[0:00] e
[0:39] uh welcome to those here in attendance
[0:41] and online to the March 6 2025 meeting
[0:44] uh this Thursday evening of the Johnson
[0:46] City city commission held here at the
[0:47] water and sewer comp Ser sewer Services
[0:50] complex it's currently 6 o' and we will
[0:53] call the meeting to order if everyone
[0:55] would please uh stand uh for pastor Pete
[0:58] tacket and as he gives the invocation
[1:01] and remain standing for the
[1:03] pledge thank you let's pray father we're
[1:06] thankful to live in a good city like
[1:08] Johnson City Tennessee we're thankful
[1:11] for our leadership we recognize that
[1:13] these have been challenging days but we
[1:15] thank you Lord that we are now in a
[1:16] place that we can look ahead strain
[1:19] toward the things that are ahead instead
[1:20] of looking backwards God I pray you
[1:22] continue to heal continue to lead
[1:24] continue to direct our city thank you
[1:26] for this night thank you for these men
[1:28] and women who will make good decision
[1:29] decisions and do what they can to lead
[1:32] us in the direction that we need to go
[1:34] bless them in their deliberations
[1:36] tonight I pray in Jesus name
[1:40] Amen to the flag of the United States of
[1:44] America and to the Republic for which it
[1:47] stands one nation under God indivisible
[1:51] with liberty and justice for
[1:58] all um
[2:01] Miss Paul yes um Commissioners your
[2:03] first order of business is to consider
[2:06] the approval of the minutes for the
[2:08] regularly scheduled City commission
[2:10] meeting held on Thursday February 13
[2:13] 2025 move approval second Miss L
[2:16] commissioner Brock yes commissioner wise
[2:19] yes mayor Hunter
[2:20] yes um mayor your next item is
[2:24] proclamations Miss Paul oh yes do we
[2:26] need to change anything on the agenda oh
[2:29] yes uh thank thank you so much um I
[2:31] would ask that you if we could move item
[2:35] and I'm looking for it on the agenda
[2:38] item number 10.3
[2:41] 10.3 10.3 which is under presentation
[2:45] audit presentation by Blackburn
[2:47] children's and stal which is our
[2:50] um uh our audit if we could move it up
[2:54] under presentations and if we could move
[2:55] it to item
[2:58] 5.4 if the commission would would allow
[3:00] I would so move second Miss L
[3:03] commissioner Brock yes commissioner wise
[3:05] yes mayor Hunter yes and um mayor we had
[3:09] no one signed up for public comment
[3:10] tonight okay next we have a present
[3:14] presentation of retirement uh in honor
[3:17] of Dr Steve Barnett
[3:39] Dr Barnett no he's new at this minute Dr
[3:44] Barnett is that working now yeah U glad
[3:49] to have you here it's um appreciate kind
[3:52] of momentous I think what eight years
[3:54] ago that's right I was on the school
[3:56] board and and we taking a chance on and
[4:00] we did great I mean you did great and
[4:02] you've weathered a lot and done a great
[4:04] job and you'll be sorely missed and uh
[4:07] so we'll read this Proclamation for you
[4:10] um whereas Dr Steve Barnett has
[4:13] dedicated 32 years to to education
[4:16] shaping the lives of countless students
[4:18] and Educators through his commitment to
[4:20] academic excellence and Leadership and
[4:24] whereas Dr Barnett a Navy veteran and
[4:27] distinguished graduate of East Tennessee
[4:29] State University the University of
[4:31] Tennessee and Tennessee Tech University
[4:34] has demonstrated a a lifelong dedication
[4:37] to learning and service and whereas Dr
[4:40] Barnett devoted 20 years to Johnson City
[4:42] Schools serving as principal of town
[4:44] Acres school elementary school for 12
[4:47] years before being selected
[4:49] superintendent in 2017 leading the with
[4:52] vision and integrity for eight years and
[4:55] whereas during his tenure as
[4:57] superintendent Dr Barnett collab
[4:59] collaborated with the Johnson City Board
[5:01] of Education and City commission to
[5:04] implement a comprehensive restructuring
[5:06] plan returning fifth grade to the
[5:08] elementary schools establishing two
[5:11] middle schools for grades 6 through
[5:12] eight and the expansion of elementary
[5:15] school facilities and a new town Acres
[5:17] Elementary School to accommodate the
[5:20] city's growing student
[5:23] population and whereas Dr Barnett played
[5:26] an important role in maintaining
[5:28] academic excellence during the covid-19
[5:31] pandemic making student- centered
[5:33] decisions that contributed to Johnson
[5:35] City Schools being among the select few
[5:38] Nationwide and one of only four in
[5:42] Tennessee to surpass prepandemic
[5:44] performance levels in math and
[5:46] reading and whereas Dr Barnett's
[5:49] leadership dedication and passion for
[5:51] Education have left a lasting impact on
[5:54] Johnson City schools and the broader
[5:56] Community ensuring continued growth and
[5:58] opportunity for future
[6:00] Generations now therefore I John Hunter
[6:04] mayor of the city of Johnson City
[6:05] Tennessee do hereby recognize and honor
[6:08] the career and retirement of Dr Steve
[6:10] Barnett and encourage all citizens to
[6:12] join in celebrating his legacy of
[6:14] service and commitment to the students
[6:16] Educators and families of Johnson City
[6:19] thank
[6:20] [Applause]
[6:25] you mayor
[6:28] [Applause]
[6:38] I'm just coming Jenny
[6:41] told T thank you
[6:44] congratulations thank you you're a
[6:46] hugger that's right I could give you a
[6:48] hug from Over the I am not a
[6:55] hugger I'll I'll just start I I just is
[6:59] the biggest honor of my life
[7:02] professionally to uh to be able to be
[7:04] the superintendent Johnson City Schools
[7:06] what a wonderful Community what a great
[7:08] place to live to raise children and I
[7:12] think a lot of that has to do because
[7:14] our community sees education as an
[7:16] investment investment in our children
[7:19] investment in our community not an
[7:21] expense and uh what an honor to be able
[7:24] to do that and my wife is in the
[7:26] audience and she made
[7:30] my job doable because of the support she
[7:33] provided for me at home and I really
[7:34] appreciate her and I never want to leave
[7:37] her out of that but what an honor what a
[7:40] privilege and I get to do work now that
[7:43] supports uh education and outcomes
[7:45] across all of Northeast Tennessee and uh
[7:49] and across the whole state with the nice
[7:51] warer foundation so looking forward to
[7:53] the work that we're going to do and the
[7:55] support we'll continue to provide school
[7:57] systems like Johnson City and Washington
[7:59] County and the surrounding areas but
[8:01] thank you all so much for this I really
[8:04] appreciate it and like I told Mr Hunter
[8:06] was on the school board and and uh
[8:08] Schoolboard members that were there when
[8:10] they selected me I always wanted to say
[8:12] to them thanks for taking taking a
[8:14] chance on me thank
[8:18] you um Steve um this is a very moving
[8:22] moment for for us because this
[8:25] commission that uh a portion of it
[8:27] standing in front of you right now has
[8:28] worked with you over the last uh how
[8:31] many years eight years yeah and as a
[8:36] result of that we have one of the
[8:38] greatest school systems in the state of
[8:40] Tennessee under your
[8:42] leadership uh when I was on the school
[8:44] board you were the principal of town
[8:46] Acres Elementary School and I remember
[8:50] one day we were advertising for the
[8:52] Turkey
[8:53] Trot and I was the turkey I was had on
[8:56] the mascot uniform well the thing I
[8:59] didn't do that day was to attach the
[9:02] head under my arms and so we went to the
[9:05] cafeteria do you
[9:07] remember and they turn some music on and
