City Council - Regular Meeting

I got it on.

All right. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to call this City Council Committee meeting July 28, 2026 to order. And at this time, we'll have the roll call, please.

Vice Mayor Hayes.

Present.

Councilman Alexander is absent. Councilman Carter.

Present.

Councilman Fan.

Here.

Councilman Fennell.

Present.

Councilman Jones. Here. Councilman Juvenz. We have a quorum.

Thank you, Ms. Ketchel. At this time, we'll have the approval of the minutes of the council committee meeting, July 14, 2026. I have a motion by Councilman Jones. Is there a second?

Second.

Second by Councilman Fennell. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries. All right, this time in our meeting, we'll have public recognition. You can talk about anything y'all want to. Please come up and give your name and address for the record. You have five minutes to speak.

My name is Dorothy Joyner. I live at 156 Alpha Drive, Gallatin. I've been coming to this council meeting for a long time, but I just want to make a statement on last week's council meeting, which I think it was a sin and a shame is the way it ended up. Nobody wants to hear about your personal, what's on Facebook, what's not on Facebook. I come up here to hear the business of the city. I want to know what's going on in the city. I want to know how stuff is being passed and what is the growth of what is—this is what I come for. I don't come for all of this. So I hope you are proud of yourself, because y'all put on a performance last week. And I don't think that's a good service for the citizen of Gallatin when we come up here looking for some information on what's going on. And I don't appreciate that. We get up and pray, say the Pledge of Allegiance, say we Christians, we love one another. If your idea do not float, don't get all bent out of shape, because this go along with being on the council meeting. You're not going to get your way all the time. You're not going to get stuff that's going to go your way. And we don't want to hear all of this riffraff. This is me. I don't want to hear it. I don't come up here for that. So I hope when you left last week that you thought you had your head up in the sky. You ought to stop and think. You act like children on a playground. And I didn't appreciate it. So this is all I have to say because I may say a little too much, but I just want to express myself and let you know that I didn't come for what I got last week. I couldn't believe my eyes and I couldn't believe what my ears heard. And I say, and we get up and do all of this stuff in a city meeting. where everybody's here trying to find out what's going on, and we stay up here and hear that. I just want to let you know, I don't appreciate it. I don't think anybody voted for anybody to come in and do a performance like that. Y'all took the cake. I've been coming a long time, and I ain't never seen nothing like that. And I hope I don't see it again. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi there, my name is Mary Janong. I live at 1100 Lockport Road. I'm here in support of the resolution number R2607-65, which is regarding the data centers. I do believe that we need a moratorium currently as there are lots of unknowns about data centers and many, many citizens are concerned about data center. I know many of us use AI data And we do have a need for AI and for storage because essentially a data center is a storage facility for computers. But I would like to say that also data centers should be reliant on their own power and water. And tax breaks should not be... you know, the burden of the city. So I would, I do agree that we need a pause until this is reviewed by the planning commission and through other entities. And if you would consider that, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. I'm asking all of you to vote in support of the 60-day stopgap resolution. It's a temporary measure that allows the Planning Commission to complete its work before the Council makes a larger-term decision. Many residents have taken the time to attend these meetings, myself included. We've submitted comments. We've shared our concerns. Whether you agree with them or not, they deserve to know that our voices are heard by all of you. It's also hope tonight's vote is based on merits of the resolution, not on personalities or political dynamics. This decision should be about what's best for our community. Your vote tonight will demonstrate whether you're willing to give this issue the thoughtful consideration it deserves, the people of Gallatin are paying attention and they will remember who chose to support a careful, transparent process and who chose not to. I urge you to vote in favor of this temporary pause.

Good evening, I'm Barb Spidell. I'm at 312 Gulfstream Drive, and I'm here to ask for you to vote in support of resolution R2607-65 regarding the stopgap while waiting for the Planning Commission to decide on the moratorium for the data centers. I've been following this quite a bit, and there's some experts that testify in front of legislative committees and city councils and county boards, and they suggested just four basic things that should be considered before a data center is approved, citing they should never be near houses, schools, farms, They should be put in brownfields, abandoned industrial areas. Alternative cooling is a second thing that should be required rather than using fresh water. There are methods for alternative cooling. and noise ordinance should be updated because the tonal noise that data centers produce is not part of your typical noise ordinance and there's some serious health issues caused by the tonal noise. And then also, the data centers should have to put up front an escrow for when it gets decommissioned because of the destruction that it would cause in the environment when they decommission the data center. I hope that you will vote to allow the stop gap.

Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak? If not, public recognition is closed. We'll move on to Mayor's comments.

