[0:00] The honorable chairman Shannon H
presiding. God bless each United States
[0:03] the great state of Tennessee in this
honorable meeting. This time Chaplan
[0:06] Adams will lead us in prayer.
Afterwards, please remain standing for
[0:09] the pledge to our nation's flag. Chap.
Let's pray together. Heavenly Father
[0:13] God, thank you for the day you give us.
Thank you for your love. God, thank you
[0:16] for the privilege we have to meet
together tonight. And Lord, I pray that
[0:19] you just may direct our hearts to them.
Lord, that everything that we do,
[0:22] everything that is said will bring you
glory now. Lord, help us to act in a way
[0:27] that's according to your will. and Lord,
help us to do it in a manner that gives
[0:31] you glory. Lead us now and direct us.
Thank you for each one of these men and
[0:34] women that serve you. God, thank you for
them that serve our county that have
[0:38] given themselves to to hold these
positions. Lord, bless them in all that
[0:41] they do. We pray. We thank you and love
you in Jesus name. Amen.
[0:45] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:51] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:58] justice for all.
>> Thank you. May be seated. Please silence
[1:01] your cell phones.
>> Mr. Chair,
[1:05] » before we start, I'd like for us all to
keep Sharon Templeton in our prayers.
[1:09] She's going through some some tough
times right now. Just keep her in keep
[1:12] her in our prayers. Thank you.
>> Thanks, sir.
[1:17] » All right. We do have 12 items on the
agenda. We are pulling two, so it's down
[1:22] to 10. Uh do have form. We have 141. At
this time, I'll take a motion to approve
[1:28] the minutes of the 13th July meeting.
[1:33] » Motion by Wilson, second by Doug.
Commissioner Wilson.
[1:37] » Nothing further.
>> Commissioner Doug,
[1:39] » nothing.
>> Any discussion? Any debate? Madam
[1:43] [clears throat] cler
[1:49] [clears throat] motion carries accept
committee reports and correspondence.
[1:53] Take a motion. Motion by Barry. Second
by Gan. Commissioner Barry.
[1:57] » Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh on number
five, I just want to report to you that
[2:01] our our hotel motel tax has done exactly
what we uh we hope it would do. Last
[2:05] year we had 150 plus,000. This year thus
far, we had $241,222.
[2:12] our retail motel tax is uh is is is
doing what we wanted it to do. Other
[2:16] than that, number 13
on our uh on our report there, there's
[2:23] just so much stuff going on now that
that I'm sure uh executive can
[2:29] » can help us on that because uh there's a
lot of interesting things in there and
[2:33] there's a lot of things that we just
need to make sure that that that we're
[2:36] doing. Thank [snorts] you.
[clears throat]
[2:39] » Commissioner request.
>> Excuse me. Was there a question?
[2:42] » Well, I'm just saying we our our ERC
people are really are on top of all
[2:45] this. There's a lot of a lot of stuff
going on. New stuff, old stuff, stuff
[2:49] that that public is is interested in
making sure that we're doing the right
[2:53] stuff. I just want to make sure we're
>> Oh, yeah. Absolutely. No question. All
[2:57] we have Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> Mr. G, you have a second?
[3:00] » Nothing, sir.
>> Any discussion? Any debate?
[3:03] Madam Cler.
[3:08] All right, motion carries 141.
[3:12] List of notaries. Let's do those and
then we're going to amend the agenda.
[3:17] So motion by Henderson, second by
Cunningham.
[3:23] Commissioner Henderson.
>> Appreciate your will to serve.
[3:26] » Commissioner Cunningham.
>> What he said. [clears throat]
[3:30] » Any discussion? Any debate?
Madam cler.
[3:38] [snorts]
All right. At this motion carries 141.
[3:42] At this time, I'll take a motion to
amend the agenda. We're going to do a
[3:44] proclamation first. I have a motion.
>> Motion by uh
[3:50] Parks, a second by Wilson.
>> It was not Wilson.
[3:54] » No.
[3:57] » Thank you.
>> Take it away from somebody.
[4:00] » All right. Go ahead, boy. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman. Um, Miss Johnson,
[4:06] would you mind joining me up here?
[laughter]
[4:10] This may not place to be
standing here.
[4:19] » So, u just want to say this is an honor
to get a chance to to be here. This is
[4:25] probably the only time um well, I know
it's sort of the first time I've been
[4:30] able to do this. Hope probably the only
time that we'll honor somebody 43 years
[4:35] of service to this.
[applause]
[4:42] [applause]
[4:46] [applause]
[4:49] We have a we have a couple of things
that we'd like to do for you. I've got a
[4:53] proclamation I'm going to read first and
then uh Mr. Mr. pastor has something he
[4:58] wants to to give you as well. So bear
with me just for a second. Whereas Beth
[5:04] Johnson has served the people of Rome
County in the county clerk's office for
[5:07] over 43 years. And whereas Beth Johnson
began her dedicated service to the
[5:11] county on March 1st, 1983 as deputy
clerk and through her commitment,
[5:16] professionalism, and faithful service
was appointed chief deputy on January
[5:20] 1st, 2018. And whereas on September 1st,
2018, Beth Johnson assumed the office of
[5:25] county clerk Continuing a distinguished
career marked by integrity, compassion,
[5:30] and unwavering dedication to the
citizens of Rome County. And whereas
[5:34] after more than four decades of
exemplary service, Beth Johnson is
[5:38] retiring from the office of Rome County
Clerk, leaving behind a lasting legacy
[5:42] of service and commitment to Rome County
and its residents. Now therefore, I, Way
[5:46] Creswell, County Executive of Rome
County, do hereby proclaim that Beth
[5:49] Johnson has served in the role of county
clerk of Rome County with honor and
[5:53] distinction for her entire 43-year
career. Rome County is grateful for your
[5:58] dedication and service and wishes you
well on RET [applause]
[6:06] [applause]
[6:27] » [laughter]
>> I get through.
[6:29] » Not that you need a Walmart. [laughter]
That's all I make. So,
[6:36] » so it's extremely hard wood from Brazil.
So, if you hit somebody with it, it
[6:41] won't break. [laughter]
Break a stick.
[6:46] Watch
>> out.
[6:50] [applause]
[6:54] I also want to take time to say that uh
Freda Smith and Tina Stro are also
[7:00] retiring from Beth's office.
Collectively, they make up 102 years of
[7:06] service to this county.
>> So, what we're losing in this county,
[7:10] this office, uh in institutional
knowledge and experience is is pretty
[7:14] irreplaceable. It take a long time. So,
on behalf of me, my staff, Rome County
[7:19] government, thank you. Thank your team
for ALL YOU'VE DONE.
[7:23] » [applause]
[7:31] [snorts]
[laughter]
[7:36] » YOU KNOW WHAT THAT STICKS? It's called
[laughter] when you holler at him, he
[7:41] don't ask you to poke him. Say come
here.
[7:46] » Okay. Uh did the notaries. Next is a
hearing of delegation. So if you want to
[7:51] address the county commission, please
come on up. It must must be remain to of
[7:55] the county business and keep it to three
minutes. So
[8:05] [clears throat]
[8:08] thank you sir for the opportunity. So my
name again is Brad Taylor. Um, I was
[8:12] here a little over about 3 weeks ago in
the budget committee met uh as far as
[8:17] giving out uh donations to organizations
within the Rome County. Um, our shoes
[8:24] for soul was very fortunate to receive a
$5,000 donation. [clears throat] And so
[8:29] we took that one week later and went to
Walmart in Rockwood and we were able to
[8:34] give out 726 pairs of children's shoes.
6
[8:42] » [applause]
[8:44] » I JUST WANTED YOU TO know from the
bottom of my heart how much we
[8:48] appreciate that. But I also wanted you
to know that your money, your $5,000
[8:52] immediately went into the community to
aid and assist children were less
[8:58] fortunate that put a backpack filled
with school supplies on their backs. And
[9:02] it couldn't have been done without the
cooperation and the support of the
[9:05] county government. Uh we have one of
your own, Jennifer Hazw came down and
[9:09] donated her entire day and worked with
us. So she can tell you firsthand what
[9:16] the look is in those children's eyes
whenever you're able to give them
[9:19] something that they didn't think they
would ever get to be able to start this
[9:22] school year. So again, thank you very
much for what you do.
