[1:05:47] see Jim and Nicks and Chick-fil-A and

[1:05:49] Starbucks, you know, whether I like them

[1:05:52] or I I love Jim and Nicks and I love

[1:05:54] Chick-fil-A and I love Starbucks,

[1:05:57] but uh you know, I still look and I see

[1:06:00] the the Bradford Berry House, you know,

[1:06:02] and and it it bothers me to see the

[1:06:06] condition that it is. But we've got a

[1:06:08] unique opportunity to here to to try to

[1:06:11] advance and make that place back to what

[1:06:15] it was and be proud of it. I'm still pr

[1:06:18] I know it's dilapidated looking now, but

[1:06:21] I'm still proud of that. Uh, not only am

[1:06:24] I proud of the house, but for the people

[1:06:27] that lived in that house back in our the

[1:06:30] history of Hendersonville. I'm proud of

[1:06:32] those people. Um, and the things that

[1:06:36] they went through. And if you really

[1:06:38] think about that, um,

[1:06:41] that's what we should be looking at. Um,

[1:06:45] I want to look at that. And I'm sort of

[1:06:47] perplexed about I do want and I'll

[1:06:50] finish Jamie on this, but there's a lot

[1:06:52] of things that I want to say that h that

[1:06:55] happened uh that I'm not going to say

[1:06:58] because of one thing. When I when I step

[1:07:03] in when I walk in that hallway and I

[1:07:07] come in, I'm an alderman. I'm not Mark

[1:07:11] Skidmore. And I'm Mark Skidmore, but I'm

[1:07:13] not Mark Skidmore, the citizen. I

[1:07:16] represent the city of Hendersonville,

[1:07:19] but more importantly, Ward One and the

[1:07:22] city. So, my personal feelings sometimes

[1:07:28] have to be set aside and I won't comment

[1:07:31] on it. uh unless I say there, you know,

[1:07:35] I might have an interest or something,

[1:07:36] not on this property, but

[1:07:39] if something comes on that that I've got

[1:07:41] a conflict, I'll say something about it

[1:07:44] then because I think the people of

[1:07:46] Hendersonville deserve to know that

[1:07:48] because I've represented them for a

[1:07:50] while, which I'm grateful for. Um, but I

[1:07:55] think this is this this whole thing that

[1:07:57] we're talking about tonight is exactly

[1:08:01] why we wanted to defer it

[1:08:05] uh this evening to allow the whole board

[1:08:08] of alderman

[1:08:10] uh to review what has transpired. And I

[1:08:13] know that we've talked about what the

[1:08:15] mayor has said and and and there are

[1:08:18] some things that I agree with him on,

[1:08:21] but there's some things that I don't

[1:08:22] agree that I think we need to wait, you

[1:08:25] know, we need to step back. And I still

[1:08:28] think we need to step back. Um, and I

[1:08:31] don't think a month is is is not unre

[1:08:34] it's not unreasonable. I think it's very

[1:08:36] reasonable to allow the Bradford uh

[1:08:41] Berry Preservation Society to look at

[1:08:44] because I will tell you this in closing.

[1:08:48] Um, I'm not sure they've they they've

[1:08:51] been in existence in a month and to

[1:08:54] raise money within and I'm going to tell

[1:08:56] you to raise money and you all know

[1:08:59] this. Gosh, all the the people that have

[1:09:03] been involved in schools and raising

[1:09:05] money for PTO, it takes more than a

[1:09:09] month sometimes to raise money. I mean

[1:09:12] they plan in in my ward for example when

[1:09:17] we plan like a book fair

[1:09:20] for our schools man we've been planning

[1:09:24] that a year you know I'm and I'm being

[1:09:27] realistic about this I'm I'm not you

[1:09:29] know making a joke out of it because it

[1:09:31] is important just like the book the book

[1:09:34] fair is or like when they have uh things

[1:09:38] for the kids to do outside the you know

[1:09:41] the summer in the fall festivals and

[1:09:43] things, you can go ask those teachers.

[1:09:47] You can ask school administration and

[1:09:50] they're planning that a year before it

[1:09:52] ever happens.

[1:09:54] Well, this is the kind of thing that I

[1:09:56] want to do to the Bradford Berry. I want

[1:09:59] to plan something

[1:10:01] and make sure people get involved in it

[1:10:04] and have knowledge of it because like I

[1:10:07] think a gentleman said about it, you can

[1:10:09] go I could probably go right up the

[1:10:11] street off of Rivier Riviera and ask

[1:10:14] them who the Brad where the Bradford

[1:10:16] Berry House and they go, "What are you

[1:10:17] talking about?" Well, it's a historical

[1:10:19] house. Okay. Well, that's great. That's

[1:10:22] I'm glad we've got something, you know,

[1:10:24] some history in town because we don't

[1:10:26] have very much of it left. But where is

[1:10:29] it? Because people just don't know.

[1:10:31] They've got their own lives to live. My

[1:10:33] god. You know, they're making a living.

[1:10:36] They're driving to Nashville and back.

[1:10:38] They've got children going to the park.

[1:10:41] So, it is up to not only the city, but

[1:10:44] the Bradford Berry Preservation Society

[1:10:47] to engage and educate the people of

[1:10:51] Hendersonville. And I don't see a

[1:10:52] problem with that. I really don't. But

[1:10:55] what I do see a problem is is when the

[1:10:59] Bradford Berry Preservation Society, for

[1:11:01] example,

[1:11:03] um goes to these heavy hitters that have

[1:11:06] the money to donate to the city and to

[1:11:10] their society.

[1:11:12] But we're sitting up here arguing about

[1:11:14] this. They want to see someone or some

[1:11:19] organization, whether it be uh the city

[1:11:22] of Hendersonville or the Bradford Berry

[1:11:24] Preservation Society, they want to see

[1:11:27] us working together and we're all in on

[1:11:30] this because they're not going to give

[1:11:32] money to people when they're saying,

[1:11:34] "Well, gosh, well, damn. They're they're

[1:11:37] up there arguing about what they want to

[1:11:39] do with the house.

[1:11:41] Would

[1:11:43] you give money to that? I wouldn't. I

[1:11:47] mean, I Preservation Society, I would

[1:11:49] because I know what they're doing. City

[1:11:52] Hendersonville. Yeah, I would because I

[1:11:53] know what they're doing. But when we get

[1:11:55] up here and argue about it, we should be

[1:11:58] united.