And I will be swift. Just a few things for you to be aware of. I think you continue to hear about blood shortages this summer in the news, a lot of illnesses, a lot of travel, some challenges for the blood supply. So there is a blood drive at the police department tomorrow from 10 until 2. We would encourage you to go and give. Also tomorrow, the Shalom Zone is having a hygiene pantry from 10 until 2. There's also a ribbon cutting, which I don't typically mention ribbon cuttings for people. Businesses, but this is summer Academy which has been in our community for over 50 years And they are a school in our community, and they have new learning space that they are celebrating tomorrow at 1 p.m. On the third is David Kellogg's birthday Also on the third all-state athletics is having their 20th annual golf classic at bluegrass and country club if you're interested in playing on the fourth there's another hygiene pantry at unlimited potential from ten until two and Also, that evening is the National Night Out. This time, this year, we'll be at the First Horizon Bank parking lot from 5 until 7 p.m., and our Gallatin Police Department works with that. There's a Lighthouse on the Lake Jazz Jam, Back to School Jam from 6.30 to 8.30. I'm so sorry. It's on my list, but no location. But I'll update next week. And Coffee and Connect with Megan Griffith, who is the director of the Center Prevention Coalition. That's going to be happening at Honey Rock Books. I thought that might be something of interest to be talking about prevention in our community. And that is... Happening, lost my place, at 7.45 a.m. on the 5th of August. And then finally, well, not finally, but a Shalom Zone, another hygiene pantry. This one is Shalom Zone again from 10 until 2 on the 5th. On the 8th is the airport breakfast. That's from 8 to 10 a.m. Market day at the Gallatin Farmer's Market. Remember, that continues each Saturday throughout the summer. There is a DARE talent show coming up at Gallatin High School, and that is happening on the 8th, and they are looking for participants at this time. I'm going to probably say this wrong, but I think it's PokeFest. Is that how you say it, David Brown? PokeFest, I guess like Pokemon. There's a PokeFest trading card show at the Civic Center. It's a two-day event, so it must be a big deal. It's on the 8th and 9th, and then on the 10th, another blood drive happening at the Civic Center. Chamber of Commerce lunched in the topic that day, is Major League Momentum. That's from 1130 to 1. And then finally, I'll mention on the 13th of August is the Gallatin Pep Rally for all of our Gallatin schools. Big, big, big event over the last couple of years, and I suspect it will grow this year. So I encourage you to enjoy what's left of summer, folks. That's all.

Thank you, Mayor. This time we'll move on to the agenda. And item number one is ordinance number 02607-58, Chief Beaman. Ordinance appropriating $13,064 for repairs to the 2022 Pierce Aerial Platform Apparatus. Motion to send to council. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Item number two, resolution R2607-56, resolution approving a waiver of city fees related to construction of a new fire station, fire administrative offices, and fire training center located at 1246 Harkville Pike. Motion sent to council.

Second.

Motion second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. All right. Item number three, Ordinance 02607-57. Ordinance awarding bid and authorization funds in the total amount of $970,000 from water sewer reserves for the Lakeshore Drive lift station replacement project. Motion to send to council.

Second.

Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion on this one? All those in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries. All right, item number four, resolution R2607-62, resolution approving and adopting a drought management plan for the city of Gallatin, Tennessee. I have a motion by Councilman Fann. Second. Second by Councilman Javons. Any discussion? Councilman Javons.

I have some issues. We talked about it today and on different stage when stage three and stage four when we still authorized watering of fairways green on Stage 3 and fairways and athletic fields. So if we have a drought, I think that's the last thing we should water is golf course. I think we should keep the water for the people because on Stage 4, if they have to go to get five gallons a day to the fire station because we're running on water, you know, that... We should not open, and like I said, if it's in the contract, I mean, people are going to do it. So I think there should be somewhere in the contract where the superintendents have authority to go further if needed. So we keep an option to say you can't water the golf course or the greenway if... You know, we're at the point where we cannot do it.

Where does most of the water come from, from the golf course?

The only golf course that we sell water to on a regular basis is the Gallatin Country Club.

Okay. That's the only one, right? Did you say that's the only one?

That's the only one.

Yeah. Because I think grasslands comes from the lake, right? The lake.

Same city. Same city.

So really the only course it would be affecting would be Gallatin Country Club. Right. Okay.

And if we're to the point that we're at a rationing water and we're sending people to pick up five gallons a day from a distribution center, we're at a point that we're at force majeure and we're going to take whatever action we need to take to protect the system. That means no water in the golf courses, and that's something that's already in our purview now. If we have a water main break and we have customers that are out of service, we're at that point. Mayor?

I asked David this morning, I'm sorry, Mr. Kellogg, I asked Mr. Kellogg this morning if we'd ever been close to the four, and he said, no, we've never been close to the one. So we are very, very blessed to have water security here in our community, and I appreciate you mentioning your ultimate authority should we be in dire straits.

And this plan, it's not new. It's something that we've had in place since 2011. T-DEC requires us to bring it to council, and that's why it's here tonight. It's just an update and to get your blessing.

Any further discussion? All right, ready to vote. All those in favor?

Aye.

Anybody opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Okay, item number five, resolution number R2607-63, resolution approving and adopting the Senior Rate Assistance Program.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. If you remember the last time we did a rate study and we implemented new rates, one of the things that we committed to was doing a senior citizen assistance program for our seniors that have worked all their life and now living on a limited fixed income. What this has said is, I've looked at several different municipalities that have a similar program. Ours is set at age of 62, 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, and we do a 10% reduction on the water and sewer rate. I have a motion.

I have a question. And a second. Any discussion? How old do you have to be to receive this discount? 62. 52? 62. Oh, I qualify. No, 200% of the poverty level. Okay.

Councilman Givans. Are we planning to advertise it somewhere so people actually get aware of it? Yes.

And also, if you don't mind, I'll take the opportunity to remind you of, and everybody that's listening, of our Operation Roundup, which every month will round your utility bill up to the next whole dollar. So you could do 12 cents a year up to $11 a year, and it goes into a fund that helps people during times of need.

Any other discussion? If not, all those in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries. All right, item number six, purged bad debt for year 2026 for public utilities.