[9:25] » Brad, will you tell how that foundation
was started real quick? How you started
[9:30] that?
>> Yes, sir. So my brother Allan um seven
[9:33] years ago was diagnosed with pancreatic
and stage four liver cancer. Um so
[9:40] instead of sitting around the last six
months of his life saying poor biblical
[9:43] D, he had us as a family get together
and we focused on him, developed a 501c3
[9:49] organization, Shoes for Souls. Um, we
just with this last August 1st, we just
[9:55] passed 30,000 shoe pairs of shoes that
we handed out in Rome County and over
[9:59] 15,000 backpacks to school age children
here in Rome County. So, um, you know,
[10:04] we we do it for three, we do it for
three reasons. Number one, we honor God
[10:11] because without God, none of us
>> Number [clears throat] two, we honor my
[10:16] brother. Number three, we honor the
county that we live in because these
[10:20] kids in this county whether they're and
you know the beautiful thing about my
[10:24] brother is he said don't ever judge son.
He said when a child comes up there you
[10:28] put a pair of shoes on. It doesn't
matter whether mom and daddy look like
[10:30] they can afford them or not. You know
and the the the selfishness of that act
[10:35] alone where every child looks the same.
They all look the same in God's eyes. So
[10:40] u we're uh we're humbled. We're blessed
beyond measure. will be at Walmart in
[10:46] [clears throat] December partnering with
Operation Reach to do shoes uh and other
[10:51] items in December.
>> It's awesome.
[10:54] » Thank you for sharing it, SIR.
[applause]
[11:01] » All right. Next.
>> Anyone else want to address the county
[11:06] commission?
[11:10] » Mike Parkerson, 222 Hawk Trail,
Kingston, Tennessee. Um, I'm here
[11:15] tonight to talk about what I was told
would be on the the agenda, a resolution
[11:20] to uh
run a pilot program for the high density
[11:26] housing here in Rome County as and then
the pilot being in lie of taxes, payment
[11:33] in le of taxes. Um, concern I've got is
I've got several concerns with it. one.
[11:41] This should be addressed more openly,
more transparently, I think, with the
[11:45] the citizens of the county and rather
show up as a item on the budget.
[11:52] Sorry.
And
[11:58] so, so I think that it should be
addressed more openly with the people in
[12:02] the county so we know what's going on
about it. I think that if there are
[12:07] taxes available to be given back, they
should be given back to the citizens who
[12:10] have paid those taxes. So, if we want to
do that, u you know, I think that that
[12:16] the growth in the county is good. I
think that the county government is not
[12:20] responsible to provide housing for all
the people who have jobs in the county.
[12:25] And so, I think we need to be careful
where we step or we may overstep.
[12:30] Um, you know, it's I don't believe it's
been brought to the budget committee.
[12:35] Um, I don't believe it's brought been
brought to the planning commission for
[12:39] for any kind of input on and I don't
believe it's been brought to the public
[12:42] in general. So, so I think those are
things that we need to to address when
[12:46] we're looking at this. Uh, it is a a
matter that's of pretty significant
[12:52] impact to the county because it does
reduce the tax base that we have at
[12:58] least for a few years. And I don't think
that we need to be encouraging that kind
[13:03] of growth, the high density, lower
middle income growth in the county
[13:06] necessarily. So that's all I've got to
say at this time. Thanks.
[13:09] » Thanks, sir. All right. Next.
[13:15] » All right. Anyone else?
>> Hi there. Family 137 Elbertton Road. Um,
[13:23] I just spoke briefly last time about the
clock cameras, and I was hoping that by
[13:29] now some people maybe have looked more
into advanced license plate readers and
[13:34] their capabilities beyond just reading
license plates such as facial
[13:37] recognition, connecting to your Wi-Fi on
your phone, other things that they can
[13:42] do. And um, I I know that we can't make
big moves all of a sudden or all at
[13:47] once, nor do we want to necessarily, but
the one that concerns me the most is the
[13:52] one that is of ours. I don't understand
why there's one camera there in front of
[13:56] that school when there isn't any in
front of any others. There's children
[14:00] there. Those cameras can be hacked into.
They can be spun around and looked at
[14:04] the playground. Those children deserve
[clears throat] to be out playing and
[14:08] not have some weirdo from the internet
zoom in and look on them and turn them
[14:12] into AI pornography. So, just I
unfortunately left my phone at my
[14:17] parents house, so I don't have all my
good notes for you, but I will come
[14:20] prepared next time. And um I just hope
that we can continue to have a
[14:24] conversation about the dangers of these
things that they cause. Yes, they have
[14:28] some safety [clears throat] things. Yes,
if you're not doing anything wrong, you
[14:31] shouldn't have anything to worry about.
But laws change every day. And something
[14:35] that could be right today could be wrong
tomorrow. And there just comes a point
[14:39] where too much is too much. My granddad
was born in 1917 and my dad was born in
[14:46] 1939 and my brothers and sisters were
born around 1985.
[14:50] I was born in 1983 and I feel like I
woke up in 26 in 2026 in George Orwell's
[14:56] 1984 novel and there's just cameras
everywhere and I just worry about the
[15:02] children who are in kindergarten, first,
fifth, sixth, seventh grade. They don't
[15:06] have a voice. They can't be here to tell
you that they don't want this. And we
[15:10] need to use our discernment and our
education to be reviewing these things
[15:14] and make sure that we're protecting
those kids who can't be here or their
[15:18] parents can't be here because they're
taking care of their kids. So if we
[15:22] could just work together and look more
into that, I'd really appreciate it.
[15:24] Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Recognize
[15:27] Commissioner Goss. Can I ask Director
SC question
[15:34] » who who actually owns that one there at
the school? We uh we are working with
[15:39] our partners in law enforcement. It's a
block camera system. I think we've done
[15:44] three of them through a grant three of
theirs and all to my knowledge all it
[15:49] reads as license plate images only.
There's no broad view. It recognizes the
[15:54] shape and the numbers of license plate
and then it dings uh Captain Cook. If
[16:00] someone a sexual predator happens to
cross in front of that camera, he gets
[16:05] notification. But no, No one in our
office has any any ability. I have zero
[16:10] access to any images any footage but I
think it just scans the rectangular
[16:16] image and numbers this way I understand.
So
[16:19] » it's not it's not some outside company
or some other
[16:24] » it's the it is the block system. I don't
know where they're based and it's
[16:28] something that
>> is that a private
[16:31] [clears throat]
>> app.
[16:34] » We did get a packet on the clock cameras
late this afternoon. We have it here.
[16:38] I've not had a chance to read it or
digest it.
[16:42] » Have you Yeah, speak to it.
>> Yeah. So, u
[16:47] obviously everybody's seen the attention
that Flock cameras been getting
[16:51] nationwide. Um so it's part several
discussions u in our office with uh the
[16:59] district attorney general Russell
Johnson who's here uh both chief
[17:03] deputies chief chief or sheriff elect
Phillips who's here um to talk about
[17:10] what we're doing locally um and to have
a framework of accountability uh to
[17:16] assure that our public that a lot of the
things a lot of the fears that are are
[17:21] out there that are addressed and I don't
want to speak on their behalf. So I
[17:25] don't know if now is the time to open it
up. We do that during my report.
[17:30] Chairman, what would you prefer? Because
we came ready to answer any u we can do
[17:35] it now. Does anyone First off, anyone
from the public want to speak? Anyone
[17:39] else from the public want to speak?
Because I was thinking that'd be a ton
[17:43] of people here for Go. Come on, sir.
>> Um I'm Scott. Um, I live at 169 Newport
[17:51] Lane in Kingston. I'm a black phone
resident of Kingston and Rome County.
[17:57] Um, I also serve this county as a match
straight. Um, and I see the benefits of
[18:03] FA cameras that are tracking down our
criminals. Um, I'm here to speak on
[18:09] behalf of myself and my personal
experience with my mother um who was
[18:14] diagnosed with uh Alzheimer's and
dementia. [clears throat]
[18:17] And four years ago uh we found my mom's
car missing my mother and I want to
[18:24] thank uh Rome County EM 911 dispatch
Kingston Police Rome County Sheriff's
[18:30] Office. Numerous times have looked for
my mother and found her safe every time.
