[0:08] Mayor Roland Dykes. Here. Vice Mayor
Connie Ball. Here. Alderman Mike
[0:13] Hensley.
>> Here. Alderwoman Luwanna Ottinger.
[0:16] Alderman Randy Reagan.
>> Here. Alderman Steve Smith. City
[0:19] Attorney Terry Hurst.
>> Here. City Administrator James Finchum.
[0:22] » Here.
We do have a quorum and are able to
[0:26] conduct the business of the city of
Newport. We would like to convey the
[0:30] regrets from Alderwoman Ottinger and
from Alderman Steve Smith who were ill
[0:36] and could not be here tonight. We but we
do have a quorum.
[0:40] Thank you.
In your booklet, you have a
[0:44] copy of the minutes of previous meeting
of session of record February 10th,
[0:49] 2026.
You had a chance to look those over.
[0:54] We entertain a motion to approve those
as read as presented.
[0:57] Motion approved. Second.
Okay, we have a motion on the board to
[1:01] approve the minutes as presented.
It has been properly seconded. Please
[1:05] signify acceptance by I. I.
And may those have like sign.
[1:10] Hearing none, motion carries.
Proclamations and recognition of
[1:15] citizens by the mayor.
I only have one tonight. I'd like to
[1:20] recognize our
Cocke County High School
[1:24] uh girls basketball team for winning the
district tournament, the region
[1:28] tournament, and making the second trip
to the state tournament.
[1:32] Third trip, I'm sorry. Yeah.
Third trip to state tournament.
[1:37] Do you Anybody else have
anything to add?
[1:41] They're in 11 and running now. Yes, they
are. I just wanted to let you know. They
[1:45] stopped by on
They stopped at A.I. High School on the
[1:48] way to do a little practicing before
they
[1:50] get on the bus to Murfreesboro.
Okay. What are we looking at?
[1:55] Okay. Next item is communications from
the city administrator.
[2:00] Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council.
Thank you.
[2:02] Thankfully, I can be a lot briefer than
I was last last month.
[2:07] The first thing I want to take care of
is just some housekeeping, and that is
[2:12] to correct something that I said last
month. You know, I made the comment that
[2:18] my my facts have got to be accurate or
because it's public and it's recorded
[2:24] and if if I mistake on anything, make a
mistake on anything, I will get called
[2:29] out. I
And so, one thing that I have learned
[2:34] that we were mistaken on is the 15%
penalty on sales tax revenue if for two
[2:43] consecutive late audits. Now, that is
true, but uh
[2:50] in addition to that, they have to be two
outstanding late consecutive audits.
[2:56] And so, we only got that letter that
day, and I become aware of it that
[3:00] afternoon. So, we uh we misinterpreted
that and um I went with the information
[3:07] that I had, and um
that's on me. Um if I if I say it, I got
[3:14] to I got to I try my best to be
accurate, and I was inaccurate on that,
[3:18] and I apologize because uh and I I I
tell everybody, "Please, please don't
[3:23] give me bad info cuz I pass it down."
And uh that's the case where uh I gave
[3:29] bad info, and so I I have to correct
that. And so,
[3:34] uh I stand corrected on that.
Uh
[3:38] there is a letter two letters in y'all's
packets, uh one from the comptroller's
[3:43] office, one from the auditors uh that
address the issues that have been going
[3:49] on.
Uh
[3:51] yeah, pretty much confirmed, uh, our
position and our issues. The, uh, the
[3:57] mayor spoke with the controller. I spoke
with two investigators from the
[4:02] controller's office. Tina spoke with the
auditors.
[4:05] And so, we posed questions, uh, to each
of those, and those letters are in
[4:11] response to the questions that we posed
to them.
[4:15] And so, you all have copies of that, and
I know the mayor had, uh, has talked
[4:19] about uh, sharing that with Craig. And
so,
[4:24] hopefully we can put all this stuff to
bed and move on.
[4:27] One thing that has also taken place, for
the record, is that the, uh,
[4:34] the charter change amendment has stalled
out in Nashville. And so, that will not
[4:40] be moving forward, so it's a dead issue.
