[0:02] [music]
[0:13] Good evening.
[0:14] >> Welcome to the board of mayor and
[0:15] alderman meeting. It is September 1st,
[0:18] 2026. It is 6 p.m. Call this meeting to
[0:21] order. We do have a quorum. Um if
[0:23] everyone would please rise for the
[0:25] prayer and the pledge.
[0:28] Let us pray. Our heavenly father, we
[0:30] come before you on a very beautiful day
[0:33] in your world. Lord, we'd like to ask
[0:37] that you uh look over the Gentry family.
[0:41] They lost their child this week and I
[0:45] can't imagine losing a child. Lord, we
[0:48] ask that you give this board the uh
[0:52] knowledge to help the city and the
[0:54] citizens alone. Lord, thank you for
[0:56] allowing the uh other folks from uh the
[1:00] county to come and join us this evening.
[1:03] These things we ask through your son
[1:05] Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1:07] >> Amen.
[1:11] » Pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[1:13] United States of America and to the
[1:16] republic for which it stands, one nation
[1:20] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[1:23] justice for all.
[1:25] I follow Carol for that.
[1:27] >> I was just excited about all these
[1:29] people.
[1:33] » First item we've got tonight is to
[1:34] approve the minutes from the July 30th,
[1:37] 2026 workshop and the August 4th, 2026
[1:41] public hearing and regular meeting. I
[1:43] have a motion.
[1:44] >> Motion to approve.
[1:45] from Alderwoman Hos.
[1:47] Is there a second?
[1:48] >> Second.
[1:49] from Alderman Coats. All in
[1:50] favor?
[1:51] >> I. The motion passes. We're going to
[1:54] move on to our presentations.
[1:58] And Chief, do you want to do yours
[2:00] first?
[2:01] >> Sure.
[2:02] >> Absolutely.
[2:08] » Officer front and center, please.
[2:13] » All right.
[2:15] So, well, no, you can stand right here.
[2:17] You face the board. [laughter]
[2:19] >> Hi. So, uh, I'm pleased to, uh, present
[2:23] Officer Hodes with a letter of
[2:24] commendation tonight. Um, it's, uh,
[2:29] this just shows the actions of Officer
[2:31] Hajes show what kind of a police
[2:33] department we are, what kind of a
[2:34] culture we're trying to build here, and
[2:36] what kind of, um, servants we're trying
[2:38] to be here in the uh, in the city of
[2:40] Lever. So, it is my p privilege to
[2:42] formally commend you for the compassion
[2:44] and generosity you demonstrated while
[2:46] assisting a young man in our community
[2:47] who is experiencing a difficult personal
[2:50] crisis. On July 23rd, 2026, I was made
[2:53] aware of an incident in which you and
[2:55] Officer Pike encountered a 19-year-old
[2:57] man who had been displaced from his
[2:58] residence and had been living on the
[3:00] streets for several days. After
[3:02] assessing the circumstances, you took
[3:03] additional steps to ensure he had a safe
[3:05] place to stay for the night, including
[3:07] personally paying for a hotel room with
[3:09] your own funds. While your actions alone
[3:11] are worthy of recognition, I am
[3:13] particularly impressed by the humility
[3:15] with which you carried them out. You did
[3:16] not seek acknowledgement or bring
[3:18] attention to what you had done. In fact,
[3:20] the department learned of your
[3:21] generosity through a supervisor rather
[3:24] than from you. Law enforcement is
[3:26] ultimately about service to others and
[3:28] sometimes that service extends beyond
[3:29] what is required by policy, procedure,
[3:31] or the duties of a particular call. Your
[3:34] willingness to recognize someone in need
[3:36] and respond with compassion reflects the
[3:38] character, professionalism, and
[3:40] commitment to service that we strive to
[3:42] represent at the Lever Police
[3:43] Department. On behalf of the Lever
[3:45] Police Department, I commend you for
[3:46] your actions and thank you for
[3:48] representing this department and our
[3:50] community with compassion and integrity.
[3:52] Your actions are a credit to yourself,
[3:54] your fellow officers, and the badge you
[3:56] wear. Respectfully, Christopher Mays,
[3:58] chief of police. Congratulations. Thank
[4:00] you.
[4:00] >> And with that, I want to give you one of
[4:02] my coins. All right. For excellence and
[4:04] service.
[4:04] >> Thank you.
[4:05] >> All right.
[4:07] [applause]
[4:36] » [cough and clears throat]
[4:42] [snorts]
[4:43] >> Melissa Harrell, can you please join me?
[4:48] >> [laughter]
[4:56] » right up here. Okay.
[4:58] >> So, tonight we recognize Melissa Herrell
[5:01] for her service at the Rutherford County
[5:03] Circuit Court Clerk. The work of that
[5:06] office is sometimes behind the scenes,
[5:09] but it's absolutely essential to the
[5:11] functioning of our justice system and
[5:13] our county government. It takes
[5:15] organization, dedication,
[5:17] professionalism, and a commitment to
[5:20] serving the public every single day.
[5:23] Melissa has dedicated her time and her
[5:24] talents to that responsibility and to
[5:26] the people of Rutherford County.
[5:28] For those of us in local government, we
[5:31] understand that public service isn't
[5:32] always about receiving recognition. Much
[5:35] of the work happens quietly every day
[5:37] with people depending on you to do your
[5:40] job and do it well. Tonight, we want to
[5:43] make sure that your service doesn't go
[5:45] unnoticed.
[5:47] Thank you for the time you've devoted to
[5:49] Rutherford County, for your
[5:50] professionalism and your commitment to
[5:52] the people that you've served. On behalf
[5:54] of the city of Leverne, congratulations
[5:58] on all you've done for the county. And
[6:01] we present to you a certificate of
[6:02] appreciation.
[6:04] >> Thank you.
[6:04] so much.
[6:06] >> Thank you. [applause]
[6:12] You want me to sing anything?
[6:14] >> You can if you'd like.
[6:16] >> I mean,
[6:16] >> you want to sing a song?
[6:17] >> Oh, you don't want me to sing. Promise
[6:19] you that. Thank you very much. It's an
[6:22] honor.
