City Council - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call to order the Bristol, Tennessee city council meeting, July 7th, 2026. Uh, Mary Lee, would you call the roll?

Yes, sir. Fire Robin here, powers acre here, Turner here.

Welcome and thank you everyone for attending. Uh, there's a number of opportunities this evening, uh, to speak on matters of city business, uh, sheet explaining those, uh, had been made available entering the meeting room. Uh, as we go forward in tonight's agenda, I will note each time when public comment is welcome. We have the sign-up sheet, and then we have a couple of public hearings this evening. So if you're speaking on the public hearings, speak during that time. The rest is during our appearance of citizens. So with that, we'd like to ask Giovanna Glover with our Park and Recreation Department to lead us in our invocation and then also with our pledge.

Good evening, everyone. Let's go before the Lord in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of life and for allowing us to see another day. We come humbly before your throne, acknowledging that every good thing comes from you. Tonight, we ask that you would cover, protect, and direct the leaders of this city. Grant them wisdom as they make decisions that affect the lives of our citizens. Give them discernment, integrity, unity, and hearts that seek the good of those they serve. May we come together in a spirit of peace, respect, and understanding, remembering that though we may not always agree, we are united in our desire to serve this community well. Let our words be seasoned with kindness, and our actions reflect a desire to build up our community rather than tear it down. Mayor, hand of favor, we ask that you continue to bless this city, protect our first responders, our employees, our families, and every resident who calls this place home. Mayor, hand of favor and protection rest upon us all. We thank you for hearing our prayer. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

Thank you. Mr. Ramsey, do we have any additions this evening?

There are none.

There are none. Okay. We have one proclamation and one recognition tonight. The first proclamation is Parks and Recreation Month, and Councilwoman Fowler-Robin will read the proclamation, and our Parks and Recreation Director, Mike Mains, will accept the proclamation.

Whereas parks and recreation programs are an integral part of communities throughout this country, including the city of Bristol, Tennessee, and whereas parks and recreation promotes health and wellness, improving physical and mental health of people who live near parks, and whereas parks and recreation promotes time spent in nature, which positively impacts mental health, by increasing cognitive performance and well-being and alleviating illness such as depression, attention deficit disorders, and Alzheimer's. And whereas parks and recreation encourages physical activities by providing space for popular sports, hiking trails, swimming pools, and many other activities designed to promote active lifestyles. And whereas parks and recreation is a leading provider of healthy meals, nutrition services, and education. Whereas parks and recreation programming and educational activities such as out of school time programming, youth sports, and environmental education are critical to childhood development. And whereas parks and recreation increases a community's economic prosperity through increased property values, expansion of the local tax base, increased tourism, the attraction and retention of businesses, crime reduction, and is fundamental to the environmental well-being of our community. And whereas parks and recreation is essential and adaptable infrastructure that makes our communities resilient in the face of natural disasters and climate change. And whereas our parks and natural recreation areas ensure the ecological beauty of our community and provide a place for children and adults to connect with nature and recreate outdoors. And whereas the U.S. House of Representatives has designated July as Parks and Recreation Month, and whereas the City of Bristol, Tennessee recognizes the benefits derived from parks and recreation resources, now, therefore, the Mayor of Bristol, Tennessee hereby proclaims July 2026 as Park and Recreation Month, this seventh day of July 2026.

Mayor Turner, members of City Council, thank you for this recognition tonight. We are certainly excited about the future. Our team, they're just fantastic. They're creative. They work hard each and every day for the citizens of Bristol. And we're just one piece of the puzzle. We have a wonderful city that we team with often, other departments, and we're thrilled to be able to carry forward some exciting things to come this past year we had over twenty new adult and senior programs that were created in the area of recreational programming with kids and children we had eighteen plus programs uh... the department's growing quickly uh... white top creek park is is turned into an event venue every weekend uh... with a lot of travel ball tournaments and various other activities so needless to say we've been busy And the greatest thing of all is we were challenged a couple years ago by city council to build relationships with our community. And those relationships, you're going to see, and the citizens of Bristol will see, in a few short months, if not sooner, what that's paid off to be. And so Bristol has a lot to look forward to. Thankfully, with your leadership and what you've done for us and our support, the citizens will be blessed with a lot of facilities and some of those I think you've heard in the past, a new aquatic recreation center, a new $14 million playground known as Cades Playground at Steel Creek Park, improvements to Steel Creek Park, a new skate park. And so that's just a few of what's to come. So I can say tonight it's time to get excited about recreation in our community. It's time to get excited about the support you're giving us. So thank you so much.

Thank you. All right, next we have a Bristol First Award, and Director of Community Relations, John Luttrell, will present. I guess you will disclose who the name is, or if you want me to go ahead and say the... I can take it from here. Okay, perfect.

Well, thank you, Mayor Turner and members of council. Since the Bristol First Award was first conceived back in October of 2014, A total of 84 city employees have been recognized for their achievements, special contributions, and dedication to public service above and beyond the call of duty. This month, an employee from the utilities department was nominated for recognition as a result of their willingness to go above and beyond in service to a member of our community. And I'll read from the nomination information that was submitted by his colleagues. While on duty for the city's utilities department on Friday, June 12th, Gail Jones and Jeff Miller were waved down by a man who had been walking along Seneca Lane when he heard a loud crash and then discovered a car upside down under a bridge. A badly damaged guardrail was visible from the road, so Jeff and Gail stopped immediately to see how they could help. Jeff described a horrendous crash, explaining that the car apparently hit the guardrail and a telephone pole before becoming airborne and landing upside down under the bridge. Without hesitation, Gail Jones quickly climbed down a steep embankment and rushed to the car. He was able to speak to the victim, who was trapped inside through a small opening. While Gail assured him that help was on the way, the young man surprised Gail by saying he no longer wanted to live because of recent struggles in his life, including the loss of several close family members. Gail continued to offer comfort, however, telling him things would get better and saying, you're alive for a reason. He remained with the victim until police and EMS arrived on the scene. In nominating Gail for this award, Jeff said he was impressed at how quickly Gail sprung to action, rushing down the embankment, and then offering words of reassurance to a stranger in a time of need. So with that, we are proud this evening to present Gail Jones with the Bristol First Award.

