County Commission - Regular Meeting

Yes, sir. I can tell. I can tell you what I Journal and later as an employee for the Tennessee Valley Authority. And whereas even though his love was farming, Jack answered the call of his country and enlisted in the US Army on February 2nd, 1943 at the age of 22. He was stationed at Fort Ogulthorp, Georgia, Private Firstclass Hill, served as an unskilled machine shop worker, and was attached to the US Army 71st Infantry as World War II raged on. And whereas Private First Class Hill boarded a ship bound for

Europe from Staten Island on January 28th, 1945, where they eventually joined a convoy uh to make the treasure treacherous crossing of the enemy submarine infested Atlantic. And whereas approximately 9 days later, the ship reached Southampton, England. The next day, a crossing of the English Channel to La Harve, France was completed. A long march through France to Germany ensued. By March 2nd, Private Firstclass Hills combat team was engulfed in the battle for Germershine Bridge, dodging sporadic sniper fire as they made their way through the small, hostile German village of Lingenfeld that guarded the bridge. Having come through the town, suddenly the world exploded with machine guns and artillery fire, whereas Private First Class Hill scrambled for cover and was struck down by enemy fire. and went down. A fellow army comrade recounted that under heavy fire, he kept checking to see if his friend Jack was moving. When darkness fell, his comrades were finally able to see that he had not survived. And whereas Private First Class Jack Leon Hill died in the European theater on on March 25th, 1945 at the age of 22. His military honors include the Purple Heart. He was laid to rest with military honors at Buffalo Grove Cemetery, Jefferson City, Tennessee. And whereas Private First Class Jack Leon Hill lived a life in service to others and is worthy of special recognition and appreciation for dedicated service. Now therefore, I, Mike Po, Mark Pots, by virtue of authority vested in me as mayor of Jefferson County, Tennessee, and in conjunction with the Jefferson County Commissioners, express our sincere thanks, deepest sympathy, and condolences to the family and friends of the late private first class Jack Leon Hill. He will always be remembered for

the sacrifices he made to Jefferson County, Tennessee, and the United States of America. In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and caused the seal of Jefferson County, Tennessee to be affixed this 20th day of April in the year of our Lord 2026. We'd like to ask the family please to come up. We would like to make a presentation. It's our plaque of honor. If you come by plaque of honor which has PFC's Hills hero card in here which is the same as the poster. This poster will be taken to the lobby of the courthouse and stay there in honor until our next uh hero hometown hero presentation. So, in honor of PFC Jack Hill, please accept this as our token of appreciation.

Thank you very much. Great. Hey guys. resolutions.

Next, we have honorary resolution 2026-9, Miss Bella K. Finchum, co-sponsors Ronnie Coleman and WD Henry. Would everyone please come to the podium? Is Miss Bella here?

There you are. Miss Bellate, often times we hear about all the bad that our youth do and we need to celebrate our good that our youth and uh commissioners Coleman and Henry that represent you agree with this. Um, Miss Bella Kate finished a project this year where she taught some children to sew and uh encourage some children to sew and put together scrap quilt pieces and made what she coined a quilt of many colors uh to support the Imagination Library. We have that quilt here tonight and it was auctioned off at our chamber banquet and uh it raised $1,000 for our imagination library. She did this in conjunction with 4 and u and the chamber of commerce. Miss Robbins corrected me on everything I'm saying wrong, but this is Miss Bella Kate's quilt that she uh spent about a hundred of her personal hours on. And uh we've got a resolution for says, "Whereas Bellicate Finchum is a 16-year-old high school junior, the

daughter of Blake and Julie Finchum as and a resident of Jefferson County. And whereas Bella Kate Finch has been actively involved in Jefferson County 4 and the Tennessee 4 State Council having served this year as the Eastern Region Junior Representative and recently being elected as the Eastern Region All-Star Council Chief. And whereas Bellicate Fincham recently completed a quilt project, having spent over a hundred hours planning, designing, coordinating production, preparing quilt squares from scrap material, sewing, and teaching others to sew to complete a quilt appropriately named the quilt of many colors that she then donated to be auctioned, raising $1,000 for the Jefferson County Imagination Library. And whereas Bella Kate Finchum is worthy of special recognition and appreciation for her creative initiative and dedication to raise money for the Imagination Library that will financially support the library's initiative for the children of Jefferson County. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Jer County Commission that we publicly recognize and gratefully acknowledge the spirit, service, and leadership of Bella Kate Finchen for her dedication and tireless efforts in supporting the Jefferson County Imagination Library. Be it further resolved that this resolution be spread across the minutes of the Jefferson County Commission to be a permanent record of our gratitude and thanks. Adopted this 20th day of April, 2026. I uh miss recognized by several people and uh I had someone that was not able to be here

tonight but they wanted then forward a letter to you and if it pleases the chairman, I'll read that letter aloud.

