City Council - Special Meeting

April 29th, 2026, special session of the Clarksville City Council is now called to order. Pastor Shaman Scales with the Greenhill Church in New Providence, the capital of Montgomery County, will serve as our chaplain of the day. Councilman Clough will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and Pastor Scales. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you for today. We thank you for your goodness and your mercy and your loving kindness towards us. We thank you for this great city. We thank you for the great citizens of this city. Lord, we ask you tonight for your guidance, for your wisdom. Father, I pray that even with every agenda tonight, Father, that it will be guided with wisdom and knowledge. Lord, we pray that your love love will continue to flood the hearts of the people of our city. I thank you for your protection. I thank you for your love that will embrace the hearts of each and every person. Father, I thank you for our council. Thank you for our mayor. Continue to lead them and guide them into all truth, and we thank you for success and prosperity in this great city. We say this so and so it is in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Members, please register your attendance. Madam Clerk, the screen. Madam Clerk, take the roll, please. As soon as it comes back up. All members are present with the exception of Councilman Smith. Thank you, Madam Clerk. First item on Next

item on our agenda is Planning Commission report. Mr. Tendell, please, sir. Good afternoon on a rare Wednesday meeting. I'll see you all here in 24 hours. Uh we'll wait as they get it up. Good. Right there. We have one case on your agenda for tonight. We'll present the rest of the cases tomorrow for the following weeks' public hearings, but tonight we'll have a public hearing and a first reading on this case Z-16-2026. This is, I believe, the sixth PUD application within the city of Clarksville in the last couple of years. This one's a bit special. Uh the application is uh from the city of Clarksville, uh care of Michelle Austin with the Clarksville Neighborhood and Community Services. Uh in your packet, you should have a PUD report as well as a general report uh that comes with all zoning cases and some schematics as well, and I'll go through those on the screen. Uh the agent is uh SoCare Beacon, care of Travis Yates. And this is 3.24 acres, currently zoned M2, and wishing to go to PUD, planned unit development. It's a parcel of land located at the northeast corner of Frosty Morn Drive and Red River Street, uh also known as the Frosty Morn building. It's a former industrial food processing facility that is currently in a state of disrepair. Uh it's been vacant for many years. This is in Ward number six. Uh this is in the downtown urban core uh of the comprehensive plan. Uh here is the future land use map, which indicates uh this area in the brownish color is mixed use. Uh toward the west in the darker oranges an urban neighborhood, uh mixed residential neighborhood there in yellow, and then commercial industrial hybrid in the blue to the north to

manufacturing and industrial in the purple. So, as we know, this is an area that's been in transition for many years from a more uh from pretty much the first industrial part of town to now more of a transitional commercial housing and and a little bit of everything out there. And here's the current zoning map. Um right next door is a mixed use PUD, so not a site plan like today like you're going to see. That's one that has several different zones. It has a multi-family, the ballpark, a hotel, and commercial. Um it is active, but is not currently being worked on, as we might say. Uh R3 to the west, and then everything in the black and gray is um industrial around this M1 and M2. Um there's the current property. Uh as part of this application, this will be demolished and leveled and suitable for the new construction. I'll show you here in a few minutes. And it is a it's a long piece of property. It actually enters down here on this side of the property, even though the building is down there. And then looking across the street, there is the foundry nearby. All right, this is the site plan proposed. Uh the current building is in a similar arrangement. It does have Frosty Morn Drive a little more than Red River Street. Uh this will be a multi-family building. I'll go over all the details in a minute. You can see the driveway coming out on both roads, the parking area. There's a recreational area with trails, and I'll talk about the amenities as part of the PUD plan as well. It's important to note that to the north

on this sheet on the top there, there is an abandoned rail right-of-way. I do believe the city is in discussions with RJ Corman to acquire that for greenway and could be additional property towards this project. Uh this is the landscaping plan. You can see the trees and the bushes here. Uh there's the elevation from each angle. Uh it will be built um with the terrain there, so it'll have a three and a half to four-story side on one side and a two-story side on the uh side that's higher on the hill. Uh and there's the view looking with the cross street at your back there, looking from what would be the um the trail area in the future. I'll go through the department comments and some of the PUD report and then be able to answer some questions. Um a drainage and water quality plan will be required. Tie the dumpsters to the sewers, uh and improvements to the storm sewer system on River Red River Street may be required. Uh drainage and water quality plans may be required as well. From the fire department, standpipe will be required for this project. Future code-compliant hydrant locations will be requested uh within 100 ft of the fire department connection. And you can see the school system comments listed. However, this will be a senior restricted affordable housing project. Uh this will have 65 units, and I'll go through the PUD report uh here. You can see all the the details in the PUD report. Uh this did have a pre-application meeting. It does comply with the requirement minimum requirements for a PUD. It's greater than 1 acre. Uh it does have a range of units between 5 and 40 units per acre. It comes in at 20 units per acre. Uh 80% or greater is residential. In this case, it is 100% of this property is residential.

Uh a traffic study was not required because peak hour trips for adult senior housing is only 13 and 16 for this um this type of use and this amount of uses. Uh parking, um this was give exception was given by the Planning Commission. Parking attributed to this PUD is specific to the use. Age-restricted senior housing falls into the range of 0.5 to 0.9 spaces per unit, acceptable in the ITE Parking Generation 5th Edition Parking Generation Calculations Manual. Uh this use, when paired with the coordinated ride services such as the Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency, uh and CTS, and other options, um the submittal comes in at 0.6 spaces per unit and is deemed acceptable. ITE database calculations for 65 units of age-restricted housing will be 39 parking spaces, and those have been provided on the plan. Uh additional parking potential exists on this location. Uh the RJ Corman former railroad bed could provide additional parking as well as on-street parking along Frosty Morn Drive right-of-way, which appears to be wide enough. Uh you can see the other submittals that we have. Um greater than 15% open space has been provided. Uh we do have a letter at the very bottom of your report from the developer stating the purpose of this and the benefit to the community. Uh the staff does recommend approval. The proposed pud preliminary plan is consistent with the goals and objectives of the adopted Clarksville-Montgomery County comprehensive plan. The future land use opinion map designates this property as mixed use and the designation aligns with the pud proposal. Age-restricted senior housing is an appropriate land use in a mixed use environment. The proposed pud meets a housing need for the overall community. The overall