[9:10] Steve comes over and grabs me as the
[9:13] turkey to
[9:15] dance and so we danced in the cafeteria
[9:17] the kids were going wild right but he
[9:19] spun me around and my head almost flew
[9:23] off and that would have really been
[9:26] scary for those kids I can tell you but
[9:29] but you were always involved you
[9:31] committed everything to everything we're
[9:32] doing here in Johnson City we we are
[9:35] really going to miss your leadership the
[9:37] school you left the school in a great
[9:39] position and that's what I've told the
[9:42] people that that are coming in behind
[9:44] you is you've left them in great
[9:46] position don't mess it up okay but thank
[9:49] you so much for all that you have done
[9:52] and um you know the place I would see
[9:54] you most would be on the Tweety Trail
[9:56] because of your commitment to to to
[9:58] Fitness and and staying in good health
[10:00] and we appreciate that and I will see
[10:02] you out there again thank I just would
[10:06] say I don't think there are too many
[10:07] jobs in a community as challenging as
[10:09] the Director of schools there's probably
[10:11] about a half a dozen jobs that make a
[10:13] community function they're at the heart
[10:15] of what is happening and the last eight
[10:17] years has presented a number of
[10:19] challenging seasons and you have led
[10:22] through all of them and I think we are
[10:24] in a better place for it and I
[10:26] appreciate you and your family for the
[10:28] sacrifice you made on behalf of our
[10:34] community thank you um I have had the
[10:36] privilege um to work with Dr Barnett for
[10:39] about three and a half years I've worked
[10:41] with a lot of superintendents in my
[10:42] career and I will tell you you're the
[10:44] best of the best um what you've done for
[10:47] the school system what you've done for
[10:48] the community your integrity stands
[10:51] above any any anybody I would say you're
[10:55] the consumate professional um I I think
[10:58] you you live and you walk by what you
[11:01] say and uh that's big when you're
[11:04] leading a bunch of kids and they're
[11:05] looking at you every day and you're
[11:08] going to you're really going to be
[11:09] missed it's going to be hard for us to
[11:11] continue the path we'll do it but we'll
[11:14] probably be making a lot of phone calls
[11:15] to you asking for advice but thanks
[11:19] thanks Big thanks this community owes
[11:21] you a huge debt of gratitude thank you
[11:23] so
[11:24] [Applause]
[11:29] miss ball actually if you'll stay down
[11:31] here um next item on the agenda yeah the
[11:35] next item on the agenda we are so
[11:37] excited I don't know if we've given many
[11:39] keys away um this is maybe our first key
[11:43] not in a long time uh to the if you
[11:47] haven't noticed we have the big South
[11:49] going on right now and very proudly so
[11:53] um we want to give it to commissioner
[11:54] sharica Montgomery and if you will come
[11:57] up and join us and we are so so excited
[11:59] to have you here we're excited to have
[12:01] the big South here and we are cheering
[12:03] the whole
[12:12] time if I could if uh Aaron Murphy could
[12:16] come up Aaron was on the commission when
[12:19] when we were awarded this and we love to
[12:21] have him up here with us so the city of
[12:24] John city of John city is as
[12:27] a as uh city manager ball mentioned uh
[12:31] has not I think the most recent I could
[12:34] see that I could find online was in 1962
[12:38] so it's a pretty big deal that uh we
[12:40] brought the key out and uh we are
[12:43] extremely excited and thankful for you
[12:46] your selection of Johnson City for 25 to
[12:48] 27 and hope that we see you here for
[12:50] many years beyond that um thank you for
[12:54] you know bringing the people to our
[12:56] region and the teams and and we're just
[12:58] extreme
[12:59] thankful for your all presence would you
[13:02] like to say
[13:04] anything thank you so much um first and
[13:07] foremost I'm absolutely honored and
[13:09] elated to St here and accept this not
[13:11] only as an individual but on behalf of
[13:13] the entire Big South Conference we are
[13:15] so excited we have felt welcomed since
[13:17] the first time we had an opportunity to
[13:19] step into this city and I'm just honored
[13:21] to say that we have a total of 18 men's
[13:24] women's basketball programs they are
[13:26] experiencing Johnson City on another
[13:28] level both in the arena outside of the
[13:31] Arena you all have stepped forward in a
[13:33] way that we are just immensely grateful
[13:35] if you have not already attended we
[13:38] would love to see you all out the
[13:39] Freedom Hall Civic Center this weekend
[13:41] the action will continue to be amazing
[13:43] but more than anything Miss Brenda um
[13:46] I'd be remiss a lot of people have asked
[13:48] me how did we you know land on Johnson
[13:50] City and there's one word that continues
[13:52] to come to mind partnership when we were
[13:55] going through the bid process it is
[13:57] something that stuck through that this
[13:59] would be a true partnership someone that
[14:01] we would be able to work with and really
[14:03] feel a level of reciprocity and that's
[14:05] exactly what this first year has been
[14:07] and we look forward to many years so
[14:09] once again on behalf of the Big South
[14:11] Conference thank you for not only
[14:12] welcoming me to this session but all of
[14:15] our member institutions to this fine
[14:16] City here in Johnson City thank
[14:19] [Applause]
[14:25] you well sharica um as we said last
[14:28] night tonight um guys you got to go to
[14:31] Freedom Hall it is amazing the way it
[14:34] has been transformed into the Big South
[14:37] basketball Conference Finals and it's
[14:39] just great it's a great place and I do
[14:41] also want to call out Brenda Whitson
[14:43] with the convention of visitors bureau
[14:44] CVB for working the bid to begin with
[14:47] but then working getting everything here
[14:50] and Steve Willis who's on City staff uh
[14:53] assistant city manager um and all the
[14:56] other staff here in the city who have
[14:59] really transformed Freedom Hall into a
[15:02] competitive Arena that is so exciting
[15:05] and everybody needs to go so get on up
[15:08] there but thank you so much for choosing
[15:10] us as I said it raises the bar as to
[15:13] what we are doing here and I think other
[15:15] people will be taking a view of Johnson
[15:17] City in a very positive way and by the
[15:19] way folks it's on TV and Kathy and I
[15:22] were there last night and we were on
[15:24] ESPN so you know so please go uh take
[15:29] take your young children take your
[15:31] grandchildren uh it's just an exciting
[15:33] place to be but thank you and Welcome to
[15:36] our city and this won't be the last time
[15:38] right not the
[15:40] last well um thank you as everybody else
[15:43] has said um the energy level when y'all
[15:45] got here was just incredible and I felt
[15:48] giddy I feel like a little kid and
[15:51] obviously I'm not but um but the energy
[15:53] level the excitement um somebody said
[15:56] last night when I was saying you know
[15:59] what can we do better what we can do
[16:00] they said you make us feel welcome and
[16:02] that's what we want to do if we know
[16:04] anything our motto is go all out we hope
[16:07] that you felt that that that that came
[16:10] up before I got here but um we hope that
[16:13] you felt that and of course we're doing
[16:15] it because we want more of you we want
[16:18] you to come back so thank you so
[16:23] much well it's so exciting to have you
[16:26] guys come to our city um I'm an have it