[6:22] >> Thank you,
[6:24] Mr. Mike Fitzu. You could join us. And
[6:28] I'm going to ask Chief as well as Mr.
[6:32] Keith Lowry to join me.
[6:36] He's a stranger in these parts.
[6:42] So, well, before I say what I've got
[6:44] here, is there anything you want to say?
[6:46] >> Uh, I just want to on behalf of the
[6:49] Lever Police Department, but really on
[6:51] behalf of myself, thank you for being
[6:54] the leader that you've been, for
[6:55] welcoming me, welcoming me into this
[6:57] community. Um, knowing nobody when I
[7:00] arrived and having, you know, your
[7:03] friendship, your professionalism, uh,
[7:05] your guidance as a leader in this
[7:07] community. I truly appreciated it and uh
[7:10] I hope that it continues even as you uh
[7:13] enjoy retirement because I need your
[7:14] counsel.
[7:15] >> Appreciate you very much.
[7:16] >> Thank you, sir. A pleasure.
[7:18] >> Okay.
[7:19] >> Thank you,
[7:21] >> Keith. Do you want to say anything?
[7:24] >> He's probably heard enough from me
[7:25] lately.
[7:27] >> He never has anything to say.
[7:28] >> Nothing at all. No, it's it's been
[7:29] proud. It's been a proud time in life to
[7:31] not only serve this honorable city, but
[7:33] to serve alongside this man during his
[7:34] term and his tenure as sheriff. It's
[7:36] been an incredible journey, sir.
[7:38] >> Proud of you. Proud of you.
[7:41] >> Lord,
[7:43] >> there is no
[7:45] It's getting mushy. Do you need a
[7:46] tissue?
[7:46] >> Love you, too, Stephen.
[7:47] >> Come on. Come on, Steve. Come on.
[7:50] >> I want to get a hug.
[7:51] >> I'll hug you. I'll hug you. Come on.
[7:53] Hug.
[7:53] >> Well,
[7:55] there may be no responsibility in county
[7:57] government more important than
[7:59] protecting the people we serve. As
[8:01] Sheriff, Mike has carried that
[8:02] responsibility and has worked to keep
[8:04] Rutherford County safe during his time
[8:06] when our community has grown
[8:08] tremendously. I think everyone can see
[8:10] that. For Leverne, our relationship with
[8:13] the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office
[8:15] is especially important. Public safety
[8:17] doesn't stop just at our city limits.
[8:19] Doesn't It's cooperation with law
[8:21] enforcement agencies all across the
[8:23] county. So, Sheriff, it's you. Thank you
[8:27] for your call to service. Thank you for
[8:29] everything you've done in this community
[8:31] and throughout this county. You are
[8:34] greatly appreciated and and deeply loved
[8:36] by the people here in Lever.
[8:38] >> Appreciate that.
[8:39] >> And so we've also got a uh
[8:44] certificate of appreciation for you as
[8:46] well.
[8:47] >> Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
[8:49] >> Thank you, sir. Appreciate [applause]
[8:56] » [applause]
[9:09] » This one's a feisty one.
[9:13] Mr. Laura Davidson, you could come up.
[9:28] Commissioner
[9:29] >> former,
[9:31] >> we would like to recognize you for your
[9:33] service to Rutherford County and the
[9:35] people of District 5, which encompasses
[9:37] a large portion of Leverne. Serving as a
[9:39] county commissioner is not an all always
[9:42] an easy job. Um, it requires listening
[9:44] to constituents, studying the difficult
[9:46] issues, making tough decisions, and even
[9:49] picking between bad and worse decisions.
[9:53] And ultimately, it puts it's putting the
[9:55] interests of the community first. Lauri,
[9:57] you've given your time and your energy
[9:59] to do that. As mayor, I also appreciate
[10:02] the work that you've done on behalf of
[10:04] our community. Lever is is an important
[10:06] part of Rutherford County and having
[10:09] commissioners who understand and value
[10:11] our city matters. So, thank you for your
[10:14] willingness to serve, for the time that
[10:16] you've given to Rutherford County, and
[10:18] the difference that you've made during
[10:19] your time in office. Thank you so much.
[10:24] [applause]
[10:36] Oh,
[10:37] >> Mr. Joe Carr.
[10:40] >> Can you join me, please, my friend?
[10:44] >> The Honey Badger
[10:46] indeed. [laughter]
[10:48] >> Stand firm, sir. Stand firm.
[10:50] >> Always.
[10:51] >> So, this this is a man who I got to
[10:54] really know over the last four to five
[10:56] years. Um, really really really
[11:00] exceptional man. And so if you if you
[11:03] don't already know Joe Carr, not as not
[11:06] as the county mayor, but as a man,
[11:09] definitely get to know him.
[11:11] But being county mayor carries an
[11:14] enormous responsibility.
[11:16] Again, as I mentioned with with uh
[11:19] Sheriff Fitzu, Rutherford County is
[11:21] experiencing tremendous growth and
[11:24] during your time in office, you've uh
[11:27] you've led the county through many of
[11:30] our most important challenges that we've
[11:32] ever had and hopefully won't ever have
[11:35] those types of challenges again. Our
[11:37] cities and counties are connected in so
[11:39] many ways. What [snorts] happens in
[11:41] Rutherford County affects Leverne,
[11:43] Smyrna, Murphreey'sboro, Eagle, and what
[11:46] happens in those cities and towns
[11:48] affects the county. I appreciate the
[11:50] willingness of Mayor Carr to work with
[11:52] our community and recognize the
[11:54] importance of cooperation between local
[11:57] communities. Public service is
[12:00] ultimately about giving a portion of
[12:01] your life to the community you
[12:03] represent. And Joe, you've done that. So
[12:06] tonight, we want to recognize that
[12:08] commitment and thank you. We've got a
[12:11] certificate of appreciation, but we we
[12:13] do have one other thing. Uh
[12:15] >> oh.
[12:16] >> It's a pretty pink bag.
[12:20] >> And this is for you as well.
[12:21] >> Thank you.