[18:35] She was uh a flock camera was used. They
caught a flock. Um they got hit at 6:00
[18:41] a.m. in the morning. She was leaving Lab
County entering Blunt County. We've been
[18:46] searching for 4 hours in Rome County.
That shifted our search. Um 2 hours
[18:52] later, a park ranger Kate Cove National
Park uh contacted me and said, "Uh do
[18:57] you know Miss Barbara Gwyn?" I said,
"Yes, sir." And he said, "Um we have her
[19:02] safe right here in the park." And uh I
credit the f cameras for uh helping. Now
[19:09] didn't necessarily crack the case, but
she was found safe and uh grateful
[19:14] grateful for a family from Michigan that
that saw her wander in the park and uh
[19:19] helped her out. So that's a positive uh
aspect. Uh anybody that knows that sees
[19:24] the news recently, a gentleman played
this this county was picked up in
[19:30] Georgia by flock cameras. she was
getting on a bus and he was a bad
[19:35] criminal. Did some horrible things to
some uh juveniles. So, um I see the
[19:40] good, the bad, and the ugly in this
county. And I want to thank the
[19:44] commission for entrusting me and my
colleague to uh provide a service to
[19:50] this county that a lot of people don't
know exists. Uh, and I'm grateful for
[19:55] the opportunity and I thank each and
every one of you for entrusting me and
[19:59] uh, freedom as a master service gray
county we live in. Thank you.
[20:06] » All right. Anyone else?
>> All right. Go ahead.
[20:10] » Yeah. So, you all each received a packet
says on security fact safety security
[20:17] claims and facts. Chief Han has been in
contact with uh the flock our his flock
[20:24] representative that and they emailed
this to us 3:30 4:00 this afternoon
[20:30] something like that. Um so that's why
the reason I'm getting it on your desk
[20:34] and we want to get to you as quick as
possible. Um but we do have if there are
[20:38] any questions anything discussion we do
have uh officials here who can answer
[20:44] questions about how we handle flock
locally. Um, [clears throat]
[20:48] but I do I do appreciate the
conversation. I think there's a need for
[20:52] it and I think there's a an
understanding that the public needs to
[20:55] have about the accountability measures
that our law enforcement officials have
[21:00] taken to ensure that there's no misuse
or abuse of information on these
[21:05] cameras. But I'm going to leave it at
that because I can't speak really past
[21:09] that. Mr. Chairman,
>> chair, vice,
[21:13] » I think we hit it on the head. I think
we've all seen firsthand
[21:18] um the good side of these cameras. And
actually, I'm probably not any different
[21:23] than most of you. I I didn't realize we
had as many slot cameras in in the
[21:27] county as we did until until some of
this stuff started. I think we have one
[21:31] at Green View Elementary as as well. Uh
but we've seen firsthand what they can
[21:36] do. I mean, uh here in our own
courthouse and here in our own
[21:39] community. [clears throat]
I I guess the thing that I would like to
[21:43] see us have is It says here these
cameras can use facial recognition. No,
[21:48] Flock does not utilize facial
recognition technology. So I I guess
[21:54] what I would like to make sure that we
do is is is understand exactly
[21:58] what the flot cameras in our county can
do now
[22:03] so that when when they do change it and
it's going to change the technology is
[22:06] going to be there that they can do
facial just so that we can make sure the
[22:10] public understands what we have in our
county in terms of these cameras. Uh
[22:15] there's no no doubt that they're usual,
but if they if they're doing something
[22:19] beyond what what we're thinking they're
doing, then I think this body needs to
[22:23] needs to be able to come back and and
say yes, we we we will we will approve
[22:29] this. I think we just have to be careful
of how we do it and how we proceed. I
[22:34] don't want to do anything to enter
police, sheriff, uh schools, but but at
[22:40] the same time, I think there's a fine
line there that that we never that we're
[22:45] using privacy to to to invade folks
privacy. So, I I would just cautious
[22:51] have us be cautioned about how we do it,
but but let's let's let's keep in touch
[22:55] with all of our all of our proper
authorities to make sure that we know
[22:59] what those cameras are are are doing and
they're not I I would have thought they
[23:04] would have been capable of doing facial
recognition as we speak, but if they
[23:08] can't, then that that's fine. We know
know that they can't. So that that would
[23:12] just be I would just ask us to be
cautious.
[23:15] » All right. Anyone else?
Chair Commissioner G.
[23:20] » So it says here it says block does not
sell customer data to third parties. Is
[23:26] the only data collected for the tag
unless the tag is not visible. Then it
[23:30] looks scans the car and tries to
determine what what type make and model
[23:34] the car. Correct. If somebody
>> it's taking a picture of the rear of the
[23:38] vehicle. So, it's taking a picture of
the tag and from the rear of the
[23:42] vehicle, it it can tell, you know, what
color it is and similar makes and
[23:46] models. That's that's all that it
captures.
[23:50] » That's that's the only gap.
>> So, it's it's going away from you. So,
[23:53] there's no way when you were looking at
this this photo of the rear of the car,
[23:57] there's no way to see the occupants. And
um I've not seen one where it shows any
[24:04] occupants that's visible because you're
looking at a movie big, but it's taking
[24:07] a still image. So,
>> who is the customer?
[24:12] » Who would be the customer for Rome
County?
[24:14] » We are the Rome County Sheriff's Office.
>> Does the Kingston City and Harman City
[24:19] Police also utilize Are they part of the
same customer?
[24:22] » They do. And and if you have a
cooperative agreement with the local
[24:27] cities, whether it be Kingston,
Harington, Rockland, because everybody
[24:30] in this county participates
uh in in that agreement that we can um
[24:36] allow them to look at our cameras, we
can look at their cameras.
[24:43] » Anything else, Mr.
>> No, that's it. Sorry.
[24:45] » All right.
Commissioner Anderson Sheriff, uh, don't
[24:50] the red light cameras capture more than
that camera? Is that right?
[24:55] » You know, I'm under the impression that
red light cameras capture about the same
[24:58] thing that a flock camera does. You
know, it's capturing that back of the
[25:03] license plate and in in the vehicle. But
as far as I don't have any real
[25:09] experience with the
[25:13] » Yeah. So, they're telling me there's two
cameras. There's one taking one from the
[25:17] front, one taken, one from the back. So
that's going to be totally different.
[25:20] Flocks just from the back. We're not
going to be able to see if there's uh
[25:24] loose drive. Thank you, sir.
>> All right. Anything else?
[25:31] » Question.
[25:35] What about the security of cameras? He
moving to people being able to maybe
[25:42] hack into his system. have security
interpretations
[25:46] for bird
>> and I know
[25:50] » so so in the literature it it addresses
that the security features are built in
[25:54] there. It's not a a camera that pans and
zooms and all that. It's taken steel
[25:58] photos and and you know the c the data
is captured and housed within it's
[26:03] encrypted uh and it's it's stored in the
cloud essentially and then every 30 days
[26:09] that uh gets overwritten and and so if
you go you can't go past 30 days to
[26:14] retrieve any of that data.
>> But all we're looking at is is the last
[26:19] play in the back of the
[26:24] » I guess uh Mr. If you I I assume we sign
a contract with flock for for our
[26:31] cameras on a monthly monthly basis or
something.
[26:34] » So it's it's a yearly basis.
>> So So the contract that we signed if we
[26:38] sign it knowing that all they're doing
is is what's in [clears throat] this
[26:43] that's what we're obligated to have them
do. Right. Anything they do other than
[26:46] that then then we would have we would
have option to go back.
[26:52] » I don't know. I don't know that I've
seen the contract.
[26:57] » I I don't know the answer,
>> but we we every each entity signs a
[27:00] contract. You signed one city of Marvin
Kingston.
[27:03] » I don't have the authority to sign
contracts. Um the purchasing agent or
[27:08] the mayor have the authority to sign
contract.
[27:11] » So I purchased a would would go through
legal to on our contract something like
[27:17] this.
>> We don't have a legal we don't have a a
[27:21] written contract. the contract for the
purchase order.
[27:26] » So, we don't have a contract
establishing any any type of
[27:30] information.
>> It's basically a subscription.
[27:34] » It's an agree it's an agreement.
>> It's it's a subscription,
[27:38] » a subscription that allows them to
access the network.