design of the structure and site design will be significant improvement to the area. The area has been identified to transition away from its industrial past and projects this as an opportunity to begin that transition. The proposed pud includes a pedestrian facility and landscaping to provide aesthetic improvements, buffering, and shade. An outdoor fire pit and seating with ADA raised gardens is being provided for the outdoor living amenities and a fenced pet recreation area is also provided. Uh the planning commission also recommends approval. And I'll remind the council uh this is a zone change as well as the approval of these plans right here. The applicant will have to come back to the planning commission once this has a second reading and get final pud approval, which means we're just going to tighten up where is that fire department connection, uh where is the water coming in? Like there's just some final details that have to come out then. Uh but this is this plan you can consider probably 90% of the way there. Uh the building location will not change but a foot or two possibly and um the amount of units is locked in for what they're doing. So, be happy to answer any questions. All right, thank you, Mr. Tindell. Any questions for Mr. Tindell? Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Next item is a planning commission reporting public hearing. Councilman Streetman, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. Madam Clerk, will you please read the ordinance before us tonight? Ordinance 70-2025-26, first reading. An ordinance amending the zoning code and map of the city of Clarksville. Application of the city of Clarksville for a zone change on a parcel of land located at the northeast corner of Frosty Morn Drive and Red River Street from M2 general industrial district to PUD planned unit development residential district. Councilman Streetman. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Mayor, I move we go into public hearing. Motion been made and properly seconded to revert to public hearing. Without objection, we're now in public hearing. First item and only item on our public hearing list is item A, ordinance 70-2025-26, an ordinance amending the zoning code and map of the city of Clarksville. Application of the city of Clarksville. Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak in favor of ordinance 70? Ms. Austin, give us your name. You know the drill. Thank you, Mayor. Um my name is Michelle Austin and I'm the the director of neighborhood and community services. I'd like to thank you again for coming out on a Wednesday evening to hear this item. Um what we are requesting is a planned unit development zoning over a standard multi-family zoning. Um this is because the the pud provides a higher level of transparency and accounting in the traditional zoning. That means what is presented to you and the plan that's provided and to the community is what gets built. It also ensures that the key elements such as the design, parking configuration, and integration of supported services are clearly defined up front. The pud is specifically designed to support 65 units of senior housing community with integrated services that help those residents age in place. I also want to take a moment to speak

briefly regarding um our confidence in Beacon SoCar based on their experience and track record. We've been working with them for over a year now on the right project for Clarksville. They have had many successful projects in the Tennessee and region. Notably, the company began as a property manager before becoming a developer, which is very important in our community. It means what that they bring an operational perspective to their projects and understand what it takes to maintain quality housing over the long term, not just build it. I've also had productive conversations with Shannon with Beacon, whom you're about to meet, about the challenges we've experienced locally with our only other existing low-income senior housing facility. I was very pleased with his response as to how the organization would address those concerns as they arise. Without going into too much unfortunate detail, I'm I'm confident that Frosty Morn we will see management with compassion, quick response to critical repairs, and dignity-informed customer service. I also want to address just um some of the concerns and questions that came up from the last meeting. I shared with each of you um information regarding the environmental required inquiries that came up. I didn't receive any additional requests for information, so I assume those questions were satisfied. Um also, there was a concern that was mentioned at the last meeting regarding nearby properties zoned for M1 light industrial. While that zoning exists today, it's not consistent with the city's adopted future growth plan like Mr. Tindell shared, which identifies this area for mixed use and residential reinvestment. This project and the potential of the pud next door represents a transition towards that long-term vision to guide redevelopment in a more compatible direction. Um I know Shannon would also like to speak in favor of this development and introduce himself. But first, I want to

thank you for your continued support towards this critical housing initiative here in this area and I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Questions for Ms. Austin. Thank you. Anyone else in the audience? Oh, I'm sorry. Ms. Austin, before you sit. Councilman Collins, you're recognized. Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. I apologize, I hit the wrong button. No problem. Let me set my timer. [laughter]

Oh. Uh Ms. Austin, I just had a question that's been brought up to me multiple times about the environmental issues. If if uh Beacon gets in there and starts digging and the environmental stuff realizes there needs to be extra measures taken, is that on the city or is that on Beacon? That's on Beacon should they continue should they desire to continue with the project. And that's outlined in that lease that was provided at the last meeting. That was already approved. No, yes, ma'am. I just wanted to clarify that for those that had asked the question to me. Thank you. you. Thank you. You're welcome. Any more questions for Ms. Austin? And now you can sit down.

Thank you, sir. Is there anyone else in the audience that wishes to speak in favor of ordinance 70? If you would, give us your name and you have 5 minutes. Thank you, Mayor. Council members, my name is Shannon Tudor. I'm with SoCar and Beacon. Um and thanks, Michelle, for talking so highly about us. I we we very much appreciate that. I'm here with Travis Yates, our president and executive director. And as we've explained you've heard the name SoCar and Beacon. And as Michelle alluded to, those are two separate organizations that SoCar is a non-profit uh developer with a mission for the preservation and uh and and uh building of affordable housing. And Beacon is our operations side. And so, in our 26th year of managing properties, over 5,000 units actually in seven states, but we started uh in Kentucky and and that's where our largest uh population of units are at and just uh kind of put a perspective on the residents, Travis actually said something the other day whenever we were talking that he tries to look at everything from the residents' perspective. And so, that's how this project will go is everything that we can do to benefit the seniors in Clarksville and and provide them a place that they want to live, that they're proud of living in, and that they can age in place cuz we want to put them in homes and keep them in homes. You know, we don't want it to be considered a temporary uh transition for them. Um I don't want to dive any deeper into Beacon's history than what uh Michelle said cuz she made it sound really good and I don't think I could top that. Um we we do get a question sometimes of why are you here? You know, you're you're a Kentucky developer, how did you end up here? Um I I do think that's pertinent cuz Travis and I both have a connection to Clarksville

through family or um you know, different histories that uh that that we've been affiliated with this area for a long time. I haven't ever lived in Clarksville. Um I was stationed at Fort Campbell uh for 11 years, so that should you know, that probably indicates that I was in the area a lot. Uh Travis has a lot of family that's in Dover. So, if they wanted to go eat somewhere, then they had to come to Clarksville. And uh then and if anybody's from Dover, that's no offense to Dover. And uh and I still have a a pretty significant connection to Clarksville cuz my daughter is a teacher at uh West Creek and has uh been teaching in the Clarksville-Montgomery County school system this her ninth year. So, um and she's not married yet, so I have to come to a lot of stuff for her. So, I am uh frequently in the area and will be involved with this project for as long as I'm working. Um so I'm I've used half my time to tell you a little bit about me, Travis, and Beacon, but about this project, we submitted our application to Tennessee Housing Development Agency about a week and a half ago for tax credits that will help us fund this project, and those tax credits are essential to it because that allows us to keep it affordable. Um they they put equity into the project so that we get a mortgage that we can afford to pay with those with those lower rents that that we'll charge. Um and and uh if THDA keeps with their typical schedule, we would hear something from them late August, early September. And we have a we had a really good application. It scores very well. So we would we would hope to get funded, and then we would get everything teed up to move to a financial closing and get started on construction. Our our goal is always to do that in in a time frame we'd like to

Travis would say he'd like for us to do it in less than 6 months, but it it typically pushes out to taking almost a year to get that done, and it's there's a lot of steps in it. One I'll touch on is the environmental cuz that's come up quite a bit. Um our investors and lenders will not close without a phase one study, a geotech report, and then and and on the phase one study, whatever findings there are, if it were if it is recommended to do a phase two environmental study, which is goes even deeper into soil sampling and things, then that has to be done. And then we'll have to show our investors and lenders the mitigation steps and things that'll be taken in order to eliminate any of those concerns. So and it that's that's stuff that we're used to doing. It's just standard process for us. We're not scared of it, and and and actually when we get to do the phase one, you're you're less than 6 months from closing typically, so it's a good sign for us when that starts. So I've got 20 seconds left. I don't have any jokes or anything, so I will be happy to take any questions. All right. Thank you, Mr. Tutor. The Dip and Dover's got a pretty good hot fudge Sunday, so Yes, sir. Councilman Brown, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. So other projects that you've done in Tennessee, where where were those located? Uh we've got another senior project that's fully leased up and operating is in Ashland City. It's off of Brook Hollow Drive or 49 just as you're going into uh just when you leave the property on 49, you just go down the hill to to the intersection at at 12.