[12:22] >> I have I I cannot say I will not open it
[12:26] here. [laughter]
[12:27] >> I can only imagine what is I would like
[12:29] to say something if that's
[12:30] >> Absolutely. Um, as county mayor, um,
[12:34] like with all the constitutional
[12:35] officers and the commissioners, you have
[12:38] an opportunity to work, uh, not just
[12:41] with the county, but the cities. And
[12:43] it's absolutely imperative that that
[12:46] relationship be a c not just a
[12:48] cooperative relationship, but it be one
[12:51] where you're yolked together for what's
[12:54] good. So, what's good for Leverne is
[12:56] good for Rutherford County. And what's
[12:58] good for Rutherford County is good for
[12:59] Leverne. Let me tell you the audience
[13:02] and you out there, [clears throat]
[13:04] this man right here and these alder men
[13:07] and women do exactly that. And of all
[13:11] the cities, there are four in this
[13:12] community that I get to work with. There
[13:15] is nobody that I've got a closer working
[13:17] relationship than this man right here.
[13:19] We didn't always agree, but our
[13:21] relationship was not and was not
[13:24] determined by whether or not we agreed,
[13:27] but by whether or not we could
[13:28] steadfastly move our communities
[13:30] forward. This man and these ladies and
[13:33] gentlemen up here do that every single
[13:35] day. It's been a privilege to work
[13:37] alongside you. I've learned so much from
[13:38] you as mayor. Uh I I only wish I had
[13:41] four more years, but God had other plans
[13:43] and so I will submit myself to his will
[13:46] gratefully and move forward. Uh, but let
[13:49] me just say it's been a true honor
[13:51] working with Sheriff Mike Fitzu and Miss
[13:53] Harrell as the clerk, uh, Laura Davidson
[13:56] and and and all the constitutional
[13:59] officers and the commissioners in in
[14:01] this county. So, Jason, my friend, thank
[14:04] you very much. It was a privilege and an
[14:06] honor and uh, now I get to harass you on
[14:09] Facebook like every other citizen.
[14:10] Absolutely. [laughter]
[14:12] >> Be sure to tag me.
[14:13] >> Yes. Thank you. [applause]
[14:23] » [applause]
[14:26] » Now, can I have Katie Ferguson come up,
[14:29] please?
[14:30] >> You can bring the kiddos if you want to.
[14:32] >> Yes, bring the kiddos.
[14:33] >> Kiddos. They were part of this.
[14:38] >> Come up. Either one of y'all want to
[14:39] come up for this.
[14:42] Y'all have
[14:44] >> Did you bring us a corn dog?
[14:47] >> Don't worry. We're just on TV and in the
[14:48] papers and all of that, so you're good.
[14:50] >> Hi guys.
[14:51] >> This is Summer.
[14:53] >> Hi Summer.
[14:53] >> Casey.
[14:54] >> Hi Casey.
[14:55] >> This is Mr. I called you Mr. No. Oh my
[14:58] gosh. My hair
[14:59] >> too much hair for that. [laughter]
[15:02] » So
[15:02] >> Mr. Oh,
[15:03] >> this is a certificate of recognition
[15:05] hereby great uh granted to Miss Katie
[15:07] Ferguson in recognition of her
[15:09] outstanding service, creativity, and
[15:11] dedication to the to the residents of
[15:13] the city of Leverne. Katie consistently
[15:15] goes above and beyond in supporting
[15:17] community events and programs,
[15:19] generously giving her time and talents
[15:21] to enhance experiences for residents of
[15:24] all ages, whether they're young or old.
[15:30] Her [laughter]
[15:32] creativity, dedication, and positive
[15:34] attitude have helped bring countless
[15:37] fundraising events to life. Katie is a
[15:40] valued resident of the city and of
[15:42] Rutherford County, [snorts] and we
[15:44] recognize her as such. We thank you for
[15:47] all you've done through working with our
[15:50] police and fire, with our different
[15:52] programs uh for Christmas and for
[15:54] Thanksgiving. So, thank you so much.
[15:57] >> Thank you so much.
[15:58] >> [applause]
[16:12] » Mister, [laughter]
[16:15] >> I'm Miss Carol.
[16:32] Now we have public comments [snorts]
[16:36] and we've got believe one person signed
[16:39] up and that would be Mr. Doug
[16:41] >> Schaefer.
[16:50] that way.
[16:53] >> I have nothing bad tonight to say and
[16:56] I'm Doug Schaefer, 192 Morningside Drive
[16:59] for many, many years. And uh I want to
[17:03] talk about the school zones and the
[17:06] camera you're looking at tonight. I
[17:08] think it's a great idea, but I think you
[17:11] got to look at everything about them,
[17:14] not just what it can do. And uh that is
[17:18] like Stones River for example, the
[17:20] yellow light's flashing down here.
[17:22] There's no crossing garden. The yellow
[17:25] light still flashing on the other and
[17:28] same thing happens in the afternoons
[17:30] after everybody's gone. But I also heard
[17:35] on the way over here on the radio a
[17:37] little story. It was about a man out
[17:39] west that was going through his true
[17:41] story, going out west through his school
[17:44] zone and all of a sudden he looked up
[17:46] and he saw he was speeding and he saw a
[17:49] camera take his picture. So he stopped
[17:52] the car, pulled the camera down, started
[17:55] beating it with a rock numerous times,
[17:58] messed it up pretty good. Then he left.
[18:01] He came back a while later with a rope
[18:05] to pull the whole thing out of there and
[18:07] he had trouble doing it and he didn't do
[18:09] it. But needless to say, he was caught
[18:14] and charged. And the price of that
[18:17] camera that he destroyed was $47,000,
[18:22] but it wasn't completely destroyed
[18:24] because it showed him what he was doing.
[18:27] >> Thank you. [laughter]
[18:30] So, Chief, remember Doug's face with any
[18:32] of our cameras. [laughter]
[18:38] Moving on to uh departmental reports.
[18:40] Chief Maize,
[18:50] Mayor, Vice Mayor, Alderman, uh you have
[18:52] the report before you. I uh I'm
[18:55] continued to be very pleased with uh a
[18:57] lot of the numbers. uh they're trending
[18:59] in the right direction. The only thing
[19:00] that we had an increase in was thefts.