Okay, no presentations this evening. Next is the Board of Education report, Dr. Tudor.

Good evening everyone. It's good to see you. Just have a couple of things for you this evening. We just completed day two of our administrative retreat and I'm excited to say that we spent the afternoon in downtown Bristol on State Street engaging in a variety of team building activities. We had six different businesses who welcomed us. And we rotated to most of us did two of those sessions downtown and rotated and did some great team building things. So I just wanted to point out what a wonderful community we have. I know you all know that. But I can't think of anywhere else in our region that we could have been able to go to six different businesses and do hands on engaging fun activities. for 35 plus people as well as we did. And they were so gracious and so welcoming and just loved us down there. We did hop into the middle of State Street for a picture, not at the location we were supposed to, I know, but we were on the complete other end, so you might have heard about that. But we'll share pictures with you. I know, but we really wanted to use that spot that's perfect for that opportunity, but we were on the complete opposite end. But anyway, I just wanted to point out what a great community we have and wonderful vendors who welcomed us. We did four on the Tennessee side and two on the Virginia side, and it was just a fabulous experience.

And everybody escaped and did everything.

We did the escape room. We did axe throwing. We did floral arrangements. We did the AR workshop and made trays. Painted Stone Castle at Killin' Time. I think that was, oh, and Pins and Friends. So, fantastic, it was a great opportunity. And then just our back to school information. Teachers return, shocking to believe, we're very close to starting the school year again. So we're just three weeks away from that. On July 28th, Tuesday, teachers return. We'll have in-service and work days that week. First student day is Monday, August 3rd. That's our two hour day. The reason we do a two hour day is so that we can make sure we have enough staff for the students who actually attend. So we sometimes have to hire new teachers on that day. And then our first full day is on Tuesday. Normally we have a work day on that Tuesday. That work day actually is an in-service day on Thursday, and that's because of the August election. We don't like to have our students in our buildings at polling places for safety reasons, and so it's a little bit odd this year to have a Thursday in-service day for kids to come and then not come and then come again. But that's why, so that we keep them safe. I think that's all I had for you unless you have questions for me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right. We have two public hearings this evening. Uh, the first one is ordinance 26 dash five to amend the zoning map of Bristol, Tennessee, by designating certain property is R2 single family duplex. multiple addresses on Reed Road. This public hearing is now open and Ross Peters will present.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Before you is the rezoning request there on Reed Road to rezone six partials that adds up approximately to 1.52 acres and the rezoning request is from an R1A to R2. And this was heard at our May Planning Commission meeting and they voted to send a positive recommendation to council and also at first reading for council at June 2nd meeting. Just a quick R2 summary. This is some of the information here listed for an R2 zone, which is our single family and duplex. residential, it does show some of the setback requirements and minimum lot size requirements for that zone and as well density for those zones. This is just a quick map showing the partials highlighted in red, hatched in red. It's part of the rezoning request and it's just to show what some of the surrounding area land use there is existing, which is predominantly single family. And to the south or the bottom of the screen, it does show some of our lot commercial or limited business zone there. This is a map showing the future land use. Again, the proposed rezoning is hatched in red. And as you can see on the left side of the screen, The area shown in blue there along the King University property is shown future institutional. Property along the bottom of the screen is shown as a neighborhood commercial. And then the rest of the property there shown in the yellow would be the low density residential for future land use. Just staff analysis. Staff looks at different components when a rezoning request comes in. So we found that surrounding properties were consistently zoned with their current land use. The future land use map indicates that the area will be developed as low-density residential. And staff analysis concluded that rezoning would be appropriate use, considering five of the six of the lots are currently nonconforming in lot size. And by rezoning to this R2, it would help with that. Public notification signs were placed on the properties. Adjacent property owners were notified by mail, and the public hearing ad was placed in the Kingsport Times News on June the 12th for the council meeting tonight. In the steps of the process of rezoning, of course, we're in the last step here showing the public hearing and second reading for tonight's meeting on July the 7th. Okay, great.

Is there anyone in attendance that would like to speak on this matter this evening? All right. Seeing none, this public hearing is now closed. Next, we have the Beaver Creek Road Plan of Services, just the one-year update.

Yes. So this is the one-year plan of services report for that Beaver Creek annexation that happened a year ago. If you recall, that took place back in July of 2025, and it was for parcels that were approximately 3.66 acres there right at the intersection of Beaver Creek Road and Fox Meadows Circle. Part of those plan of services, because we're back at the one year, is because there was a traffic light planned for the 394 Beaver Creek Road intersection. And just to report on that, 20% of that project has been placed in the 2026 CIP fund. And currently that project is with TDOT, and it's documented in their TIP. which is their transportation improvement program. And that was provided to them back in May of 2026 this year. And so that project is moving forward for that traffic lot.

This public hearing is now open. Is there anyone in attendance that would like to speak on this matter? Seeing none, this public hearing is now closed. All right, next we have our appearance of citizens. If there's anyone, we had a sign-up sheet, and we had one person, Mr. James Minton. If you'd go to the podium, and our city attorney will... MONITOR FOR THREE MINUTES, AND SO YOU'RE OKAY. NO PROBLEM.

YES, MY NAME IS JAMES MENTON. I'M THE OWNER OF TURNKEY FOUNDATIONS, AND BASICALLY I JUST WANT TO PUT A FACE BEFORE EVERYONE IN REGARDS TO THE ORDINANCE 26-9, AND JUST LET ANYONE KNOW THAT THEY'RE WELCOME TO COME BY OUR OFFICE AND SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING. If there's any concern or issues, and that was all I had to say.

Okay, great. Okay, thank you. Is there anyone else in attendance that would like to speak on any other city matters? Okay. Next, we have appointments. We have quite a few this evening, which is good. We had a lot of applications. So the first one that we have is for... beer board we have two candidates with one open position uh clyde downs and joseph millhorn would anyone like to speak on behalf of any of those i can speak on behalf of mr downs i know he served on the board uh previously and um enjoyed being on the board i think he did a great job on the board so he's also a uh I guess he's still a constable for the time being, so. I'll be voting for Mr Downs on this.