Before the meeting, I left on your desk a copy of the list of bad debt accounts for purging. We do this every year at the beginning of the fiscal year, and this is our year. It's down about 100 accounts and about $25,000 less than it was last year. So we're trending in the right direction. Okay.

And we don't need to take action on this, correct? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. Item number seven, draft application for infrastructure development districts.

Craig, can we defer this motion to defer?

Yes, we can. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second. Okay. Any discussion on the deferral? No.

Why? Just, Kelly, is he to you? Why are you deferring it?

Just needed a little bit more time.

All right. Any other discussion? Anybody?

Can I ask a question? Is there anything in particular that you want researched? And are you deferring it to the next work session?

Deferring it to the next work session. It would be two weeks, wouldn't it? Okay.

Is there anything in particular that you want researched in that time, or are you just wanting to review just a part? Okay.

Good. All right. No further discussion. All those in favor deferral? Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries. All right. Item number eight. Ordinance number 02607-59, ordinance appropriating $100,000 from the occupancy tax reserves to Christmas decoration fund.

Ms. Landstrom and I can speak about this. I'm sorry that Councilman Alexander is not here this evening because he was certainly a big fan of what you and Ms. Bates did last year. Just a couple of things I remind you of. These are tourism dollars. They have to be used to bring visitors to our city. I believe that we saw great evidence of visitors coming last year related to our tourism. downtown decorations and as someone who drives through the square almost every single night there's a lot more vibrancy than there has been in the past and to be perfectly clear because you know how people like to skew things this money cannot be used to fund police radios or fire radios or any kind of general services or anything that is not related to tourism it is only for tourism it does not come from our taxpayers it comes from our visitors occupancy tax And it is used to bring more visitors who will come here, spend money in our businesses, and go back home.

And that is state law. If we spent that money on anything else, we would be breaking the law. So I just wanted to make that abundantly clear.

What did we fund last year?

$100,000. And the stuff is so blasted expensive. It's ridiculous.

So what I handed out to you guys is just a little note of the kinds of numbers and increases that we saw from this past holiday season. And it's abundantly clear that people really enjoyed the decorations. And there are just some ideas that we have to kind of round out our collection and kind of make it feel more complete. So happy to answer any questions.

How do you get to the figure of like 12,400 tourists?

So we use an online platform. We pay for a platform that uses analytics and data to find out these numbers for us.

That's why it's health and data.

Yeah, it's really scary. It's scarily accurate, but it's a cool program for us to have.

It helps us know where people are coming from and where they're going to, the amount of time they're spending here. It's a really helpful tool for, and most businesses are going to use it. Do I hear? I want to say, oh, I think we all know that we are charged with a particular kind of installation that was suggested to us last year.

Right. It is listed in this note as well, the third party that installs the lights around the courthouse.

I was talking about the idea that came from the council member that's not here this evening.

Oh, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, that would be nice.

Do we have a motion? Motion to approve. Senate Council? Second. Second.

Is it Stephen Carter? Yes. Yes, sir. Any further discussion? Councilman Gervais.

I just think $100,000, it's too much money. We can use that money to help business downtown all year long instead of spending in two years, almost a quarter million just for one season. So... For me, it's too much money. I understand completing what we have, but I would like to know what the real number is to complete what we have instead of just throwing a number. Is that something we can have next week by any chance?

I think when you talk about completing what we have, I think that you would never complete what we have because we are adding new installations that create interests and experiences throughout our downtown area. And hopefully as downtown one day grows, we'll have the opportunity to continue to grow the experience.

And possibly expand to parks.

Broader areas, yeah.

Oh, that would be nice.

You have anything else? No, I'm good. So as a lifelong resident, I think last year's decorations were some of the best that I have seen in my 35 years. I absolutely enjoyed driving through the square and then learning about new stuff that was in the area. I actually took special trips just to see that. So I'm looking forward to what you guys come up with for this year and to the holiday season. So great job, Ms. Bates and Ms. Lindstrom, and looking forward to what you guys have next. Thank you.

Thank you for the comments, you guys.

Hi. Yes, Councilman Gervais.

I can justify voting to spend $100,000 when people have issue right now just putting food on the table and put gas in a car. I think that's money we can use to help downtown business and more than just $100,000 for a few weeks. So I will be voting no on it. Sure.

All right, we're ready to vote. All those in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? No. Okay. Five to one. All right. On to item number nine, resolution number R2607-64, resolution to authorize the city of Gallatin to partner with historic downtown Gallatin to apply for a downtown improvement grant.

Yeah. So this is a really interesting concept that we've worked with historic downtown Gallatin on. Um, so basically they are going to be the ones applying for the downtown improvement grant. Um, and basically it's to help, it has to be at least 50% of the facades in downtown Gallatin. Um, and then there's other eligibility requirements as well, but basically, the property owners would pay for the projects and then be reimbursed 75%. And the way that we've kind of figured it out is the city, since we have the capital put up the money and then be reimbursed by the state ourselves, it would just streamline the process a lot better. It's a really interesting concept, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. It can get a little confusing, but... And we're excited to work on this with them. It would be a max of $300,000. So we'll just, we'll see what happens. Motion.

Motion. Motion to second. Second. Second by Councilman Carter.