[27:42] » Okay. So, so we're doing that on an
annual basis and there's money already
[27:45] in the budget for this year, right?
That's correct.
[27:48] Thank you, Mr. Chair.
>> All right.
[27:51] I know we could probably talk on this
all night. Any anything else on block
[27:54] cameras? And I'm sure we'll have more
discussions [clears throat] in the
[27:58] future on this uh as more information
comes available. All right. Anyone else
[28:03] want to address the county commission?
[28:07] All right. Hearing none, seeing none,
we'll move to the county attorney.
[28:10] [clears throat]
Uh if you please, the chairman, I'd like
[28:14] to take you in executive session at this
time to discuss the uh coffee machine
[28:20] contract with Novate and the letter that
we received which is attached to uh
[28:27] 82607.
All right, this time we'll move into
[28:30] executive session.
Watch what they're saying.
[28:36] » Yeah. Hey,
our camera and our sound is still on, so
[28:40] watch what you say while we're out.
[laughter]
[28:54] Come on.
[laughter]
[29:19] First round.
[29:41] » [laughter]
[29:50] » What do you think?
[30:00] » [clears throat]
[30:11] » Congratulations.
[30:39] All right.
[31:09] Thank you very much.
[31:23] I So
two days
[31:35] [laughter]
[31:46] anybody. [laughter]
[31:54] How are you, sir?
[32:04] [laughter]
[32:34] Congratulations.
[32:56] Talk about
[33:36] Um
[laughter]
[34:14] I'm okay. I'm sorry.
[34:28] 8:30
Monday morning.
[34:53] I was there.
[35:20] for
[36:19] That want to build.
[37:05] Can we host
[37:36] Thank you.
[37:53] baby.
[38:30] Family.
[39:12] I don't know personally, but I feel like
my family
[39:17] didn't
really
[39:25] What
[39:48] are you going to do?
[40:01] Don't tell
[40:11] me
[40:17] that.
[40:29] pretty good job. I probably did a better
job than I'll take care of them. I only
[40:34] take care of them as much as I can.
[41:07] blood levels drop.
[41:11] Yes.
time when you go to bed. You're going to
[41:15] be fasting
[41:34] as far as
[41:41] TVs and stuff. I guess
there's
[41:47] 37
[41:54] time
[41:57] it's going to be fast
immediately
[42:03] 10
[42:18] » [laughter]
[42:27] [laughter]
>> All
[42:33] » [clears throat]
[42:40] » right, let's go and get back in order
here.
[42:44] County attorney's report. Do you have
anything else to report, sir?
[42:46] » No, Mr. Chairman. All right. Well, at
this time, we'll move to the county
[42:50] executives report.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, first of
[42:53] all, this will be from now on we're
going to start this um process, but
[42:59] Justin Snow will report during my time.
So, I'll yield my time to snow.
[43:08] Thank you. I'll be brief. Everybody has
a copy of the July Rome lights recap and
[43:14] I'm going to hit a few high points. I
want to talk a little bit about some of
[43:16] the grants that we've been going after
the past few months. Uh, and of course,
[43:20] last month, Ron Lunch, in a partnership
with Ron County IVB, we pursued a $4
[43:26] million grant uh with the state of
Tennessee, we were awarded that grant.
[43:30] Uh, this is to purchase approximately
$120 acres adjacent to the Rome Regional
[43:36] Business and Technology Point. I do want
to point [clears throat] out the fact
[43:39] that there was $13 million in that
bucket. Rome County got a third of it.
[43:42] So, I think that shows the importance of
everything that's going on here in the
[43:47] county. Uh furthermore, uh the Rome
Alliance in a partnership with the Rome
[43:52] County IDB, we went after some TVA and
best prep grant funding. Uh we were
[43:57] fully awarded for that grant funding as
well. So we went after nearly $5 million
[44:02] of grant funding and and Rome County got
fully funded. So um we started we opened
[44:07] up the gates this morning to start our
due diligence environmental work so we
[44:11] could get to the closing table. Um,
other than that, I'll just say that last
[44:16] Tuesday we had our national night out,
the fourth annual that we've done. And,
[44:22] uh, it's just a great opportunity for
the community to come out and spend time
[44:26] with our cities, elected officials, our
law enforcement first and our first
[44:31] responders. This was our most attended
national night out. Uh, and we actually
[44:36] [clears throat] s we don't sell food, we
give food away, but we run out of food
[44:39] this year. So, that was a it was a great
event. So, uh, lot good things going on
[44:44] in the county, a lot of good things
going on through the lines. Please take
[44:47] time to read the recap show the full
scope of work that our folks that our
[44:51] team focuses on each and every day. Uh,
that concludes my report. I'd be more
[44:55] than glad to answer any questions that
y'all might ask.
[45:00] » All right. Thank you, sir.
>> Mr. Chairman, just a couple things real
[45:04] quickly to uh, as always, if you all
refer to the rundown. Couple points I'd
[45:09] like to point out specific to you guys.
is uh first of all, please save the
[45:13] date. Uh August 21st at 10:00 a.m. in
the criminal courtroom will be the
[45:19] swearing in ceremony for all elect
recently elected officials. That's all
[45:25] of us. So, and I know there'll probably
be a few who may not be able to make it
[45:29] to that particular time and we can
obviously find times outside. That just
[45:33] happens scheduling wise. Not everybody's
gonna be able to make it, but please
[45:37] make sure we do that before September
1st, uh, which is when you officially
[45:42] take office. Secondly, u, and find
anybody that that's qualified to swear
[45:49] you in.
>> Yes. Well, that's your preference on who
[45:52] you want to swear in. Um, I'll be
available there. I've got to get sworn
[45:56] in myself, but I'll be available there
if anybody wants to use me. you know,
[46:00] jud the judges have always typically
made themselves available. Um, but yeah,
[46:06] any any officer just reach out to them,
you know, whoever you want to use, we
[46:11] can do that, we'll accommodate. So,
we'll be there with all the oaths and
[46:15] uh, you know, administratively, we'll be
set up to crank it through, but but
[46:20] August 21st, Friday, 10:00 a.m., Judge
Wick's courtroom.
[46:26] » Uh, Mr. Chris Wall, can do can do can do
[46:27] can do can do can do can do can do can
do can do can you can you kind of get
[46:28] clarify the type of officials who are
allowed to by law by state statute to
[46:33] swear folks in.
>> I may need to lean on a county attorney
[46:35] for that.
>> That's fine.
[46:36] » I may need to look at statute.
[laughter]
[46:41] » If do you want me to email you?
>> That'd be great.
[46:46] » I think several people are questioning
what what are the requirements?
[46:49] » Who can swear who in?
>> Yes.
[46:50] » Yes.
>> Thank you, sir.
[46:52] » Could you verify it, please?
I think it has to be a constitutional
[46:58] officer and only some of them.
>> I think that they can [clears throat]
[47:04] but you would have to sign. They can
read the oath, but I think you
[47:08] [clears throat] or someone would have to
sign. We'll find out and say no. You
[47:11] will you have received a save the date
to to date that that is at the you have
[47:18] not received any official communication
on the election yet or swearing in
[47:22] because the election commission has
asked us to hold off until it's
[47:26] completely final. Um and and we do have
one race that's still um to be
[47:32] finalized. So that's why we haven't said
a whole lot about it, but that we just
[47:37] send a save the date and you'll receive
official notification from us about this
[47:41] coming up.
>> Yeah.
[47:42] » Any other questions on that? Got one
more quick point. Can you tell us which
[47:46] race?
>> The Herman race.
[47:49] » Yeah. Yeah. The election commission was
saying there was a couple of provisional
[47:52] ballots that still remain to be checked
and it asked us to hold off on do
[47:56] anything before that was finalized.
>> Sheriff, you got something. Is that date
[48:02] set in stone? I will be a new sheriff's
school in Franklin.
[48:07] » And we can do something separate.