[16:28] back basketball fan and uh there's a lot
[16:30] of people that's ready to support you
[16:33] from the from the start to the finish so
[16:35] whatever you need please feel free to
[16:37] reach out we're here for you thank you
[16:39] so I would just say yes and this is me
[16:42] being
[16:45] giddy
[16:48] thatc if you'll come over here JT you
[16:51] want to take some good
[16:55] pictures watch the TV
[17:14] I
[17:31] thank
[17:33] [Applause]
[17:54] you and last but not least uh we have uh
[17:58] Comm commissioner Aaron Murphy here with
[18:00] us and we want to as a Time honor
[18:02] tradition recognize your your service on
[18:04] the commission uh with this plaque and
[18:07] you know Aon it was a pleasure serving
[18:10] with you the last four years and uh
[18:12] getting to know you and uh having you uh
[18:15] be a part of some really big things over
[18:18] the past four years and um you know hope
[18:21] to see you again and and uh we
[18:24] appreciate it
[18:26] sir well I'm greatly uh honored to have
[18:29] served the city for four years and I'm
[18:32] continuing to serve as we know that
[18:34] positions and titles do not define who a
[18:37] person is and so uh I look forward to
[18:40] continuing to represent our city well
[18:43] and uh model uh servant Le leadership uh
[18:47] that everyone's pleased with so thank
[18:48] you I've enjoyed all of you and uh I'm
[18:51] still here in the city if you need me
[18:53] thank you
[18:55] [Applause]
[19:00] Aon first of all um I want to say thank
[19:02] you for your commitment to Johnson City
[19:05] I know it is real I know it's true and
[19:07] I've seen the variety of of things that
[19:10] you have done for this city that make a
[19:12] difference and so um and usually then
[19:15] you'll pick up the phone and call one of
[19:16] us and say you need to be here and so we
[19:19] would we would come down so thank you so
[19:21] much for that um you've been the
[19:25] prayer for the Turkey Trot so I'm a
[19:28] officially inviting you again for this
[19:30] next Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning
[19:34] to show up all right thank
[19:36] you I just to Echo what was already said
[19:39] and acknowledge the considerable
[19:41] sacrifice of time and energy that you
[19:43] put into our community and the sacrifice
[19:46] that your family has made of your time
[19:48] and your energy to invest in our
[19:51] community thank you um vice mayor um the
[19:55] past three and a half years um and which
[19:59] through a lot of it but have been very
[20:01] challenging as you know for the city and
[20:03] I just want to say a special thank you
[20:05] for the times that you've lifted us up
[20:08] you've Lifted Me Up um during very
[20:11] difficult and challenging times uh of
[20:13] the of the heart of the soul and um we
[20:16] knew we would come through it and we
[20:18] have and thank you for being a part of
[20:20] that and thank you for staying with us
[20:22] through that so we you're very much we
[20:25] very much appreciate that so thank you
[20:30] thank
[20:32] [Applause]
[20:43] you we don't
[21:28] commissioner
[21:29] the next item as you have moved forward
[21:31] under item
[21:32] 4.3 is a presentation of the audit by uh
[21:36] Blackburn CH uh children and steagle and
[21:40] if you will come forward thank you so
[21:42] much
[21:43] Tara thank you all for having me um and
[21:46] thank you for moving me up on the agenda
[21:47] I greatly appreciate that um I am Tara
[21:50] finner with Blackburn children's in
[21:52] Sagal I'm an audit partner that
[21:53] partnered the audit for the fiscal year
[21:55] 24 for the city of Johnson City um I
[21:59] want to commend Stephanie LA and the
[22:00] finance department for their great work
[22:02] and all the support and assistance that
[22:04] they give us throughout the audit
[22:05] process I know it's a huge undertaking
[22:08] and we ask a lot of you and I greatly
[22:10] appreciate all the help that you've
[22:11] given us through that process um we did
[22:14] have a clean audit opinion this year
[22:16] which is fantastic it's the best that
[22:17] you can get and that covers the
[22:19] financial statement audit presentation
[22:21] and then as well as the schedule of
[22:23] expenditures of federal Awards um the
[22:27] net position for the city overall for
[22:30] the fiscal year ended um June 30th 2024
[22:34] was 5.4 million of that amount 393
[22:39] million is invested in capital assets
[22:41] and that word invest and investment has
[22:43] come up several times even tonight um
[22:46] and that
[22:47] basically um supports the fact that you
[22:49] all are investing in your communities
[22:50] you're investing in road projects
[22:53] constructions um classroom modifications
[22:56] Parks improvements all of those things
[22:58] school buses that keeps the city running
[23:01] so that's what that number really means
[23:02] and that's a huge um part of what you
[23:04] all do and the services that you provide
[23:06] to your community um the net in the net
[23:10] position increase for the year was 22
[23:13] million um so that's great you always
[23:15] want to have an increase that's much
[23:16] better um shows the strength of the
[23:18] city's finances for debt activity for
[23:21] the year you did pay down debt totally
[23:24] of 18.8 million that includes bonds
[23:27] notes Capital leases and subscription
[23:31] contracts there were no new bonds issued
[23:33] you did have a final draw down on a
[23:35] previously issued Bond of 535,000
[23:39] um Grant awards for the year Federal
[23:43] expenditures totaled 19.4 million and
[23:47] those programs covered Food Service
[23:49] police Public Service Community
[23:51] Development the transit system and the
[23:53] arpa programs um for State expenditures
[23:57] your totals were 4.7 million and those
[24:00] were primarily related to Transit
[24:02] programs Community Development education
[24:05] is huge part of that state funding um
[24:08] and then Public Safety for the grants
[24:11] that we tested as major for the year
[24:13] those covered the Federal Transit
[24:15] cluster coronav virus state and local
[24:18] fiscal recovery funds the State
[24:20] education funds and the highway planning
[24:22] and construction cluster through all of
[24:25] that testing that we did for the major
[24:26] programs we did not have any finding
[24:28] related to any of your Grant programs so
[24:30] that was
[24:31] fantastic um we really overall had a
[24:34] great year we were able to issue um by
[24:38] December 31st which is always the goal
[24:41] um and that's a huge um a huge success I
[24:45] think for the city and for us um
[24:47] especially following the huge software
[24:50] conversions and things that were really
[24:52] a struggle for the last couple years so
[24:54] it's great to report that those have all
[24:55] improved and you all are well on your
[24:58] way to um really successful financial
[25:01] position yeah any
[25:05] questions um I'd just like to say and I
[25:08] think you'll agree with me that uh thank
[25:11] you to miss LA and your team your whole
[25:14] team that has um made this audit much
[25:19] easier for our Auditors right yes yeah
[25:22] for sure but um it's it's really an
[25:25] honor to serve um on a commission and
[25:29] with the administration of the city um
[25:32] that we um you know I I do believe we're
[25:35] in a strong financial position and we
[25:37] manage
[25:38] conservatively uh but but invest in our
[25:41] city and we we can't
[25:44] deliver uh excellence in Services unless
[25:47] our employees have the tools that they
[25:49] need to do that absolutely and so that's
[25:52] the investment that's very uh important
[25:54] for us to consider on an ongoing basis