Um,
[4:46] Jeremy Faison brought that to my
attention, uh, last week. Uh, he asked
[4:52] would we be interested in making any
other, attempting to make other changes,
[4:56] and I told him no. We had no
no interest in that, and we had no, I
[5:01] mean, we hadn't even talked about
do it doing that till he brought it up.
[5:06] You know, that's the aggravating thing
to me. I didn't address that to him. I
[5:09] started to, but uh, it was pointless to
just start an argument with him. But,
[5:15] uh, if he hadn't brought it up, we
wouldn't have have, uh, considered it
[5:20] put it on the agenda. And so, if
if the support wouldn't there in
[5:24] Nashville, I wish he hadn't even asked
us, uh,
[5:28] if we were still interested in doing it.
He should have, in my opinion, he should
[5:31] have checked to make sure there was
support there to do it before he
[5:35] proposed it to us. But, it is what it
is.
[5:40] Um,
our second issue that is going on is
[5:45] with the recently approved program where
we are providing grants to property
[5:53] owners downtown to help them with
condemned buildings.
[5:58] And
someone has
[6:03] I want to say complained
cuz I figure that's about as what it
[6:07] boils down to. But anyway, someone has
brought it to the attention of the
[6:11] comptroller.
And the comptroller has frozen the
[6:16] program until he can review it. Uh Tari
sent them a they
[6:22] a letter of explanation.
They came back wanting more information
[6:27] and Tari provided that and
we we keep hoping that that'll that
[6:33] that'll settle the issue and he'll
unfreeze the project because they have
[6:38] finished turn down the some more
buildings and they're wanting to be
[6:43] reimbursed. And we can't reimburse them
and now they're getting aggravated cuz
[6:47] we feel like they're being jerked around
cuz they were promised reimbursement
[6:51] through through our grant process.
Which requires us going through the
[6:57] the IDB and uh
it's annoying because we we base this on
[7:03] how other places do it. The city of
Oxford does it. Other cities do it. We
[7:08] didn't reinvent the wheel. We went by
TCA and we went by the and we even added
[7:13] a step that's not required by TCA. We we
added a review process by an outside
[7:20] attorney, Jeff Green, who goes through
everything and make sure that everything
[7:25] is where it needs to be before he signs
off on it. That's a step that Tina
[7:30] requested that that just added another
level of review to it to make sure that
[7:37] that everything was looked at repeatedly
to make sure that everything was being
[7:42] done the way it should be. So, I I don't
know why somebody, you know, why do
[7:47] people do anything, but somebody has
grumbled to the comptroller about it and
[7:52] uh
want to know is that legal? And uh so, I
[7:56] would have thought that it would just be
a quick review and and move on, but so
[8:02] far it has not been and that's actually
what we were talking to Faison about
[8:06] Thursday was trying to get him. He talks
all the time about how tight he is with
[8:11] the comptroller. Uh could he put a good
word in with us for us down there and
[8:16] see what they need to speed that process
up so we can get these people paid. And
[8:22] he said he would and we've heard
nothing. Uh
[8:25] where's Gary?
Have you heard anything? Uh we haven't
[8:29] spoken this afternoon. Have you heard
anything this today this afternoon? I I
[8:33] have.
So, that's that's where we are. Uh but
[8:38] uh you know, Terry reviewed the process.
We looked at it like I say, we looked at
[8:42] what other cities were doing. We talked
to Jeff Green about it. We we did our
[8:47] due diligence before we brought it to
you all and got it approved. And we
[8:52] followed like I say, we followed the the
guidelines right down the line, even
[8:55] added steps. So, I'm confident that
they'll
[9:00] let it go at some point, but I don't
know why they're just dragging it out
[9:04] cuz it's it's been nearly a uh
a week now since they froze it. It may
[9:09] have been a week. Now, I actually
>> been at least a week. I I replied to
[9:13] them Yeah, cuz that was on Monday you
sent that letter. the first letter
[9:16] Monday.
>> Yeah. And then they came back and then I
[9:20] replied to them
Thursday afternoon of last week. Yeah,
[9:24] it was Monday last week you sent the
letter.
[9:27] » Yeah.
Cuz we got and that means we got
[9:29] contacted the prior week. So, it's been
nearly 2 weeks.