Councilwoman Acard has Clyde Downs Councilwoman Powers has Clyde Downs. Councilwoman Fire Robin Clyde Downs and Mary Turner Clyde Downs.

Okay. Thank you. Next, we have one candidate and one open position for the Better Property Board, Pamela Offield. Would anyone like to speak on behalf of Ms. Offield?

So she's been on this board for a period of time, and they are very methodical. They give people every chance in the world to try to improve their properties when they come in front of the Better Property Board. But they're also very methodical in working through things. And if people are not able to improve their properties to make them in good shape, then they take the next steps. And I think she runs a pretty good meeting.

Councilwoman Aker, Pamela Oldfield. Councilwoman Fire Robin, Pamela Oldfield. Councilwoman Powers, Pamela Oldfield, Mayor Turner, Pamela Oldfield.

Okay. Next, we have two candidates for two open positions on the Community Development Advisory Committee. One of these is an unexpired term ending April 30th of 2028 and one For April 30th of 2029, we have two candidates for two positions. Jeremy Earhart and Vernon Perry. Normally we would with this of whoever received the most votes would take the term, but I believe. Mr Perry has been on the. Committee for sometimes in my. I guess of what I have put on mine is of. right outside of 2028 for the unexpired term, and Mr. Perry of the 2029 term for me.

I think Mr. Perry was coming up for reappointment, and the other one is...

Councilwoman Acre, Jeremy Earhart and Vernon Perry. Mayor Turner, Jeremy Earhart, Vernon Perry. Councilwoman Powers, Jeremy Earhart, Vernon Perry. Councilwoman Fireman, Jeremy Earhart, Vernon Perry. And we're all okay with the 20, 20 longer term.

Yes. Okay, next we have five candidates for three open positions on the 911 Emergency Communications Board. We have Dwayne Honaker, Dennis Lay, Katherine Matt, David Ring, and Blaine Wade. Would anyone like to speak on behalf of?

First off, I'll take this opportunity to thank everybody for applying and It's really nice to see people who are interested in serving and who make application. And I think a couple of these, Blaine Wade is retired police chief, and Chief Honaker is our fire chief right now. So there's some different people that have served on this, or it makes sense for them to serve on it.

I would also support David Green. I believe he's been on.

He's a veteran.

Thank you for being in attendance.

Councilwoman Akerd has Duane Honaker, David Ring, Blaine Wade. Councilwoman Powers has Dwayne Honaker, David Ring, Blaine Wade. Mayor Turner has Dwayne Honaker, David Ring, Blaine Wade. Councilwoman Fire Robin, Dwayne Honaker, David Ring, Blaine Wade.

Okay, thank you. Next, we have two candidates for two open positions on the Health and Education Facilities Board, Denise Millhorn and Kelly West. Would anyone like to speak on behalf of either of these?

I don't have any of those. Did I give it to you? Yes, you did. Okay, great. Got ahead of myself. She's got it.

She don't afford it. Okay.

Did I get the right one? Why do I have two?

No, you've got a park and recreation list.

Oh, it's because it's got the same name. Okay.

Councilwoman Akard, Dennis Millhorn, Denise Millhorn, Kelly West, Councilwoman Fire Albin, Denise Millhorn, Kelly West. Councilwoman Powers, Denise Millhorn, Kelly West. Mayor Turner, Denise Millhorn, Kelly West.

All right, thank you. All right, next we have the Park and Recreation Commission. We have three candidates for three open positions. Denise Millhorn, Joseph Millhorn, and Derek Ratliff.

I just have a question. Are the Millhorns related?

Yes.

Okay.

So is that an issue? I don't think you have any rule against husband and wife serving on the same commission. So if it's an issue, then you probably need to know.

Councilwoman Acard, Denise Millhorn, Joseph Millhorn, Derek Ratliff. Councilman fire oven, Denise Millhorn, Joseph Millhorn, Derek Ratliff, councilwoman powers, Joseph Millhorn, Derek Ratliff, Mary Turner, Derek rat.

All right. Next, we have the Planning Commission Urban Growth Area. We have one candidate for one position on this this evening, Takai Hsu.

I'll speak in support of Takai. He's a very dedicated member to the Planning Commission. He is very studied. He's very well-known in the community, and I think he's done a great job and will continue to do a great job.

Councilwoman Acard to Kai Shu. Councilwoman Fire Robin to Kai Shu. Mayor Turner to Kai Shu. Councilwoman Powers to Kai Shu.

Okay. Next we have for the Planning Commission, we have three candidates for two open positions. Jason Boer, Michael Smit, and Robin Wade. Anyone can... I could speak on behalf of, I know, at least the two of Jason, who served as the chairman, and Mike, who was recently put on the planning commission, I think has done a good job in the time that he's been on there.

And I'll speak in favor of Robin Wade. So she has not applied previously, but it's good to see a mixture of people who are willing to serve and to see our boards have some diversity.

Councilwoman Acard, Jason Boer, and Robin Wade. Councilwoman Powers, Jason Boer, Michael Smith. Mayor Turner, Jason Boer, Michael Smith. Councilwoman Fire Robin, Jason Booher, Robin Wade.

Jason Booher is appointed.

Neither Michael Schmidt nor Robin Wade received three votes necessary to be appointed. Okay. So we would have a vacancy that would be posted next month. Okay. And anybody who's interested would have to reapply.

Okay. Okay. All right. Okay, next we have the power board. We have two candidates for one open position, Aaron Downs and Joseph Thacker III. I can speak on behalf of Miss Downs that has chaired the board. I guess this will be her third term on the board and has done a great job on the board. And so I'll be voting in favor of Miss Downs.

And I'll reiterate what Margaret said. It's great to have people to apply and very appreciative of everyone that has. I, too, will be supporting Erin Downs. Not only does she serve... as the chair of BTS, but she's also a member of the Network Sullivan County Partnership Board and has chaired that as well, and the two are very integrated as far as our economic development, especially industrial development, goes. So for that reason, I will support Erin.