[19:01] We looked into that. There were no
[19:02] trends or patterns involved in those
[19:04] thefts. Uh two of the uh the two
[19:06] additional ones that uh went above and
[19:08] beyond the numbers from last month
[19:10] involved a U-Haul rental that was not
[19:12] paid for or returned and an industrial
[19:15] piece of equipment that was rented and
[19:16] not returned. So, those were the nature
[19:18] of those steps, but again, no trends or
[19:20] patterns. Um and I I'm pleased with the direction that the numbers are
[19:24] trending. Uh the next page, calls for
[19:26] service. You're going to notice that
[19:28] some of the calls for service and
[19:29] traffic stops were down. Um, that's
[19:31] because the data for this in order to
[19:33] have it ready for the meeting is from
[19:35] August 1st through the 27th. If you
[19:37] actually take kind of our daily average
[19:38] for calls for service, our calls for
[19:41] service will probably be flat for the uh
[19:43] for the month. Uh, traffic stops were
[19:45] down a little bit. Um, and that's
[19:47] probably because last year we did um
[19:49] around the first day of school we did a heat detail. This year we had some
[19:53] staffing issues and weren't able to do
[19:54] that. So, um, that probably contributes
[19:56] to the number that's down. Drugrelated
[19:58] arrests are up, uh, substantially. Our
[20:01] narcotics unit continues to do excellent
[20:03] work there, and you'll see an example of
[20:05] that, uh, coming up here because we did
[20:06] have a traffic stop. Crashes are going
[20:09] down. Injury crashes are down sub
[20:11] substantially. So, I'm really happy
[20:12] about that. Um, moving on to the photos.
[20:15] This is just one of our um traffic stop
[20:18] arrests that we had in the month where
[20:19] we uh took in a substantial amount of
[20:21] cash and a weapon that was um inside the
[20:24] vehicle. So, good work being done. And
[20:27] then obviously the focus uh one of our
[20:30] many focuses is on community
[20:31] involvement. And uh again, I have to
[20:33] give, you know, props to uh David
[20:36] McGawan and his team and everybody there
[20:38] for How at the Moon and how all of our
[20:40] city functions go phenomenally well and
[20:42] the coordination that they give us uh
[20:44] and the support that they give us on on
[20:46] our events as well. But uh How at the
[20:47] Moon was great. This is a picture from
[20:49] our drone that we uh took during the
[20:51] event. Um and then uh we had a back to
[20:54] school event from uh with Chick-fil-A
[20:56] that uh myself and a couple of officers
[20:58] went to where we were handing out things
[21:00] to students at Chick-fil-A. um up there.
[21:02] We have a really nice working
[21:03] relationship with them. So, we continue
[21:06] to um to build those bridges, you know,
[21:08] both in Leverne and just outside of our
[21:11] borders. So, any questions?
[21:14] >> You want to have any questions?
[21:16] >> Chief, what was your time on how at the
[21:17] Moon? Remember, we talked about you
[21:19] running it.
[21:19] >> Yeah, there is some video out there. I
[21:21] mean, I don't want to brag, sir, but I
[21:22] think it was, you know, just it was sub
[21:24] 15. Yeah, I did it in sub 15. Um, you
[21:28] know, I'm not saying [laughter]
[21:31] I think I ran about a total of 30 yards
[21:33] and uh yeah, but
[21:35] >> 15 minutes. [laughter]
[21:37] >> It was Well, I'm I'm in training for
[21:39] next year because uh Alderwoman Hobbs
[21:41] here, she wants me to do it in full gear
[21:43] next year. So, I'm not
[21:44] >> You too, Ronnie.
[21:45] >> Yeah, you too, Ronnie.
[21:47] >> Yeah. So, speaking of Alderwoman Hops,
[21:49] what was your time?
[21:50] >> I made it in a record 22 minutes to
[21:52] Duncan and back. [laughter]
[21:56] » Probably saw the police there, too,
[21:58] didn't you? Oh,
[22:00] >> it's [laughter] gonna be it's going to
[22:02] be hardressed to get a policeman to run
[22:05] past a Duncan. [laughter]
[22:08] >> One other thing I forgot to mention. Uh
[22:09] I announced it today at the senior
[22:11] center. We had a great event there
[22:12] today, but um we have it's official. We
[22:15] have acquired a dunk tank for the
[22:17] National Night Out.
[22:18] >> What What kind of tank?
[22:19] >> A dunk tank.
[22:20] >> Just making sure this time. [laughter]
[22:22] >> So the proper kind of tank. Um and uh
[22:26] the chief will be in there. So, anybody
[22:27] is welcome to come join us at our
[22:29] national night out and you can dunk the
[22:30] chief and I have challenged the mayor to
[22:33] try to dunk me as well as, you know,
[22:35] partake in being in the dunk tank or
[22:38] Chief Beasley here. So, but uh I'll be
[22:40] there. Well, Chief, I was going to wait
[22:42] till the end of the meeting to praise
[22:44] you for one thing, being at the senior
[22:47] center today, but right before we came
[22:50] out,
[22:52] Mayor Cole did tell me that he does
[22:57] accept your challenge. He will be in the
[22:59] dunk tank.
[23:00] >> Oh, I love it. All right. You You're
[23:04] obviously the age is catching up to you
[23:06] hard. [laughter]
[23:08] >> I think you're committed, man.
[23:09] >> Mr. Birthday boy. I think.
[23:10] >> All right. [laughter]
[23:12] >> So, now we just have to have one other
[23:14] person accept.
[23:17] >> You don't see me in shorts. [laughter]
[23:20] >> Those legs are awful white.
[23:23] >> Fair enough. [laughter]
[23:27] » Weather permitting. He did put us he did
[23:30] put a little gig on it. Weather
[23:32] permitting, of course.
[23:34] >> Okay. All right. Well, I think I'll be
[23:37] in there regardless.
[23:39] >> [laughter]
[23:39] >> I've made the promise I'll be there.
[23:42] >> David, make sure that that that thing is
[23:43] filled with lots of ice water.
[23:47] >> Thank you, sir. [laughter]
[23:49] >> Hey, it'll be an ice plunge.
[23:51] >> Oh, no.
[23:52] >> That's the hottest thing is an ice
[23:53] plunge.