[1:12:00] Figure out what we've got to do. And if

[1:12:03] I'm on the losing side, that's fine

[1:12:05] because I want to save that house. And I

[1:12:08] think every member of the board of

[1:12:10] alderman want to save that house. And I

[1:12:13] think the city of Hendersonville, its

[1:12:15] people, which I represent as not only as

[1:12:18] a ward alderman in ward one, but also

[1:12:21] the city, I think they want to save it,

[1:12:24] too. I really do believe that because,

[1:12:28] you know, it's the greatest thing in the

[1:12:30] world being living in America and living

[1:12:34] in Hendersonville.

[1:12:37] We're, you know, you you look at where

[1:12:40] we came from. We're all a bunch of um

[1:12:44] >> muts I guess, is the word. And we

[1:12:47] really are. And uh we came from England

[1:12:51] and and other foreign countries. They we

[1:12:53] were kicked out and we came to this

[1:12:55] country

[1:12:57] and then we fought for our own

[1:12:59] independence because we believed in a

[1:13:02] better for people, not just for a

[1:13:05] country. But you all know this, for a

[1:13:08] better society to live and to raise your

[1:13:11] children and to and to to go to church

[1:13:14] where you wanted to go to church

[1:13:17] and the Bradford Berry House is a living

[1:13:20] legacy of that people.

[1:13:25] It was given to the man who lived there

[1:13:28] from the American Revolution.

[1:13:34] I'm going to get off my soapbox,

[1:13:38] but I but I want you to understand the

[1:13:41] importance of what that house is.

[1:13:45] It's more important and and I hate to

[1:13:47] say this, but it's the truth. It's more

[1:13:50] important than the halfway house that

[1:13:51] burned down. That's a living legacy if

[1:13:55] you really truly think about it.

[1:13:59] came from the American Revolution.

[1:14:02] A guy who fought for the freedoms that

[1:14:05] we have for today, that we still have

[1:14:10] the freedoms in this country because of

[1:14:12] what he did and I appreciate that.

[1:14:17] and I know you do too.

[1:14:21] I know all of you do. Thank you, mayor.

[1:14:23] >> Thank you, Alderman. Good morning. That

[1:14:24] is exactly this kind of input and this

[1:14:26] kind of discussion is exactly what I was

[1:14:27] hoping for. That's why I pushed this to

[1:14:29] have on the agenda tonight. Um, and

[1:14:31] appreciate that discussion. I think it's

[1:14:32] very very helpful. Uh, and I will

[1:14:34] withdraw this uh at this time since I am

[1:14:36] the only sponsor of it. Um, and uh, and

[1:14:39] uh, uh, we'll give you some information

[1:14:41] for now and our next meeting which is in

[1:14:43] uh, which is in I think right up four

[1:14:45] weeks. We don't meet in two weeks. So,

[1:14:47] we're going to move. Thank you all for

[1:14:48] the discussion and for the input. Um,

[1:14:50] uh, next we have resolution 2026-30.

[1:14:53] This is a resolution authorizing the

[1:14:54] creation and placement of the Bronze

[1:14:55] Legends Plaza at Memorial Park.

[1:14:57] Authorizing Hendersonville Arts Council

[1:14:59] to coordinate the project and

[1:15:00] authorizing acceptance of donation

[1:15:02] funding. Alderman Collins.

[1:15:07] » So we have a motion from Alderman

[1:15:08] Collins and a second from Alderman

[1:15:09] Robertson. Am I correct? Okay. Um any

[1:15:11] discussion on that?

[1:15:14] Uh hold on here. Alderman Collins. Um,

[1:15:16] respectfully, I request that we wave the

[1:15:19] rules and hear from the members of the

[1:15:21] arts council who are here to make a very

[1:15:25] informal and brief presentation on the

[1:15:27] sculpture project.

[1:15:28] >> Is that just Renee?

[1:15:30] >> Um,

[1:15:32] to be

[1:15:32] >> Okay, [laughter]

[1:15:33] >> I'll let Renee

[1:15:35] I'll introduce Renee Shepard is the

[1:15:37] chairman of the arts council and then

[1:15:39] I'll allow her to introduce the members

[1:15:41] present.

[1:15:42] >> Without objection, we're going to hear

[1:15:43] from these three representing the arts

[1:15:44] council. Thank you. Go ahead. Hello

[1:15:45] there again, Renee Shepard from the Arts

[1:15:48] Council. And with me tonight, I have

[1:15:49] Jamila Log with the Arts Council and

[1:15:52] Bill Clifford um also with the Arts

[1:15:54] Council. Bill is going to talk a little

[1:15:56] bit about um what we're thinking and

[1:15:58] what we envision for this um briefly.

[1:16:02] So,

[1:16:05] » thank you all for having us here

[1:16:07] tonight. Uh I really enjoyed hearing all

[1:16:09] the passion about the Bradford Berry

[1:16:11] House. Um we're kind of here for a

[1:16:14] similar reason tonight. More recent

[1:16:16] history, but important history just the

[1:16:18] same. Um we've been working now for the

[1:16:22] past three years. We've been working on

[1:16:23] an arts festival and uh we've c another

[1:16:26] we've started on another project where

[1:16:28] we're interested in creating a um

[1:16:31] four figure bronze statue

[1:16:34] uh capturing the likenesses of four of

[1:16:36] Hendersonville's most legendary u

[1:16:39] musical residents. So, we've got Johnny

[1:16:41] and June Cash, Carter Cash, excuse me,

[1:16:44] and Roy Orbison and Conway Twitty. And

[1:16:48] what we'd like to do is continue to

[1:16:51] explore

[1:16:53] um

[1:16:55] looking to have that us fourperson

[1:16:58] life-size sculptures installed in the uh

[1:17:02] in Memorial Park right around the

[1:17:06] uh affectionately called Donut Area

[1:17:08] right near Kids Kingdom um by the water.

[1:17:12] uh that would be would [clears throat]

[1:17:14] have a base in the style of the uh water

[1:17:17] fountain that we have there in the front

[1:17:18] where the Christmas tree goes up each

[1:17:20] year. And um so far we've reached out to

[1:17:24] five different sculptors uh some from

[1:17:27] Nashville and some from around the

[1:17:29] country who specialize in doing bronze

[1:17:32] casts uh with good likenesses of the

[1:17:35] musicians. um informally we've created

[1:17:38] some images that we can show uh if

[1:17:41] you're interested about what we're

[1:17:43] envisioning for how the sculpture would

[1:17:46] look. But uh we we'd like your blessing

[1:17:50] to continue looking and and exploring

[1:17:52] and trying to uh more formally start

[1:17:57] moving forward with the project.