[9:34] So, I don't know the know, I don't know.
But, you know, stuff works I've said
[9:39] this I don't know how many times. Stuff
works everywhere else, but it won't work
[9:43] here. You know, I I never I never cease
ceases to amaze me and I never
[9:47] understand it. Why it is you can take
something that's been done dozens of
[9:51] times somewhere else and here it gets
stymied somehow.
[9:56] The only other thing that I have is uh
today
[10:01] uh I had an occasion to have to suspend
an employee.
[10:07] And um
uh
[10:09] it as happenstance would have it, I just
had this gentleman in my office on
[10:14] Thursday last week and counseled him on
his attitude.
[10:19] And then lo and behold, on Friday
evening a citizen comes in and complains
[10:25] about his attitude
after I had just spoken to him about it
[10:29] the day before.
So,
[10:34] he was one of Bains' guys and so I asked
Bain to do an investigation into it and
[10:38] he did and he come back with the with a
report.
[10:42] And
and the the guy admits that that yeah,
[10:47] he was he wasn't feeling good and and so
he he was exhibiting a bad attitude.
[10:53] Now, the the key part of that was
uh
[10:58] the gentleman at the residence asking
for his name.
[11:03] And he told him, "Don't worry about it."
And and I had a real problem with that.
[11:11] You know, in the general orders of the
police department, it's plainly spelled
[11:15] out in there that if any citizen asks
for your name or your badge number, you
[11:20] must provide that.
And uh I thought having dealt with the
[11:25] the the general orders for so many
years, I thought that was in the
[11:29] personnel policy.
But, it was not spelled out in the
[11:33] personnel policy. It does talk about
having a bad attitude and being rude to
[11:39] citizens and that kind of jazz. So, I I
used that as a justification for my
[11:45] action.
But what I would like to do, if you all
[11:48] don't have a problem with it, and that's
why I just got it on the on my part to
[11:52] discuss tonight, and I will if if you
all don't have a problem with it, I'm
[11:57] going to put it on the agenda in April.
But I would like to add to the personnel
[12:02] policy that if any citizen ask you for
your name, you must provide it.
[12:10] Because I just think that's that's not
an unfair question.
[12:14] If if you're on duty and you're
you're doing something and good or bad
[12:20] and they say, you know, "What What's
your name?" You know, it don't need to
[12:23] be, "Don't worry about it."
You know, what what hurt is it What does
[12:28] it hurt to say, "Well, I'm James Finch."
And you know, and so
[12:34] I I don't know, you know, like I say, we
always at the police department, we had
[12:38] to provide our name. That was You didn't
have way out of it. And uh
[12:42] And it's still I mean, it's like what I
did today, I was justified by that other
[12:47] statute in the in the personnel policy,
but I'd like for that to be clearly
[12:51] spelled out that and I can make that
just my rule.
[12:55] But
and and I've explained that. That is my
[12:59] rule. If you're asked your name, you
need to provide it. But I would like to
[13:03] spell that out in the personnel policy.
If you all don't have a problem with
[13:07] that, I will bring that back in April
and ask for an amendment to add that to
[13:13] the personnel policy. Are Are all y'all
okay with that? All right.
[13:17] I appreciate that. And I will I will
have that on the agenda. That's why I
[13:21] put put my firefighters when I was
there. That's why I put their name on
[13:24] their shirt.
>> Right. They won't say it. Yeah, well,
[13:27] that's why, you know, I got mine right
there. You know, when we do on the on
[13:32] the everybody's shirt, we put the some
of them just their first name. It's not
[13:37] their whole name.
But, uh you know, we do allow some to
[13:41] wear uh if they wear those uh reflective
or
[13:46] uh neon yellow shirts, some of them they
they'll wear ones they bought theirself
[13:51] and it doesn't have their name on it.
And he he he wears them he he wears the
[13:56] ones he has that don't have the name on
it. And that may be something I need to
[13:59] look at, too. Cuz I thought everybody
was wearing the the shirts with the
[14:03] names on them that we provide. I didn't
know that we were people were still kind
[14:07] of slipping through the cracks that was
wearing their own shirts. Cuz that's
[14:11] what we do. We put everybody's name on
them. But he was wearing one he had it
[14:16] on today when I called him in the
office. Not the same one, probably, but
[14:19] similar.