[23:53] >> Having it over your head is different
[23:55] than being dunked in it.
[23:56] >> Come on, Minnesota.
[23:59] >> Minnesota Wisconsin. [laughter]
[24:01] >> W Oh, yeah.
[24:05] » Moving on to our fire department.
[24:08] >> [laughter]
[24:09] >> You're done committed, Ronnie.
[24:11] >> We're going to see what Ronnie's going
[24:12] to hop in for now.
[24:14] >> Well, to begin with for the dunk tank
[24:16] mayor, if you might recall, my first
[24:18] week here, I was challenged by
[24:21] the vice mayor to take one ball and dunk
[24:24] the mayor. It's what it took, wasn't it?
[24:27] I think I caught you off guard with
[24:28] that.
[24:28] >> You took actually one of your daughter's
[24:30] balls.
[24:30] >> Oh, I actually took it from her.
[24:32] >> She missed a few.
[24:33] >> Yes. Uh, so I'll be glad to step up to
[24:37] the plate.
[24:38] >> All it all it takes is one.
[24:40] >> Just one.
[24:40] >> All it takes is one.
[24:42] >> I hope that everybody's had an
[24:43] opportunity to take a look at the newly
[24:45] revised monthly report. I think it's our
[24:48] second time to produce this.
[24:49] >> I was going to say this is old.
[24:51] >> Yeah.
[24:51] >> Well, it's it's it's still a bit hard to choke down some. I'm looking at it
[24:56] and trying to to get it myself, but it
[24:58] still captures the the real data that we
[25:00] had. 300 363 responses this month, which
[25:03] is a little bit above the normal um as
[25:06] we're trending right now. And of course,
[25:08] medical calls continue to be about 74%
[25:10] of those runs. Um I'm glad to say that
[25:15] we just started our advanced EMT class
[25:17] this past week. And if things hold true,
[25:21] and as they are over the last 18 months
[25:23] to two years or so, our retention has
[25:26] been exceptional. This hopefully will be
[25:28] our last advanced EMT class for some
[25:31] period of time. Uh we're at a point
[25:33] right now that we're about 85 90% of our
[25:37] firefighters carry advanced EMT license
[25:40] or when this group graduates they'll
[25:42] have about 90% of our people that that
[25:44] are carrying that advanced EMT license
[25:46] which provides as you see the the core of what we do every every month. Uh
[25:53] anybody have any questions about what
[25:54] you're reading?
[25:58] Thank you, sir.
[26:00] >> Moving on to parks and recreation. Mr.
[26:01] David McGawan,
[26:09] » mayor, vice mayor, board, thank you. You
[26:11] guys have the parks numbers for the
[26:12] month. You see 99 help desk tickets on
[26:15] the maintenance side, 716 man hours
[26:17] devoted to those. Our past events,
[26:20] August 7th was a phone party in the
[26:22] park. August 21st with How at the Moon
[26:25] 5K, our annual 5K. Upcoming event
[26:28] September 12th is our fall festival and
[26:30] parade. Parade starts at 10:00 a.m. Uh
[26:33] the festival runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3.
[26:36] Vendor setup will start at 7:00 a.m.
[26:38] Parade lineup will start at 8:00 a.m.
[26:41] Traffic diversion will start at
[26:42] approximately 9:30. Opening remarks um
[26:46] 11:15 somewhere in that area. Um parade
[26:50] will start here at city hall, go down
[26:51] Merur Road, and end at the park.
[26:54] Upcoming meeting September 21st, um
[26:57] parks and recck advisory committee. Let
[26:59] me go back to the fall festival. As of
[27:02] today, 72 vendors, those include food
[27:05] vendors, craft vendors, and political
[27:07] vendors. Um parade entrance as of this
[27:10] afternoon are 29.
[27:12] Um 5K race, let me hit on that real
[27:15] quick. That was probably one of our
[27:16] better weather nights for August 21st.
[27:20] The weather was very bearable. Um to see
[27:23] Miss Cara come out. Her time was
[27:26] absolutely smoking. I will say I was
[27:29] very impressed with that when she
[27:31] crossed the line. She's not lying. It
[27:32] was like 22 minutes. We were blown away.
[27:37] » Any questions?
[27:38] >> You're stuck with that
[27:39] >> to Duncan and back.
[27:41] >> Actually, we didn't know where she came
[27:42] from because she is [laughter]
[27:45] She is sprinting down the road and
[27:46] crosses the vine and we're like
[27:49] impressive. Very nice.
[27:50] >> I didn't disclose to anybody except for
[27:53] the computer guy that I had gone to
[27:55] Duncan. Yeah.
[27:57] >> That seeing the donut though in your
[27:59] hand kind of gave it away.
[28:00] >> Yeah, I know. [snorts]
[28:02] >> Any questions?
[28:03] >> David, do you know how many people we
[28:04] had?
[28:05] >> Um, we had anywhere between 210 and 220.
[28:09] So, it's been one of our better events.
[28:11] It's steadily grown through the years.
[28:13] This was probably our better turnout. I
[28:15] think last year we averaged 207 maybe.
[28:18] So the last several years we're getting
[28:20] well over 200 people.
[28:21] >> Okay.
[28:22] >> Several have never ran it before. The
[28:24] guy the overall male winner, it was his
[28:26] first time joining us. Um and he smoked
[28:29] it all. So he came in like 12 seconds
[28:31] after the overall female winner. I think
[28:34] she was a little under 18. She probably
[28:37] been 18, right under 19. So, uh, Miss
[28:40] Cara's her 22 minutes was pretty
[28:42] impressive.
[28:44] [laughter]
[28:45] >> Ronnie Christopher, y'all better start
[28:47] training for next year.
[28:50] >> 22 hours. [laughter]
[28:52] >> Thank you, board.
[28:53] >> Thank you. Library, Miss Donna Bout,
[29:06] » Mayor, Vice Mayor, Alderman. Good
[29:08] evening
[29:09] for August. You can see our numbers
[29:11] there. They are a little low. Uh but we
[29:14] had no programs going on while we were
[29:16] getting ready to finish up summer
[29:18] reading and to get on to our September
[29:21] happenings. Uh I am impressed with our
[29:24] checkouts for ebooks and e audios. 439.