[1:18:00] >> Alman Collins, did you have something

[1:18:01] for now or you want to let him go ahead?

[1:18:03] Um,

[1:18:04] are you

[1:18:06] Yeah. Um, I think you're finished. Yes.

[1:18:09] And so I just wanted to sound like I

[1:18:12] meant

[1:18:12] >> It's been a long time since I've talked

[1:18:14] in public. [laughter] So I appreciate

[1:18:16] you all your patience.

[1:18:18] >> Um, I just wanted to say that um I'm

[1:18:21] really excited about this project. When

[1:18:23] I became an alderman five almost six

[1:18:26] years ago now, I was told that

[1:18:28] politicians had pet projects. I'm super

[1:18:30] excited to have one for myself now. Um,

[1:18:34] and I think this is going to be lovely.

[1:18:36] I want to point out that um in W 5, we

[1:18:41] get a lot of people coming to the cash

[1:18:43] home and to um what's now the realtor's

[1:18:50] office Halo Properties even and to the

[1:18:53] extent that the city had to put in a

[1:18:55] little con um pavement pad for people to

[1:18:58] turn around on Codell because they were

[1:19:00] coming to the cash home and disrupting

[1:19:02] the school traffic. [laughter]

[1:19:05] Um, and people also of course visit the

[1:19:07] grave site.

[1:19:09] And so this is another stop that they

[1:19:12] can make which would hopefully pull them

[1:19:14] in to where they could go to some of our

[1:19:17] local restaurants that are on that side

[1:19:19] of town. So I like it from that

[1:19:21] perspective. And um I want to point out

[1:19:24] that

[1:19:26] the arts council is not asking for

[1:19:28] funding at this time. So, but by

[1:19:31] sanctioning this, it will allow the arts

[1:19:33] council to be able to ask for the

[1:19:37] community to contribute the money um

[1:19:40] that's required [clears throat] for

[1:19:41] this. So, this is not a financial ask.

[1:19:44] This is a blessing for the project to

[1:19:48] proceed. Thank you,

[1:19:50] >> Alman Collins. Thank you. Um Alderman

[1:19:52] Evans,

[1:19:52] >> yeah, I was just I was just going to ask

[1:19:54] a question around the the financial part

[1:19:56] of that. is that what's the um what's

[1:19:58] the plan around that? I know the thought

[1:20:00] is probably to raise the funds, but once

[1:20:03] you get into this, what is going to be

[1:20:05] the thought if you don't raise enough

[1:20:07] money, you know, what's what's the plan?

[1:20:09] Are you going to stop or are you going

[1:20:11] to ask the city then to kind of upfront

[1:20:14] or give the the rest of it? What's the

[1:20:16] plan there?

[1:20:17] >> I think we're really in preliminary

[1:20:18] stages. Okay. first of all. So, so we

[1:20:21] don't really have a plan that's that um

[1:20:25] specific. Um we would expect to to ask

[1:20:29] for donations and get donations for um

[1:20:32] for this purpose. I will say that we

[1:20:34] we've got um we've got some interest

[1:20:37] already. It's not confirmed. Again, as

[1:20:40] Rachel said, we just need you all to

[1:20:43] sanction the project so that we can move

[1:20:45] forward and get more specific with that.

[1:20:47] Okay? because if you all are interested

[1:20:49] in this and you think it's a viable

[1:20:51] something to do for the city, that helps

[1:20:53] us um to be able to have those

[1:20:55] conversations.

[1:20:56] >> Well, I appreciate that and I'm I'm

[1:20:58] interested in it, but from the fiscal

[1:21:00] side of things, too, I'm also concerned

[1:21:02] about

[1:21:03] >> committing to anything else. Um

[1:21:05] especially because when you look at

[1:21:07] this, you're talking about upwards of

[1:21:09] $700,000 or more. So, I'm concerned

[1:21:11] about that. So, hopefully we will be

[1:21:13] able to raise the funds and get this

[1:21:15] done. And I also want to say having it

[1:21:18] at the location of the the donut there,

[1:21:20] I think it's a great location to have

[1:21:21] that.

[1:21:22] >> It's because you can see it from

[1:21:23] everywhere right as you drive by. Um it

[1:21:25] also brings some complication. So I I

[1:21:27] think one of the first steps we

[1:21:28] [clears throat] would need to do is

[1:21:30] create a specific project plan. Okay.

[1:21:33] >> Um initially we've just done some

[1:21:35] research to say what would this cost?

[1:21:37] What would it look like? Because we

[1:21:39] didn't have any idea. And what's the

[1:21:40] process? what does it look like to um

[1:21:43] commission a bronze statue? Um so so

[1:21:46] we've kind of done some of that

[1:21:48] research. Um I understand we'd have to

[1:21:51] work with the core maybe in that area

[1:21:53] for that, you know, for that site.

[1:21:55] [clears throat] So there's still a lot

[1:21:56] of work to do and what comes first and

[1:21:59] what comes second, we have to figure all

[1:22:01] that out.

[1:22:02] >> Thank you so much,

[1:22:03] >> Alderman Evans. Thank you, Alderman

[1:22:04] Sassy.

[1:22:05] >> Uh thank you, Mayor. Um I would just

[1:22:07] want to echo a lot of what uh Alderman

[1:22:09] Evans was saying. This is a very

[1:22:10] exciting project. Um, I'm I'm fully

[1:22:14] support this, but the first thing that

[1:22:16] came to my mind was uh potential safety.

[1:22:19] And I just I'm only mentioning this so

[1:22:21] you're looking into this when you're

[1:22:22] talking to these sculptors and such.

[1:22:25] >> Um, but I've I've visited other bronze

[1:22:28] statues and they can get pretty hot,

[1:22:30] especially when they're got direct

[1:22:31] sunlight in that area. It's going to get

[1:22:33] direct sunlight um quite a bit of it.

[1:22:36] And as we all know, it gets hot around

[1:22:38] here. 90 degree weather, it can get up

[1:22:39] to 190 degrees on a bronze statue. So,

[1:22:43] just keeping that in mind as you're

[1:22:44] researching it. Maybe there's an alloy.

[1:22:46] I don't know. I'm not not an expert at

[1:22:49] it at all, but just wanted to uh make

[1:22:51] you aware of that and and hopefully we

[1:22:53] can find something that will be cooler

[1:22:55] to the touch maybe uh because we do have

[1:22:58] kids playing in that area. So, just

[1:22:59] something to think about.