Ditto.

Councilwoman Akert, Erin Downs. Councilwoman Power, Erin Downs. Councilwoman Fire Oven, Aaron Downs. Mayor Turner, Aaron Downs.

Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you for being in attendance. Okay, next we have five ordinances on first reading this evening. The first is Ordinance 26-9, amending the zoning map. Crystal Seed designates certain property as B3-308 Glenwood Road. Mr. Peters?

Good evening again. Before you is a rezoning request to rezone part of a parcel there located on Glenwood Road, approximately 1.80 acres, and that rezoning request is rezoned from R2, which is that single-family duplex residential, to B3, which is our general business commercial district. This item was heard at our Planning Commission meeting on June the 15th, and the Planning Commission did vote on that item at that night. To start off, Just a quick summary on our B3 general business zone, showing some of the setback requirements for commercial structures and residential structures. Also showing some of the minimum lot sizes that are required if you do choose to do residential in that B3 zone, and along with some of our maximum densities as well. This map is showing that entire partial highlighted in red and hatched in red there along Glenwood in the approximation there at the intersection of Glenwood and Bluff City Highway. And as you can see, the large partial there that's highlighted kind of in yellow to the right of the screen is the Glenwood Cemetery. Some of the property along Bluff City Highway there is zoned B3 currently, and then the remaining partials there to the bottom of the screen is zoned R2. This is our future land use map. Again, that partial is highlighted in red, hatched in red there. The green there that's shown, obviously, that I just spoke upon was the cemetery. And so the purple is showing the residential future land use, and then the red there along Bluff City Highway is shown as future commercial business. Staff analysis, again, anytime we get a rezoning request, staff looks at different items. The surrounding properties are consistently zoned with their current land use. Again, the future land use map does indicate this area will be developed as commercial and medium-density residential. And the staff analysis concluded the rezoning conforms to the future land use plan and policy because of that. public notification signs were placed on the property adjacent property owners were notified by letter and if the proposed ordinance is approved on first reading tonight then the public hearing and second reading will be scheduled for for august council meeting and the public notice will be placed and published in the kingsport times news And just to reiterate, the planning commission recommendation from the June 15th meeting, there was a motion made to forward a favorable recommendation to council, but failed to get the appropriate votes, so the motion failed. As far as next steps go, we are there in the middle at the city council meeting on first reading July 7th, and again, if passed on first reading, it would move on to the August meeting for public hearing second reading.

So, um, when was the last time that we did our land use plan that we were, I mean, that's a big job to go through it and I know we do it periodically.

So it's been approximately about five years ago.

Right. Cause I think we've. made some policy changes and changes in some of the zones etc since since that time but um yeah that's not a question but i think for me of this is that you know of looking at we've going back and we constantly we look at these

land use maps and where it's located. I think with, I don't guess we have really found out of how this piece of property, because it's always been a business, I believe, correct?

Yes, from our research, yes, there's been a business there pretty much since it's been within the sealings of Bristol.

On this piece of property, so... I feel like that with the land use map that we have, and obviously it was split with Planning Commission, but I think that somehow it's been passed. You know, all this time has not been zoned properly, and I think that doing this would put it into what the I don't know if you were at the Planning Commission meeting.

I think some of the concern was for those that didn't vote in support of changing the zoning was that it is currently zoned residential. The property is functioning out of compliance. It has functioned for quite some time. And it was just I think the split was over. compliance, non-compliance business in what has been more residential along on out that road. It does abut the Bluff City Highway. So there was mixed amongst the planning commission in regard to this. And so from that perspective, there was a split vote, so now it rests with council unless we want to go send it back to council for Back to the Commission for extended conversation.

So and sounds like we're discussing a little bit before a vote for emotion, which I was asking if we had questions, OK, right? But I'm OK with that.

Is there a motion to take action on ordinance 26-9? I'll make a motion to. Take action on ordinance 26-9. Second motion is second. Um, so now is there any further discussion on, um, this matter of, I think that there's been on both sides of it, of the fact of when we're talking about, uh, operating and noncompliance and which you go back to probably to when the original business was started of, you know, I'm not sure who was here and how that or if they had zoning at that point, was that part of the VOCA annexation?

Yes. Yes, it was part of that big of VOCA annexation.

There wasn't zoning when it went in to business.

There would have been zoning placed on it at that time when it was annexed.

Right. Do you know what the zoning was at that time?

As far as I know, it was R2. It has been that R2 the whole time.

So I live out Volunteer Parkway, and Volunteer Parkway was a rural highway with lots of residences, and it's developed over time. And part of the problems are you have B3s abutting R1s, and that sets up. real we know the better way is to graduate from a highly commercial into residential. So I just feel like we have an opportunity. And right now on the on that side of Bluff City Highway, there are active residences, whereas the other side is commercial that abuts commercial and goes on down to Volunteer Parkway. So I think there's just opportunity to look to the future and that it would be a nicer area as a residential area. And if it's an R2, then that's different from an R1, but making that graduation gradual. So I oppose the B3.

I just think that we've... think of most sides of the fact of after that many years of possibly having you know that there has been a business there that it would have been caught or changed some time ago. That's the, I think the, the problem I have with it and looking at the land use map.

So anyway, I think for, for me, I'll take Mr. Minton up on his invitation to come down and to see, and to talk a little bit more about how long it's been there and all that. So for that reason, um, I'm probably going to abstain until I have an opportunity to actually go down and speak with them. Can I do that?

If you want to take that opportunity, we may want to vote to postpone this until August.

Or this is the first reading, so I could go ahead and vote and then change my vote in August if I wanted to.

You could. You have second reading. As long as it passes first reading, you'd have that opportunity.

Right. If it fails, we wouldn't have the opportunity and It's best. Okay. Okay.

All right. Mary Lee.

Fire Robin. No. Powers. Yes. Acord. Yes. Turner.

Yes. Okay.