[29:29] That just shows a lot of people stayed
[29:30] in out of the heat, but still checked
[29:33] out books from our Libby app, which we
[29:36] were happy about. We've got several
[29:39] September happenings. We're getting
[29:41] ready to gear everything back up.
[29:44] September is library card signup month.
[29:48] We are trying to find a way to get more
[29:50] people to come in and sign up for a
[29:52] card. So, we are offering if you sign up
[29:56] for a library card, you will receive an
[29:59] opportunity to win one of our three
[30:02] prize baskets. We're going to give one
[30:04] away to adult, teen, and a child. And
[30:08] these are new library patrons only. So,
[30:11] we will be checking to make sure you
[30:13] don't already have a card, but we're
[30:15] trying to get uh some of our people who
[30:19] have been coming in to use our driver's
[30:20] kiosk and say, "I've never been in this
[30:23] library. I didn't know this was a
[30:25] library." And they've lived here for a
[30:27] while. So, we're looking forward to that
[30:29] month. Uh the library will be closed
[30:32] Labor Day weekend. We will be closed
[30:35] Saturday with the staff taking an RDO, a
[30:38] regular day off. and uh also closed on
[30:42] Monday and will resume regular hours on
[30:45] Tuesday, September the 8th. We will be
[30:48] at the Lever Fall Festival. We would
[30:50] like to encourage people to come to the
[30:52] library tent uh and check us out. Our
[30:56] theme is down on the farm with apples.
[30:59] And the library will be closed on
[31:01] Saturday the 12th while we're at the li
[31:03] at the fall festival.
[31:06] Strings and Things Adult Craft, ages 18
[31:09] plus. Please sign up at the circulation
[31:12] desk. It's a beautiful plaque called
[31:15] Kindness Makes Us Bloom.
[31:18] Dungeons and Dragons is starting back
[31:21] and this is for twins. That will be for
[31:24] ages 10 to 12. Their first Dungeons and
[31:28] Dragons will be Tuesday, September the
[31:30] 15th. And we are encouraging them to
[31:32] sign up at the circulation desk.
[31:35] We have a brand new program and I'm so
[31:38] excited. Jonathan Skinner has developed
[31:42] this program and it's called Vinyl Club
[31:46] listening party. And I think most of us
[31:49] do know what a vinyl is. Some of our
[31:52] younger may not. So each month, Jonathan
[31:56] is finding a vinyl album that uh is in
[32:02] their 50th year of their 50th
[32:04] anniversary. So this first one will be
[32:06] Monday, September 28th. We [snorts] he
[32:09] wants us to join for a relaxed listening
[32:12] party in featuring classic vinyl
[32:14] records, great music, and good
[32:16] conversation. The first one will be
[32:19] Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life,
[32:23] the 50th anniversary.
[32:28] Then very quickly, I want to go over our
[32:30] home our story times. We are beginning
[32:33] story times back on September the 14th.
[32:36] Our homeschool explorers has now moved
[32:39] into homeschool steam lab.
[32:45] Steam standing for science, technology,
[32:48] engineering, arts, and mathematics. So,
[32:51] it's going to cover a lot of different
[32:53] subjects. is for kindergarten through
[32:55] 4th grade Mondays at 10:00 a.m. We have
[32:58] our books and babies back to 36 months
[33:03] on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. And our little
[33:06] learners, that's our preschool children
[33:09] will be Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. And
[33:12] then another new program that's coming
[33:15] along, Sherry has developed this one.
[33:18] It's called the village gathering and
[33:21] that will be doing we will be doing this
[33:23] once a month. Uh this first one will be
[33:26] Friday, September the 25th at 10:00 a.m.
[33:29] It's a new monthly program for parents,
[33:32] caregivers, and families to connect,
[33:34] share experiences, and build community.
[33:38] This group is a chance to meet other
[33:40] families, make friends, swap ideas and
[33:42] resources, talk through everyday
[33:45] challenges, and celebrate the ups and
[33:47] downs of life. Each meetup is casual
[33:50] with no formal program. Of course,
[33:53] children of all ages are welcome. There
[33:56] will be toys and activities available
[33:58] for playing while the grown-ups visit
[34:00] and make connections. Come as you are.
[34:03] community. Connect with your community
[34:05] and remember, you do not have to do it
[34:07] alone. Sometimes it takes a village.
[34:12] You can find all of our programs on
[34:15] Facebook and also we have a schedule
[34:17] that will be on the website.
[34:20] So, we've got a lot going on in
[34:22] September. Do you have any questions?
[34:26] >> Any questions?
[34:27] >> It's a busy busy month.
[34:28] >> It is.
[34:29] >> Okay. Thank you.
[34:32] Finance Department. Wyatt.
[34:34] >> Oh, we get Wyatt tonight.
[34:36] >> Opie. All right.
[34:39] >> Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor,
[34:41] Alderman. Uh,
[34:42] >> we have lots of questions.
[34:43] >> I have lots of answers. Uh, first up, we
[34:46] have the any bank balances for August.
[34:49] The total was 109 million with Fin
[34:52] [clears throat] fund making up 22.8
[34:54] million and the water sewer fund making
[34:58] up 22.06 06 million
[35:02] and after that we have the sales tax
[35:06] information
[35:10] and for
[35:13] we have the sales tax information for
[35:14] the current and three prior years.
[35:16] August collection amount was 1.7 million
[35:19] and it exceeded the prior year's amount
[35:21] and it continued the trend that only
[35:24] January has been less than the prior
[35:26] year's collections.
[35:29] Um any questions?
[35:31] >> No. We like those numbers though with um
[35:33] >> Yes.
[35:34] >> sales tax.
[35:35] >> Yes.
[35:36] >> So, anyone have any questions?
[35:40] >> Thank you, wifey. [laughter]
[35:42] >> He was waiting.
[35:43] >> Last but not least, water treatment
[35:45] plant, Mr. Danny Campbell.
[35:50] » Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, board.
[35:52] I hope you've had the opportunity to
[35:54] review our report for the month of
[35:56] August. Couple things worth mentioning.