[1:23:00] >> Okay. Thank you, woman. Sassy. Thank

[1:23:02] you, Renee. Thank you. appreciate you

[1:23:04] all working on this your initiative on

[1:23:05] it.

[1:23:06] >> Thank you.

[1:23:10] » Any other comments?

[1:23:13] All those in favor of resolution

[1:23:14] 2026-30, please say I.

[1:23:16] >> I.

[1:23:17] >> Those opposed, please say no. That

[1:23:18] passes unanimously. Thank you all. Uh

[1:23:20] other agenda items, we'll move down to

[1:23:22] reports. Uh brief committee reports.

[1:23:24] General committee. Uh Chairman Garza,

[1:23:25] >> I will try to be brief. It was pretty

[1:23:27] long tonight.

[1:23:29] Uh we had resolution 2026 u on a public

[1:23:32] hearing for the uh 1765 Avent Lane. Uh

[1:23:37] we approved that to go to Bulma. Uh

[1:23:39] resolution 202627 also related to this

[1:23:42] as to annex certain territories upon

[1:23:45] written consider the owners and

[1:23:46] incorporate said property into the same

[1:23:47] one 1765 Abbott Lane. That also went to

[1:23:51] Bulma approved. And then uh the

[1:23:54] ordinance 20269 and ordinance reszoning

[1:23:57] approximately almost 33 acres of

[1:23:59] property at again 1765 Abbott Lane also

[1:24:02] was approved to go to Bulma. [cough]

[1:24:04] Then we moved on to ordinance 202610 is

[1:24:06] an ordinance adopt revisions to the

[1:24:08] zoning ordinance for the city of

[1:24:09] Hendersonville. Uh that's going to go

[1:24:11] through the city also approved to go to

[1:24:13] Bulma. uh ordinance 202611

[1:24:18] amending the Hendersonville mis miscode

[1:24:20] title one uh video recording for the

[1:24:23] nonprofit contributions uh committee and

[1:24:25] that's been also approved to go to

[1:24:27] Bulma. We had a reading of ordinance

[1:24:29] 202612

[1:24:31] uh it's amending the municipal code here

[1:24:34] uh title 12 chapter 2 relative to the

[1:24:37] amendments to the revised edition of

[1:24:38] international residential code uh also

[1:24:41] approved to go to Bulma. Uh, this next

[1:24:43] one is the only negative one we had for

[1:24:44] the evening. It's the reading of

[1:24:45] resolution 202628 approving the letter

[1:24:48] of intent. Here we are again with the

[1:24:50] city of Hersville and Lanny sport

[1:24:51] properties spot property, excuse me,

[1:24:53] regarding the proposed lease and future

[1:24:55] conveyance of the Bradford Berry House.

[1:24:56] We did send it with a negative

[1:24:58] recommendation and of course tonight

[1:24:59] it's been pulled to a later date. So

[1:25:01] that was the purpose of that so we can

[1:25:03] start and continue the conversations

[1:25:05] with that issue. A reading of resolution

[1:25:08] 202631

[1:25:09] declaring certain real [snorts] city

[1:25:11] property to the surplus property excuse me and approving lease

[1:25:15] agreements with Pope John Paul 2. Uh

[1:25:17] also um a positive recommendation of

[1:25:20] Bulma and the reading of resolution 2026

[1:25:22] 29 a resolution amended the city

[1:25:25] employee innovation to more of an

[1:25:27] employee recognition program also

[1:25:28] approved to go to Bulma. And the last

[1:25:30] one which we just spoke about was

[1:25:31] resolution 2026-30.

[1:25:33] That's a resolution authorizing the

[1:25:35] placement of the bronze legend plaza at

[1:25:37] Memorial Park. And that was our report

[1:25:39] for general committee.

[1:25:40] >> Appreciate that, Chairman Garza. Uh

[1:25:42] Chairman Goodwin, public safety.

[1:25:44] >> We had a brief committee meeting. We

[1:25:47] discussed the resolution for the park.

[1:25:49] Sent that on to Bulma with a positive

[1:25:51] recommendation and had a brief

[1:25:54] discussion on Stark Knob Boat Ramp that

[1:25:56] we are going to monitor and watch. That

[1:25:59] concludes my report.

[1:26:00] >> Uh, thank you very much, Chairman

[1:26:01] Goodwin. Timothy Whitten, I assume that

[1:26:03] the only reason you are here this late

[1:26:04] is to provide our planning commission

[1:26:06] report.

[1:26:09] » Good evening. Uh, Timothy Whitten,

[1:26:11] assistant planning director, standing in

[1:26:13] for Keith Free, planning director

[1:26:15] standing in for Michael Martin for W 2.

[1:26:19] Uh so the uh planning commission um

[1:26:23] report for their meeting Tuesday, August

[1:26:25] the 4th. Uh they took the following

[1:26:27] action on the consent agenda. They

[1:26:29] approved Forest Park phase 1 amenity

[1:26:31] center site plan, uh Imperial Point

[1:26:34] building a site plan, Milstone phase 7

[1:26:38] section two final plat and Pope John

[1:26:41] Paul the second edition phase one site

[1:26:43] plan. And then they approved a wall

[1:26:46] mural for deck tai which is a new

[1:26:48] restaurant coming to the west main

[1:26:49] street area. Uh and then um they moved

[1:26:53] the following items forward to general

[1:26:55] committee and and the board of mayor and

[1:26:57] alderman. The uh annexation and plan of

[1:27:00] services for Avlyn as well as well as

[1:27:03] the uh combined development plan for

[1:27:05] Avlyn and then they also recommended the

[1:27:08] uh batch of zoning ordinance revisions

[1:27:10] as well.

[1:27:12] >> Any questions for Timothy? Thank you,

[1:27:14] Timothy.

[1:27:14] >> Oh, I'm sorry.

[1:27:16] >> Alderman Garza.

[1:27:17] >> Sorry. So, you approved the mural for

[1:27:20] Detai?

[1:27:21] >> Yes, sir.

[1:27:22] >> And can they open yet?

[1:27:24] >> Uh, I believe um

[1:27:28] there's no hold up on our end. Not sure

[1:27:31] I'm not sure what their what status

[1:27:32] their building permit is in

[1:27:35] >> or their UNO. I can check on that for

[1:27:36] you and let you know.