But looking at the calendar, it gets so
[48:13] it has to be that's two weeks from
Friday, but that's a week from Friday
[48:17] and the week after that
um is training for so coup and coat or
[48:24] vote that next week. And I don't know
what sheriff or road super or sheriff's
[48:27] do for preliminary training. You got to
go to
[48:31] » two weeks. I go to one week of the seven
the week of the 17th and I got to go to
[48:35] a second week the week of September the
7th. So I have to go to two different
[48:39] » they have to go to well reelected but
new new commissioners have to go to coup
[48:45] for two days before they can serve and
same thing for uh
[48:51] clerks trustees register de those they
have to go that same week so
[48:58] it's tight. So I I I think we probably
need to look at the calendar and set
[49:02] something up specific for you and you
would feel me
[49:09] and one more thing Mr. chairman. Um
[laughter]
[49:12] see uh and that's what it is about is
coupe and that's the fourth fifth point
[49:17] down there is um our new our newly
elected commissioners just like you all
[49:23] did will have to go to that. You all are
invited. There's no uh registration that
[49:29] needs to occur. You can just go but you
would you would get two days of CASS
[49:34] training credit if you did go and you
can spend time. It's obviously good
[49:39] information. is, you know, basic and and
foundational. A lot of y'all are past
[49:43] that, but um certainly you're you're
invited to attend on the 24th and 25th.
[49:49] Kaylee Walker can give you much more
information about that than I can. Mr.
[49:53] Chairman, that concludes my report. Glad
to answer any questions.
[49:56] » Any point recogniz
we talked a little bit about
[50:02] [clears throat] executive committee. I'd
just like to share share with us.
[50:09] We've talked to the public a lot about
what's happening in Rome County and and
[50:14] a lot of a lot of numbers and other
things out just make sure we're on
[50:20] schedule with the companies that are
there. Nobody's nobody's defaulted.
[50:24] Nobody's changed their mind. We're on
schedule there. We're on schedule as far
[50:28] as as tax revenue comes getting property
tax along the way. But the real stuff
[50:34] comes when you start bringing in the
high dollar machinery and stuff where
[50:37] you where you get additional tax on the
on the business property stuff. But
[50:42] we're fine in terms of where where we
where we think we're going to be where
[50:46] we need to be in terms of all those
companies. Is that
[50:49] » Yeah. Real quickly, let me try to go off
top of my head on each one of them.
[50:53] Chyros Powers way ahead of schedule.
>> Okay.
[50:55] » They've changed the fact that they may
even be skipping a step
[51:00] uh to expedite their process. That
sounds terrible. Don't quote me on that,
[51:04] but they're ahead of schedule. Radiant,
um, they made a decision to come here in
[51:11] October, I think it was. They have steel
in the ground going vertical as of last
[51:16] week.
Oaklo is on track in their licensing uh,
[51:24] uh, discussions with NRC. They have
already done land clearing at ETB.
[51:29] Standard Nuclear has purchased five
buildings at ETP and just went public.
[51:34] Standard Nuclear
>> and just went public about three weeks
[51:38] ago, I think it was.
>> So, they're doing great. Rano is well on
[51:42] schedule. I spent a lot of time with
John Luke last week. Um, Trio X is
[51:48] probably going to be the number three
employer in the county. They are the
[51:52] first private company in Rome County to
be able to poach
[51:57] employees from Y12 and OL to the point
that's causing both of them a little bit
[52:03] of trouble. Uh for the first time we
have a private employer who can compete
[52:08] with DOE wage rates and the rest of them
will follow suit. They will have up
[52:13] their number right now is 1,500
employees. They just announced another
[52:18] expansion three weeks after their latest
announcement last week. Um, and then so
[52:25] then going around BWXT,
they've stood up their facility in
[52:29] January. It's fully operational. We
still expect another announcement there.
[52:33] And then the big one is the big one, the
biggest one is TVA Clinch River. And the
[52:39] appointment of Mike Scaggs as the new
CEO of TVA I think is a gamecher for us.
[52:46] We got the chance to spend a lot of time
with him last week at the now
[52:50] conference, the E Tech conference that
they held and um [clears throat] he
[52:55] everything that we were going to ask him
for from an Oakidge corridor
[52:59] perspective, he was already on board
before we even got to him. So you put
[53:04] all that together, that's just Rome
County. That's well over 4,000 jobs,
[53:09] well over 10 billion dollars depending
on how you count. That's not including
[53:13] any DOE. It's not including TVA. We're
well ahead. And that none of that has to
[53:19] do with the latest announcement that DOE
made, which is a nuclear life cycle
[53:23] innovation campus, which Tennessee is a
finalist for, but that could double the
[53:29] employment on the Oakidge reservation.
Do you know when that might happen? Uh
[53:33] it's a conversation that's ongoing with
the White House, DOE, and those five
[53:37] states right now. The governor's office
briefed us on it last week just to make
[53:41] sure that that that we all understood
our state is well in that conversation.
[53:48] We're in a good position.
>> And is TVA still on four units or are
[53:52] they increasing the number of units?
>> No, that that Mr. Scaggs announced uh
[53:57] couple weeks ago when we met with him at
TVA Kingston that that's going to have
[54:01] five units. increasing.
So there's so much happening and that's
[54:07] there's there's still way more I could
go on and on and on but that's the
[54:10] basics.
>> So I guess the only other thing left is
[54:14] is the cooperation is still
>> very
[54:18] between
>> if the cooperation stops things may
[54:21] stop.
>> Yeah. And I guess only last
[54:24] [clears throat] we we invested some
money in in in in the Oakidge cor money
[54:29] well spent. I mean, it's the greatest
return on investment I think we could
[54:32] ever.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[54:37] » All right, let's move on to
[54:43] speak.
>> Chair recognition Commissioner
[54:45] Henderson,
>> Mr. Creswell, u you know, we hear all
[54:50] this good news about this coming in, but
please don't none of y'all forget that
[54:55] we're going to have a bunch of sick
workers out there. Okay, I'm one of
[55:00] them. My daddy died because
I still ain't got my money. I still
[55:06] ain't got liver that I don't have
anymore. [clears throat]
[55:10] So, you know, we while we're enjoying
all this uh lowhanging fruit and
[55:16] everything, let's don't forget about the
people in this county and other counties
[55:21] that they need to really be working on
something like DOE has set up except for
[55:27] they'll release the money to the people
when they're needed. Thank you. To that
[55:32] point in point number three, the nuclear
regulatory commission will hold their
[55:36] final public hearing regarding TDA's
construction permit for small module
[55:39] reactor small module nuclear reactor on
the Clint River site on the August 13th
[55:46] that Thursday
uh at 5:30 at Paul Auditorium in
[55:50] Oakidge. So I would encourage you to
attend that and address those concerns.
[55:54] That's exactly what that's for.
>> Last time I addressed my concerns, Mayor
[55:57] Frank told me to shut my mouth and sit
down. She heard enough.
[56:01] » I mean you
>> I have no idea today. So you know I will
[56:04] be there.
>> Thank you.
[56:07] » And I think that's also included in our
report that's that that environmental
[56:11] review board is looking at and all of
that type of stuff as well.
[56:15] » Yeah. The environmental review board's
list of things is
[56:20] » long
>> is grown to the point where they need
[56:23] subcommittees.
It is a long
[56:25] » I'm saying that that's part of what
they're looking into. Oh, absolutely.
[56:28] It's probably number one thing.
>> Absolutely.
[56:31] » Yeah.
>> Yeah.
[56:35] » Thanks, sir.
>> All right. Let's move on to appointment
[56:39] of special orders. Appointment of
Richard Owens to the board of zoning and
[56:43] appeals. Motion by motion by bracket,
second by Henderson. Commissioner
[56:48] Bracket.
>> Nothing.
[56:50] » Commissioner Henderson,
>> I think you'll be a good one.
[56:54] » Any discussion? Any debate? Madam clerk?
[57:02] Majority pass. All right. One, two, and
nine have been pulled. Uh, so madam
[57:07] clerk, if you let me know when you can.
>> Yes. So, some clarity on number one is
[57:13] number one requires a public hearing
even if it was [clears throat] uh even
[57:18] if we were going to recommend denial.
So, we're going to have to punt that for
[57:23] a month and then have a public have have
an adequate notice for a public hearing
[57:26] before we do that. So, it'll be on the
September agenda.
[57:29] » All right, [clears throat]
>> Greg.
[57:34] So, you ready?
>> All right. Thank you. Uh resolution
[57:37] 082603, a resolution adopting a private
chapter uh number 40, House Bill number
[57:43] 1717, Senate Bill 2176 uh 104 General
Assembly, changing the title of Rome
[57:50] County Executive to Rome County Mayor.