[36:00] Our lead and copper sampling is uh
[36:02] completed. We were able to get the
[36:05] remaining of the 30 required samples in
[36:07] the month of August. Those have all been
[36:10] submitted to the uh lab and once we get
[36:14] the uh reports back, we will send those
[36:17] out to the to the customers that
[36:19] participated. I do want to say thank you
[36:21] to those who did participate. It was uh
[36:23] very helpful. Uh we also completed uh
[36:27] roughly we're we're about 75% complete
[36:30] with our annual flushing program as
[36:32] well. We flushed roughly one uh 4.1
[36:36] million gallons.
[36:38] >> Wow.
[36:38] >> Any questions?
[36:41] >> Thank you, sir.
[36:42] >> Thank you.
[36:44] >> Moving on to old business. First
[36:46] reading, ordinance 2026-14,
[36:48] an ordinance to amend title 10 of the
[36:50] lever's municipal code by adding a new
[36:52] chapter regulating the keeping of
[36:54] domestic foul. This received a favorable
[36:56] recommendation from the planning
[36:58] commission on July 28th, 2026. I need a
[37:02] motion to approve or deny.
[37:03] >> Motion to approve.
[37:04] >> A motion to approve from Alderwoman Hos.
[37:06] Is there a second?
[37:08] >> Second.
[37:08] from Vice Mayor. No. Any
[37:10] discussion?
[37:13] [clears throat]
[37:13] >> Alderwoman Hobbs. I,
[37:15] >> Alman Coats,
[37:16] >> hi.
[37:16] >> Alderman Hoss,
[37:17] >> I.
[37:18] >> Vice Mayor, no.
[37:19] >> I
[37:19] >> motion passes.
[37:21] And number six, second reading ordinance
[37:24] 2026-15, an ordinance to amend the city
[37:27] of Leverne zoning ordinance by changing
[37:29] the official zoning map for tax map 17G,
[37:32] group A, parcels 112, 13,14 15. Property
[37:36] consisting of approximately 2.74 acres.
[37:39] Property located on Rocky Street.
[37:41] Current zoning is um R1 single family
[37:45] residential and the proposed zoning
[37:47] district is central commercial. This
[37:50] received a favorable recommendation from
[37:52] the planning commission on June 30th and
[37:55] a public hearing was held on August 4th.
[37:58] I'll make a motion to approve. Is there
[38:00] a second?
[38:00] >> Second.
[38:01] from Alderman Coats. Any
[38:03] discussion?
[38:05] >> Alderman Hobbs.
[38:06] >> I.
[38:06] >> Alman Coats
[38:07] >> I.
[38:08] >> Alman Hos
[38:09] >> I.
[38:09] >> Vice Mayor No.
[38:10] >> I. I'll vote I. That motion passes.
[38:13] Number seven, second reading, Ordinance
[38:15] 2026-16,
[38:17] an ordinance to amend the fiscal year
[38:18] 2026-2027
[38:22] uh water and sewer fund budget.
[38:25] Need a motion to approve or deny.
[38:27] >> Make a motion to approve.
[38:28] >> Have a motion to approve from Alderman
[38:30] Coats. Is there a second?
[38:31] >> Second.
[38:32] from Alderwoman Hos. Any
[38:34] discussion?
[38:36] >> Alderwoman Hobbs.
[38:37] >> I.
[38:38] >> Alderman Coats.
[38:38] >> I.
[38:39] >> Alderwoman Hos.
[38:40] >> I. Vice Mayor, no.
[38:41] >> I
[38:41] >> That motion passes. Number eight,
[38:44] approve uh motion to approve agreement
[38:47] with Blue Line Solutions LLC for school
[38:50] zone automated photo enforcement
[38:52] services. Make a motion to defer. Is
[38:55] there a second?
[38:55] >> Second.
[38:56] from Alderwoman Hobbs. Any
[38:58] discussion?
[38:59] >> Alderwoman Hobbs.
[39:00] >> I. Alderman Coats.
[39:02] >> I.
[39:02] >> Alderman Hos.
[39:03] >> I.
[39:04] >> Vice Mayor. No.
[39:05] >> I. And
[39:05] >> I vote I. That motion passes. Moving on
[39:08] to the consent agenda. I need a motion
[39:09] to approve or deny.
[39:12] >> Motion to approve.
[39:13] >> Have a motion to approve from Vice Mayor
[39:14] No. Is there a second?
[39:15] >> Second.
[39:16] from Alderwoman Hobbs.
[39:18] >> Alderwoman Hobbs.
[39:20] >> I.
[39:21] >> Alderman Coats.
[39:22] >> I.
[39:23] >> Alderwoman Hos.
[39:24] >> I.
[39:24] >> Vice Mayor No.
[39:25] >> I.
[39:26] vote I. That passes. Moving on to new
[39:30] business. First reading. Ordinance
[39:32] 2026-7, an ordinance to amend chapters
[39:35] four and five of the Leverne zoning
[39:37] ordinance regarding planning areas and
[39:39] development standards. This received a
[39:41] favorable recommendation from the
[39:42] planning commission on July 28th, 2026
[39:45] and we will have a public hearing on
[39:48] this October 6th at 5:45. Need a motion
[39:51] to approve or deny.
[39:52] >> Motion to approve.
[39:53] >> Have a motion to approve from Alderman
[39:55] Coats. Is there a second?
[39:57] >> Second.
[39:57] from Vice Mayor. No. Any
[39:59] discussion?
[40:00] Alderman Hops
[40:02] >> I.
[40:02] >> Alderman Coats
[40:03] >> I.
[40:04] >> Alderman Hos
[40:05] >> I.
[40:05] >> Vice Mayor no
[40:06] >> I.
[40:07] vote I. That motion passes. Number 11.
[40:11] Resolution 2026-26.
[40:13] A resolution of the city of Leverne
[40:15] board of mayor and alderman to declare
[40:16] property owned by the city to be surplus
[40:18] to the city's needs and directing
[40:20] disposal of the same. Make a motion to
[40:22] approve. Is there a second?
[40:24] >> Second.
[40:25] from Alderwoman Hos. Any
[40:27] discussion?
[40:29] Alderman
[40:31] Hobbs.
[40:31] >> I alderman Coats
[40:32] >> I.