[1:27:37] >> Yeah, I just I once again I want to be

[1:27:40] very It was rumored, but I heard rumor

[1:27:42] that one of the reasons they they were

[1:27:43] not open yet is because they were having

[1:27:44] too much obstruction from the city.

[1:27:47] >> I'm not saying that's true. I'm just

[1:27:48] saying.

[1:27:49] >> Yeah, I'm not aware of that

[1:27:50] >> because they've been ready to go now for

[1:27:51] about 3 weeks.

[1:27:52] >> If anybody obstructing it would be that

[1:27:53] guy right there and he said he's not

[1:27:55] aware of it. So,

[1:27:55] >> no, I understand. I'm just saying what

[1:27:57] you know my calls come in going when's

[1:27:59] it going to open? And they heard this

[1:28:00] and I'm saying it's true, but

[1:28:03] >> by any means, but we need to get them

[1:28:04] open.

[1:28:06] >> They got a big investment in that place.

[1:28:08] >> Thank you, Alman Gar. Thank you.

[1:28:09] >> I I do hear the same thing about Rio

[1:28:11] Bravo and I know Rio Bravo there's no

[1:28:13] hold up on our end. Um they they've

[1:28:15] gotten all their approvals that they

[1:28:17] need through planning. So

[1:28:19] >> it's helpful. Thank you.

[1:28:20] >> Um uh Alman Evans, I'm sorry. Did you

[1:28:22] have a question for

[1:28:23] >> Yes, I do have a quick question. I

[1:28:25] wanted a clarification on when you

[1:28:26] talked about Alyn or Avalon or whatever

[1:28:29] it's called. Can you share with us all

[1:28:31] was that a unanimous approval on all all

[1:28:34] those

[1:28:36] >> on annexation?

[1:28:40] Uh, let me see. I'm not sure.

[1:28:41] >> I believe if I'm not right, I think it

[1:28:43] was a unanimous on all of those.

[1:28:44] >> I believe it was zero.

[1:28:47] >> I just wanted to make sure everybody

[1:28:48] knew that.

[1:28:50] >> Thank you. Thank you, Timothy. Thank

[1:28:51] you, Alderman Evans. Um, Vice Mayor

[1:28:54] Skidmore,

[1:28:55] >> can you come on down here, please? Um,

[1:28:56] I've had bronchitis for about two weeks

[1:28:59] and, um, I'm running a fever right now,

[1:29:01] and so I'm going to go lie down and, uh,

[1:29:03] let you be led by our vice mayor for the

[1:29:05] last two items. Thank you, Mark. Yes.

[1:29:18] Thank you. Now that the mayor's gone,

[1:29:20] we're going to do things our way. And

[1:29:22] so, no, seriously, I I hope he is

[1:29:25] getting bronchitis is a rough thing, and

[1:29:28] I hope he starts to feeling better. And

[1:29:29] I just have hope that the

[1:29:33] our city attorney, Lance Ray, if I screw

[1:29:35] up that he'll be able to help me along

[1:29:38] the way. But I I feel

[1:29:39] >> a lot longer.

[1:29:40] >> Yeah. [laughter]

[1:29:41] I don't know. Doesn't matter how long

[1:29:43] you've been doing it. It just takes one

[1:29:45] time to mess up. But anyway, so uh we

[1:29:48] are now on to the review of the employee

[1:29:51] pay and benefit report. And Josh, um I

[1:29:55] think you're here to give us a

[1:29:57] presentation on that. Is that

[1:29:59] I mean the Bulma report.

[1:30:00] >> Oh, is it a Bulma report? Oh, okay.

[1:30:03] Well, oh, yeah, that's right. I'm sorry.

[1:30:05] Thank you. Um, are you ready for the

[1:30:09] >> Yeah, it's it's Yeah, go ahead with the

[1:30:12] Bulma report.

[1:30:13] >> I don't feel that well either. So, if

[1:30:14] you want to go right to your employer,

[1:30:16] [laughter] that's

[1:30:17] >> all right. [snorts]

[1:30:19] >> Uh, so this report is wrapping up um

[1:30:23] some of the fiscal year 26 and it opens

[1:30:26] up some of the fiscal year 27. Our

[1:30:28] financial information we get from the

[1:30:30] state on revenue is always a month

[1:30:31] behind. Um so this report will go

[1:30:35] between two fiscal years. Our next

[1:30:37] report will all just be fiscal year 27.

[1:30:39] Just remember we get revenue a month

[1:30:40] behind because we get that information

[1:30:42] from the state. So this report starts on

[1:30:45] page 29 of your packet. Uh probably one

[1:30:48] of the most important things that we're

[1:30:49] seeing is that local sales tax or that

[1:30:51] sales tax is up uh local sales tax is up

[1:30:54] 4.1%. Our interest earnings are down a

[1:30:57] little bit from last year.

[1:31:00] And now if most of you follow the Fed,

[1:31:02] you'll see that there may be actually a

[1:31:04] chance for that rate to increase rather

[1:31:06] than decrease. So that is good for our

[1:31:09] interest earnings. It's not good if we

[1:31:11] want to borrow money. Um so our interest

[1:31:14] that we expected to get this year may

[1:31:16] actually be higher than expected is um

[1:31:18] it's likely that there could be actually

[1:31:20] a raise of interest rates.

[1:31:23] Um, when we look at sales tax combined

[1:31:25] with revenue from permit fees, that's

[1:31:28] actually down uh 1.3% from uh year-to-

[1:31:32] date 25 to 26 and that's uh mostly just

[1:31:35] due to the permit revenue being down.

[1:31:37] General fund expenditures are slightly

[1:31:40] up. Um we haven't finished all the

[1:31:43] acrruals for year end. So we have to uh

[1:31:46] book the acrals back. So that's still

[1:31:48] happening. So the general fund operating

[1:31:49] expenditures are an estimate at this

[1:31:51] point until we finish the uh year end

[1:31:53] acrruels which we will probably finish

[1:31:54] in September.

[1:31:56] If you go to page 31 and 32, this is

[1:31:59] reporting on our PIP fund. Um we've

[1:32:02] tried to do everything we can to be as

[1:32:04] transparent as possible with this fund.

[1:32:06] There's really no surprises.

[1:32:08] Um some of these uh uses of funds are

[1:32:10] more than we budgeted for the current

[1:32:12] year and that's because we carried over

[1:32:14] some POS from the prior year where we

[1:32:16] actually spent them in this year.