And what was the name of that one? Brook Hollow Senior Apartments. Okay. Thank you. Which we we do pick better names sometimes than just the street they're on, but sometimes the name that street name lends itself to the name of the project.

easier. Yeah. That's that's the closest one to here. We have a senior project that is 90% complete in Smyrna. And it's off Sam Ridley Parkway, Rock Springs Road. And then we have a family project that we recently completed in Dickson. Um similar size. It's it's 65 units as well. And on Highway 70 West. And and then a project we were affiliated with in a joint venture that's in Columbia that's that's been in operation for I guess about 4 years now. Okay. Thank you. Yes, sir. Councilman McLauchlin, you're recognized. Thank you. Thank you for your service, sir, and thank you for this opportunity. I just had a couple questions kind of in the weeds about your contractors. Okay. Uh is that all in-house, or do you support using local Clarksville grown and raised contractors? We we do not have contractors in-house. And we we do support it. We're our our work in Middle Tennessee, we've used Bayard Constructors out of Nashville. Um and and we've we're not married to them, but they've done a great job for us and been able to um help us keep the project financially feasible on the pricing. Um and and I have to correct one thing. I said we used them on all of them. The one in in Ashland City was Weber Group. Actually a different GC on that. But um we we rarely ever I don't know that we can get involved in who their subs are. They they typically would be the GC. There's there's some requirements with THDA on a tax credit deal that that your GC have tax credit experience and is familiar with some of their requirements, so there there are a few stipulations that

whoever's used would would have to satisfy those kind of requirements, but but you know, I don't I don't know if that answered your question or No, I mean that's okay. Okay. That's fair. Thank you for your time, sir. Yes, sir. Councilman Holloman, you're recognized. All right. So you'll have other properties that you manage that are for rent, correct? Correct. Okay. So the average term of lease, is that a yearly yearly lease?

Right. Tax credit leases are typically all for a year. We can do 6 months on a you know, if if the conditions merit it, but 6 months is the minimum. So the standard lease that we do is 12 months. So so how do how do you determine what's considered a fair rental rate? Those those rents This is a good question. So there's there's two ways. With the restricted rents through tax credit projects, HUD sets the the rent limits and the income limits every year. Really they're doing April, and and they're a little bit late this year and said they'd come out around May 1st. So by the end of the week. And those they come up with those numbers through the American Census Survey that's done every year. And and I I I probably will bore some of you with this, but it it's usually 3 years old. So they're they're taking data on the citizens in the community Approximately 3 years 3 years ago and saying this is the area median income. And then with the tax credit project, the the typical rent and income limits are set at 60%. So so they'll take this is 100% on the area median income. They they do some math on it and come up with this number that's 60% of the area median income, and that becomes the income limit for what somebody can make to qualify to live there. And the rent calculation is usually 30% of that. But those numbers come out.

But it's local area numbers, not nationwide, right? Or is it? Yes, it's local, and and that's actually one of the things that's made it tough in in Clarksville to make the projects financially feasible because the the way HUD sets that out is Clarksville's in an in an MSA where they tie Clarksville, Hopkinsville, and Cadiz together. So it's the average of all three. So um Cadiz, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville. So if you can imagine, if you if you were doing a project in Cadiz, which which we did several years ago, um the the income limits it actually helps Cadiz cuz you're you're you're driving the numbers up from Clarksville, but that at the same time pulls down the the average number in in Clarksville based on on the Cadiz income. Okay. All right. Well Well, thank you for that. That that clears up a lot. Based on your other other projects that you've got going, would you say like what what do what would you Do you know your occupancy rate? Yeah, we're about a across all 5,000 units, we're we're about 92%.

92%? That's pretty That's pretty good. Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you. Yes, sir. Councilman Loiseau, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. I just have a clarifying question. Um I understand that HUD is involved, but this will be managed by you all and will not fall under the Housing Authority here, correct?

Correct. And and I I didn't want to mislead you that HUD's in HUD's not involved in the project. The rent income limits that the IRS uses for tax credit projects, they they default to the income and rent limits that HUD issues rather than them being issued by a different body. So that they just take those as the the ones that they'll enforce across across the country. But yes, it'll be managed by us with compliance requirements enforced through Tennessee Housing Development Agency. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Any more questions for Mr. Tutor? Thank you, sir. Thank you. Anyone in the audience wish to speak in against Ordinance 70? Against Ordinance 70? If you would, give us your name, and you have 5 minutes. My name is Lois Grider, and I have serious concerns about this. One being the area. Um you've got the factories out there. This poses a lot of extra pollution. You've got businesses with coming and going. There are no resources for seniors such as stores, grocery stores, pharmacies. Uh a lot of the seniors a lot deal with respiratory issues. And this concerns me because those factories are going pretty much 24/7. You can't get away from this. And I don't see where this is beneficial to them. I get we need the housing. I get we need places for people to live. But what is the means to the end?

I mean, what are they giving up? You know, it's kind of like we're sticking them out there. You don't see them, you don't think about them. There's they're fragile. A lot are. There's not a lot of parking for a lot that get um in home care, physic physical therapy, um this type of thing where you have people coming and going. You know, it's not just the residents' vehicles. It's others that are needed we need to look at. Um you know, I wonder if maybe another area might really be more suitable closer to facilities, stores, the needs of people, and maybe look at something else more suitable for this area. I know you've talked about the uh uh municipal facility. Maybe that. Maybe investing in uh a future of the uh power grids like they're putting in with the AI facilities and make Clarksville energy independent. God forbid that grid goes down, we keep the lights on. And it also invest in our kids' futures. I know we need the housing, and I know everybody has good intentions. I just don't think this particular area is the most beneficial bang for the buck. I'll be honest with you. I really I mean, would you really want your parents or grandparents living out in that area? Cuz I sure wouldn't. And unfortunately, the frailest voices

are the ones that don't get heard. Please reconsider this. Look for a better area, better suited area. I'm not against what you're trying to do. It's just where you're trying to do it. It's just convenience that well, the city owns the property, so we'll do this. There's so much more. And seniors need activities. They need to be around other people. They need to be not just stuck in an apartment. They need to live as long as they're here. And that helps them thrive. I really hope you think and re- reconsider where you want to put this. It's not the point the putting it out there that I object to. But I really really question this particular area. Thank you. Questions for Ms. Grutter. Thank you. Is there anyone else in the audience who wishes to speak against ordinance 70? We have time for rebuttal. If you're in favor of ordinance 70 and wish to offer rebuttal, we have space for one person for 3 minutes. All right. I'm Mr. Mayor. You're Are you in favor? Mr. St. Louis, okay. And you wish to offer rebuttal.