[25:57] but thank you for your work for
[25:59] Blackburn children in stal and wish you
[26:02] well on your move out to gray thank you
[26:04] I really appreciate that any other
[26:06] comments or questions is there any
[26:08] action item or action on this no sir
[26:11] okay thank you miss ball Commissioners
[26:15] the next order of business is
[26:16] consideration of an appointment to the
[26:19] Civil Service Commission per City
[26:21] Charter this is a police department
[26:23] appointee and our our assistant city
[26:25] manager Steve Willis is here to present
[26:27] this item mayor Hunter Commissioners
[26:29] Miss L miss ball my name is Steve Willis
[26:32] assistant city manager happy to be
[26:33] before you tonight but I must say it's
[26:35] with a bit of sadness that we bring this
[26:37] before you for your consideration this
[26:39] evening the reason for this vacancy is
[26:41] due to the passing of a longtime
[26:43] volunteer board member Mr William bones
[26:47] Adams and those who know
[26:49] Bones have to think about him in an
[26:52] affectionate way because he had a heart
[26:54] as big as this room and he was a model
[26:57] volunteer board board member he sat on
[27:00] the Civil Service Commission for 17
[27:01] years with the vast majority of those
[27:03] being as its chairman and he did that
[27:06] because he cared about his community and
[27:09] he loved the men and women who worked in
[27:11] public safety whether that be police or
[27:13] fire and Mr Adams always showed up and
[27:16] he always stayed all day and that's with
[27:20] a lot of health challenges that he faced
[27:22] along the way so out of respect for him
[27:24] and his service we delayed this
[27:26] appointment just a bit but but the
[27:28] police department has held an election
[27:30] and their recommendation to this board
[27:32] this evening is for Mr Brian O'Hare to
[27:34] be selected to fill the remaining term
[27:36] of Mr Adams which would be the balance
[27:39] of calendar year 2025 as well as all of
[27:42] calendar year
[27:43] 2026 Mr O'Hare has about 37 combined
[27:47] years of law enforcement experience with
[27:49] 24 of those being a special agent to the
[27:52] FBI so he certainly qualified to fill
[27:54] this role and I would recommend that you
[27:57] approve this appointment move approval
[27:59] second Miss L commissioner Brock yes
[28:02] commissioner wise yes mayor Hunter yes
[28:05] Miss Paul Commissioners your next order
[28:07] of business is consideration of the
[28:09] consent agenda I guess I'll start to my
[28:12] left M Brock any items uh I I do want to
[28:17] pull the one just for kind of a brief
[28:19] overview Mr um trivet on the um Cherokee
[28:25] Park that we'll be doing in the next
[28:27] year
[28:29] get what number that
[28:31] is
[28:33] 7.1.1 yes
[28:35] ma'am um Mr wat and perhaps while Mr
[28:39] trivet is at the podium 724 and
[28:43] 725 just to briefly touch on what we're
[28:46] doing there and how it's kind of in
[28:49] tandem with some existing state
[28:51] investment and how that effort works
[28:54] great thank you Mr miles Mr trivet is
[28:57] that all
[28:58] uh good evening I'm Randy triet the
[29:01] deputy city manager it's good to be
[29:03] before you tonight I've got director
[29:05] Jason Miles with public works with me as
[29:08] well because his department will be
[29:10] handling all three of these items that
[29:12] you've asked us to look at and I'll I'll
[29:15] say a couple things about
[29:17] 7.1.1 on the uh uh the Cherokee Street
[29:22] Extension uh pond that's going in a
[29:24] storm water retention Basin it's going
[29:26] to be more like a park like said
[29:28] that's going to uh mimic Founders Park
[29:32] and King Commons just a little smaller
[29:34] scale because of the space that we've
[29:36] got uh a few a few months ago you guys
[29:40] approved a a land swap out there with
[29:43] one of the adjoining property owners so
[29:45] this Pond will come around into an
[29:47] l-shape and follow along um State of
[29:50] Franklin Road so that uh that people can
[29:54] be able to get out and enjoy and enjoy
[29:56] walking around the the water features
[29:59] there'll be some other amenities that'll
[30:01] be in there there'll be some additional
[30:03] parking um that has been added to um the
[30:08] area so that people can park they can
[30:10] walk there they can enjoy West walut
[30:12] Street and all the amenities that'll be
[30:14] going on with that uh the item that's
[30:18] brought before you tonight on the
[30:19] consent agenda is uh the since the the
[30:24] hurricane hit in our area and the
[30:26] devastation that was occurred there uh
[30:29] TC has decided to wave the matching
[30:33] Grant funds for this and so uh the
[30:36] matching grant for the city was about
[30:39] $597,000 almost
[30:41] $600,000 with them waving that then we
[30:44] have to pay zero and match to this would
[30:47] be 100% Grant funded which ends up being
[30:50] nearly $3.3 million to do the
[30:53] construction of this Wetland do you have
[30:55] anything you want to add to that or Mr
[30:58] trivet this the primary purpose of this
[31:01] area is storm water detention absolutely
[31:05] especially coming off the renovation of
[31:08] West Walnut Street and the water that
[31:09] comes down through there uh this will be
[31:12] to hold off some of that water so that
[31:15] it's uh uh held back before it gets
[31:17] across into Brush Creek so we're just
[31:20] happening to turn it into a park-like
[31:22] setting as well that if if it does flood
[31:25] the park will flood first absolutely and
[31:27] that's a theme that we're trying to
[31:29] approach all across the city when we
[31:31] have that opportunity that if we have to
[31:34] build in any type of larger retention or
[31:38] larger storm water management control
[31:40] plans that we turn those into park-like
[31:43] settings and uh we're we're we're in the
[31:46] negotiations and working on one up on
[31:48] West wut where the Burlington Mill
[31:50] property is at We own a lot of property
[31:52] there that we purchased for uh storm
[31:55] water management and so we know the
[31:57] capacity and as that Park uh as that
[32:00] storm water plan gets developed it'll be
[32:02] a park-like setting as well open to the
[32:04] public and open to the community uh to
[32:07] enjoy when it's not in flooding season
[32:09] now the timeline I noticed on the news
[32:12] we've I think WCYB covered it this is
[32:15] almost through on West Walnut Street I
[32:18] think that was their yeah almost almost
[32:21] through or something like that but this
[32:23] is going to take a little bit longer I
[32:24] mean the street and all the improvements
[32:26] that have been made on the on West
[32:28] wallant proper are just about
[32:31] completed this is kind of off to the
[32:33] side and it's going to take about a year
[32:35] to do it more than that yeah about 18
[32:39] months I think to get it completed we're
[32:41] probably and this is a separate project
[32:43] this was separate funding that became
[32:45] available there was already a detention
[32:48] that was needed at this location when uh
[32:51] West W it was designed but when this
[32:53] grant opportunity came up and we applied
[32:56] for it uh through Public Works
[32:58] uh it was able to improve it and enhance
[33:01] it and make it more of a park- like
[33:02] setting before it was just going to be a
[33:03] water retention holding area but now
[33:06] that we can have some additional funds
[33:09] as a separate Grant we're going to be
[33:10] able to enhance it and make it a lot
[33:12] more appealing a lot more attractive
[33:15] with landscaping and other park-like