And uh he's, you know, cuz I mentioned
[14:22] that, and you know, when he said, "Well,
I I wear my own shirt and it don't have
[14:25] my name on it."
So, uh I may need to address that with
[14:29] the department heads next week at the
department head meeting.
[14:32] But I appreciate it and uh and I'll have
that on the agenda next month. Now,
[14:38] and I don't want to get too deep off
into it cuz that's it and I promised to
[14:41] be brief. But
um
[14:44] this gentleman's and I'm I'm not going
to name him. If y'all want to know, I'll
[14:47] tell you after the meeting.
Uh no need to embarrass him or his
[14:50] family. But
his dad also works for the city. And his
[14:56] dad, I don't know what he went home and
told his dad, but his dad is complaining
[15:00] that he was disciplined for defending
himself against a dog.
[15:05] That had nothing to do with what he got
disciplined for. Now, he was
[15:10] fussing about the guy's dog. It's why
the guy asked him
[15:14] what was, you know, what's your name?
And I told him plain in the meeting
[15:18] today with with HR and with Ben, this
has nothing to do with the dog. You
[15:24] know, you got a right to defend yourself
if a dog's coming at you barking, you
[15:28] know. He put a trash can between him and
the dog and threatened to hit the dog or
[15:33] something.
But, it was about not identifying
[15:37] himself. And I told him that very
clearly. But, his dad is saying, "Well,
[15:41] you know, the city
uh disciplined him because he was just
[15:45] defending himself against the dog and he
don't think that's right." That is in
[15:49] case you get a phone call about it. That
And I told him plain and Ben can attest
[15:54] to this and Missy can, too.
I said, "This has nothing to do with the
[15:58] dog.
This has everything to do with not
[16:02] identifying yourself when they ask your
name."
[16:05] So,
that's it, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you.
[16:09] Any other questions?
[16:13] All right. Next item on the agenda is
appointment of boards, commissions, and
[16:17] committees.
Uh item A is consideration of
[16:20] reappointment to the Beer Board, Mr.
Derek Whitson,
[16:24] who has indicated that he is willing to
be reappointed. And in my capacity as
[16:29] mayor, I I will uh reappoint Mr. Whitson
to that position.
[16:35] Any questions?
[16:38] Hearing none, item B,
discussion of appointment to Cocke
[16:42] County Municipal Solid Waste Planning
Region, Alderwoman Luella Ottinger's
[16:47] term.
And I've already spoken to Miss Ottinger
[16:50] and she is willing to be
uh reappointed to that position. So,
[16:56] any questions?
[17:00] Reports from committees, members of the
council, or other officers.
[17:05] Does anyone have anything?
Council?
[17:10] Okay.
Item eight is old unfinished old
[17:15] business or unfinished business.
Item A is consideration of the second
[17:19] reading of ordinance number 26-01,
[17:23] budget amendment for the city of
Newport. And mayor, I'll read the
[17:27] caption of that ordinance. It's
ordinance number 2026-01,
[17:32] and the ordinance of amending the annual
operating budget and capital improvement
[17:37] of the city of Newport, Tennessee,
fiscal year 2025-2026.
[17:45] Can we do the roll call, please?
Have a motion yet? I'll make a motion to
[17:50] make a motion. I'll second. Okay.
Uh roll call, please. Alderman
[17:55] Alderman Mike Hansel Yes. Alderman Randy
Reagan Yes. Vice Mayor Connie Ball Yes.
[18:01] Motion carried. Thank you.
Item nine is new business. It's
[18:06] consideration of resolution number
2026-05
[18:11] to annex certain territory upon written
consent of the owners and to incorporate
[18:16] the same within the boundaries of the
city of Newport, Tennessee, property
[18:20] located off Rankin Road owned by further
described as tax map 047-147-02.
[18:32] Alderman
Um
[18:34] Yeah, this is um
the lot we discussed
[18:38] that's been vetted and
the um
[18:41] uh
plan of services in front of you there.