[clears throat]

If you'll give us your name, and you have 3 minutes. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My name is Ross St. Louis. I am a neighborhood guy right around here. I've been coming to these meetings now here more regularly. And as a rebuttal to that, I want I want to say that I I I agree with her I I agree with a couple of couple of things she was talking about. But one thing that's not being mentioned in it is about the public transportation. We if we if we're going to do something like this, we need you know, the buses up the you know, bus stops right there. You know, we need uh more public transportation from to help to assist our senior citizens to be able to get to places like the grocery store and stuff like that. So, if we can guarantee that there's going to be a bus stop right there, I'm all for this. That's all I have to say. Thank you. Buses go right by there every day. All right. That completes our public hearing. Councilwoman Streetman. Thank you, Mayor. I move we go back into special session. Motion been made to revert to special session without objection. We're back in special session. You're recognized.

Thank you, Mayor. Ordinance 70 2025-26 first reading, an ordinance amending the zoning code and map of the City of Clarksville, application of City of Clarksville for a zone change on a parcel of land located at the northeast corner of Frosty Morn Drive and Red River Street from M2 general industrial district to PUD planned unit development residential district. I make a motion for approval. Motion been made and properly seconded in favor of ordinance 70. Any comment or question regarding ordinance 70? did forget to say that this was uh recommended for approval by the regional planning commission as well.

Okay. So noted. Thank you for that. Any comment or question regarding this ordinance? Seeing none, hearing none, are you ready to vote? All members, please cast your vote. Every member voted. Any member wish to change their vote? Madam Clerk, please take the vote. 11 yes, one no, zero abstain. Ordinance 70 passes first reading. Councilwoman Streetman. That concludes my report, Mayor.

All right, we're waiting on that. All right, we're now ready for public safety committee. Chairman Lovato, you are recognized. Thank you, Mayor. We have ordinance 64 2025-26 first reading, an ordinance amending part two code of ordinance title seven, fire protection, fireworks, and explosives, chapter two, fire code, to create a new section relative to fire sprinklers and amending the official code of the City of Clarksville, title four, building, utility, and housing codes, chapter eight, residential code, subsection 4801 international residential code, for the purpose of requiring fire sprinklers to be installed in certain residential dwellings. Um Mayor Pitts, if Chief Reed can come up for explanation.

If you'll make a motion for approval,

Motion for we'll get it on the floor. Motion been made and properly seconded, and now without objection, uh Assistant Chief Fire Marshal, Chief Mike Reed, will come up and give us a brief presentation and answer questions. You're recognized, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, Council. Thank you for your time. As I understand, this is not a typical um meeting time for you. Um just a couple of opening remarks before I get into a presentation. I've got a I've got a uh short presentation here for you. There's been a lot of uh there's been a lot of questions surrounding this, and I can I can appreciate that. I want to kind of address on the front end some things that we're not talking about today because I think there's a little bit of confusion. Um we're not talking about anything in a single or um two-family residential scenario, configuration, anything other than that in duplex in a stacked configuration. So, uh this is not a townhome. They will not be affected one way or the other by this ordinance. Uh they will not be required to be sprinkled. This is not a horizontal configuration of a single, duplex, tri, or quadplex configuration. None of that will be considered by this ordinance. This is only uh and simply a duplex configuration where we put one family on top of another, and it presents like a multi-family um home. Let me also say, too, that um uh cost has been a leading conversation, and although I appreciate that, it is not the bull's-eye of the target that I

live on. You don't want it to be for your fire code official. Um you don't want me determining before I come before this board at what point a cost breaks over that I would consider something too expensive uh to bring before you a life safety issue. I've raised my hand and sworn to this city, to this council, that as your fire official, that I would look out for the life safety features uh in our citizens' um living environment. I would bring before you those considerations. I would bring before you a trusted and a tried solution to those things, and that is what I intend to do uh today. So, with that, uh I have a presentation here that um I want to uh go through with you here. So, approximately um 75 to 80% of US civilian fire deaths occur uh in homes. The vast majority of these deaths occur in homes without automatic sprinklers. The primary cause of death is smoke inhalation due to rapid fire growth. Uh sprinklers activate in over 90% of large fires, large enough, or in any fires large enough to trigger them. When they activate, sprinklers control or extinguish fires in 97% of the cases. Fire death rates are reduced by up to 80 to 90% in sprinkler protected buildings. Property damage is reduced 55 by 55 to 70% when sprinklers are present. Most fires are controlled by a single sprinkler head.

Most fires are controlled by a single sprinkler head. Early control reduces fire spread, water damage, and business interruption. I've got a short video here. It's only about 3 minutes long. Please indulge your attention to it. I think it's going to paint a very appropriate picture. At about a minute and 30, what you're about to see is two side-by-side rooms. One is sprinkled and one is not. They are a typical bedroom configuration. One is sprinkled and one is not. At about a minute and 30 seconds, you will be able to see the timer on the display. I want you the sprinkler is going to activate and I want you to notice the difference. Um and then uh not called out in the video, but I want you to pay specific attention to the unsprinkled dwelling at which direction the fire is moving as it burns. As as it turns out, it's going to be a little longer than a 3-minute video. Thank you for your patience.

[laughter]

Here we go. Thank you. Very good. Thank you. Thank you. I thought it was a minute and 30, but it took about a minute there to reach the temperature. An average residential fire sprinkler activates at about 155°.

Please note the direction that the fire is traveling in the combustion, the product of combustion. Thank you for your patience during that. At at 2 minutes, the unprotected dwelling there reached a flashover temperature of 2000°. You live in a community where your fire department is rated with an ISO 2. There is only one rating better than that and that being one. Two is exceptional. One is virtually impossible to achieve, but we are working very hard. Even at an ISO rated 2 at 2 minutes without some kind of notification, which a sprinkler activation would provide to the fire department at 2 minutes, that fire in the middle of the night or in an occupied unoccupied dwelling during the middle of the day would have to be realized before we would be called. We would be several minutes at on our best day, if we were across the street, we couldn't get set up tactically in two

or three more minutes and I think that the video stands for itself and if you noticed in the unburned uh cell, I I ask you to pay attention to the direction that the fire traveled and I'll I'll highlight momentarily why that's important. Call your attention to this pod. It'll be sprinkled. [laughter]

We won't have to worry about any of what we just watched happening here. It'll be a very safe facility. We're on top of that, I promise you. So, what you're seeing here on the screen is a traditional duplex, what the code would call a duplex design. And this is picture is taken in North Clarksville. This exists in our city. And so, in this design side-by-side, if there's a fire in either unit, there is an expectation that the family inside of that unit would recognize the fire with their smoke detector or their living environment and they literally have one mean of means of egress that they have to achieve to get out to the public way, that being the front door. And so, what has been proposed in Clarksville as a stacked duplex configuration is what I'm going to show you next and a two-family dwelling and compare it to this. Um Mr. Freeman, I believe that this is adjacent to your home. Um this is the uh Watson Point uh complex and there are eight residential units in this building. This and one like it that were built out on East Fort Drive in North Clarksville were both presented to our department as a stacked duplex. And the consideration that's being given to that is the floor and ceiling assembly build quality and the vertical wall build quality. Um and there is value in that with exception to um the idea uh here is the other stacked duplex um for your consideration. Um I think it stands for itself. Um