Motion by Wilson, second by Doug,
[57:55] Commissioner Wilson.
>> I just want to say this one last time.
[57:58] Uh I'll I'm going to turn my time over
to the county executive before it
[58:03] becomes mayor. I'm going to yield to the
county attorney. [laughter]
[58:08] I think it speaks for itself.
[58:14] » Nothing.
>> Any discussion in debate?
[58:18] » Madam clerk.
[58:22] [clears throat]
>> All right. Motion carries 14. All right.
[58:26] 82604 resolution abandoning any interest
in an undeveloped roadway that runs from
[58:32] Ferguson Lane and bisect Parkway 22 and
22.01
[58:37] uh control map 47. Motion by Barry,
second by Henderson. Commissioner Barry,
[58:43] » further.
>> Commissioner Henderson,
[58:45] » further.
>> Any discussion? I need I just want to
[58:49] say I thought at one point uh we we had
said that the this is not where the
[58:53] paper it's written on but we continue to
to have these appear.
[58:58] » Well, I didn't put anything about
signing a deed in these resolutions. So,
[59:06] if you want if you want to give people
deeds, you'll need to to amend each of
[59:12] these resolutions. Um,
this particular one is for a private
[59:19] easement. So, I couldn't see that the
county has even dedicated any interest
[59:25] in this.
>> This Mr. Chairman, if I may add, I think
[59:28] this is sort of kind of an alternative
approach to that when [clears throat]
[59:31] you say when we used to deed a rideway
that wasn't written, wasn't worth the
[59:36] paper it was written on.
>> This is just abandoning that.
[59:39] » Okay. And so, these three that we're
getting ready to address, you
[59:44] Yeah, there's
there's no provision in any of these
[59:48] resolutions to deed anything to anybody.
You're just making a formal statement
[59:54] that the county has no interest in these
particular roadways.
[59:59] » Okay,
it chair recognizes Commissioner
[1:00:02] Bracket.
>> I guess my question in that there's been
[1:00:06] liability on at some point with us.
>> [clears throat]
[1:00:09] » If we do this this way, are we totally
out? If if the neighbors getting
[1:00:13] squabbled, if the Yeah. I mean,
>> you you should be totally out. It's it's
[1:00:19] it's basically
>> should be or will be.
[1:00:22] » You're Well, you're basically saying
that the county has no interest in these
[1:00:28] road beds and you're leaving it up to
the neighbors to figure out what to do
[1:00:32] from there.
could turn. I mean, if if there was a
[1:00:36] squabble of someone, I guess it's a
civil matter or something.
[1:00:39] » It's a civil matter.
>> We're out.
[1:00:41] » Yeah.
>> Chair recognized Commissioner Parks.
[1:00:46] » Is these [clears throat] the ones that
the lady brought to the road committee?
[1:00:49] » I
>> and and asked this about
[1:00:52] » I may be uh let's see. Yeah, these have
all gone to road committee. Yeah,
[1:01:02] » these row Yeah, the these are
>> one of them's still basically a guy's
[1:01:06] yard.
>> Is this all the same person?
[1:01:09] » No, there's three different ones. Uh,
one is I don't remember exactly, but I I
[1:01:16] just remember we vetted it pretty a good
while and they were
[1:01:24] no issue that I could see, no problem
with any of them. One of them basically
[1:01:31] was in a guy's yard and then another one
was to a guy's uh a rideway to his own
[1:01:38] back lot.
Yeah, I think this first one is the
[1:01:44] rideway to the guy's own [snorts]
back lot and then the other two were on
[1:01:50] subdivision plat. So there the other two
there is an implied dedication to the
[1:01:57] county but the road superintendent says
they never been maintained as a county
[1:02:02] road but the first one is clearly just a
private eman.
[1:02:11] All right. Any other discussion? BL
[1:02:20] motion car 14. All right. Uh resolution
for abandonment. Any interest in a
[1:02:25] roadway running between parcels 24 and
25 on control map uh 111 BPA group A. Uh
[1:02:35] motion by Henderson, second by Wilson.
Commissioner Henderson.
[1:02:38] » Nothing further, sir.
>> Commissioner Wilson. Nothing further.
[1:02:40] » Any discussion? Anybody? Hearing none.
Seeing none, madam cler.
[1:02:50] Motion carries. Resolution 82606,
resolution for abandonment of a roadway
[1:02:55] running from Century Drive between
parcels 22 and 21 on control M 391,
[1:03:02] group alpha.
>> Motion by Hendrickson, second by Gan.
[1:03:06] Commissioner Henderson.
>> Nothing further. Commissioner Gan.
[1:03:08] » Nothing further, sir.
>> Any discussion? Any debate? Madam Clerk,
[1:03:18] » motion carries. Resolution 82607
authorizing the county attorney to file
[1:03:23] a lawsuit for uh declarative
[clears throat] judgment and in
[1:03:28] conjunctive relief concerning expired
coffee machine contract.
[1:03:33] Motion by Kirby, second by Gan. Uh,
Commissioner Kirby. That's
[1:03:37] » Commissioner Gan.
>> I say that we do it.
[1:03:41] » Any discussion in debate? Madam Clerk,
[1:03:48] » motion carries. 82608. Resolution making
appropriations to nonprofit church
[1:03:53] organizations of Rome County for the
fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and
[1:03:58] ending June 30th, 2027. Motion by
Hamilton, second by Parks. Commissioner
[1:04:04] Hamilton.
>> Nothing further. Commissioner Parks,
[1:04:07] » looks like they've done a good job. I
don't that committee because that's a
[1:04:12] hard committee to to do.
>> All right. Any discussion in debate?
[1:04:19] Hearing none, seeing none, Madam Clerk.
[1:04:30] All right. Motion carries.
[clears throat]
[1:04:35] Let me bend my paper here. 8.2610
resolution to amend fund 128 recycle
[1:04:41] center uh budget of reappropriation
resolution. Uh motion by DV, second by
[1:04:48] Wilson, Commissioner D.
>> Uh this will allocate the remaining
[1:04:52] funds uh will actually switch where they
are to be used so that we will have zero
[1:04:58] dollars left in the ARP funds. This is
going to [clears throat]
[1:05:03] over there at the landfield.
>> All right. Uh, Commissioner Wilson
[1:05:09] » 807.
>> All right. Any discussion? Any debate?
[1:05:12] Madam Clerk,
[1:05:17] motion carries. 82611, a resolution to
revise the Rome County annual budget
[1:05:22] approval policy previous approved under
resolution 122413.
[1:05:28] Motion by Dove, second by Kirby.
Commissioner Dove. Uh and this is a an
[1:05:32] addition on number fiveB
uh where the budget committee will not
[1:05:36] approve or determine any individual
department raises until all department
[1:05:40] budgets excluding schools have been
presented. A final decision regarding
[1:05:45] crossboard raises for all county
employees will be made only after all
[1:05:49] budget requests are complete.
>> Commissioner Kirby.
[1:05:54] Any discussion? Any debate? Madam cler
[1:06:00] motion carries 82612 resolution
authorizing a 25-y year lease with plan.
[1:06:08] Motion by Henderson, second by Goss.
>> Stacy, would you like to talk to us
[1:06:13] about this?
>> Um, I handed everybody um some
[1:06:19] paperwork. Um, just my thoughts and I'm
sorry if it's all over the map. I get
[1:06:23] excited about talking about the shelter
and we're moving forward. Um the
[1:06:28] previous organization that we leased the
clinic to um originally had planned on
[1:06:34] being there at least three days a week,
you know, and provide services for, you
[1:06:40] know, the shelter and county residents
as well. They never moved past going,
[1:06:45] you know, being there only on Mondays.
Um so I have talked to Plan Pet. Um, you
[1:06:53] know, they were talking about how bad
their building has went downhill and
[1:06:57] they were, you know, trying to come up
with the funding. Um, and I mentioned
[1:07:02] the, you know, leasing the clinic to
them and, um, they came back and was
[1:07:09] very excited about it. Um, so I spoke
with a pausing pause for a cause. uh the
[1:07:16] director there, she agreed with me that,
you know, things hadn't turned out the
[1:07:22] way that we had originally planned for
it to. She has another clinic in
[1:07:26] Knoxville that got really, really busy.