Any other discussion? Yes, Councillor Givans. Thank you, sir. So that's something I can get behind because revamping the downtown is going to bring more people here. And I think we need to look at doing it even if we don't get the grant. That's not new. I lived in cities where they were doing that. That helps our small business, and if we have money on the account, I think maybe looking to maybe bringing back something to us where we will spend the money because we're going to you know, even if we don't get the grant, because I think if we don't know how to use that money, maybe we can do it there and spend money to revamp the downtown and bring more people here and help small business at the same time. So maybe look into bringing something else and spend the money, release the $300,000, and if we get the grant, great. And if we don't get the grant, at least... You know, we are bringing more people downtown and maybe put some signs, you know, to tell where the business are. I know you're working on a QR code, but we have people who just look at signs, not QR codes. So that's what I think.

I think the property owners would be on board with that.

Any other discussion? All right. All those in favor? Aye. Anyone opposed? Motion carries. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right. Item number 10, resolution number R2607-65, resolution of the City of Gallatin establishing a temporary suspension on the acceptance, processing, and approval of applications related to data center development while the City Council considers a comprehensive data center moratorium. Councilman Javons.

Motion to discuss.

Motion to discuss. Second by Councilman Fennell.

Is this a motion to pass or discuss?

Discuss. Discuss. Okay. Second. Okay. First, motion to discuss. Second, discuss. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Anybody opposed? Motion carries.

All right. I think it's a no-brainer. We send, you know, we send the moratorium to the planning. It's a no-risk resolution, 60 days or less if the planning centers earlier. And at least we are, as always, I'm listening to my constituents and that's what they want. They want to see what the planning is going to say, what we're going to do on a bigger scale. solution or not, and I think there is no risk of doing just a 60-day stopgap resolution, so at least we don't open any loophole or who knows. I think it's a no-brainer and no risk, so I make a motion to send to council.

Motion second. Councilman Fennell, a question on that. And I don't have a problem with it either, but I have a question for our attorney. Does this have to go to the Planning Commission or not?

This does not. The actual moratorium is sent to them. This does not. This is to fill kind of a stopgap measure in between.

I just didn't know if we had to do this. Okay. All right.

Just thinking about what the lady said earlier, I do want to say, I don't think there's any risk. There's no harm. There's certainly no benefit either. It's, to me, just a waste of people's time because there's no scenario in which a data center is going to have any of these things to the city of Gallatin in 60 days. No harm in doing it, but really no meaningful benefit either. But there was a lady this evening that spoke, and she said something that does concern me, not just about data centers, but also about other large industries. And I've thought about this, but she said it in a very concise way that I can keep in my head, which is basically having a, oh gosh, now I can't think of the term you use. The wind down. What do you do with the building when it's empty? You used a beautiful term. Decommissioning. Decommissioning. And if you'll recall, when META came to us this last time seeking an expansion, they were actually looking at a model of a rapid deployment building. And I was very favorable. It may not come here. It may have just come to planning. And I was very favorable of that because that building only had a 20-year lifespan. And I thought, man, that might be the right direction because... we don't want million square foot buildings standing empty at some point in the future. And so I do think like any large scale industry in the future that there has, there should be, at least be some portion in them building those buildings that they can draw some kind of decommission vision for the future, like what could happen. So I appreciated that very much. But, oh, and then the other thing I'd say, There were a bunch more reports about this came out, so I know that people want to get excited about the danger of data centers. I contend that you look at all industry and the potential damages associated because there are other industries that use as much power, as much water, but bring more toxicity or noise or damage. stuff that goes into the air. And so I just believe that you look at all industries with the same kind of scrutiny that we are talking about with data centers. And I think if you follow both sides of the news, that you might get a better balanced report about why all of a sudden the concerns came up so quickly.

Okay. Meeting of discussion.

Councilman Gervais. Thank you, sir. Yeah, I think we need to look at both sides, and that's what... you know, advance that resolution and the one who's sitting at the planning, because when you look at the deployment and the amount of data center we actually build nationwide, and I started to look at it, and I found out there is already five in Nashville already built. We have Meta here. There is one right now, maybe two. It's still a secret. Remind me of, you know... project work in Kentucky just at the border where they're going to be using White House water if they build back there. We're going to be on the back end too. I think we need to look at everything and see where that goes.

Any other discussion? If not, all those in favor? Aye. Motion carries unanimously. All right, that concludes our agenda. Now to other business. Does anybody, Councilman Carter?

So this weekend, in between some events, I was at Triple Creek and happened to pass Pass the competition to Hendersonville Police Department hosts. I just wanted to say great job to Officer Moore, Officer Ferguson, Officer Hodges, FTO Aiken, MPO Azar, and Officer Sharkley. They are on the GPD Motor Patrol team. They did a wonderful job competing, and I was glad to be able to stop by and surprise them and visit them and support them. Thank you. Anybody else up here have anything? Councilman Gervais.

Thank you, sir. Data Center, because I came and, you know, I went back in time looking at Meta, and I still have an issue with the way it's handled on the money side from the IDB and the city. I look at the number who are at the state controller, And I went back, looked at all the ordinances, all the resolution, and I still think that the resolution was approved by that council that half of the money will come from the pilot who go to the city and half go to the county. And that resolution was approved based on the charter of the IDB. So that resolution, for me, is the law. Even if the charters, say, were 27 years ago, who say that the IDB and all the money, when they agreed 20 years later to say, that's how we're going to disperse the money, they are actually following the charter. I think we're losing money for the city. And the way the money is dispersed, I talked to our finance director. He told me she received a check with basically just a number on it. So we don't even know what money comes to us, where it's coming from, what part of it. And I think that needs to be clarified. so we know exactly where we are and how much money we're missing because I still think that resolution passed years after the charter is low and you guys voted on it. Some of you were there. We're losing a lot of money every year because that money doesn't count, doesn't come in the coffer of the city. So that's I have an issue with that still.