In that configuration, if we remove sprinklers, the fire department views that tactically and by every other means as a eight-unit apartment complex. So, this these are pictures from that Watson Point that that are taken here. Notice the wood frame construction of the stairs. I want you to put you and your family in the top unit that's shown on the right there and your neighbor underneath you has a fire and goes out their front door in the middle of the night. You don't have a sprinkler system and so you thusly don't have any kind of occupant notification devices. Nothing's going to tell you that you're on fire until you're on fire in your unit or awakened by the smoke and the heat. Um in the meantime, the stairs are burning away, and so potentially by the time you realize that there's a fire in the unit underneath you with no notification. By the time you open your door, you are left with a burned-out means of egress, and your family potentially um has no way of escape. In this environment, there would be a sprinkler head, a sidewall sprinkler head on the exterior of both of those doors that would mitigate this emergency. Coming outside of that apartment, the the likelihood of it coming out is very little because the sprinklers on the interior of that apartment would have uh prevented this fire from uh escaping in the first place. So, notice the the fire here. This is that same building. Obviously, we didn't afford the uh opportunity to go out and set these buildings on fire. I'm thankful to my AI friend for uh this help. You didn't want me to do it the other way. It kind of kills my presentation if I go down and go out and burn it down, but um combustible building material on the exterior of this building. Here's how fire works. I can say this because I've I've fought I

think I can safely say I have personally fought over 100 fires in my career, 22 years in the fire department. I haven't always sat in a code seat. I rode the big red truck for a lot of years, and and I was tasked with going into these environments and and making them safer. So, the rated wall and floor wall assembly, floor ceiling assembly, if there's a fire in this room, it's not going to burn a hole in this ceiling and floor before it goes upstairs. What it's going to do is it is going to at about the 800° mark, it's going to break through that pane glass window that's on the exterior wall of that building because that glass will not be rated, and it's not required to be rated. And when that ventilation path is opened up to the interior of that building, that fire is going to drink that new oxygen introduction like it's thirsting to death. I ask you to pay attention in my video about the direction that the fire went. In those side-by-side cells, the fire didn't burn through the sidewall. It didn't burn through the rated wall into the unit next door. The fire went up, and the fire went out. And so, in an unsprinkled environment, that fire would eventually breach that window. It goes up and into the eve, or it goes up and into the window of the top unit. That is family B living above family A that doesn't have the idea that their building is on fire potentially until their unit is on fire and their um ability to escape has been reduced. Clarksville is not insensitive to the cost. There is a cost to life safety. As I explained to you in the beginning, I don't afford the luxury of making the decisions that I bring before this board exclusively based um in in cost.

But I think that the the the cost of life here is um it it doesn't need any further um explanation. I'm I'm happy to do my best to answer your questions. Questions for Chief Reed. Councilman Brown, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. So, my question in this uh in the fire sprinklers requirements section B, letter three, it says stack duplexes, installation of NFPA 13R or NFPA 13. Where would the difference from that for the residential to commercial grade uh vary there? That's a good question. There is um there is no requirement for an NFPA 13 in a residential structure. All residential structures would qualify for NFPA 13R. Yes, sir. 13 there is uh considered because um there has been a uh build design that has been proposed to you um with an exorbitant cost. I'm happy to talk about that if you would like to. Um but there are components of that design build that are commercial. Uh and so, in that commercial environment, even though it houses a residential um unit in that commercial build, the higher standard is required by code to be carried throughout. And so, 13 in the two commercial pieces of that building were required. 13R was required in the residential unit. And so, both are considered because we can't rule out the configuration that may consist of commercial and residential combined. So, the the R is a lower volume

[clears throat] of pipes, you know, pressure

the R, so specifically um 13R eliminates the need or the requirement to uh sprinkle bathrooms when they're below 55 sq ft. 13R eliminates the requirement to sprinkle closets. 13R is uh allows for CPVC uh pipe uh for the sprinkling of the interior space, which reduces the cost exponentially over the the ductile iron pipe. Whereas uh NFPA 13 uh would require sprinklers throughout, ductile iron throughout. And so, there's not a giant um distinction in terms of the coverage, but in the cost of some of the materials and then some of the spaces that would be required to be sprinkled. All right. Thank you. Yes, sir. Good question. Thank you. Councilman Chandler, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. Uh there had been in course in the media and some emails that we received uh about a price tag put on uh a project in town for $97,000. Yes, sir. And could And I think you're familiar with that building. Could you explain to us what the difference between the uh stacking duplex like you're wanting to enact versus what happened in that situation? Yes, sir. Great question. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about that. So, I showed you a picture here of a a stacked duplex. That would be by a um a misinterpretation, in my opinion, of the code how an eight-unit building. But let's assume that we're not talking about that. Let's assume that we're talking about residential over residential in a single stacked configuration. The uh building that has been brought for your consideration is a

mixed-use commercial building that has residential in it. Why does that matter? Because there is a duplex configuration within that commercial building, and duplex being in the name really is the only thing that makes it alike. So, uh that building uh some of its design features called into requirement by the code, some of its sprinkle fixed features that uh would not change relative to this ordinance. Let me give you some examples. The fire code says that once a building achieves 30 ft above the lowest level of fire department access, then a standpipe system is required. A standpipe system not I don't want to I have to remember that I'm not talking to all firemen, and so bear with me. I don't want to oversimplify, but I don't want to not qualify what I'm talking about, either. Standpipe is a very large ductile iron pipe that is required to run the full height of the building with hose connection and um water flow notification and tamper notification at each floor. In the building that we're talking about, it is four floors. And so, the addition of that standpipe would not have been required in a traditional stacked duplex. That is a very large element. Additionally, in that building, on the first floor because it is commercial, it is currently an office furniture warehouse store, commercial. Um that part uh to Mr. Brown's question was required to be an NFPA 13, which required uh ductile iron piping, as did the fourth floor, which is also not uh residential. There is a There was a commercial backflow preventer um that was required at that location.

Uh the backflow preventer would prevent any water in the sprinkler system from releasing back into the potable water and thusly getting into your domestic uh situation. In a traditional residential sprinkler application, that would be a singular device within the riser stack, and it's a very low-cost um appliance versus the what's being referred to as the hot box out in the yard. Um that was um it was very expensive. There's a riser room on the back of that building that is encapsulated in a 2-hour rated riser room assembly. The fire code says that when that is the case, then an indicating valve is not required out in the yard, indicating being whether it's turned on or whether it's turned off the sprinkler system at large. The fire code only requires one valve. It says that when there is a 2-hour rated riser room exterior accessible from the exterior, a post indicator valve is not required out in the yard. There is a post indicator valve at this project that was not required and came at extreme cost. Um there is a hydrant. I have the I have the same invoice that you're referring to. There is a hydrant that was uh placed on that property in front of um this building. The fire code says that when a standpipe is required, it's the only place that the fire code says within the fire department connection of that standpipe, a hydrant is required within 100 ft. A residential stacked duplex configuration would not have required a standpipe, thusly not requiring this $15,500 additional hydrant that was put in by the choice of the builder, not by the

fire code or the requirement not by the fire code as it relates to a duplex, but by the choice of the um builder. There are I have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 items in that invoice that have absolutely nothing to do with a traditional stacked duplex configuration that were costs associated with the building that you've been given an invoice to, thusly reducing the cost by tens of thousands of dollars. Um it's not apples for apples by a great extreme. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir. Councilman Klotz, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Sir, what is your What is your title? I am the assistant chief of the fire prevention division. I serve as your city's fire code official, affectionately known as the fire marshal. And you are not a general contractor. I am not a general contractor.

in fire stuff. I am the fire code official with uh tasked with the responsibility of the interpretation of fire code and the authority of it. Last question, you said this a couple times. I want to make sure that I got this right. If I have if sprinklers in my residence in this configuration and a fire starts in the kitchen, that is the only sprinkler when it reaches 150° that is going to pop or sprinkle.