So just for clarification, it will come back to us again in August for the second reading.

A public hearing and a second reading.

Got you.

Okay, next we have Ordinance 26-10, an ordinance to rename Exide Drive to Limestone Ridge Road. Mr. Peter?

Yes, this request came to us from one of the property owners there along Exide Drive, and that request has been made asking for Exide Drive to be renamed to Limestone Ridge Road. And Planning Commission did hear this request at their June 15th meeting and voted to send an unfavorable recommendation to council that night. And on the screen highlighted in yellow is that corridor that is Exide Drive that connects from the red light there at the Volunteer Parkway Highway 11E intersection and connects to the Highway 394 there on the west end. Public notification was made for this request. adjacent property owners of Exide Drive was notified by letter and we did receive some comment letters back not in favor of that request for the renaming and one in favor and of course again with with this first reading tonight if the proposed ordinance approved on the first reading then the public hearing and second reading would be set up and scheduled for the august council meeting and the public notice would be published in the kingsport times news at that time okay

Is there a motion to take action on Ordinance 26-10?

Motion to deny the renaming of Exide Drive to Limestone Ridge Road.

Thank you. If there's no motion to move forward, then it would die for... No motion to move forward.

However you want me to say that.

Nobody's going to second that motion, right?

So it does look for lack of okay All right next we have ordinance 26-11 been a portion of alley between Hill Street and Wilson Avenue

All right. The request before you is to abandon that portion of that alley there between Hill Street and Wilson Avenue. And this request, and it is shown on the map, they're highlighted and hatched in red, that small portion there. This item was heard at the June 15th Planning Commission meeting, and they did vote to send a favorable recommendation to Council. Just a couple quick photos of what this portion of the alley looks like there, highlighted in red across the existing parking lot that is part of the parking lot there for that existing business, the chiropractor's business, and the other pictures showing the other end of the alley that is open and being used there along Wilson Avenue. Like any request that's made like this, staff does an analysis on the zoning for the properties. We look at the terrain. We also look at the infrastructure, if there's any infrastructure within that portion of the alleyway that's being requested to be abandoned. And we also look at any utilities that may also be there. Public notification, again, was made of this request to those adjacent property owners there beside of this portion of the alley, and we did receive two comment letters in favor of that abandonment. And again, if the proposed ordinance is approved on the first reading, it would be set for a public hearing second reading at the August meeting. Okay. And again, Planning Commission heard this and did send a 6-0 favorable recommendation to Council. Okay.

Any questions for Mr. B? Do I have a motion to take action on Ordinance 26-11?

Motion to approve Ordinance 26-11. Second.

I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?

I'm going to continue being ornery, and I voted no the first time. And just because we have our alley study coming up, and I know that it's not right around the corner, it's a little bit further out, but

i feel like it'd be worth waiting so okay mary lee fire oven no powers yes acre yes turner yes all right next we have ordinance 26-12 an ordinance extending a temporary moratorium on the establishment of permanent campgrounds okay uh

On this first reading for this extension of that temporary moratorium, so back in March of 2026, Council did vote on second reading to approve a six-month temporary moratorium on permanent campgrounds, which was effective until October 10th, 2026. At the June 15th, 2026 Planning Commission meeting, staff presented a draft ordinance to Planning Commission to begin reviewing to move forward. And after discussion, Planning Commission voted to send Council a recommendation to extend this temporary moratorium until January the 31st of 2027 for staff and Planning Commission to continue working on that draft ordinance.

Is there any questions for Mr. Peters on this? Do I have a motion to take action on Ordinance 26-12?

Motion to approve Ordinance 26-12. Second.

A motion and a second. Any further discussion? Mary Lee?

Frye-Robin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. All right, next we have Ordinance 26-13, to amend the zoning ordinance to regulate rec.

Recreational substance retail uses within the city of Bristol, Tennessee Yes, so again we have a very busy night there on June 15th Commission and so staff presented presented some some language on tobacco and vape shops and recreational substance retail and so during the meeting there was much discussion on this and Plenty Commission directed staff to draft a proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance to define recreational substance retail and how that retail is was to look within the city in our business zones. And so staff has drafted these amendments to include the definitions of recreational substance retail, which defines it as any established facility or business whose operation includes the retail sale of recreational substances for onsite, on-site or off-site use, and provided that recreational substance make up 25% or more of the establishment's total product sales or distribution, or 15% of more of the establishment's total display space. And so we've defined that. for the section Z203 of the zoning ordinance. We've also added a definition for the meaning of the recreational substance. And we've also amended the sections for our business zones as well. And those definitions show that no recreational substance retail use may be established within 1,000 feet of any other such use. and some other language there that also goes along with no 1,000, sorry, no recreational substance retail use may be established within 1,000 feet of any existing public library or church, hospital or public park, or public institution as well.

Okay. Is there any questions for Mr. Peters? I've got one, I'm assuming that of what, is currently in these areas that are operational as we speak now, those would be grandfathered in prior to this?

Correct. If this goes into effect, they would be considered non-conforming, and they would be able to continue to stay there as long as they stay in business, yes.

Okay. Is there a motion to take action on ordinance 26-13?

Motion to take action on ordinance 26-13.

Have a motion, a second?

Second.

Motion, second. Any further discussion?

Just mentioned at the work session and Dr. Tudor's here who serves on the health council and We've discussed vaping quite a bit, and the schools, all three school systems in our county, and I would assume lots of school systems, the vaping is the biggest problem at this time that they're having to deal with. So anything that can help with that. And also, we understand that Bristol, Virginia is passing something similar as well, so that helps. to be on both sides of town. And I don't know if we asked or found out, does Kingsport have anything like this yet in Sullivan County?

I'm not sure at the moment. But I do know, like you just said, Bristol, Virginia is very close to adopting their ordinance as well.

It's similar to this one, yeah. It'd be good to find out what Kingsport and Sullivan County are doing. to encourage them to do something as well. It helps when we're all on the same page, especially with our young people.

So this will also be, I guess, first reading tonight and then come back for a second reading?