[1:32:18] If we go to page 33, you'll see that uh

[1:32:21] fire calls are up a bit, police calls

[1:32:23] are down a bit. Um really nothing out of

[1:32:25] the ordinary when we look for uh calls

[1:32:28] for service for both uh public safety

[1:32:30] departments. Uh page 35 shows our

[1:32:34] residential and commercial permit

[1:32:36] activity. Uh that's pretty much within

[1:32:38] the range of what we'd expect. Uh

[1:32:40] residential residential inspections are

[1:32:42] below previous year's numbers. Uh but

[1:32:45] the activity uh is kind of within the

[1:32:47] range that we've had the last couple

[1:32:49] years.

[1:32:51] We can go to page 37. This is going to

[1:32:53] be something that's going to be kind of

[1:32:54] neat. And if you would put this on the

[1:32:56] screen, Jason, I gave you two slides

[1:32:58] that you could put on the screen. Uh I

[1:33:01] don't mind which one you put up first.

[1:33:02] Okay. The landing ship tank LST 325 is

[1:33:06] coming to Sanders Ferry Park September

[1:33:08] 23rd and 29th. This is going to be open

[1:33:10] for tours. So, I understand this is the

[1:33:14] oldest operating World War II LST ship.

[1:33:17] Um, and they're going to be docked right

[1:33:19] at Saunders Ferry. So, when this comes

[1:33:22] next month, uh, it's $20 admission to

[1:33:25] walk through it. Uh, for kids, it's $10

[1:33:28] and then five and under is free. So,

[1:33:29] this is a pretty neat opportunity where

[1:33:31] this ship is going to be right at

[1:33:33] Sanders Fair and you can you can do a

[1:33:34] tour of it. So, on the weekends, I've

[1:33:36] been told there can be a line to get in.

[1:33:39] uh you can buy tickets there or you can

[1:33:40] buy them ahead of time. We'll still have

[1:33:43] one more time to announce this before

[1:33:44] it's here, but that's something to put

[1:33:46] on your calendar. That should be pretty

[1:33:47] neat. And then if you'd pull up the next

[1:33:49] slide, this is the food truck festival

[1:33:51] that's actually happening this Saturday,

[1:33:53] August 15th, from 4 to 8 at Veterans

[1:33:55] Park. Bring your canned goods there. It

[1:33:58] supports Feed Sumner. So, if you're

[1:34:00] going to attend, please bring your

[1:34:02] canned goods. And that really highlights

[1:34:04] the events that are on page 37.

[1:34:07] Uh page 38 shows storm water projects

[1:34:09] and paving. Uh storm water projects are

[1:34:11] off to a really good start. We've

[1:34:13] completed 10 of the 23 we budgeted for

[1:34:15] the year. Paving is supposed to start at

[1:34:18] the end of August. So we'll start to see

[1:34:20] those numbers in the future reports. I

[1:34:21] think August 24th is the start date that

[1:34:23] they gave us. Um

[1:34:26] right away really no change there. And

[1:34:28] then when we look at page 39 uh

[1:34:31] vacancies for fire are zero and PD

[1:34:33] vacancies are at four. So really low for

[1:34:35] both of those departments.

[1:34:39] That concludes my report, sir.

[1:34:41] >> Thank you very much this evening.

[1:34:42] Appreciate that. Does anybody have any

[1:34:44] questions from the board uh

[1:34:49] for Jesse at all on the report?

[1:34:53] All right. Hearing none, we'll go ahead

[1:34:55] and move on to the review of the

[1:34:57] employee pay and benefit report. And

[1:34:59] Josh, I think you're going to give us a

[1:35:01] little Jason rather. What did I say?

[1:35:04] Josh boy, I'm batting a thousand

[1:35:06] tonight, right?

[1:35:07] >> I've been called.

[1:35:08] >> Yeah, you look like a Josh.

[1:35:09] >> I appreciate it.

[1:35:10] >> Thank you. [laughter] I appreciate it.

[1:35:12] >> Anyway, uh so if you'd uh give us our

[1:35:16] report, thank you. We sure would

[1:35:17] appreciate it. Thank you.

[1:35:18] >> Yes, sir. Happy to do that. Yes, sir.

[1:35:19] >> Um so this is really just a report out

[1:35:23] of where we are at with the pay and

[1:35:25] benefit study. Um tonight, I'm not

[1:35:27] trying to make any decisions or do any

[1:35:29] of that. This is just simply to report

[1:35:30] out the information and then let you

[1:35:32] kind of mull it over. You know, if you

[1:35:34] feel like there need to be changes or

[1:35:36] things we want to address, maybe looking

[1:35:37] toward midyear budget or the next fiscal

[1:35:39] year, I'll let you all determine that.

[1:35:41] Um, but really, it's just designed to

[1:35:44] give information, let you kind of look

[1:35:46] it over. Um, I won't go through both

[1:35:48] reports. Both are in your packets. You

[1:35:51] have both the finalized pay study as

[1:35:52] well as the benefit study. Um,

[1:35:56] let's see. So on specialty pay, I just

[1:35:59] want to hit a couple quick things here.

[1:36:01] The purpose of specialty pay and why we

[1:36:03] do that is it's to compensate employees

[1:36:06] who have a specific skill set. So what

[1:36:07] we're trying to do is if somebody has

[1:36:09] specialized training, we recognize them

[1:36:11] for that. I will say that as they did

[1:36:14] this study, specifically within fire,

[1:36:17] there were areas that not all agencies

[1:36:19] did. So they had to kind of group them

[1:36:21] together. As I go through this, you'll

[1:36:24] see that there's some gaps. There's an

[1:36:26] asterk there and that asterk is they had

[1:36:29] to kind of put an average to everything

[1:36:30] because not everybody provides that.

[1:36:32] It'll make sense but the examples they

[1:36:34] give combine dive team rope rescue fire

[1:36:37] service communications right those are

[1:36:40] in some areas very specialized and other

[1:36:42] agencies they combine them all into one.

[1:36:45] So just as we go through this there's

[1:36:46] not an exact science not everybody

[1:36:48] offers the same exact pay benefits.

[1:36:51] So let's talk about shift differentials

[1:36:53] really quick. Um,

[1:36:55] just a high level, shift differentials

[1:36:57] are exactly what that sounds like. It is

[1:36:59] paying people additional money for

[1:37:01] working specific shifts. If you work a

[1:37:03] later shift, um, or midnight shift,

[1:37:06] that's that second and third shift, then

[1:37:08] we're going to give them additional

[1:37:10] money. The rotating shift would be they

[1:37:12] have a variety of times they could get

[1:37:14] called in. Just to point out that there

[1:37:17] is no participate participating

[1:37:19] employers that Burus Thompson had that

[1:37:22] did rotating shifts. we were the only

[1:37:23] one. Um the others out of all the

[1:37:27] employers they surveyed only 37% offered

[1:37:30] it. So I just want to put that in

[1:37:33] context. That's the graph below. That

[1:37:34] means that 63% of the employers don't

[1:37:38] offer differentials.