I love that question because Hollywood has sold us a bill of goods. It makes great TV when the sprinkler goes off and the whole building goes off because, you know, the pretty lady and the and the big muscular guy, I'm not him, is running through the whole building on fire and sprinklers everywhere, but the way a sprinkler system works is um This room is not sprinkled, but one head is activated by a temperature achieved at the ceiling and then it would dispense and overwhelmingly that head controls the fire when it is when it is achieved. Should it not and the temperature rise to the level of the next head in the configuration, they are only activated as they are called on by the system design. It's a great question. Thank you for asking because it's not sold well in Hollywood. Right, absolutely not. Hey, so again, I'm I'm a simple man. So, the commercial aspect and needing iron pipe is what caused if that was all residential housing, it would have those tens of thousands of dollars would have been saved. 100%. I can I can produce the code on all of that. No, no, I just for me. I just want to make

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir, you're welcome. Any other questions for Chief Reed? Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Back to you, Chairman Lovato. That concludes my report.

Okay. All right, questions about ordinance 64. Councilman Chandler, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to do that in the right order when I had a question for him and not my comments. Uh I look at it this way. My I have a hard time putting a cost of a sprinkler system versus the cost of what a life is worth. Uh I know that our fire department is probably one of the best and professional the fire departments in the country. And uh you know, I've lived in this town long enough to remember back when and don't get me wrong, if you're in here as a contractor or builder, I'm not running you down. But I've been living in this town long enough to remember when contractors and builders and developers come unglued when the city talked about, well, you're going to have to start putting sidewalks in. You're going to have to start putting curbs in. You're going to have to put gutters in. Uh It's going to cause we you know, we can't continue to build like this. Well, guess what? We lived through that. Uh And really and truly those things were just aesthetics. They had nothing to do with safety. Our firefighters are professional. I'm not going to sit up here and pretend to be able to tell Chief Reed or Chief Moore or the main chief, Montgomery, how to do their job. Just like I'm not going to tell a developer

what windows to put in, what nails to use, what wood to use. And people we have the opportunity Oh, one other thing I almost forgot. You know, we need you need check in and see what insurance rates drop. Uh because I'm sure insurance companies will take into major consideration that they got a sprinkler system in their home. Or in the building. If you're renting the building, you know, your insurance could possibly drop. I just think this is something that we have got to do to protect our citizens out here. And that's it. That's all I got to say. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilman Klotz, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. Let's start my timer. Couple things. Uh I got the same paperwork. I went to a couple builders myself and got an actual breakout. It adds an additional $6.44 per square. So, if we rounded that up to $7 a square, I'm going to do a little math. Uh a house at 200 $1,000 at 1,500 sq ft is you divide that. It's $103 $33 a square. At $140 a square at 1,500 sq ft because I added the additional $7, right? We were at 133 a square, now we're at 140 a square. It adds $10,000 to the price of that residence. $10,000 for a life. It's not a question in my opinion. Second thing I would like to add. The other point of this dissension was uh affordable housing. Affordable housing. Well, if you look at the mean cost of a house in Clarksville, Tennessee, it ain't affordable. So, really if we want to we want to throw shade, we need to go all the way back.

There's a builder that has an option that we've approved for a an affordable housing option and I will be more than happy to break that out to anybody that would like to see it after the fact. Lastly, if we're thinking about building different, we can't pick and choose which side of it. We know we need to go up as opposed to out. So, we we've got to take all of that stuff into consideration to my fellow council members as well. It's It is not all peaches and roses, but thinking different causes a different reaction to the way that we've got to think. That's all I have, sir. 2 minutes. Councilman Zacharias, proud of you. Thank you, Mayor. Um well, so like this is one of those situations where I agree with just about every individual point that that people have made. Um I think I said it during the the public safety meeting where we we first saw this video. I I don't want to put a price on a on a human life. Um I appreciate you bringing this uh to our attention because I'll be honest, I had not considered the possibility that somebody's egress route would be uh burned away in in a situation like this. Um At the same time, we do have a housing issue and we do have an affordable housing issue in Clarksville. And while it would be wonderful to be able to protect everybody's property and and structures, to me, the priority is life. And I'm wondering if there aren't other ways to protect that life, maybe through a like a linked alarm system or something like that. If we can get the residents in those upper floors notified and give them an opportunity to

egress uh be before those those routes are uh are compromised. If I thought that this was the only way to prevent that loss of life, this is an easy yes. But in the face of the different information we've been getting from the people that work in the industry, um the the invoices that people were referring to today, we just got today. Um and then we hear a response right before we need to vote on this. Um If since we're voting today, I have to be a no today. Um But like I said, if if I believe that this was the only way that we could prevent or mitigate the risk of a loss of life in a situation like this, then it's an easy vote, but I'm not convinced yet. Thank you. Councilman Marquis, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. All right, so I come from an area where that this is all you see is stacked duplexes. I grew up with a lot of friends who grew up in stacked duplexes. So, I'm very familiar with what they are and I believe that in Clarksville, as I mentioned at the Public Safety Committee, I believe we have a problem with our definition of what it is because those pictures that were shown, while that is what the developers claim are stacked duplexes, duplexes, they are not. And we need to make it very clear that that is not what that is and deny any um acceptance of those types of buildings as stacked duplexes. So, we have an education problem on that hand. And on the other side, as far as um the where we are in our building code and our um safety

with our fire suppression, I do believe that there is another way. I believe that there is a way that we can have both safety and affordability in our homes. And um making sure that we don't have a loss of life. Again, this isn't an issue anywhere else in the country primarily. Uh and they have been a law around for a very, very long time. In fact, back in um 2024, the law the Tennessee state law changed with Tennessee Code Annotated. And I will read to you what came down um in agreement with our state fire marshal, which states that um The uh section 12 shall allow a local government to amend the adopted building code for three-family dwellings and four-family dwellings in accordance to the section. In amending the rules pursuant to the subdivision A11, the state fire marshal shall not mandate automatic fire sprinkler systems for three-family dwellings and four-family dwellings where structures are under 5,000 square feet in area and less than 3,000 or sorry, excuse me, less than three stories in height and two-hour fire rating uh for wall, floor, and ceiling separating assemblies is met. Notwithstanding the subdivision A11, local governments may adopt mandatory sprinkler requirements and may be permitted to use the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 13D standard for three-family dwellings and four-family dwellings by local ordinance pursuant to the process described in the subdivision. So, at the state level, structures up to three stories, as long as it's no more than four units, um are allowed to not have sprinklers. But here we are arguing about a unit that is less than that. So, if it's acceptable at a up to