[33:17] amenities uh but the West walut Street
[33:20] project will be completed by this by May
[33:23] of this year uh what we're waiting on
[33:25] now is the final top coat of Asal
[33:28] uh we were waiting on some like the
[33:30] demolition of the copy net building so
[33:32] that heavier trucks and demolition
[33:34] equipment wouldn't be dra traveling
[33:36] across new fresh pavement and so and
[33:39] then uh you have to have perfect weather
[33:42] in order to put down asphalt to make it
[33:44] last a lot longer but uh Landscaping is
[33:46] gearing up right now and purchasing all
[33:49] the plants uh they've actually even got
[33:51] some volunteers from the Main Street
[33:53] program who are wanting to come in and
[33:54] help them plant some of this Landscaping
[33:56] along the the the uh other side of West
[34:00] Walnut as it's going through so you'll
[34:02] uh once Spring weather hits and we're
[34:04] getting very close to that you're going
[34:06] to get to see a lot more activity going
[34:08] on out there and that project being
[34:09] finished up as well but this project
[34:12] with it being an arpa Grant uh the
[34:15] design was due to be 60% complete by the
[34:18] end of January which uh barge uh designs
[34:22] hit that Target date they will finish up
[34:24] the design uh over the next couple three
[34:27] 3 months and then we'll put it out to
[34:29] bid um to uh have the project completed
[34:33] and it'll probably take about 18 months
[34:35] but our deadline to have it completed is
[34:38] uh September of
[34:43] 2026 looking great over there I know our
[34:46] businesses are very happy about the
[34:48] result of it it's going to be a
[34:49] beautiful place and we really hope this
[34:51] really everything that the city's
[34:53] invested in this and that you all have
[34:55] approved we really see the the roots of
[34:58] that when developers and and and
[35:00] buildings and things start being built
[35:02] over there that will be producing
[35:05] activities for the public to to
[35:08] enjoy uh do you want me to go on into
[35:10] the next one yeah just speak to how it
[35:13] fits in with what the state already does
[35:15] and how citizens see this happening on a
[35:19] day-to-day basis yeah these are mowing
[35:21] contracts that we contract out uh uh
[35:24] every year uh and we and there's two of
[35:27] them because one of them is the i26 the
[35:29] interstate mowing the interstate mowing
[35:32] uh there as you notice at a lot of the
[35:35] exit ramps there's a lot of Green Space
[35:38] there um and so the state will contract
[35:41] with local municipalities who can
[35:43] perform the work to do the Mowing and
[35:46] the litter pickup and they reimburse the
[35:48] cost of that up to a certain level now
[35:51] we probably mow and and I know for a
[35:53] fact that we mow and do litter pickup
[35:56] way more than what the state State
[35:57] reimburses us for but that's because we
[36:00] take pride Public Works takes pride in
[36:02] in the city and how it looks and wants
[36:04] to keep it looking really good but we do
[36:06] get reimbursed for that up to a certain
[36:08] limit based on acreage the other one is
[36:11] uh our mowing zones that we've
[36:13] identified throughout the city that
[36:15] aren't adjacent to someone who would
[36:17] keep their property mode that are more
[36:19] along rideways or uh other areas that
[36:23] are adjacent that aren't related to
[36:25] Parks or anything so are we have mowing
[36:28] Crews that we contract with to mow those
[36:31] areas as well and to do litter pickup uh
[36:35] along those too we do not get reimbursed
[36:37] for those unless they're associated with
[36:39] the interstate that's mostly when we get
[36:41] reimbursed for those thank you and I do
[36:45] think it would be really helpful to our
[36:47] citizens who live in Johnson City let's
[36:50] not litter and uh when you um when you
[36:53] pass pass some uh trash pick it up put
[36:56] Gage can but we need everybody all hands
[36:59] on deck on this to get cleaned up
[37:02] absolutely thank
[37:03] you thank you all thank
[37:06] you commission the next order of
[37:09] business do we need to make a motion got
[37:12] vote a move approval on the consent
[37:14] agenda second Miss La commissioner Brock
[37:16] yes commissioner wise yes mayor Hunter
[37:20] yes okay um commission your next order
[37:23] of business is item
[37:25] 8.1 this is an ordinance ordinance
[37:28] number
[37:43] 496-2523
[37:44] district for property located on Buffalo
[37:48] Road thank you Miss
[37:50] Paul good evening mayor and
[37:52] Commissioners my name is Bryce mcnamer
[37:54] planner with the development services
[37:56] department this is the second reading
[37:58] and public hearing for this request for
[37:59] resoning along Buffalo Road just a brief
[38:02] overview on this this was a request to
[38:04] go from the I2 heavy industrial district
[38:06] to R3 medium density residential
[38:08] district to accommodate for development
[38:11] of two single family homes on a common
[38:13] lot as part of the R3 regulations there
[38:16] is a binding concept plan requirement um
[38:19] as we can see on this slide here with
[38:21] the locations of the two
[38:23] homes uh the main consideration in
[38:26] reviewing this specific request going
[38:29] from an industrial district to the
[38:30] residential district is the topography
[38:32] and the existing conditions of the site
[38:35] um with most of the permitted uses of
[38:38] the I2 being highly intensive and um
[38:41] very impervious uh the site is likely
[38:43] very unsuitable for an industrial
[38:45] development uh so the less intensive use
[38:48] of two single family homes is
[38:49] appropriate there have been no changes
[38:51] to this request and staff recommends
[38:55] approval this is second all public
[38:57] hearing public hearing public hearing um
[38:59] so open it up to public comment
[39:03] hearing anybody here to speak for or
[39:07] against seeing none we will close the
[39:10] public hearing move approval or second
[39:12] whichever way move for approval Miss
[39:14] we're gonna switch back commissioner
[39:16] Brock yes commissioner wise yes mayor
[39:18] Hunter yes Miss
[39:21] ball yes mayor the next order of
[39:23] business is item 9.1 this is ordinance
[39:26] number 497-2336
[39:57] and repealing all ordinances and parts
[40:00] of ordinances in Conflict
[40:05] herewith uh good evening again
[40:07] Commissioners my name is Randy tret
[40:08] Deputy city manager uh there's not been
[40:11] any changes since the uh previous two
[40:14] readings and public hearing this is
[40:16] property that we're cleaning up a little
[40:18] bit of the conveyance of the property to
[40:21] uh the Johnson City Energy Authority
[40:23] which is also known as Bri Ridge and
[40:25] it's to access their sub station out off
[40:28] of uh novice drive and then also
[40:31] adjacent to that they've requested an
[40:33] easement which would be a non-exclusive
[40:36] easement on our property to be able to
[40:38] access some of their transmission lines
[40:40] that are down closer to the railroad
[40:42] tracks move approval second Miss La
[40:46] commissioner Brock yes commissioner wise
[40:48] yes mayor Hunter yes Miss Paul next
[40:51] order of business is under other item
[40:53] 10.1 is a public hearing is a public
[40:56] hearing to consider approval of an
[40:58] amendment to the 802 Country Club Court
[41:03] 2023 concept
[41:08] plan good evening Commissioners my name
[41:10] is Cali McGrew with planning and
[41:11] development services and I'll be
[41:13] presenting this concept plan amendment
[41:15] to you guys for 802 Country Club court
[41:17] or the matter Matterhorn Club