Anybody else up here have anything? Anybody? Go ahead.

He said anybody else. Yes, and I am going to talk with you a little bit about our ethics code and the ethics complaint that was presented last week and to determine if there is a better way going forward in the way that they are presented. But I did want to let you know that last Thursday on July 23, following the vote on the ethics complaint that I presented, Last Tuesday night, I received an email criticizing my presentation of the complaint. I do want to explain to everyone that under our current ethics code, as the city attorney, I'm the ethics officer. If an ethics complaint is brought to me, I am required by our code to bring that to this body. Even if it's against a member of this body, I'm to bring it to this body, and then this body determines... If a complaint has merit, doesn't have merit or warrants further investigation. I've reviewed the email and, um, to ensure that there's no attorney client privilege and there's not, there's nothing in the email that, uh, where legal advice was sought. It's simply critique basically is me in the way that I presented it. I have not spoken. to Councilman Gervant who sent me the email, except I did send him a response today that said I respectfully disagreed with his email. I have not discussed it with the mayor and I have not discussed it with any other member of this body. So to ensure that I don't mischaracterize the email, I'm going to read it to you. I respectfully submit this formal ethics complaint regarding Mayor Paige Brown's obtaining, use, and external dissemination of municipal surveillance footage for... Oh, I'm sorry. I'm reading the wrong thing first. Susan, thank you for your email. This was sent Thursday, July 23rd. Susan, thank you for your email and for outlining the ethical obligations you believe govern your role as city attorney. I respect those obligations. However, your statements at Tuesday's council meeting directly contradict the standards you described in your message. In your email, you emphasized that you must represent the city as an organization. You must avoid creating or implying an attorney client relationship with an individual council member. You must remain neutral when interest may diverge, and you must ensure your communications are accurate and consistent with your ethical duties. Yet during the meeting, you publicly stated councilman Javance seems to want the city to require Ms. George, who is now a private citizen, to remove the post from her next door account. That statement was not accurate. It mischaracterized my ethics complaint and reframed it into an issue I never raised. Nothing in my complaint requested or implied that the city compel a private citizen to remove a social media post. By presenting it that way, you shifted the focus away from the documented conduct at issue and portrayed my complaint as something it is not. This is precisely the type of misleading implication your email states you must avoid. You wrote that you are obligated to ensure your responses are, quote, accurate and consistent, end quote, with your ethical responsibilities. However, your public characterization of my complaint was neither accurate nor neutral. It created the appearance that you were defending the mayor's actions by minimizing the substance of the complaint and redirecting attention toward a social media narrative that does not exist in the document you reviewed. Unfortunately, this is not the first time your public statements have reflected this pattern. On multiple occasions concerns raised by some, including mine, have been refrained, minimized, or dismissed, while actions or narratives favorable to specific officials have been amplified or defended. The appearance created is that you are selectively protecting certain members of the body while diminishing the legitimacy of others' concerns. That appearance is inconsistent with the neutrality and organizational loyalty you describe in your email. I appreciate your explanation of your role, but it is important that your public statements reflect the same accuracy and neutrality you describe in your email. Tuesday night's comments did not meet that standard. I would appreciate it if going forward, you refrain from putting words in my mouth or attributing positions to me that I have not taken. Best, Pascal Gervance, Third District Councilman. And so the The issue that he states is that I made a statement that Councilman Gervant seems to want the city to require Ms. George, who is now a private citizen, to remove the post from her next door account. That was stated by me in the addendum that I did to the investigative report that councilman Javance requested that I do. And I made that addendum based on six emails that he sent to me beginning on June 2nd, uh, 2026 through July. Got it written down here. July 16th, which is the day before filing the ethics complaint, um, in which he tells me repeatedly that the post is still there. It's still there, still there, still there, still there. Section five of his, um, ethics complaint reads additional aggravating factor. The still image remains publicly posted, demonstrating continued in action. Again, it was still there, and that is what I read. I will admit that last week I read most of verbatim. I read most of the complaint, but I did not read every single word. And so in fairness to Councilman Gervance, I am now going to read to you this complaint in totality every single word so that I do not mischaracterize it. This was sent to me on Friday, July 17th. I respectfully submit this formal ethics complaint regarding Mayor Paige Brown's obtaining use and external dissemination of municipal surveillance footage for purposes unrelated to legitimate city business, including use in a private lawsuit. Based on publicly available information, sworn statements, and the city attorney's investigative report dated June 2nd, 2026, I believe Mayor Brown's conduct constitutes serious violations of the Gallatin Code of Ethics, the Tennessee state laws, and raises concerns under applicable Tennessee state law. Number one, relevant positions of the Gallatin Code of Ethics. The following provisions of Division I of the Gallatin Code of Ethics appear directly implicated section two dash six prohibits officials from disclosing confidential information obtained through their office and from using such information for personal or financial gain section two dash seven prohibits the use of municipal facilities equipment or supplies for private gain or advantage section two dash eight prohibits using one's official position to secure privileges or exemptions not authorized by law. Mayor Brown's actions, obtaining surveillance footage outside official channels, releasing it externally, and later using unrelated footage in a sworn affidavit constitutes violations of these provisions. Number two, misuse of surveillance footage in a sworn affidavit. In her March 4th, 2026 declaration in the Chancery Court case number 25-CV-263, Jovance v. Brown, Mayor Brown asserted, in relation to the incident matter, the plaintiff recorded a younger female city employee for the purpose of for the deliberate purpose of using her responses to attack me in this lawsuit. See attached also exhibit C in which the plaintiff can be seen entering that same employee's office and closing the door behind. However, the video showing me on 9-3-2025 entering an office at City Hall Then exiting 33 seconds later that Mayor Brown submitted does not depict or relate to the phone call at issue in the lawsuit. A three and a half minute phone call that happened on 9-25-2025. She included footage that she knew or reasonably should have known was irrelevant. This raises concerns about misuse of municipal resources, lack of candor in sworn statements. and improper leveraging of her official position to obtain and repurpose city property for personal litigation. Number three, second instance of improper access and release of surveillance footage. Based on the June 2, 2026 investigative report, the city attorney's investigative report documents a separate earlier incident in which Mayor Brown improperly accessed and disseminated city surveillance footage. The report states on around June 5th, 2024, the