uh three stories, it should not be an issue at two because there are other pathways. And and the International Building Code also uh recognizes this. Um which we are kind of behind there cuz we're on 2018, but 2014 is also updated on that. So, because I believe that there is another pathway to again safety and affordability, as I vote at the um Public Safety, I will be voting no. Thank you. Councilman Lavado, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to address something from the previous speaker from Ward 1. When you talk about alarm systems and um finding different ways, I want to go back to the video where at 40 seconds in that video, the alarm system died. Um as someone with children, I can promise you getting them in out of their bedroom and out of the house is going to take more than 40 seconds. And as Chief Reed pointed out, it takes in minutes for the fire department to get there. So, I'm having a hard time visualizing what can be safer than sprinkler systems in these stacked duplexes. I also want to remind our council members that this change in policy literally mirrors a requirement for apartment buildings. It is not something that is going above and beyond what is already required for similar buildings. And as far as the International Building Code, that's a great. Our fire department does not go by that. They go by their own code. That's all I have. Thank you. Councilman Streetman, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. Um I know it the example that was used was referenced as as even some outside of sitting up here at the council thinking of it as uh eight-unit building, but actually that was presented as stacked duplexes. And if you were to ask Building and Codes, by the way it was submitted, they are stacked duplexes. So, thankfully

with Building and Codes and CFR, they were able to get sprinklers in that. But take that part out of it and look at it as it's still one building over another. You still see the exact same impact. So, whether it was eight units or if it's just only the two units, you see exactly in that video and to me that speaks louder than anything else. Um you can see exactly what can happen with that fire moving up into that upper area. And not just the fire, but we also heard that, you know, smoke inhalation is a huge thing um or one of the big killers when it comes to a fire. I imagine that smoke can move up there quite quickly even through uh the the firewalls. Would I be correct in that assessment?

Yeah, they are definitely in the fire. I'm so sorry. I apologize. I shouldn't have asked I should have asked that question earlier. Okay. Chief Reed, if you don't mind, come on back up and let's get this on the record. sir. Okay. It's all right. Thank you, Mayor. Uh If you will, ask the question again now that he's on the mic.

Uh and in regards to not just the fire moving out through the windows, burning the egress, ingress type of thing, what about the smoke moving through the uh firewalls that have to go in there? Great question and thank you for asking. Traditionally, smoke is what kills people in fires. Not very many people die from flame impingement from a fire. And we had a fire death in the city of Clarksville last week relative to carbon monoxide poison poisoning relative to the smoke. And the situation without divulging too much was we had a kitchen fire and we had a senior in a adjacent bedroom asleep and she was overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning not even in the room with the fire, but um she was overcome by the smoke in what was effectively a very small room in contents fire. Yes, ma'am. The the smoke is immediately uh lethal. Okay. Thank you. Thank you and I I apologize. But for me, I I say I I go back to we're talking about a price of a life. Not an alarm system that goes out quickly, nothing else. It's the price of a life here. We're not talking about a huge amount. These are not townhomes. I've looked at the code. I mean, it was stated this isn't townhomes. Townhomes are not considered um multi-family. Those are what I read in there, you know, single-family structure. Those are side by side. You have your own way to be able to get out other than having to go down where fire moves up, which we all know anyway that heat rises. Um everything about this to me, I I've talked to the fire department. I have talked to Building and Codes. I have watched this video. I've talked to others as well. I can't vote any other way but yes and looking out for the residents that are going to be living especially in that top floor. Councilman Claunch, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. Uh This was brought up as well and I think

this is this is a poignant like the the last 3 seconds of the game, we can't decide that this is the time to present this information to us, right? If you disagree with something that has been talked about, we need that information as soon as you have it or as soon as you're willing to provide it because I I'll I'll just speak for myself. I'm going to do the research, right? And if there's a point of dissension, I will bring it up. I I will be that loud voice because we all work for the citizens of Clarksville, Tennessee. But you have to give us the information before the last 3 seconds of the football game. As soon as this was brought up to me and I wasn't even the first one, I had a meeting with fire department. I had a meeting with Building and Codes. I reached out to several builders, requested information from some other builders, and I just got that information last night. That's all I have, sir. Councilman Shikim, you're recognized.

Yes, thank you, Mayor. Um many of us, especially those of us who serve on the Public Safety Committee, um we have watched the video. We've had um ample amount of time to talk to the fire chiefs um regarding the video. Um but I have a question uh based on um the council member from Ward 5 when she mentioned the TCA and the updated fire codes from 2024. I would like um Chief Reed to address that. At least him have the opportunity to address that, Mayor. Okay, without objection, Chief Reed. Thank you, Councilman. I am aware of that state law. And so, the configuration that is mentioned, the three-story and the three- and four-family, those have been all along a part of the included IFC 2018 required to be sprinkled configurations. There is the law that was referred to by the councilwoman is a little feels like a little bit of back speak because what is happening is that configuration has always been required to be sprinkled. And then the state fire marshal's office said, "We will no longer require it, but each jurisdiction, as how it reads, is able to, if they choose, by ordinance, write back into their code requiring that to be sprinkled." And so, the position of Clarksville Fire Rescue is that has always been a sprinkled configuration. We have always treated it as as such. And so, with exception to their exception, we want to retain that as part of our adopted and written code. And so, in this ordinance is that configuration saying, "We don't want anything to change." It's in the fire code as requiring this to be be sprinkled. And our choice relative to the safety of our community is that we

would maintain it that way. It was given to us as an option, and we choose to maintain the IFC pre-adopted, already approved requirement to sprinkle that configuration. Yeah, thank you, sir. Um, thank you, Mayor. That's all I I just wanted to him to have a chance to address that for clarity. Okay, thank you. Councilman Peters, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just want to say I don't know I don't know why we even debate something that could save somebody's life. I mean, we're talking about something that could extinguish a fire so a small child could would have an opportunity to get out. An elderly person would have an opportunity to get out. And I don't understand what the debate is about. I think this would be a simple yes. I don't get it. But, uh, even speaking, I I don't know why we don't require it on single-family homes, to be honest with you. If you go to Pleasant View and you go to some of their newer homes, it's required in newer homes, single-family homes. Clarksville of the size we are, we don't require that. I I don't know. I think this needs to go further than just stack units. That's all I got to say. Councilman Brown, you're recognized. Thank you, Mayor. This maybe a question for you, Mr. Mayor, but in the it says it will shall take effect immediately upon passage. So, if when this passes on the second reading and all, it takes effect, it will not be required on current facilities that are already being built? Will it start when new building permits are issued? Or will it backdate? It's way over my pay grade. I'm going to defer to the fire marshal. Um, and that's a good question. Just for clarity, if you don't mind, Chief Reed. Yes, sir. Councilman Brown, would you ask that question again? So, when this passes, we are there are currently some being built possibly. Are permits already issued for certain locations? These This takes effect, will it be on newly issued permits? Or will it be on