Yes, this is, as far as steps go, this is a little bit different than we usually see. So first reading tonight, we will take this back to Planning Commission after July 20th, and they will look at it and then make a recommendation back to you guys and then return back for the August meeting, yes.

That was the one thing I had of when we're, you know, having those percentages in there of how we're going to police that as far as the percentages going back to planning with those percentages of having some type of plan for those. Okay. We have a motion and a second. So Mary Lee?

Fire Robin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. All right. We now have two ordinances on second reading this evening, amending the zoning map of single family and duplex residential addresses on Reed Road. This item was addressed earlier during the public hearing. Is there any questions for Mr. Peters on this? Do I have a motion to approve Ordinance 26-5?

Motion to approve Ordinance 26-5.

Okay, we have a motion.

Second.

And a second. Any further discussion? Mary Lee?

Fire Robin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. All right, next we have Ordinance 26-8, authorizing the City of Bristol, Tennessee to accept partial payments and prepayments of property taxes, and City Attorney Danielle Smith will present.

Thank you, Mayor. As we've talked about before, the Tennessee legislature recently adopted legislation that allows cities such as ourselves to enter into settlement agreements with property taxpayers who have appealed the value of their property to the State Board of Equalization and where the rebate to the property taxpayer is going to exceed $500,000. In order to do that, the City of Bristol has to adopt a policy allowing it to receive partial payments and prepayments of property taxes. So this ordinance would change the city code to basically allow us to adopt that policy. And the policy would limit it to taxpayer, to basically taxpayers who are in exactly the situation where they have entered into a settlement agreement and the bill that is owing back to the taxpayer is over $500,000 so that we can go ahead and do that settlement agreement and be able to pay back the taxpayer over time.

Okay. Question, do I have a motion to approve ordinance 26-8?

Move to approve ordinance 26-8. Okay. Second.

I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?

So I know we talked at our work session that we also hope to move in the direction of offering our citizens opportunity to make payments on their taxes or prepay. So when that happens, will we have something come back again for a policy as well?

Most likely, yes, because we were pretty careful in drafting this to limit it to just the situation that I've described because we currently don't have the capacity to accept prepayments. So once we do, we can come back.

Yeah, we're hoping that can be. done sooner rather than later, but we know it's a software issue and different things like that, that slow things down. But, um, I think it'll be greatly appreciated when that can happen.

Mary Lee.

Yes, sir. Fire Robin. Yes. Powers. Yes. Acre. Yes. Turner.

Yes. All right. We have three resolutions for consideration tonight. The first is resolution 26 dash 78. Resolution approving and ratifying private chapter number 61, House Bill 2649, Senate Bill 2711, as enacted by the 114th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, which amends various provisions of the Charter of the City of Bristol, Tennessee. Ms. Smith will present.

Thank you, Mayor. Now, I apologize for the long title of that resolution, but unfortunately it's necessary. This was the charter amendments that City Council voted on in August of 2025. Those were approved by the Senate and the House this spring and signed into law by the governor on, I believe, May 21st. And so now they will not become effective until they're approved by a two-thirds vote at City Council. It's now been presented to you all for approval. A copy of the private act was attached to the... board docs and so if you've got any questions about what was in that private act i'll be happy to answer them the changes were made pertain to city elections and to establishing the department of education and then to some some sort of ministerial changes to property tax due dates and things like that okay is there any questions on resolution 26-78 to have a motion to approve resolution 26-78

Motion to approve resolution 26-78.

A motion? Second? I will second the motion. So we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Mary Lee?

Fire Robin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. Okay, next we have resolution 26-79, resolution approving an employment agreement with Matthew Slagle. I'll just start with this one. This resolution is to approve the employment agreement for the city manager. This item was included on the agenda. that was made available to the public before this meeting. Before council considers the item, I want to state for the record that the agenda identified the resolution for approval of city manager agreement. However, the backup document containing the full proposed agreement was not included with the published agenda packet. Because this is a public contract involving the city manager's employment, compensation, benefits, and related terms, we will identify the document on the record, make the agreement available at this meeting to the extent possible, summarize the material terms in open session, and allow council discussion before taking action. The agreement before council is proposed employment agreement between the City of Bristol, Tennessee and Matthew Slagle for services as city manager. proposed agreement is dated to be effective upon approval and execution within the employment to begin on August the 3rd. I'd like to ask the city recorder to identify the agreement for the record and confirm copies have been made available to council to the extent available will be made to members of the public present at this meeting. Marilee, the proposed employment agreement between the city and Mr. Slagle has been identified for the record.

We do now have an agreement. Yes.

Okay. And it was posted around five o'clock and copies have been given to now members of council, um, and will be made available to the public inspection as part of the meeting record, or will be posted on the meeting materials as soon as practical after this meeting. Um, The summary of the material terms of this agreement. The city appoints and employs Matthew Slagle as city manager. The city manager serves under the authority of the city charter and is responsible to city council for administration of city affairs placed in the city manager's charge. The employment start date is August 3rd, 2026, unless otherwise stated by council. The base salary is $225,000 per year, payable in regular installments through the city's payroll system. The agreement provides benefits generally available to regular full-time city employees together with specific benefits and reimbursements stated in the agreement. The agreement includes provisions regarding residency, duties, performance evaluation, outside activity, benefits, leave, use of city vehicle, business expenses, termination, severance, resignation, identification, bonding, notices, and governing law. The agreement provides for severance only under the circumstances stated in the agreement and subject to any limitations, conditions, and exclusions stated in the agreement. The approval of this agreement is subject to the charter, the city code, applicable personnel policies, applicable budgetary requirements, and the laws of the state of Tennessee. With that, I'll open it up for council discussion and to proceed or to defer. If

So I know we would like to get someone in place, that someone being probably Matt Slagle, but I also know we didn't get a final contract until this afternoon, and it hasn't been able to be available to the public for very much of a time period. If we could figure out to have a called work session, city council meeting sometime within the law of what's required, five days notice or whatever it is.

It depends on the subject matter of the meeting. So it's a little hard to say. But I'd say you need to give at least a few days notice of a meeting like this. Right.