mayor requested a copy of the surveillance video from IT and IT provided it consistent with past internal use practice. The mayor indicated she forwarded the video to Ms. George. Ms. George is Eileen George, former member of the Gallatin City Council. The report further confirms that No public records request was submitted, meaning the release bypassed all required legal review. The IT director, quote, would not release surveillance footage beyond internal operational use absent city attorney authorization, end quote. The city attorney concluded, quote, regardless of intent, the video should not have been released or posted externally, end quote. This establishes that Mayor Brown obtained confidential surveillance footage and released it externally without authorization contrary to city policy and state law. Number four, aggravating factors, selective release of confidential footage. The investigative report confirms that this same surveillance video was previously denied to me when I submitted a formal public records request in August 2023. The city attorney's office rejected my request under TCA 107504 M1E, stating, my office denied that request, treating the surveillance video as confidential security recording not subject to release. Despite this, Mayor Brown later obtained the same video internally and provided it to Ms. George, who then circulated it to another council member and ultimately posted a still image derived from it on social media. Given Mayor Brown was likely aware of the 2023 denial of my public records request, and considering her prior professional experience as a television producer, where familiarity with privacy rules, media handling standards, and the consequences of improper disclosure is customary, it is highly improbable that she did not understand the confidentiality restrictions governing the surveillance footage. Her subsequent decision to obtain the same video internally and provide it to Ms. George outside all authorized channels strongly indicates she acted with knowledge of the prior denial and knowingly circumvented established procedures. Number five. additional aggravating factor the still image remains publicly posted demonstrating continued in action despite the city attorney's clear finding that the footage should not have been released or posted externally and that was in quotes the still image derived from the surveillance video and this is bolded remains publicly posted by miss george mayor brown has taken and in bold no corrective action In the bold, to request its removal, issue a public clarification, or acknowledge the improper release. Even after the June 2, 2026 investigative report, Mayor Brown did not, which is bolded, ask Ms. George to remove the post. She did not, in bold, notify the public that the release was unauthorized. She did not, in bold. apologized to the affected employee or to me she did not in bold take any steps to mitigate the reputational harm caused by the unauthorized disclosure this continued in action despite formal findings that the release was improper further demonstrates disregard for ethical obligations failure to protect confidential municipal resources and a pattern of selective harmful disclosure followed by refusal to remedy the consequences. The fact that the post remains publicly accessible today underscores the seriousness of the misconduct and the absence of corrective leadership. Number six, applicable Tennessee state law. Tennessee law provides additional protections for government records. TCA 3916402, official misconduct, including misuse of public records or information obtained through one's office. TCA 10-7503-ETSEC governs lawful access to public records and requires consistent, non-selective procedures. Mayor Brown's actions appear inconsistent with these statutory requirements. Number seven, conclusion and request for formal review. Taken together, these actions, improperly obtaining surveillance footage, releasing it externally without authorization, selectively providing it to a former council member while denying it to me, using unrelated footage in a sworn affidavit, and failure to take any corrective action even after the investigative report established a clear pattern of conduct inconsistent with the ethical obligations of the mayor's office. This pattern reflects repeated misuse of confidential municipal resources. disregard for established legal procedures, selective and unauthorized dissemination of protected information, refusal to correct known ethical violations, and conduct that undermines public trust in the integrity of city leadership. Given the seriousness of these concerns, I respectfully request that the appropriate ethics officer or investigative authority initiate a formal review pursuant to Section 2-10 of the Gallatin Code of Ethics and related to TCA 3916-402 and TCA 107503 at SEC, I also request written confirmation that this complaint has been received and will be reviewed in accordance with established procedures. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Pascal Gervant, 3rd District Councilman. So last week I read most of that to you. I did summarize parts of it. And now I want to ask this body that based on Councilman Jovance's email to me about the way it was presented and based on the verbatim reading of this ethics complaint, is there anyone on this body that would like to make a motion to rescind last week's actions or to amend last week's actions to put it back on a... Next week's agenda for a formal vote. And then we will have further discussion. But is there any motion to rescind your action that you voted last week that there was no ethical violations? Seeing none, I would like to continue. I do my best in this role to remain neutral. I understand that people think that I am up here working every day with the mayor and other members of the council and department heads, but I can assure you that the mayor and I don't always agree on things, and I provide her advice that sometimes she does not like or appreciate. But I do follow. You do follow most of the time. I do. No, I am guided by a lot of things, my faith, my morality, the ethical obligations that I owe this city based on our charter and municipal code and the ethics code that I, as an attorney, I am bound by and I'm required to follow that. And I can promise all of you sitting up here and everyone out there listening that there is not one person sitting up here or out here that I would jeopardize my law license for. Not one. Not one. This is a very difficult position to be in when there is a complaint brought against a member of this body. Back in 2008, the city adopted the code of ethics. The city adopted the model code of ethics that was written by MTAS. In that code of ethics, it requires the city attorney to be the ethics officer even when there is a complaint brought against a member of this body. I can understand how people in the public might not understand how you do that. That's why last week I truly tried my best to present the ethics complaint and to give the background facts. There are other ways if this body would like to look at amending our ethics code, and I would certainly encourage that, that I can do research. Some of the bigger cities have an ethics commission so that if a complaint is brought against a department head or a member of the governing body, it goes to an ethics commission. I have talked with MTAS. There are also some places that just have an outside attorney. I would welcome that. I would absolutely welcome that, and I think it would appear more transparent. I've talked with city attorneys across the state. It does put us in an awkward position, even when we feel like we're doing our best, that if the person who's filed a complaint, and depending on how it's handled, Depending on the outcome, either the person that's filed the complaint or the person against whom the complaint was filed, feels like there was some non-neutrality. I don't know how else to say it, but that we're favoring. And I don't want to be in this position again. I would like for this body to consider what you want to do going forward. You can keep it the same. You can ask me to research. Whatever it is that you would like to do, I'll open the floor for discussion.