[18:46] So, it's adjacent to the city. We're not
going out and grabbing anything that'd
[18:49] be tough to service. It's
and it's earmarked for uh housing
[18:53] development.
[18:57] And it has been requested by the owners.
Yes, yeah, it is a requested annexation.
[19:05] Any questions?
[19:10] Okay. You've heard the presentation.
What's the board's pleasure?
[19:13] Motion to approve.
Second.
[19:15] You have a motion on the board there to
approve consideration of resolution
[19:20] number 2026-05
to annex certain territory upon written
[19:24] consent of the owners and to incorporate
the same within the boundaries of the
[19:27] city of Newport, Tennessee. Property
located off Rankin Road owned by further
[19:32] described as tax map 047-147
[19:38] .02.
It has been properly seconded. Please
[19:41] signify your acceptance by I. I.
Nays have like sign.
[19:47] Hearing none, motion carries. Thank you.
Item B is consideration of authorizing
[19:53] the Newport Fire Department applying for
Tennessee Highway Safety Grant.
[19:59] Yes, we're going to apply for it. We
applied last year, didn't get it, so
[20:02] we're going to try to do it again this
year. Let's see if we can get it for
[20:05] $12,000.
And it'll be buying extrication
[20:08] equipment, some other things for for
accidents and stuff along the highway,
[20:14] stuff like that, and some flashlights
and different things for visibility.
[20:19] Okay.
It is a
[20:22] 100% reimbursement, so we buy it and
then they they pay us back if we win the
[20:27] the certain thing.
Heard presentation. What's the board's
[20:30] pleasure?
Motion to
[20:32] approve.
Second.
[20:34] You have a motion on the board there to
for consideration of authorizing Newport
[20:39] Fire Department applying for Tennessee
Highway Safety Grant has been properly
[20:43] seconded.
Please signify your acceptance by I.
[20:47] Nays have like sign.
Hearing none, motion carries. Thank you.
[20:53] Item C is consideration of authorizing
the Newport Farmers Market applying for
[20:58] the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement
Grant. Hello.
[21:03] The Farmers Market would like to ask to
apply for the annual grant. This is for
[21:08] supplies and advertisement, but this
year we have two locations because
[21:13] Wednesdays we're going to be at the
police department parking lot. So
[21:17] therefore we're eligible for two $3,000
and so that's what we're asking for to
[21:22] apply for both of them.
[21:26] Okay, heard the presentation. What's the
board's pleasure?
[21:29] Motion to approve. Second.
Okay, we have a motion on the board
[21:33] to uh for consideration of authorizing
the Newport Farmers Market applying for
[21:38] the Tennessee Agriculture Enhancement
Grant has been properly seconded. Please
[21:42] signify your acceptance by I. I.
May I have like sign?
[21:47] And hearing none, motion carries. Good
luck.
[21:51] Thank you.
There's more. Item D is consideration of
[21:55] authorizing food trucks for the Newport
Farmers Market.
[21:59] Okay,
this was my idea.
[22:02] Uh where we're going to be down there
Wednesdays to get more foot traffic
[22:07] downtown through the week.
I would like to ask to be able to put
[22:12] food trucks up and I have a policy there
uh
[22:17] and I had it reviewed by MTAS and Terry
and James and Tina. Everybody looked at
[22:22] it. Uh
they have to go by all the
[22:25] state of Tennessee regulations.
The food trucks will be there Wednesdays
[22:30] only and we're only going to allow two.
We're not going to allow the whole
[22:34] parking lot only two on one Wednesday,
you know, every Wednesday if we can get
[22:39] them and hopefully they'll be local.
[22:43] Okay, heard the presentation. What's the
board's pleasure? Motion to approve.
[22:47] Second.
Okay, we have a motion in for for
[22:50] consideration of authorizing food trucks
for the Newport Farmers Market. It has
[22:54] been properly seconded. Please signify
your acceptance by I. I.
[22:59] May I have like sign?
Hearing none, motion carries. Thank you.
[23:05] Item E, is consideration of request to
sign a contract with McGill and
[23:10] Associates for engineering and architect
services for parks and recreation. Yes,
[23:16] we we did a request for qualifications
seeking professional in engineering and
[23:21] landscape architect services.