[1:37:40] So when we start looking at what's the

[1:37:42] 65th percentile, it's only the 65th

[1:37:46] percentile of that 37%. In other words,

[1:37:48] it's the top oneird of one-third.

[1:37:51] if that makes sense to you. Um, you do

[1:37:54] have a total survey median which is all

[1:37:56] of the people who reported out and then

[1:37:58] trying to grab that top third. So, where

[1:38:01] we stand, we are low in that. I'm not

[1:38:04] going to sit here and tell you that

[1:38:05] we're good. In comparison, we're low.

[1:38:07] That might be something that we need to

[1:38:09] address. Um, I was chatting with someone

[1:38:11] earlier and the differentials haven't

[1:38:14] been changed since they were implemented

[1:38:15] and I believe that was back in the 80s.

[1:38:17] So, they've served their purpose, but I

[1:38:20] think it's time to readress them. Um,

[1:38:22] others, you have the AMT, which is

[1:38:25] advanced EMT. We do not offer that uh

[1:38:27] with our firefighters. Um, but other

[1:38:30] agencies do, so we put that out there.

[1:38:32] You'll see the airpack and the dive

[1:38:34] team. Uh, while they have kind of an

[1:38:36] asterisk with annual amounts, remember

[1:38:38] those are the ones that we had to group

[1:38:40] together because we're one of the few

[1:38:42] that offer that. In other words, only

[1:38:44] 10% of employers that they surveyed

[1:38:47] offered the airpack or the dive team. Uh

[1:38:51] you have EMT. One of the things worth

[1:38:53] noting with EMT is while it's only 13%,

[1:38:56] other agencies combine it. So in certain

[1:39:00] areas, I know that they will combine it

[1:39:02] with a firefighter and it's baked into

[1:39:04] their base pay. So it's not an add-on

[1:39:07] like we do. It's just done differently.

[1:39:10] The other is the FTO program. um with

[1:39:13] our FTO program, if someone serves in a

[1:39:16] training capacity at the fire, uh at the

[1:39:18] police department, they will um get an

[1:39:21] hour overtime. So, what this calculation

[1:39:24] annually shows is that it is 5 hours of

[1:39:28] overtime a week for 12 months. Now,

[1:39:31] that's being very generous talking with

[1:39:33] Chief Jones about this. Average realist

[1:39:36] realistically, maybe six months out of

[1:39:38] the year they're training. So you could

[1:39:40] cut that number from 11 250 to about

[1:39:42] 5,500 and that still puts us ahead of

[1:39:44] the curve.

[1:39:48] Some others here we have the heat pay or

[1:39:50] swap pay. Um again only 23 um% actually

[1:39:55] provide that but when you compare our

[1:39:58] rates to others we are low in that one.

[1:40:00] Uh hazmat as well only about 10%.

[1:40:04] And again with insufficient data that

[1:40:06] just means they didn't have

[1:40:08] statistically enough people to give you

[1:40:10] that number. Um but you can look at and

[1:40:13] show that ours is a little lower. K9 is

[1:40:15] the same. Now one of the things that's

[1:40:17] not explained in K9 is there are some uh

[1:40:21] agencies that will pay for food. Others

[1:40:23] that require that employee to here's

[1:40:26] your budget and that includes food for

[1:40:29] the animal. So, those are things that

[1:40:31] are nuanced but aren't represented in

[1:40:34] the numbers that you see that you see

[1:40:35] here. Uh, motorcycle and mounted. This

[1:40:38] one was interesting. We are only one of

[1:40:39] two agencies that offer it. That's it.

[1:40:43] So, when we start looking at it, there's

[1:40:45] not many that actually offer that.

[1:40:50] » Sorry, let me back up.

[1:40:54] » What are the other Thank you. Thank you,

[1:40:57] mayor. Vice Mayor, appreciate it. Uh

[1:40:59] what are the other agencies? You said

[1:41:01] there were only two that

[1:41:02] >> so it's us and I believe it was Severe

[1:41:05] County.

[1:41:06] >> Severe County Pigeon Forge.

[1:41:07] >> Yeah.

[1:41:08] >> Are okay. All right. Thank you.

[1:41:09] >> So the Burst Thompson survey goes all of

[1:41:12] Tennessee, not just middle Tennessee.

[1:41:14] >> Okay.

[1:41:15] >> Thank you.

[1:41:16] >> Yeah.

[1:41:18] >> Uh negotiator pay again only 10% offer

[1:41:21] it, but again ours is low in comparison.

[1:41:23] On call is probably one of the is

[1:41:25] actually the highest that's in the

[1:41:27] report. And I want to point that out

[1:41:28] because 50% of the agencies have it. Um,

[1:41:32] ours annualized is $420.

[1:41:34] The average was 3,600 a year. So that

[1:41:39] might be something that impacts all

[1:41:40] departments, our public works

[1:41:42] department, parks department, um,

[1:41:44] police, uh, in some cases even fire.

[1:41:47] Areas that do have on call, that might

[1:41:49] be one that addresses that we address

[1:41:51] that helps all employees who have on

[1:41:53] call. uh paramedic. Again, similar to

[1:41:56] the EMT, not all agencies provide this

[1:41:59] and the ones that do, some of them bake

[1:42:01] it in, so they're not represented on

[1:42:03] this. And then the scuba inner spir um

[1:42:07] that's specific to fire. And again, only

[1:42:10] about 10%, but again, that falls into

[1:42:12] all those unique ones that the fire area

[1:42:16] has. Um others don't. One that I know

[1:42:19] has been a topic of conversation for the

[1:42:21] board over the years uh has been eay or

[1:42:23] education pay. So the way that ours

[1:42:27] stands versus others only about 20% of

[1:42:29] employers offer this. You can see kind

[1:42:31] of the up and down between them all. But

[1:42:34] even with all of the survey results, our

[1:42:36] pay for education pay comes in higher

[1:42:39] than most of all those other employers.

[1:42:41] We're above the 65th percentile there.