[41:21] Lots petitioner request to amend the
[41:23] previously approved concept plan to
[41:26] change from 4 four Town Homes to nine
[41:29] single family lots this um site is
[41:33] located at the corner of east UN and
[41:36] Country Club Court the site is currently
[41:40] vacant and it is a total of
[41:43] 3.17 Acres um split it's technically two
[41:48] different sites one is 2.89 acres and
[41:50] the other is 28 Acres um a little bit of
[41:55] background
[41:58] in 2007 the property was rezone from R2
[42:02] low density residential to R4 medium
[42:05] density residential to develop 30
[42:08] residential
[42:09] units then in March
[42:12] 2023 the 2007 concept plan was amended
[42:16] to increase the number of units to
[42:21] 44 now due to a change in ownership of
[42:24] the lot the new owners propose switching
[42:28] the unit type from 44 Town Homes to nine
[42:31] single family lots with separate
[42:33] driveways off of Country Club Court the
[42:36] concept plan meets the minimum lot
[42:38] requirements of 7,000 square ft with a
[42:41] minimum lot width of 50
[42:45] ft the 2020 future land use map shows
[42:49] this site as being used for Community
[42:51] areas however since it was rezoned or
[42:54] currently zoned to R4 The Proposal is
[42:57] consistent with that district and then
[42:59] the draft 2045 future land use map shows
[43:03] this area as compact
[43:06] residential um as well as downtown
[43:10] connected we held a neighborhood meeting
[43:13] on January 29th 2025 and there were zero
[43:17] attendees and then on February 11th
[43:20] Planning Commission um unon unanimously
[43:24] recommended approval of this concept
[43:26] plan amend
[43:27] therefore staff recommends approval on
[43:30] the basis that the project increases the
[43:33] supply of housing within proximity of
[43:35] existing amenities and alignance with
[43:37] both the 2020 land use map and our draft
[43:41] 2045 land use map I will um make a
[43:45] motion to approve and just say as I'm
[43:47] doing this this is a um this is a really
[43:50] good project and I think just the right
[43:53] number of homes in there second public
[43:55] hearing no H oh it says oh it says
[43:59] public sorry read the back
[44:03] in good for you um are there any
[44:06] questions or comments though to
[44:09] staff in our Workshop we talked about
[44:12] sidewalks and the road in front of it
[44:14] can you speak to that um it is a public
[44:17] road so we will have um there will be
[44:23] Road widening by 10 ft required as well
[44:25] as a 5ft sidewalk and will that which
[44:28] side of the road would that be on I'm
[44:29] just curious cuz we've got the park side
[44:31] on and and I didn't know if there was
[44:33] any that is a great question do you know
[44:39] okay good evening Commissioners um so
[44:42] this will be widened on the country club
[44:44] court side they're providing additional
[44:45] RightWay um for the development and the
[44:48] sidewalk will be on the the development
[44:51] side as well so it will not touch Lions
[44:53] Park okay great thank you uh I will open
[44:56] for for public hearing anyone wishing to
[44:59] speak for or against is
[45:02] welcome seeing none we'll close public
[45:05] hearing shall I make my motion over yes
[45:08] ma'am okay Sor about that move to
[45:10] approve all right second Miss Los
[45:12] commissioner Brock yes commissioner wise
[45:14] yes mayor Hunter yes thank you next item
[45:17] is 10.2 this is a presentation of an un
[45:20] audited financial statement by our
[45:22] finance director Stephanie la
[45:33] pardon me for one second
[45:45] Stephanie good evening mayor
[45:47] Commissioners
[45:49] Kathy I'm Stephanie L I'm the finance
[45:51] director and I'm going to give you a
[45:54] brief overview of the financial
[45:56] statement
[45:57] uh as of December 31st
[46:00] 2024 um these are un audited and I know
[46:04] it's the second Financial presentation
[46:06] you've gotten today so
[46:25] yeah
[46:55] e
[47:25] e e
[48:24] and we will call this meeting back to
[48:26] order from us from technical
[48:28] difficulties if you want to yep I'll
[48:30] just pick up where where I stopped um so
[48:34] we were talking about the the revenue in
[48:35] the general fund um that we are the
[48:38] general fund's only at 47% of of the
[48:41] revenue of the of the budget we would
[48:43] expect to be around 50 that part of that
[48:45] is because of our property taxes not
[48:47] being due until February 28th so as of
[48:49] December 31st we had collected about
[48:51] 19.3 of $43 million in property taxes
[48:54] for 2024 um I would expect that number
[48:58] to be around 40 million by the end of of
[49:01] of February so I would that number will
[49:03] definitely jump up and be closer to
[49:05] really about 98% collected by the end of
[49:09] the fiscal year the other other
[49:11] information um wanted to share with you
[49:13] guys since it is February after February
[49:16] and we've gotten the uh taxes in the
[49:18] partial payment plan program that you
[49:20] guys approved earlier this year for
[49:23] property taxes we had
[49:24] 245 citizens take advantage of that um
[49:27] out of 26,000 but we had 245 people who
[49:30] made payments on their on their property
[49:32] taxes um majority about 86% of that made
[49:35] two payments but we had some people that
[49:37] made as many as 10 so I know that the
[49:39] citizens really liked that program and
[49:41] it did not cause any hardship for our
[49:43] for the administrative side so um other
[49:47] local taxes are about 48% 50% of budget
[49:51] uh the biggest one there is our local
[49:53] sales tax we're at 51 a half% of budget
[49:56] so we're trending to be about a million
[49:57] dollars over budget for our local sales
[49:59] tax for the for the fiscal year
[50:02] wow uh all all other local taxes are at
[50:05] about the 50% Mark or they have a later
[50:07] due date like motor veh uh mobile food
[50:09] vendor permits are not due until the end
[50:11] of February so we wouldn't expect to see
[50:13] those picked up yet and in lie of taxes
[50:16] if people might see that it's a very low
[50:18] number but those are one-time payments
[50:20] from Mostly our utilities yes there is
[50:23] one payment in there that is about $4.3
[50:26] million that will come in in around May
[50:27] or June so that that will be at at or
[50:32] close to 100% by the end of the fiscal
[50:37] year uh this is the same type of slide
[50:39] that I showed you guys last month or
[50:41] last quarter that I wanted to share if
[50:42] you remember last quarter it was really
[50:44] skewed our budgeted revenues were
[50:47] exactly as they are here where property
[50:48] tax about
[50:50] 37% uh other locals 37 and last last
[50:54] quarter the actuals were nowhere close
[50:56] to that because the property taxes
[50:58] hadn't come due yet uh so I wanted to
[51:00] show you that now that property taxes
[51:01] have been assessed and have been started
[51:03] to be paid they are we're much closer to
[51:06] our budget we're much closer closely
[51:08] aligned with the revenues and the way
[51:09] that we would expect to see them coming
[51:12] in general fund expenditures are 59 59.5
[51:17] million which is about 48.8% of budget
[51:20] um same thing 50% threshold we would
[51:23] expect to see and the biggest thing
[51:26] right there everything's around 50%
[51:28] other than our miscellaneous
[51:29] Appropriations and other financing
[51:31] sources um other financing sources and
[51:34] uses is because of transfers out and we
[51:36] do a lot of transfers upfront the
[51:38] beginning of the year for capital
[51:39] projects Debt Service um so those are
[51:42] those are very front loaded and then