Yeah, so you could advise us for that. But anyway, I think I would prefer just waiting that short period of time and be able to finish discussion and allow it to be available for public to understand what's going on in their community.

I'm ready to proceed. Resolution 2679. And so am I.

Okay. If it's a little council, I'll entertain a motion to proceed with consideration of the resolution, approving the appointment agreement between the city of Bristol, Tennessee and Matthew Slagle, notwithstanding that the agreement was not included in the original published backup materials based on the fact that the agenda identified the resolution for approval of the city manager agreement. The agreement has now been identified for the record the material terms have been summarized in open session and council will deliberate and vote in public If I have a motion to do I have a motion to proceed with consideration of resolution approved the resolution approving the employment agreement between the city of Bristol, Tennessee and Matthew Slagle as identified and summarized in open session We have a motion. Do I have a second?

Second.

Do I have a motion and a second? Mary Lee?

Farabin? No. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. Okay. We now, I will now entertain a motion on the resolution approving the agreement between the City of Bristol, Tennessee and Matthew Slagle to Do I have a motion to approve the employment agreement between the city of Bristol, Tennessee and Matthew Slagle as presented, identified and discussed in open session and to authorize the appropriate city officials to execute the agreement on behalf of the city?

Motion to approve resolution 2679.

Do I have a motion? Do I have a second?

Second.

I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?

So for a discussion, I will vote in favor of the contract. I have expressed concerns, a few things at the last meeting. Also, we worked with Sonny Santos. Thank you very much for the work that you did with us all online and in conversation with Sonny, but not with each other. Anyway, and I still have a couple of sticking points, but I will go ahead and vote in favor, even also that I would prefer waiting to give people an opportunity to understand what we're doing.

I, too, would like to thank Ms. Sandoz for all of her work. We have worked individually back and forth with her and It has been quite a process of compilation of information from each one of us There have been the Contract came to us pretty much the end of last week over the weekend with some tweaks that took place just recently, but it's a solid contract and There's a lot of accountability in the contract for not only the candidates but for the city council, regardless of who is sitting in these seats. So for that, I will vote in favor of having made the motion, the contract.

Okay. We have a motion and a second. Mary Lee?

Farabin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Akers? Yes. Turner?

Yes. Okay. Next we have resolution 26 dash 80, a resolution filling a vacancy in the city council, city of Bristol, Tennessee, the east council district. Um, we had one individual that had reached out to us and, uh, should interest in, um, the position and received an email on Sunday that, um, He was withdrawing his name for consideration. So I think what would be the best route here would be to table this until our August meeting and would give time we can, I guess, have put an ad on the city website as we did the last time as we would do for our board appointment and have... and table it till our August 3rd meeting. And then hopefully we will have the applications that we could discuss during our work session on the 20, what is that? 28th. 28th, I believe.

28th, and our meeting's on the 4th. 28th is the work session.

28th. We'll be able to discuss those on the 28th and 4th.

So you would move to postpone consideration of this resolution until August 3rd? Until August 3rd, yes. Or is it August? The regular meeting in August. Yeah.

I would move to table this to our regular meeting in August.

Right. Ms. Smith, how does that leave us with?

I mean, you, you can't force people to serve on city council.

So I'm not going to be present at that meeting. So what's the, how does it work for the zoom participation?

Did we pass that? We did. We established a policy. We can look at the reasons why you're not going to be present and see if they comply with the policy. I think I might be sick.

Okay.

So I've moved to move this to the August 3rd. It's not 3rd. Or August. To move this to our August meeting, I guess we need a second and then both.

Second.

Okay. Mary Lee.

Fire Robin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. All right, now we come down to the consent agenda. Mr. Ramsey?

Take a breath.

Sit back.

All right, first on the consent agenda, we have the minutes of the June 2, 2026 City Council meeting. Minutes of the June 16, 2026 meeting. City Council's special call meeting. Meeting of the June 23rd, 2026 City Council work session and adoption of the following resolutions. Resolution 26-81, approving the agreement with Believe in Bristol, incorporated for funding support. Resolution 26-82, authorizing an appropriation agreement with the Birthplace of Country Music, incorporated for funding support. Resolution 2683, approving an agreement with the Bristol Chamber of Commerce for funding support for the Youth Leadership Program. Resolution 2684, approving an agreement with Bristol Regional Speech and Hearing Center for funding support. Resolution 2685, approving an agreement with the Bristol Regional Tourism Marketing Corporation, Explore Bristol. Resolution 2686, approving an agreement with the Family Promise of Bristol. Resolution 2687, authorizing an appropriation agreement with the Paramount Foundation Incorporated Paramount Center for the Arts. Resolution 2688, approving an agreement with Sullivan County Family Justice Center Branch House for fiscal year 27. Resolution 2689, authorizing an appropriation agreement with Theater Bristol. Resolution 2690, authorizing entry into professional services agreement with CDM Smith for construction administration services for wastewater treatment plant. Resolution 2691, approving change order number three to contract with Jay Cumbie Construction Incorporated for Shelby Street Booster Station upgrades. Resolution 2692, Adopting the FY27 City of Bristol, Tennessee Pay and Classification Plan, effective July 1, 26. Resolution 2693, awarding the bid for the purchase of highway paint and pavement marking applicator. Resolution 2694, awarding a bid for purchase of stone and sand delivered and picked up. Resolution 2695, awarding the bid for purchase of in-place asphalt. Resolution 2696, awarding the bid for purchase of bulk asphalt products. Resolution 2697, awarding the bids for purchase of water and sanitary sewer supplies. Resolution 2698, authorizing purchase of police vehicles under state contract. Resolution 2699, authorizing a five-year agreement with Axon Enterprise Incorporated for the purchase of Taser 10 devices. Resolution 26100, authorizing purchase of bullet-resistant vests and outer carriers through Sourcewell, a cooperative purchasing group. Resolution 26-101, authorizing the purchase of in-car video systems and body cameras from Axon Enterprises under Omnia Corporative Purchasing Agreement. Resolution 26-102, authorizing agreement with Axon Enterprises Incorporated for interview room recording systems. Resolution 26-103, authorizing the purchase of rollout refuse containers for Public Works Department through Sourcewell co-operative purchasing contract, resolution 26-104, authorizing the purchase of 2025 Freightliner rear loader through Sourcewell co-operative purchase contract. Resolution 26-105, authorizing the purchase of 2026 Kubota R540 wheel loader through Sourcewell co-operative purchasing contract. Resolution 26-106, authorizing the purchase of three vehicles for Streets Department through Tennessee state contract. Resolution 26107, authorizing the renewal of Sophos detection and endpoint antivirus software for information technology through Omnia Partners Cooperative Purchasing Group. Resolution 26108, authorizing license renewal of Microsoft Office 365 through Omnia Resolution 26109, authorizing the renewal of OpenGov operations management system software through Sourceware, a cooperative purchasing group. Resolution 26110, authorizing the Sea of Bristol, Tennessee to participate in the Texas Department of Information Resources Cooperative Purchasing Program. Resolution 26111, authorizing the purchase of laser fish document management and records retention software through the department of information resources cooperative purchasing contract resolution twenty six one twelve authorizing the purchase of software support for tyler technology system resolution twenty six one thirteen authorizing the purchase of software support for the local government cooperative system financial software resolution twenty six dash one-fourteen authorizing multiple purchases from vendors throughout the fiscal year.