I think you should research a different way.

Research what?

A different way.

There are different ways. Like I said, there's an ethics commission. I know Clarksville, I've already done some research, Clarksville, Franklin, Nashville, Memphis, they all have an ethics commission. Other cities just have, and some of it's very formal. It's like you're in court. things that can only be presented in court. I don't know what you want to do, but that's one option to have an ethics commission. I think counties are required to have an ethics commission, but ultimately it still goes back to the body for a final determination, I believe. You can also just have, if something is brought against, and I would include department heads also, because I work with the department heads every day, and I would not want to... investigate and bring a report against the department head, just like I wouldn't want to bring. And, um, if there had been a vote last week for further investigation, I definitely would have recommended that you get outside council. And so we could change the code to just say, if there's a complaint against the department head or member of the governing body that the outside and outside council would be hired. So I can, if you want me to put it on an agenda, to bring you options, I can do that. But I would like to hear from you if you have an opinion at this point of which way you, is there one way or the other that you would like for me to focus my research.

Make a motion to bring next work session a change. I think ethics commission.

I would request that you give me a little bit more time the next work session. I have a lot going on. I'm really behind right now. How much time do you need? Because I've been researching a lot of other issues. I would like to see research be done for an ethics commission and just to see what would be more effective between an ethics commission or just outside counsel.

and then what will be most cost-effective for the city.

Okay. I can bring, well, I think that was a motion. I don't think there was a second.

Second. I agree with that. I'll rephrase my motion on what you just said. Bring September 8th. Is that good enough?

I'll second that. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion on that? Everybody okay? All right. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay, motion carries. Okay, and did you have something?

Yes, I do want to say a lot, actually. Ms. Hamakali went over the whole complaint. I got to hear it all again. It's lovely. Ms. Joyner, thank you for what you said earlier this evening. I was as embarrassed and upset as you were. One of the things that I have, I, our department heads, many of you here in the audience, certainly most of us up here, We worked so hard for so many years for this city to be one that was respected and looked up to and valued and to be a city that people wanted to go to. And we became that. And then people came here, and somehow we were all doing things wrong. I am very, very sorry, Ms. Hamakali, that you had to go through that again. I'm sorry I had to go through it again, too. And I don't like that there weren't facts. You know, because last week you were able to talk about the investigation prior and everything. So if someone were to just hear this meeting tonight, they would hear all these things that I've alleged to have improperly done for the investigation. Let me be clear, that was Councilman Juvance's take on it. I am the mayor of the city. It has been challenged frequently that the mayor is in charge of day-to-day operations of the city of Gallatin. I did not write the charter. I do the job. The mayor does have a lot of authority. I'm certainly supportive of having a city administrator if this body would prefer that form of government. As far as the videos that were released, which, by the way, I mean, I don't even think people understand what's going on. But there were some videos that were of question, one that was included in a lawsuit. It was not a private lawsuit. It was against the mayor and the city. And it was actually a video that our attorney used for the city's and the mayor's defense. And then the other one was an altercation that happened out in council chambers in which a former council member was actually in great fear and was scared. And so I had sent that. I felt like, and still do, happy to have a policy, happy to follow a policy. But we haven't had a policy. We've not had people wanting video for this, that, and the other. So she requested the video. I sent it to her. I didn't honestly think a lot about it at the time, except that she was very upset and worried, and she wanted it. Neither here nor there. Again, I'm happy to have a policy, happy to follow a policy, but sometimes the mayor does make decisions. I do always try to ask Ms. High-McCauley if I think there's something sticky, but then sometimes I might do something and not realize what might be sticky about it. But the number one thing that I want to say this evening is that one of my greatest fears, besides Gallatin losing the respect and becoming a laughingstock of this area, is that Ms. Hamakali Chief Andy, Richard DePriest, the rest of you sitting at that table, walk out of this building because you decide you've had enough. Because you have put up with such indecent treatment and constant questioning of every step that you take. I've been dealing with it myself. I've had lawsuits, investigations, complaints, many, many, many social media posts about all the things. Sometimes I can laugh at them, but sometimes they're hurtful. But I like Ms. Hamakali, I think like all of you. And most people every day, you're trying to do your best. And that's what we want for ourselves. That's what we want for each other. And so, Ms. Hamakali, I'm very, very sorry that, you know, your character, your expertise, your professionalism, were called into question and that you had to spend more time investigating me, doing things, trying to find somebody that's done something wrong. I'm sorry that we're here. It's wrong. It hurts so many of us who love this city. And I would never do something that I thought was going to bring us any ill attention. But just by being myself and doing my job and caring a whole lot and working hard, it seems to set one particular council member off repeatedly. And so, Ms. High McCauley, I'm sorry. Department heads, I'm sorry. Thank you all for realizing that there was no reason, no personal gain by me giving that video to someone. It was just me doing what I thought was the right thing.