[51:44] with the miscellaneous Appropriations We
[51:46] were finishing up the lhp tapestry
[51:48] program um so that payment is in there
[51:50] but was budgeted in the prior year
[51:54] so Enterprise funds uh water and sewer
[51:57] they're slightly ahead of the 50% of
[52:00] budget uh the Water and Sewer sales are
[52:01] at 53 and a. half% and 51% respectively
[52:05] uh their expenses are below so they're
[52:07] trending to to end the end the year with
[52:09] a surplus uh they're at 46% of budget um
[52:13] timing of debt payments does affect some
[52:15] of the expenses that we show there but
[52:17] overall their net position is ahead of
[52:19] the budget by $ 1.5 million now we do
[52:22] have like I said we do have some uh debt
[52:24] service that'll come later in the in the
[52:25] year but they they will finish
[52:29] above these are our other Enterprise
[52:31] funds Regional Solid Waste City Solid
[52:33] Waste and storm water they're all
[52:35] trending to finish the year
[52:37] approximately the same same way that
[52:38] they do in in other in other years they
[52:40] tend to be pretty solid with what they
[52:42] what they end the year
[52:46] with Freedom Hall um Freedom Hall is
[52:50] operating with a a deficit of about
[52:53] $371,000 Helen had a very significant
[52:56] impact on Freedom Hall um they lost I I
[52:59] talked with Mark a little bit they lost
[53:00] half their circus Revenue had a sold out
[53:03] Zack Williams show that was canceled and
[53:05] refunded the bull ratting event was
[53:07] canceled because they didn't have
[53:08] scholarships um they had some delays in
[53:11] Booking so the positive side of this
[53:14] though is that with the big South
[53:15] tournament coming in we did a lot of the
[53:18] work for Big South inh housee instead of
[53:20] having to go out and and contract and
[53:22] pay for that work and Mark estimates
[53:23] that it's about1 to $150,000 savings for
[53:26] them doing the work inhouse versus
[53:28] sending it out um for the second half of
[53:31] the year they're really hoping to pick
[53:32] back up got a couple good concerts
[53:34] coming Globe Trotters uh the Big South
[53:36] tournament that's going on right now and
[53:38] then some some several other events that
[53:39] are
[53:42] planned and that's all I have for you
[53:44] guys you have any
[53:47] questions thank you very
[53:49] much thank you thank
[53:52] you miss ball yes um Commission the last
[53:57] item I have for you is a manager's
[53:59] report and if you will excuse me and let
[54:01] me go down to the podium
[54:07] absolutely good
[54:19] job mayor and City commissioners um it
[54:22] is my honor to be able to provide you
[54:24] with an update um I'm going to be
[54:27] providing you with updates um at each
[54:29] meeting uh at the end of each meeting
[54:31] and they'll be brief um but I want to be
[54:34] able to take um one of the values that
[54:38] the core values that you all have put in
[54:40] place and to be able to highlight that
[54:42] you had a retreat as you know on
[54:44] February the 19th and 20th and you
[54:47] reaffirmed that these were your core
[54:49] values and so what I want to be able to
[54:51] do is to demonstrate how the
[54:52] organization is fulfilling these core
[54:54] values so what do each time is either
[54:57] highlight one or two of these show you
[55:00] how we're doing these and be able to
[55:02] focus in on some of these areas these
[55:04] will either be things that have happened
[55:06] in the past two weeks or they'll be
[55:08] things that are ongoing um and not only
[55:11] to let you all know but also to let the
[55:13] community know the good work that's
[55:15] happening in Johnson City and with our
[55:17] staff in as we show in this
[55:24] one this time I will be highlighting the
[55:27] Excellence in go in government and this
[55:30] one you all spend a lot of time on I
[55:31] think you the commission takes a lot of
[55:33] pride in making sure that we have
[55:35] excellence in govern in government um
[55:38] you've demonstrated a lot tonight with
[55:40] the questions that you ask about taking
[55:42] care of mowing uh how we spend our money
[55:45] looking at a lot of different items um
[55:48] so you demonstrate that and we continue
[55:50] to demonstrate it with the employees
[55:52] that we have and that's what I'm going
[55:53] to focus on as as in this next slide one
[55:57] of the ways that we go all out is in the
[56:00] way our employees um perform their jobs
[56:04] um
[56:05] I'm extremely passionate in the fact
[56:08] that we have over a thousand employees
[56:10] or around a thousand who are dedicated
[56:12] to serving this community and when when
[56:15] it comes down to it the way they do
[56:16] their service and how they do their
[56:18] skills is really what makes a difference
[56:20] in this community that touches the
[56:22] majority of the people um it with our
[56:25] team of marketing
[56:26] they've been able to highlight some of
[56:29] the work that they have done and we'll
[56:30] be able to Showcase those through those
[56:32] through our social media areas so again
[56:36] um several of our residents are able to
[56:38] see the work that they've done so a
[56:41] series of videos will be uh provided I'm
[56:44] going to just highlight a little bit of
[56:46] these in a very short clip for you
[56:48] tonight so that you can see some of
[56:51] these and we'll continue to go
[56:52] throughout so that we can show what
[56:54] these employees do we also hope that as
[56:57] these employees see that they can see
[56:59] how much we appreciate the work that
[57:01] they do and what a difference it makes
[57:03] in our
[57:04] community um I will note that as you
[57:07] look at these and we do have one of
[57:09] these in the room Riley is with us um so
[57:13] Callie is with us I'm sorry cie is with
[57:16] us so um I appreciate her being here and
[57:19] she's probably going to be a little
[57:20] bashful sitting here while everybody's
[57:22] looking but um we are very fortunate we
[57:24] also have two others that worked very
[57:26] hard on this Sarah Nobles and Nick
[57:28] Harris Harrison did the work to produce
[57:30] this video so um with that being said uh
[57:35] these three are the initial launch so
[57:37] they're going to tell you a little bit
[57:38] about what they do they're going to give
[57:40] you a little bit of highlight this is a
[57:41] short clip of the work that they do the
[57:44] actual reel will have more information
[57:47] about their actual jobs um as you may
[57:49] have noticed a few weeks ago Cali was at
[57:52] the podium doing uh some of her
[57:54] presentations and there was filming
[57:56] being done just for this purpose so some
[57:58] of that has been included in
[58:00] there uh and then all the all those uh
[58:03] these videos in full can be found on all
[58:06] of our social media
[58:08] Outlets hi I'm Adam Dixon and this is
[58:11] how I go all way hi I'm Callie McGrew
[58:14] and this is how I go all out my name is
[58:16] Josh Collins this is how I go all out
[58:19] [Music]
[58:27] I have worked for the city of Johnson
[58:29] City for 5 years I serve as
[58:32] Multicultural engagement manager for uh
[58:36] the Langston Center which is part of the
[58:38] Parks and Recreation Department and in
[58:41] that role I oversee activities that take
[58:44] place at the Langston Center we are a
[58:47] multicultural facility and so we uh want
[58:50] to be authentically Multicultural we
[58:53] have a whole host of programs and
[58:55] initiatives and uh different activities
[58:58] uh for the community at large what
[59:01] surprises me most about my job is how
[59:03] multifaceted it is sometimes I'm working