[40:33] >> Alderman Hos
[40:34] >> I.
[40:34] >> Vice Mayor No.
[40:35] >> I.
[40:36] >> That motion passes. Number 12 is to
[40:40] appoint
[40:42] one person to the planning commission
[40:45] vacant term and um we've got four
[40:50] applicants to this. Um I will appoint
[40:53] Jamie Knight to that position.
[40:58] And then moving on to mayor and alderman
[41:01] comments.
[41:02] Aldwoman Hobbs.
[41:04] >> Yes. I just in regards to the uh
[41:07] planning commission appointment. I think
[41:08] we had four great applicants. We could
[41:10] not have gone wrong there. But I do want
[41:12] to ask the mayor and this board to just
[41:14] be mindful in appointing the same people
[41:16] to multiple boards. I think by doing so,
[41:18] we're limiting the diversity of our
[41:20] boards. We're limiting opportunities for
[41:22] community engagement and can discourage
[41:26] future applicants uh from applying if we
[41:29] continue to appoint the same people to
[41:30] multiple boards. But like I said, we
[41:32] have four great candidates. We couldn't
[41:33] have went wrong with any one of them. Um
[41:35] I also want to extend my thoughts and
[41:37] prayers to the Gentry family as they
[41:39] celebrate the life of Cranston um over
[41:42] the week. I know that's a really hard
[41:44] loss for this community um but my
[41:47] thoughts and prayers are with their
[41:48] family.
[41:51] Alman Coats,
[41:51] >> look forward to everyone enjoying the
[41:53] Labor Day weekend and look forward to
[41:55] seeing everyone else coming out for the
[41:56] full festival and parade.
[41:59] Alman Hoff,
[42:01] >> great job, Chief Maize. I know there was
[42:04] competition between the fire department
[42:06] in July and the cookout now, so it was a
[42:10] tie. I can't show favorites.
[42:14] >> I'll take it.
[42:16] >> Fist bump.
[42:17] It was great job. Um, I think most
[42:21] people might know Miss Mary Lee. Uh,
[42:23] she's maybe almost one of the oldest
[42:26] attending the senior center vice mayor.
[42:29] Yeah, maybe. Yeah. Anyway, uh, she's had
[42:32] an ongoing relationship with Lieutenant
[42:34] Stats. Anytime he walked in, it was I
[42:38] mean, she just blows up. She was
[42:39] throwing her cane and everything. So,
[42:41] it' been a while since he'd been there
[42:43] and he walked in and she just just
[42:46] blossomed. So, um, thanks to Lieutenant
[42:49] Stats for stopping by. I know it was
[42:51] before his shift, but it it made their
[42:54] day and the police officers and the
[42:56] detectives and everybody that showed up
[42:58] made the seniors day. I won't say what
[43:01] uh a couple of them said when Chief Mays
[43:03] offered to dance. Bless you.
[43:04] >> Um, we'll keep that one down. Um, but it
[43:07] was a great time had by all and uh then
[43:11] uh David, great job with How at the
[43:13] Moon. uh look forward to the fall
[43:15] festival, the parade and everything and
[43:18] um just everybody stay safe over the
[43:21] Labor Day weekend. Thank you,
[43:23] >> Vice Mayor.
[43:24] >> Well, I guess Joe and uh Laura left. So,
[43:29] Mike,
[43:31] thank you, sir, for your service. And uh
[43:34] you are officially a hasb been
[43:38] [laughter]
[43:38] and Melissa also.
[43:42] So, you all enjoy your fishing poles or
[43:44] whatever you're going to do. And uh we
[43:47] appreciate you coming and letting us at
[43:49] least acknowledge the fact that we do
[43:51] appreciate what you all have done. And I
[43:53] have to say that uh they got some big
[43:56] shoes to fill and they will be or I know
[44:00] I will be watching and I'm not a you
[44:03] know me well enough to know I'm not
[44:05] scared to speak my mind. So, uh, we'll
[44:09] be watching and I'm glad,
[44:12] uh, Cassie allowed Keith to come. I
[44:14] wish, uh, [laughter]
[44:16] I wish she would have allowed him to
[44:19] speak, but we understand.
[44:21] So, thank [laughter] you.
[44:23] >> I was just surprised they weren't in
[44:25] Disney. So,
[44:28] >> with Bruce.
[44:29] >> Yeah, they're competing with Bruce. So,
[44:32] >> well, um, do want to say today at the
[44:35] senior center was a wonderful time. lots
[44:38] of faces. I saw um Chief, our deputy
[44:41] chief Hatcher playing uh we bowling and
[44:45] um was actually beating some of the
[44:46] ladies um in that.
[44:48] >> Oh, I do have a comment. Uh Conrad was
[44:51] doing we bowling and when he went up
[44:52] like that, he took out a couple of the
[44:54] ceiling tiles. [laughter]
[44:56] >> So, maintenance
[44:57] >> maintenance.
[44:59] >> But, um it it it was definitely a good
[45:02] time. Everyone was in good spirits and
[45:05] um it was a packed house there. So, um,
[45:07] you you and your team did a great job
[45:10] there. Um, you had everyone from police
[45:13] officers to administration to
[45:15] dispatchers. I mean, it was it was
[45:17] great. So, um, so bravo. Hopefully the
[45:21] fire department can do better next time.
[45:24] [laughter]
[45:26] Um,
[45:27] >> look forward to uh September 12th with
[45:30] the fall festival. Um, please come out.
[45:33] Have a great time with it. Um, are Evan,
[45:35] are we throwing candy?
[45:37] >> We are not throwing candy.
[45:38] >> We're throwing candy. Okay.
[45:39] >> Candy.
[45:40] >> I thought it was chickens.
[45:41] >> Back to you. [laughter]
[45:43] >> That's only what Alderwoman Hobbs
[45:44] throws.
[45:45] >> It's almost like he was sitting over
[45:47] there waiting.
[45:48] >> Yes. Yes, he was. And then just please
[45:51] remember in your prayers the Gentry
[45:52] family. With that, thank you to all of
[45:55] our friends and everyone who served in
[45:57] the county. So, with that, I call this
[46:00] meeting adjourned.