Would you care to repeat those for us? I've got the next part, too. Would any member of council like any item removed from the consent agenda? Do I have a motion to approve the items?

Motion to approve the consent agenda. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Mary Lee? Second.

Fire Robin? Yes. Powers? Yes. Aker? Yes. Turner?

Yes. Next city manager's report.

I got a drink of water, so I'm good. Okay. First, I want to recognize the outstanding work of our city employees during the severe storms over the Fourth of July weekend. While Mother Nature had other plans for our fireworks celebration, we're thankful that nobody was injured. Just a few tenths, I think. All our employees from all departments worked throughout the holiday to secure the event, clear debris, and reopen roadways and power lines. and assist with the cleanup efforts. And their teamwork and dedication is greatly appreciated. But as the storm cleanup continues, residents may notice some delays in the scheduled brush and bulk pickup as our public works crews prioritize the storm debris removal throughout the city. So we'd appreciate some patience with that. I just want to mention our downtown pavement project is wrapping up. You might notice downtown looks a lot better now with the new black asphalt and pavement markings, which they're finishing up this week, and some cleanup. And then that same crew will be moving to Windsor Avenue, which they started this week, restoring some of the damage from the gas company work that's been going on. We've got our recycle center grant work complete. on Blackley Road and Exide. Those recycle centers look great now. We've partnered with Sullivan County Solid Waste for our recycling now. And if you didn't notice, the big new red toy the fire department had in the parking lot on the way in today. We've got our new Fire Engine 3 that was sitting outside tonight. It'll be placed in service at Station 3 on 17th Street within the next few weeks. We've got a few events coming up. The Bristol Sessions nights, Road to 100, every third Friday in the L.C. King Building. Sounds of Summer Concert Series, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9 at Downtown Center. Our Splash Pad Tuesdays at Steel Creek Park. Mermaid Day on July 11th at Steel Creek Park. And Wreckfest, July 31st at Steel Creek Park. That's all I've got.

Okay. City Council comments.

I'll charge.

Okay.

We just don't have enough time to thank everyone that has contributed. You think about community engagement with the fireworks, public works, and with all of the cleanups. The communication, I'd like to compliment our Department of Community Relations. I've been watching, and every day there are several postings, especially about the cleanup, the recycling centers. We enjoy those, believe it or not. My husband and I use those often, him more than me. The fire truck, the songwriter, the different events, Mermaid Day. I mean, the list goes on and on. And it takes a very well polished and well established team. And with that, I'm very excited that we have a resolution this evening for a new city manager. And I believe that our team will get behind him and will work to even push harder for the greater success of our community. We had a great 4th of July experience over the weekend and Just would like to thank everyone for being here tonight.

I'm going to just what Brian had of, um, thinking all of our city employees and for our police and fire. And also with Clayton is here this evening from the response from BTS during the storm and getting the power back on. I guess everyone is, everyone's back on now. So, but, uh, Thank you all.

So everybody needs to go out and stop at the fire truck on your way out. Touch it. It's good luck to touch it. Is it gone?

Yeah, it's gone now.

Oh, well. So you'll have to go to 17th Street in a few weeks and see it or watch it driving around town. So sorry, y'all lost. I wanted to thank John Luttrell and his team for starting the Bristol First Award and certainly thank our employees for the jobs that they do and we're happy when we can recognize people for going the extra mile or above and beyond. So really appreciate that. Also, definitely for the storms and I know Councilwoman Powers, you experienced some of it pretty good out there. Anyway, and the sessions, events that are the 100 leading, doing the 100 years or whatever, on July 17th, it's Jimmy Rogers, the Blue Yodel. Encourage people to go. I missed the first one, but I went to the second one, and they are great. And it's fun to be in the LC King space and see how that works. The ticket prices, I think, are down from what they originally started. So they're $27 for 1927. So encourage people to go and experience that on Friday the 17th. Also, I am going to Tennessee Municipal League. You're going to? Great. I think that's great. We have not participated as much in Tennessee Municipal League the last several years and it is held. So that's our state organization and it is. They hold a summer workshops etc around the state and it's in Kingsport so we could not miss that with it being in Kingsport so. I'm hoping that we will start going. Also, I think National League of Cities is in Nashville, and I know our budget's really tight, but it's been quite some time since we've been to National League of Cities. I think it'd be awesome to look at what that would take to get a couple people there to Nashville. It means the... Travel might be cheaper to be able to go to Nashville. And the workshops, et cetera, are pretty good. And networking and learning things from other communities and other people serving in municipal roles are a big plus. So don't know if that can happen or not, but Tennessee Municipal League, that's great that two of us are going. So thank you.

All right. Rick, nothing?

We're adjourned.