Uh as you know that we have the
[23:25] governor's recovery money
and also we have an an RTP grant which
[23:30] recreation trails grant that'll be
presented to us soon. So, we're asking
[23:35] for us to enter into a contract with
McGill and Associates to begin the
[23:39] planning and design of of the projects
that we have in place which will be the
[23:46] uh
park to float and the two new properties
[23:49] that we have that are joined there. So,
we're asking to enter into a contract
[23:53] before their services.
[23:57] And the amount of that contract is
I want to say that
[24:05] Yes.
Okay.
[24:07] I'll let you make that.
>> Okay.
[24:10] Okay, you've heard the presentation
then. What's the board's pleasure?
[24:15] I'll move.
Second.
[24:18] All right, we have a motion on the board
then
[24:21] uh for consideration of request to sign
a contract with McGill and Associates
[24:26] for engineering and architect services
for parks and rec.
[24:30] It has been properly seconded.
Please signify your acceptance by eye.
[24:34] Eye.
Nays light side.
[24:37] Hearing none, motion carries. Thank you,
Council.
[24:42] Item
uh 10, bids, purchases and expenses.
[24:46] Item A is consideration of bids for
repair of the outdoor pool at Newport
[24:51] City Park. Right.
Uh we had solicited bids for the
[24:56] repairing the vinyl
uh liner that is inside our pool and of
[25:01] course
with that
[25:03] when we reviewed and looked at it the
cracks
[25:08] uh
that were the
[25:11] the
it it's a complicated system and we do a
[25:15] good job managing it
is the cracks in the pool liner and the
[25:19] outdoor facility remains so that we can
keep it functional we're looking at
[25:25] repairing it from the slide up to the
end of the kiddie pool and of course
[25:32] that bid came in at $19,792.90
[25:37] but there is a factor there that we
would like to ask for
[25:42] for up to $25,000
for the project in case there's some
[25:47] incidences that we're not expecting in
that repair of that pool.
[25:52] Okay.
Okay. At the presentation what's the
[25:55] pleasure please?
Motion to approve. Money's there.
[25:58] Money's there.
Motion. You have a motion. Second. We
[26:03] have a second.
For
[26:05] consideration of request to sign a con-
No, I'm sorry. Consideration of bid
[26:10] for repair of outdoor pool in Newport
City Park.
[26:14] It has been properly seconded. We need a
roll call please. Alderman Mike Hensley.
[26:19] Yes. Alderman Randy Reagan. Yes. Vice
Mayor Connie Ball. Yes.
[26:25] Motion carries.
Thank you Council.
[26:29] And item 11
is comments from citizens.
[26:34] Is there anyone here that wishes to
speak?
[26:38] I do. I was going to speak.
[26:42] Hey guys, thanks for having me. I'm Bree
Hogan with Isaiah 117 House. So I am
[26:48] coming today
to request that you all consider us in
[26:52] your budget for 2026.
Um, if you're not familiar with what we
[26:56] do, we are changing the way that foster
care begins. So, when kiddos are removed
[27:00] from their home by the department, um,
instead of going to the state office or
[27:05] the police department or the gas station
or wherever it may be, um, they come to
[27:09] the home that we have right here in the
city, um, and they stay with us for up
[27:13] to 3 days while we provide all of their
necessities and everything that they
[27:16] need, um, in order to be set up for
success when they go to their foster
[27:19] home. So, I know you all will be
reviewing it in April, um, but I did
[27:24] bring you guys a request letter and if
there are any questions, I'll be glad to
[27:28] answer. Um, there are currently 77 kids
in custody right now in Cobb County. So,
[27:34] it is definitely a need for our house to
be there and be open. So, we appreciate
[27:38] your consideration.
[27:44] Uh, Tina, thanks for letting you wait
there. I think we need a
[27:48] a copy of
the budget and some instant and all the
[27:52] other things. And I already said that.
She has provided everything. Okay. All
[27:56] right. Great program. Yes.
[28:03] Are there any other
Anyone else wishing to be heard today?
[28:12] Going once.
Go big red.
[28:17] Okay.
I'll make a motion to
[28:20] I'll make a motion to
Motion to we all adjourn.