Councilman Gervais.

I'm going to try to stay... really quick on what I'm going to say because, again, that's a total mischaracterization of what happened that day. And if the video was showing an altercation where someone was in fear for their life, Against me, trust me, that will be already outside.

I did not say in fear for their life. I said they were scared.

Yeah. So why don't you release that video so people can see exactly what happened, me standing in a foyer and the other person coming at me when I was minding my own business. Please release the video. That's what you wanted last week. Release the video.

I'm happy to.

Please.

What did you say due to it? I'm sorry. You used a word before that. Something, the video. First, I thought you said... Released. Released the video. Oh, released.

Please do. Councilman Carter, do you have anything?

So I think that with everything that has been said in this meeting, I'm going to quote a song really quickly. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing there's not enough of. And so I am going to try to be a better example of love, and grace, and I'm going to task everybody that sits up here on this panel to, and our department heads especially as well, to be that example of love, sweet love. We go at each other sometimes so hard and so much, and we do need to be a better example. So if ever there's a time when I'm not being such a good example, I welcome any of you to let me know that. And again, I task all of us to Be that example of love, sweet love.

Anybody else up here have anything they want to say?

You know, I'll go back on what Councilman Javons mentioned. It seems like whether he was at fault, whether Eileen was at fault, I don't know. I wasn't here as far as out in the hall. But there has been questions as to what some of the people witnessed and said. I mean, if we're going to open it up, let's bring the people up here that's in the video and let them say what they actually heard or witnessed, whether it was good or bad. That's all I have to say.

All right. Anybody else? Department heads. Any department heads? Oh, Jana, you have something. Jenna, Jenna, Jenna.

I promise I'll make this as quick as possible.

Is the microphone on?

All right, the battery on that microphone died, so I'm going to grab this one. Okay, I'll make this as quick as possible. I wanted to make you all aware that there is an international clothing company coming to Gallatin to shoot a holiday photo shoot for their holiday catalog. That's going to be happening on Thursday, August 13th. As mentioned earlier, that's going to be the same day as the Gallatin pep rally, so it's going to be a very busy day downtown. The company's not wanting to shut any streets down. However, they are requesting to block off eight parking spaces on the L of the square, eight of the 35 parking spots, no handicapped. So we were talking about blocking off the spaces the night before up until 4 p.m. And that's when the road closures for the pep rally take over. So the upside, the silver lining is that it's only one day of disruptions rather than having the photo shoot on another day and it just messes it up for multiple days. So of course we're in the process of letting the businesses on the square know that this is happening.

They are using some of the businesses.

Yes, absolutely. They are huge, huge advocates for supporting local businesses, and we're really very thankful for that. But although this specific ask doesn't require a permit, we just wanted to make you guys aware and answer any questions you may have and let me know if you have any concerns.

You might mention the holiday nature of the... of the shoot and how that is going to impact public works and how we're going to have to navigate that. And people are going to be saying, it's August. It's too early for Christmas decorations.

It's going to be very interesting when people drive by. So we are going to have some of our renowned Christmas decorations put up around the square, some garlands on light poles and trees. It's going to be... just kind of in one area of the square. It's not going to be all over. But we're thankful to be working with our public works department to organize this and kind of get it all together to kind of showcase Gallatin on an international scale. Any questions? You want to go home?

I'm available to model or to be filmed.

Go ahead, Councilman Johnson.

You talk to the business on the square?

We're in the process of talking to the businesses, especially the ones that have customers that come in and out throughout the day. So they, according to the street closures, they are all aware that another event is happening that day. So we're just going to let them know two events are happening.

Should we treat that as a street closure and get the business to sign on it? That's just a question.

They're not closing streets, right?

We're not closing the streets. They are just requesting for eight of the 35 parking spots just on the L of the square to be coned off. The corner. The corner.

If you would like to do that, you may. There's certainly nothing wrong with doing that.

Councilman Jones, is there a second? Second by Councilman Carter. Any other discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you.

Thank you. Appreciate it, guys.

Any other department heads? Any department heads? If not, entertain another motion.

Motion to adjourn. Second.

Motion to second. All in favor?

Aye.