some that may have already been issued that hadn't been built yet? Thank you for the question, and we've considered that and had discussion internally within the department. And so, the fire department is of the opinion that property bought and site reviews that have gone through the regional planning commission, they've already been zoned in accordance with a build uh, construction type. They've already been approved. They then then they are they are approved. That happened before this, but um, immediately upon codification, any piece of property that had not been zone designed yet because the builder would have the opportunity to choose a tall and skinny or a town home or any other number of configurations because they still would have that choice and thusly the choice not to build a stacked duplex, um, it would go into effect for anything that had not yet been approved through the RPC. Okay, thank you. Yes, sir, thank you. Thank you, Chief Reed. Thank you, Mayor. You're welcome. Any more comment or question regarding ordinance 64? Seeing none, hearing none, are you ready to vote? All members, please cast your vote. Every member voted. Any member wish to change their vote? Madam Clerk, please take the vote. Nine yes, three no, zero abstain. Ordinance 64 passes first reading. Thank you. Next item on our agenda is public comment. We allow three people five minutes each. If you wish to address the council, Mr. St. Louis, you would please come forward. You'll have five minutes. Give us your name. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My name again is Ross St. Louis. Um, this is more uh, more to address what we just what you guys just voted on. And I realize that you know, you you've already thought

about it, but I want to give you some more points on it. Have any of you ever slept through your alarm? Have you missed an alarm? I've overslept myself plenty of times. I've missed my alarm plenty of times. I spent 17 years as a firefighter, all on the volunteer side. So, I didn't have the advantage of being at the station all the time, being ready to go. I see a fire that really good about that. I saw fire just the other night uh, where CFR was right on it. Station six, they were there within minutes. But as you can tell from that video, it takes two minutes for that fire to get so hot that it'll start burning through windows. It'll burn through everything that it can get through. And if you if if if adding one sprinkler to that room stops that fire immediately, can you not say that you wouldn't vote for that? I mean, last week, unfortunately, we had an elderly lady that was lost in a fire. But I can tell you right now, if there had been a sprinkler in that house, it would have saved her life. You cannot put a price on anyone's life at all. How many of you have children? Could you say that wherever you live at would wouldn't you want the most effective means to be able to stop some kind of fire from happening in your house to protect your children, to protect yourself, your spouses, your significant others, your family members? Sprinklers should be required in every single place. I don't even understand why there's no sprinklers in here.

It is. I I agree. But, yes, a cost and Councilman Clinch touched on it. $7 per square foot to add to to to make sure the piping is there for that for the fire sprinkler. I can tell you right now, I pay it in an awful quick heartbeat. I've seen what fire does. I've seen what it can do to people. It hurts. And it's not just the fire itself. Chief Reed touched on this. It's the smoke inhalation. Smoke inhalation is what gets you first more than anything else in a fire. It's what gets you first. If a sprinkler can prevent that, is it not worth it? Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else wish to address the council? The purpose for which this special session of the Clarksville You got it? Yep. All right, give us your name and you have five minutes. Uh, Jonathan Blake, 1540 Seal Road, if you don't mind me now. But, um, of course, I've submitted my cost breakdown to you guys uh, for my uh, duplex that was built over there on Liberty Parkway. And I guess that the height restriction is what uh, sent that into the sand piper. Uh, reasoning behind that. But, um, up until recently, there was no commercial business on that floor. Um, maybe a month ago or so, we were operating as a duplex in Airbnb environment. And uh, that was an entertainment space. So, um, you know, if I would have used it as a third unit, we still would have to put the same amount of um, it would be classified as a triplex, a stack triplex. We would definitely have

to use the um, same piping and everything for that cost. And because it was such a oddly shaped lot, um, this was [clears throat] our our building space. So, um, the C2 allows for a triplex to be built on that property. Um, we would have to had that same expense. Um, and with, you know, what we've been told is that smoke detectors save lives. I know this video's from 2013 on a battery-operated smoke detector, not a hardwired throughout the whole house. So, major differences there. I would say that, you know, we did all that was required by the fire chief at the time. We've got our our transactions back and forth through email. So, you know, we wouldn't have done any more expense than we had to do. Um So, I would just say that I'm here for any questions that you may have. You know, we're not we're not against sprinklers. We're wanting an affordable option for these stacked units. Um and I'm just here to have any questions that you want to ask. This is not Q&A, Mr. Blick. This is comment. Thank you.

keep talking, I guess. All right, you got 2 minutes and 52 seconds. But, as you can see that um affordability is a is a strong issue in this town. It's it's hard on our developers. It's hard on us as builders and investors. Um as you can see that growth is going outwards because it's becoming more and more challenging to come up here and get also zoning request, site approval, cost efficiency. We're seeing a lot of of these developers branch out into Stewart County. Um We were building in Stewart County for the past 10 years. Usually, we're there we're pulling like permit number three, permit number four. And um uh developments planned in the area, there's about 200 projects, 200 lots to be developed in the area. And some of those are those major developers that we're losing because of these um larger developer, national developers coming in. So, I just want you guys to keep that in in your head as well as the more challenging that things come, the more we're just going to up and leave and and and go somewhere else. And have these national builders that don't care about us at all, you know? They don't care about the community because they're not a part of it. Um and then um so just kind of keep that in you guys' head. So, I appreciate your time. Thank you. Anyone else? You're number three, Mr. Adkins. You give us your name, you have 5 minutes. Okay, I'm Steve Griffey. Griffey, excuse me. Steve Griffey. I'm a president Home Builders Association. I'm disappointed in the process. I've been a member I've been a member

Home Builders for 30 plus years. I've also been part of this city of Clarksville since birth. I'm 66 years old. We've tried to get the fire department to talk to us about this issue. We found out about it from the paper Monday. We invited him to a meeting we had on Wednesday. No questions, no wouldn't attend our meeting, wouldn't answer any questions. We submitted a set of questions and the only answers we got back were at 1:00 today and were sent back from a council member back to us from the fire department. I think the fire department needs to work with us. For the same reason he said, it's a burden on the community when we start adding things and we don't understand what we're adding. We don't understand what buildings are covered or have to be. He had a fine presentation, but we didn't have a chance to even consider what the what we need to present to you. We're just now finding out about this issue. And I think we're owed that. We've got costs involved, developments involved. And these are people's livelihood. It's not just the You're talking about builders and developers whose families live in this community.

[clears throat]

And each year they get pinched down. It's something else added to them. It's the cost of land. It's the cost of a lot of things that they have to consider. And then all of a sudden you throw one more thing on top of them. And it just adds up. And that's what Mr. Blick was talking about. Now, on my side, I'm supposed to represent these guys, but I don't have enough information to come up here and give you a good argument. I'm ignorant about this. Cuz it's only been since Monday that we've known about it. We don't have a good understanding of what we're supposed to discuss or present to you or anything. And and the fire department, they're supposed to work with us. Just like the building department's supposed to work with us. Nobody works with you. We need some help. We need I can't present anything to you if I don't know what I'm presenting or arguing against. And that's the situation we're in. The city's got to communicate with us better. I I don't know what else I can say to you other than I'm just disappointed in the process. You have a special meeting to pass something that's a that's going to affect the whole community, but you don't give anybody a chance to know all the information and be able to present a good argument. That's all I have. Thank you. Purpose for which this special session of the Clarksville City Council having been accomplished, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Without objection, we're adjourned. See you tomorrow.