So, she agreed that Planned Parenthood
[1:07:33] would be able to utilize the clinic
better than she could. So, they're
[1:07:38] planning on being there four days a week
and they are extending hours.
[1:07:43] um they're bringing back more services
that they used to do back years ago.
[1:07:48] They've been in Rome County. They've
served Rome County for over 20 years.
[1:07:52] So, we have the same views, the balance,
and they have a passion for our
[1:07:58] community. I know plant owners and uh
just folks that are trying to um you
[1:08:05] know, [laughter]
tackle all of the barrel colonies.
[1:08:08] uh basically reduce the strays in Rome
County to make it a better place to to
[1:08:14] live and to reside. Um improving the
health of pets for pet owners as well.
[1:08:20] But I'm really really excited about
Planned Parenthood coming in to the
[1:08:25] clinic and um I think we're really
really going to see major benefits right
[1:08:30] away. Now, will they be giving us free
or discounted uh
[1:08:37] sper ones that come into our shelter?
>> Yes. Um they're the lease is actually
[1:08:45] set up to where
they're paying their lease through
[1:08:49] services.
So um and we also utilize the University
[1:08:54] of Tennessee uh College of Veterinary
Medicine and you know we still have
[1:09:00] surgeries done there when when school is
in session. Um we also utilize clause
[1:09:06] and pause for a cause. Um anywhere we
can go basically but [snorts] they're
[1:09:13] also going to provide well checks. Um,
and you know, in the shelter, that's
[1:09:18] that's a tremendous blessing for us.
>> You know, they come in, you know, and
[1:09:23] you know, due to their roaming around on
the streets, whatever, the condition of
[1:09:27] their bodies, uh, they can better tell
us what's going on with that pet and
[1:09:32] should they be on the adoption floor or
are they going to be repairable? You
[1:09:36] know, it's basically, um, a resource to
me that's going to be priceless. But
[1:09:42] they will be they will be spaying and
neutering as many as possible. And my
[1:09:48] goal is to not let anybody leave the
shelter without being fixed at this
[1:09:53] point. So, and I think I'm going to
achieve my goal. I'm working on it.
[1:09:57] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:09:58] » All right. Chair Mcnor,
[clears throat] Mr. Chairman, the
[1:10:02] biggest thing I want to say is I want to
thank Stacy
[1:10:06] sound
listening to talking barking dogs ear
[1:10:11] drums the environment stuff down there
does a phenomenal job. I've been in and
[1:10:15] out of that building a lot. Been sitting
there aisle. Uh all the money that the
[1:10:20] county put into it, you know, it's not
being utilized. Uh I think it's going to
[1:10:25] be a valuable asset and I want to thank
Stacy for spearheading that getting
[1:10:29] going. We'd actually talked about, you
know, a little bit. She put my brain on
[1:10:33] it, but I'm not that. I love animals. I
think people seen that through the
[1:10:37] through my election campaign, but uh she
doesn't know on the job. That building
[1:10:42] is definitely going to be an asset to
long as it didn't look like bones when
[1:10:48] chair recognizes Commissioner.
>> Uh a question I have concerning this
[1:10:53] lease is a 25-year lease. Is that that
seems a long time. Is that the norm?
[1:10:58] is exact my response.
>> Yeah.
[1:11:00] » So, we ensured that termination clauses
um were in it.
[1:11:06] » Okay.
>> But I won't don't want to say too much
[1:11:09] legal,
>> right?
[1:11:09] » Said by the next county attorney. You
want to say anything?
[1:11:14] » Well, if they breach the lease, you can
terminate, but it is a
[1:11:21] » 25 year lease. So, as long as they're
providing the required services to the
[1:11:28] animal shelter, then it's 25 years old.
[1:11:36] » You want to speak to that?
>> Yeah. Um,
[1:11:40] yeah. The one thing that they were
concerned about whenever I did speak
[1:11:44] with them about it was, um, you know,
they've been at the location that
[1:11:49] they're at since they opened. Um,
currently they they leased the property
[1:11:54] from Winrock. Um, they own the little
double wide building. Bless their
[1:11:58] hearts, it's falling apart. Um, they
wanted some stability.
[1:12:03] » Yeah.
>> And and I understand that because they
[1:12:06] are all about their business. They are
compassionate. Um,
[1:12:14] » yeah. They um they just basically wanted
that stability, reassurance
[1:12:22] uh and the communication that we have
and will be working with so closely. You
[1:12:27] know, we're have Greg on speak should we
have [clears throat] any questions that
[1:12:31] they are fantastic to work with. I
worked with them since I came to the
[1:12:35] shelter in 2016 and I've been on our
issues.
[1:12:39] » Thank you,
>> Chair recognized Commissioner Bracket.
[1:12:42] I'm not against this probably by any
means, but to me this should go through
[1:12:46] the property committee, take a look at
it through proper channels before we
[1:12:50] enter 25 year lease with somebody.
That's something we've set up to do. I
[1:12:55] think we need eyes on it and we might
want to change it. I don't know.
[1:12:59] [clears throat]
That's what the committee's for.
[1:13:05] » Make an amendment.
>> Are you making a motion to amend to send
[1:13:08] back?
>> Make a motion to amend it. Send it to
[1:13:10] property committee. Come back. [snorts]
>> A second.
[1:13:13] » All right. So I have a motion from
bracket to send to property committee. A
[1:13:16] second by Hamilton.
[1:13:20] » Any discussion? Any debate?
>> Quick question here. Stacy, is there a
[1:13:24] time sensitivity all this?
>> Um, as far as getting started,
[1:13:31] » as far as ex executing the agreement,
>> um, basically soon as possible.
[1:13:39] um they're working on transitioning
things at this time. Um
[1:13:45] you know, and I I know that they would
be willing to, you know, negotiate. Um
[1:13:51] but here's here's the problem with that,
and I understand 100% where you come
[1:13:57] from, but we won't have committee
meetings again.
[1:14:01] » That's true.
>> Until the third week of October,
[1:14:05] » right? There won't there won't be
for them
[1:14:11] » I mean we got the committees for a
reason.
[1:14:14] » Yeah.
>> Right. But as of October as of August
[1:14:17] 31st we don't we won't have them again
until this body approves the new
[1:14:24] committees in October.
>> Not to be insensitive but I mean
[1:14:29] » business is business. I mean to protect
us. We're looking at 25 years a
[1:14:34] building.
I mean, business is business.
[1:14:40] » Brian, you had something?
>> Yes, sir. We're moving the phones on the
[1:14:43] 17th.
So, um, if we if we're not moving
[1:14:48] through it, we need to know that
immediately because once we move their
[1:14:51] phones there, they will have
[1:14:57] » 17th of this month.
>> Yes, sir. Next month. [laughter]
[1:15:02] Chair recognized Commissioner Leman.
>> Would you entertain an amendment for
[1:15:07] one-year approval to we can come back to
the committees?
[1:15:11] » I think that would be to the county at I
mean I you know with everything that's
[1:15:16] said in this contract,
>> you know what I mean? I mean I'm not
[1:15:20] saying I'm against it. I'm just saying
that
[1:15:22] » understand I just don't want to stop
with you.
[1:15:25] » Yeah.
>> We shouldn't know about it a month ago
[1:15:27] maybe. You know, and I know it sounds
cruel, but if we don't get it right, we
[1:15:32] could be in the violence way.
>> I agree. 25 years is a long time to
[1:15:42] are you. So, you're taking a friendly I
don't know that you can amend that for a
[1:15:46] year versus 25. Well,
>> you have to
[1:15:50] » You've got a motion to send it to
committee. So, that would take
[1:15:55] preference.
Now, if the 25-y year lease gets sent to
[1:16:02] committee, I guess somebody could make a
motion to
[1:16:07] authorize a lease under the same terms
for a lesser period.
[1:16:11] After that,
[1:16:15] » chair recognizes Commissioner Bry.
>> What are they le facility?
[1:16:20] » Yes, the clinic next door to the clinic.
>> Just the clinic. Yes. It doesn't really
[1:16:25] have anything to do with the rest of the
facility.
[1:16:28] » No.
>> So, so can we can we narrow this down to
[1:16:33] the to just the facility that they're
leasing?
[1:16:36] » The clinic.
>> That is the lease.