[1:42:46] All right. on the benefits program. Uh

[1:42:49] just a couple things to highlight here

[1:42:50] real quick. I'm going to summarize this

[1:42:53] uh the best that I can. So each area had

[1:42:57] a a possible score of nine. So that's

[1:43:00] where that green bar at the top. Our

[1:43:02] overall score was six. Our top areas

[1:43:05] were short-term disability. We were um

[1:43:09] tagged as having one of the most

[1:43:10] generous plans for employees who have to

[1:43:12] take time off whether it's for you know

[1:43:15] um a surgery or some other medical

[1:43:16] reason. Uh and it is employer paid. So

[1:43:19] our short-term and long-term disability

[1:43:20] are fully employer paid paid by the

[1:43:22] city. Uh retirement our TCRS no surprise

[1:43:26] is one of the most generous. Um it's a

[1:43:28] what I will say the quote there is is a

[1:43:30] strong traditional public sector

[1:43:32] retirement. So when you look at

[1:43:34] benefits, you know, from a public sector

[1:43:36] standpoint, this falls squarely in that.

[1:43:38] The other one is life and accidental

[1:43:40] death and dismemberment. Um, our basic

[1:43:43] life insurance that we provide, that

[1:43:45] basic life insurance is more than what

[1:43:47] other agencies are providing. Plus, our

[1:43:49] AD and D benefit was listed as one of

[1:43:51] the most generous. Some of the others on

[1:43:54] the other side of this, our sick leave

[1:43:56] acrruel which is down at the bottom

[1:43:59] toward and gets a rating of five is

[1:44:01] considered consistent with all other

[1:44:04] public sectors. Our dental is generally

[1:44:07] comparable but there is above average

[1:44:09] for basic services and then below

[1:44:10] average on annual maximums and

[1:44:12] orthodontia. So it becomes a balance.

[1:44:15] And then the last one which may surprise

[1:44:17] some people are paid holidays. we rated

[1:44:19] lower on. Um so that is the lowest

[1:44:23] category. This is predominantly because

[1:44:25] the city is not closed on additional

[1:44:28] holidays. So there are a few holidays

[1:44:30] that others recognize that we do not.

[1:44:32] And so um you know that would be a

[1:44:36] choice if we wanted to add those

[1:44:38] additional holidays or how we want to

[1:44:40] approach that.

[1:44:41] But overall again this is just to report

[1:44:43] out where we're at. The rest of the pay

[1:44:46] study this has all been complete. The

[1:44:48] remaining part of the pay study is doing

[1:44:50] the job descriptions. So, we've uh got

[1:44:52] two departments done and we're working

[1:44:53] through several others. So, that

[1:44:56] concludes my report.

[1:45:04] » Does anyone have any questions?

[1:45:08] >> Eddie. Yes. Hold on. Let me get over

[1:45:10] there to you, brother.

[1:45:13] >> Sheet that you had.

[1:45:14] >> Sure.

[1:45:15] >> Jason, can you pull that PowerPoint back

[1:45:17] up? Thank you. Yeah. In in the

[1:45:20] retirement, I read this. It's on page

[1:45:22] 76.

[1:45:24] >> I I don't unless I missed it, I don't

[1:45:26] see that we looked at any kind of uh of what some of our public safety

[1:45:33] employees are requesting, you know, the

[1:45:36] early retirement benefit. uh it it's not

[1:45:40] included in in the discussion of

[1:45:42] retirement, but did do we know of the

[1:45:45] peer group how many offer some kind of

[1:45:48] early retirement?

[1:45:50] So, no, off the top I do not. I can ask

[1:45:53] the consultant for that information.

[1:45:56] I can say offhand I only know of a

[1:45:57] handful of agencies around us that offer

[1:45:59] it.

[1:46:00] >> Okay. But overall we we received I think

[1:46:05] it said that is is

[1:46:08] uh among the most generous

[1:46:11] >> u than the typical public se public

[1:46:14] sector benchmarks in retirement because

[1:46:16] we don't require it's a non-contributo

[1:46:19] >> that's correct

[1:46:20] >> uh benefit.

[1:46:22] >> Okay. Thank you. That's all.

[1:46:28] » [snorts]

[1:46:31] » Director Gallow, you did identify a few

[1:46:34] areas that we were not super strong in

[1:46:38] shift differential on call

[1:46:41] >> paid holidays. Um

[1:46:44] do you intend m perhaps for the next

[1:46:47] fiscal year to propose changes in those

[1:46:50] areas or

[1:46:53] >> it's a good question. Yes, to some

[1:46:55] extent, but there is the part that goes

[1:46:56] with it which has been brought up in

[1:46:58] other topics and that's the point of

[1:47:00] funding. And so, while I can make the

[1:47:03] recommendation to increase things, um

[1:47:05] the bottom line is it does cost

[1:47:07] additional money to do that.

[1:47:10] So, yeah.

[1:47:11] >> Yeah, it it's not for this year.

[1:47:12] >> Yeah, [laughter]

[1:47:14] understood.

[1:47:15] >> It'd be nice to know. Um,

[1:47:18] I mean, I don't know

[1:47:20] what the impact of bringing us up a

[1:47:24] little bit in shift differential would

[1:47:26] be because I don't really have a grasp

[1:47:28] for how often that's utilized or the on

[1:47:31] call pay like that might be something

[1:47:34] that's not really utilized that much.

[1:47:37] So, it might not be a huge impact to the

[1:47:39] budget and we could be more competitive.

[1:47:41] And

[1:47:42] >> so just so you know for context,

[1:47:44] employees with on call pay have it paid

[1:47:46] as a monthly stipen regardless of if

[1:47:48] they get called in or not.

[1:47:49] >> Okay.

[1:47:52] >> Well, I'd like to learn more about the

[1:47:54] kind of the detailed and the nuances for

[1:47:56] next year.

[1:47:57] >> Okay.

[1:47:58] >> Thank you.

[1:47:59] >> Yes.

[1:48:09] » Motion to adjurnn.

[1:48:12] Second

[1:48:14] proper motion

[1:48:15] >> and adjournment proper second on the

[1:48:17] adjournment.

[1:48:19] >> All in favor say I know I know.

[1:48:22] >> All right. Thank you. All oppose. No.

[1:48:24] I know. So the nos have it. So

[1:48:28] everybody remain I'm not ready to go

[1:48:30] home. No. It's ajourned. Thank you guys.

[1:48:33] Appreciate that.

[1:48:36] » [music]

Hendersonville Board of Mayor & Aldermen 8/11/2026

Transcript