[59:06] on a project that is going to be rolled
[59:10] out in a month and sometimes I'm working
[59:12] on a project like the parking study or
[59:15] the housing plan or Horizon 2045 the
[59:19] most rewarding part is being able to
[59:22] work as a team on my smaller of three
[59:26] people but also getting to work across
[59:30] um the different departments and to see
[59:32] a project come to life so what I do for
[59:35] the city is I'm the trails operations
[59:37] manager so I'm over the maintenance and
[59:41] construction of of trails in our area in
[59:43] our city parks the most rewarding part
[59:46] of my job is seeing folks out enjoying
[59:48] the trails uh usually trails are a place
[59:52] that folks go for for relaxation to get
[59:54] away from The Busy World so to be able
[59:57] to improve on that is just very
[1:00:00] rewarding so when you go all out in my
[1:00:03] mind impact is what comes to me and so
[1:00:06] uh so as for Adam Dixon if I'm going all
[1:00:10] out uh I want to make an impact at the
[1:00:13] linkston center we say that you enter to
[1:00:15] learn and you depart to serve and so I
[1:00:19] think that that frames nicely align with
[1:00:22] go all
[1:00:24] out impact also make anything I design
[1:00:28] go all out as an opportunity to do my
[1:00:33] best to make this community a great
[1:00:36] place for people to live work and play I
[1:00:39] Define go all out by bringing world
[1:00:42] class Trail experiences to the area um
[1:00:45] whether that be through beautiful Mason
[1:00:48] Stone steps in like Jacob Nature Park
[1:00:52] whether that be world class Trail
[1:00:54] experiences at hry
[1:00:57] um I just try to to bring the best
[1:00:59] experience for trail
[1:01:04] users thank you all so much um as you
[1:01:07] can see there not only with these three
[1:01:09] employees and the work that they do um
[1:01:11] you can see I mean just incredible work
[1:01:13] but so many other employees that that
[1:01:16] put so much heart into all that they do
[1:01:18] so thank you for letting me share a
[1:01:20] little bit of that with you and huge
[1:01:22] thanks to all the employees but
[1:01:23] especially to those three for the work
[1:01:25] that they do
[1:01:26] absolutely very nice thank you very much
[1:01:29] for sharing that and to the three
[1:01:31] employees who are featured there Callie
[1:01:35] that was great Adam that was great Josh
[1:01:38] that was great and I know from just
[1:01:40] personal experience with these three
[1:01:42] they they just do an amazing job for the
[1:01:44] city and it and that's across these
[1:01:47] thousand employees that uh Kathy's been
[1:01:49] talking about so thank you for sharing
[1:01:51] that and also the great work of Nick and
[1:01:53] Sarah to produce it and it's quality
[1:01:58] exactly um well miss Paul do you have
[1:02:02] anything else on no thank you so I'll
[1:02:06] actually start um every two years we
[1:02:08] reorganize after elections and the
[1:02:11] commission um decides a mayor and vice
[1:02:14] mayor but we also serve on several other
[1:02:16] boards and commissions as part of our
[1:02:18] service on the city commission and and
[1:02:21] so in that reorganization we also
[1:02:23] realign ourselves on those boards and
[1:02:25] committees
[1:02:26] and so I will go over uh who's on what
[1:02:31] um real quickly um first an animal
[1:02:35] control uh commissioner Brock and uh
[1:02:39] Bob Wilson right uh will remain on
[1:02:43] Animal Control I I will remain on
[1:02:46] brightridge board and the Chamber of
[1:02:49] Commerce um commissioner Fowler and
[1:02:52] commissioner Brock will remain on the
[1:02:54] CVB
[1:02:56] um the East Tennessee railroad Authority
[1:02:58] I will step down from and vice mayor Cox
[1:03:02] will take that
[1:03:04] role um commissioner Fowler and Steve
[1:03:08] Willis uh assistant city manager will
[1:03:11] stay on the EMS board Todd's term will
[1:03:16] end June 30th um Johnson City
[1:03:19] Development Authority commissioner wise
[1:03:21] will remain Johnson City Public Library
[1:03:24] I will step down and vice mayor Cox will
[1:03:27] step in to that role uh the Metro
[1:03:30] Metropolitan Transportation Planning
[1:03:33] organization executive board Randy
[1:03:35] tribet will U step down and I will take
[1:03:38] that role Planning Commission will be
[1:03:41] filled by commissioner Todd Fowler on 71
[1:03:45] and I
[1:03:46] will serve in that role until June 30th
[1:03:49] of
[1:03:50] 2025 school facilities committee has two
[1:03:53] Commissioners and that will be
[1:03:57] uh commissioner or vice mayor Cox and
[1:04:00] commissioner Brock tax increment funding
[1:04:04] Advisory
[1:04:05] Board um Joe commissioner wise and and
[1:04:08] myself will remain on that and the
[1:04:10] Washington County Economic Development
[1:04:13] Council miss ball and commissioner Brock
[1:04:16] will remain and I will attend those
[1:04:18] meetings with you all Carter oh and then
[1:04:21] the Carter County uh joint Economic
[1:04:25] Development Board of Carter County and
[1:04:27] elizabethon um I will step down from
[1:04:29] that and Miss Brock will commissioner
[1:04:31] Brock will take that role some people
[1:04:33] may wonder why we are filling a seat on
[1:04:36] the Carter County Economic Development
[1:04:37] but uh a mutual agreement between the
[1:04:40] because we have a part of uh Carter
[1:04:43] County in the city out in Martin del
[1:04:46] States and all out there so we have a
[1:04:47] seat on it y uh commissioner Brock do
[1:04:50] you have any comments or committee
[1:04:52] reports uh
[1:04:56] you know the big comments we've had a
[1:04:58] lot of it tonight I think it's been a
[1:04:59] great meeting but um there's just such
[1:05:02] good activity in town um in spite of the
[1:05:06] cold weather but uh just hope everybody
[1:05:08] can get out and and enjoy some of it um
[1:05:12] I sered on the animal control board uh
[1:05:15] we were at a a place about two and a
[1:05:17] half weeks ago where we only had 79 dogs
[1:05:20] and 200 cats but I'm afraid that all
[1:05:23] changed last week when we had almost 80
[1:05:27] animals surrendered uh at the shelter so
[1:05:30] if anybody needs to adopt please come we
[1:05:32] have good
[1:05:34] selection and span neuter your pets
[1:05:37] please we have puppies puppies
[1:05:39] everywhere so if anybody needs puppies
[1:05:40] that would be great really needs
[1:05:43] commissioner wiv you're fine um jcda met
[1:05:46] last week um I don't think there was
[1:05:49] anything particularly newsworthy I think
[1:05:52] we were just kind of maintaining um
[1:05:56] progress on the tapestry at ran which is
[1:05:58] the replacement housing so things are
[1:06:01] essentially on track there and then a
[1:06:03] status report on some of the RFQ and RFP
[1:06:07] process around the Redevelopment of the
[1:06:08] John Sever and it and it's a approximate
[1:06:11] timeline so there wasn't anything new
[1:06:14] but I guess what was reported was we're
[1:06:16] still kind of on track with the dates
[1:06:18] that were last reported and as a
[1:06:20] reminder for myself when when is the
[1:06:22] tapestry expected to be completed or do
[1:06:24] you recall yourself did I put you on the
[1:06:27] spot I do recall but you did put me on
[1:06:29] the spot yeah the Target right now is
[1:06:31] that that would be like November
[1:06:33] December of this year late this year
[1:06:37] um it you know they might beat That by a
[1:06:41] few weeks but it's going to be the last
[1:06:43] quarter for sure great thank you Miss
[1:06:46] really a nice looking development too
[1:06:48] yeah no mayor okay thank you uh seeing
[1:06:51] no other business we will adjourn the
[1:06:53] meeting