[1:16:38] » I'm saying it's just the it's just the
clinic, right? It's not
[1:16:41] » it's just not the entire operation.
>> No, just
[1:16:46] the clinic. Uh what
what we use the clinic for other
[1:16:51] [clears throat]
than
[1:16:54] Um
we won't the won't be used um until
[1:17:00] someone plan comes in to utilize it.
[clears throat]
[1:17:10] It just it just seems like just the
whole facility that's one that's one
[1:17:14] thing. But if we're just talking about
clinic that's not being used uh and and
[1:17:20] they've already got plans for services
being and I agree I agree with
[1:17:25] Commissioner Bracket uh you know we we
we said we were going to use committees
[1:17:30] and stuff but maybe this was just fra
it's just a clinic
[1:17:38] I think I think we just need to say that
here and it's not it's not the uh
[1:17:45] It's not the said facility, it's the
clinic.
[1:17:53] » Can we grant them temporary office?
>> All right, guys. Let's use the push to
[1:17:57] talk button here because I've got people
that's already questioned in front of
[1:18:00] me.
>> All right. Chair recognized Commissioner
[1:18:03] Wilson.
>> Uh, when was the lease up for plan F?
[1:18:12] Um
>> can you restate that please?
[1:18:15] » For uh pause and clause for a cause the
the one that was before.
[1:18:19] » Yeah.
>> Um
[1:18:22] that would be in mid July.
So they vacated in mid July and cleaned
[1:18:28] up.
>> No, the one that is currently looking to
[1:18:31] lease. That's the one I'm talking about.
I'm sorry.
[1:18:34] » I'm sorry. I'm not sure when their lease
is up with the Windrock property that
[1:18:38] they're on right now. Is that what
you're talking about?
[1:18:41] » Yes. Okay. I think that's the big
>> I'm not really sure about that date. I
[1:18:44] just I do know that they are trying to
get everything moved over quickly
[1:18:48] because they're juggling surgeries at
that location and they would like to
[1:18:52] start surgeries at the new location.
>> That I guess that would be the the
[1:18:58] barriers that would fall in if we if
there's not an extreme urgency to to do
[1:19:04] that then I could see. I hate that the
committee is is six weeks away. That's
[1:19:10] that's the the province of it. Do what?
>> Got nine weeks left.
[1:19:17] » That's a long time to deal with
business.
[1:19:21] » Okay. Chair recognized Commissioner
Hooks.
[1:19:26] » Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So
we would be without
[1:19:33] these
pl
[1:19:39] » Yes.
>> For the entire
[1:19:42] » for your shelters.
[1:19:46] » When when did we first learn of this
transition?
[1:19:51] » Um
about maybe a month. Well, it was mid
[1:19:56] 1st of July, mid July. It just kind of
it happened. It just happened.
[1:20:02] » Falls and Paul was not going to renew
their contract or you
[1:20:07] » No.
>> Or someone decided that they weren't
[1:20:10] going to
>> Yeah, we mutually agreed. Um, you know,
[1:20:13] I talked with her about how she felt,
you know, about being open more days a
[1:20:18] week, and I knew that she she just
wasn't able to, um, due to demand that
[1:20:23] she's got going on at the other facility
that she runs in Knoxville.
[1:20:27] And, um, I even spoke to Brad about it,
you know, that
[1:20:33] there's so many things that could be
happening should the right person be in
[1:20:37] the clinic, you know. Um,
she actually agreed for Planned
[1:20:44] Parenthood to be able to utilize it more
than she would be able to to benefit
[1:20:50] Rome County
and the children. [clears throat]
[1:20:55] » This question, Mr.
Mr.
[1:21:02] until the new committees get
set.
[1:21:09] Is the acting committee still
[1:21:14] » until the end of August?
>> And not beyond that.
[1:21:21] » Not beyond that. No, because it was
disappointed
[1:21:26] [clears throat] through the end of
August.
[1:21:37] September.
>> Well, we could call them by the end of
[1:21:41] the month.
[1:21:44] » Yeah.
At least to get it to September meeting.
[1:21:51] » Who's chairman?
[1:21:55] » So, I'm I'm sorry.
y'all talking back and forth. So, are we
[1:22:01] good through September?
>> You're good through the end of August.
[1:22:05] So, you could have a meeting this month,
make a recommendation, and then put it
[1:22:10] back on the agenda for September.
[1:22:18] » All right. Is that [clears throat] you,
Commissioner Brack?
[1:22:22] » I'm good with that. If we can get a a
committee meeting in, check it out.
[1:22:27] So, we still have the amendment that
we're discussing. So, let me get through
[1:22:30] [clears throat] everyone's request to
speak here. Commissioner Gan,
[1:22:34] » so why cannot we grant him temporary
occupancy?
[1:22:39] » Well, you can do that after you deal
with this amendment, but you've got one
[1:22:43] motion on the floor.
>> Then, let's do this amendment and go
[1:22:46] ahead and grant him temporary occupancy
pending the outcome of that. And so,
[1:22:51] nothing's held up. Grant, we should be
able to grant them temporary occupancy.
[1:22:56] which [clears throat]
Brad's moving the phones August 17th. So
[1:23:00] I doubt we'll have
it.
[1:23:03] » Was it the 17th this month or September?
>> This month, right?
[1:23:07] » Yes, sir. Next Monday.
>> Next Monday. They're moving the phone.
[1:23:10] » Next Monday.
>> So,
[1:23:13] but so let me understand. Let me clarify
for everybody. So, here we go. The
[1:23:18] current one is going to have to go back.
We're talking about the amended uh A2612
[1:23:24] as amended to go back to the property
committee.
[1:23:28] » Probably be better just to classify as a
motion to refer it to the property
[1:23:34] committee because if it's an amendment,
you've got to amend it than vote on it.
[1:23:38] » Okay. So, we just motion to refer it
back. But you're wanting to also grant
[1:23:42] temporary occupancy.
>> Well, I
[1:23:46] that would be a separate motion after
this motion. All right. Well, it ain't
[1:23:51] on the agenda, so
>> but but it's uh this is a regular
[1:23:56] meeting, so you can bring up other
stuff.
[1:23:58] » All right. 82612
recommendation was to send back to the
[1:24:03] property committee. That motion was made
by bracket. Uh voice vote. All in favor
[1:24:08] of sending this back to property say I.
>> All oppose like sign.
[1:24:14] All right. So that motion carries. Now
we deal with the temporary occupy of the
[1:24:22] plan owner clinic.
[1:24:26] » So you
>> I'll make the motion that we issue
[1:24:30] temporary occupancy in the clinic for
the use.
[1:24:33] » All right. Do I have a second for that
motion?
[1:24:37] » Multiple seconds.
>> Uh all in favor say I.
[1:24:42] » Okay. Stand tight.
>> What what is what is temporary? I mean
[1:24:46] what what period of time
>> in the out getting in the outcome
[1:24:49] decision of property
>> so actually be a commission commission.
[1:24:55] » So what we're doing is we're asking
we're asking these folks
[1:24:59] » to move without without a period of time
involved. They've got they've got till
[1:25:04] we come back September meeting
basically.
[1:25:07] » Well they would be in they would be
granted that occupancy
[1:25:10] » till till the September meeting till we
can vote on it. If the C Romney
[1:25:14] committee meets it this month, approves
it, we get we get September. So they
[1:25:19] would be asked to move without any
guarantee of anything until for now
[1:25:24] September.
>> Yes, they would be.
[1:25:26] » Thank you.
>> Okay. All right. U my council comment
[1:25:31] who who else on here wanted to speak or
anybody. [clears throat] Have I cleared
[1:25:37] Have I cleared the board?
>> All right. So I answer your question. So
[1:25:41] grant temporary oxy. I had a motion and
a second. Uh all in favor voice vote say
[1:25:46] I.
>> I.
[1:25:48] » All oppose like sign.
>> All right. Any other business come
[1:25:53] before the Rome County Commission.
>> Yes sir.
[1:25:55] » Said I'd just like to take a moment.
Thank y'all for your service uh working
[1:26:00] with us and it's been a pleasure. And
all I got to say is don't make me come
[1:26:06] by. [laughter]
[1:26:10] With that said, Commissioner Hansen,
will you give us a motion to adjourn?
[1:26:13] » Motion second.