Give me just a minute. This might choke me up a little bit. Dear Bella Kate, I just wanted to send you a little note to tell you how proud I am of you. I was touched to learn about the carey and hard work you put into your quilting projects and especially into your beautiful quilt of many colors in support of the Imagination Library in Jefferson County. What a special and meaningful way to use your talent to help children in your community. It is a wonderful thing to have a gift, but it is even more wonderful to use that gift to bless somebody else. You have done exactly that. Your initiative, your willingness to learn, and your heart for service say so much about the kind of young lady you are. I especially love that you found a way to bring children, teach them something new and create something with their own hands that helps support the Imagination Library for other children and families. That is a beautiful example of leadership and it makes me mighty grateful. I am honored that the Imagination Library in Jefferson County was part of your project and I'm thankful for your support. Keep dreaming big, keep using your talents and keep doing good in this world. We need more people just like you. Love, Dolly. get

hold on to that quilt. You may get more out of it before the night's over. Mr. Mayor, you have a floor. Thank you. At this time, I ask for John David Holland family to come forward. Have a proclamation honoring John David who passed away. If y'all want to gather up, parents, families here, brother, if the uh commissioners in district one, Katie,

whereas the safety and security of of our community are maintained by the vigilant efforts of those who dedicate their lives to the protection of the public across every branch of emergency service. And whereas John David Holland established a profound legacy of multi- agency service, beginning his law enforcement career as a conible for district 1 before continuing his commitment to justice with J County Sheriff's Department. And whereas during his tenure with the sheriff's department, he served with distinction as a K-9 deputy, utilizing special skills to ensure the safety of citizens and the protection of our streets. His professional journey led him to Rutled Police Department, where he continued to serve with integrity and experience gained over a lifetime of dedicated public service. Whereas John David Holland's rare breath of experience spanning his roles as a police officer, a firefighter, a paramedic made him uniquely skilled guardian of the people, serving notably as a lifetime member of the Dangerous Volunteer Fire Department and a vital member of the Jefferson County Rescue Squad. And through his work with Jefferson County MS and Rescue Squad, he stood on the front lines of emergency response, providing life-saving care and technical resments of need. Whereas the impact of his life's work across these many departments has left an indelible mark on the safety and well-being of citizens of Jefferson County and the town of Danards in the city of Rutled. Now therefore I mark poss by virtue of authority vested in me as mayor of Jefferson County here here do by recognize and honor the lifetime of extraordinary service sacrifice and multifaceted service rendered by John David Holland. Thank you so much. We share your grief with you. We appreciate everything that John Davis did. Thank you.

Seems like We do this more often than we would like these days. If the family of Joe Devoteai would would come forward while they're gathering, I I just want to let you know a paramedic that worked and retired here named Gary Hul died this weekend. So, uh, those of you who knew Gary, he he passed away this weekend after heart complications. So, thank y'all.

Joe was here. So whereas the citizens of Jefferson County paused to honor the extraordinary life and profound legacy of Joe Devota, a man of unwavering faith and tireless service who departed this life, leaving behind an indelible mark on our community. And for 25 years, Joe Devotai served as the faithful pastor of the House of Prayer, providing spiritual guidance, comfort, and steady leadership to his congregation. Standing as a pillar of strength and a beacon of hope, Jodai was a true pioneer of public safety, serving as an instrumental founder of the Lakeway Central Volunteer Fire Department, laying the foundation of protection that continues to safeguard our residents today. His remarkable 38 years of service in the fire service culminating in his distinguished leadership as fire chief exemplified a rare and heroic commitment to the protection of life and property in Jefferson County. Whereas through his dual calling as a pastor and a fire chief, Joe Devotai devoted himself to protecting both the hearts and the homes of his neighbors, embodying the highest ideals of servant leadership and community devotion. Now therefore, I mark pots by virtue of Miami. Mr. Chairman, that concludes the proclamations and resolutions.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Everybody seated.

Moves right along with the agenda. The next thing on the agenda is a public hearing resolution 2026-14A in session resolution amending the zoning map of Jefferson County, Tennessee by reszoning property from A1 agriculture forestry to C2 general commercial parcel number 4.71 acres tax map 033 at 1639 West Highway 11E New Market owners Appalachin Construction and Design. Is anyone here to speak to this resolution? Sir, come to the podium. Please state your name, address, what you got to talk about.

I'm the owner. Did you fill out a right to speak? Nope. I'm just the owner here to represent. Sure. Hop right up there. John Ballinger, 2038 Indian Cave Road in New Market. I'm I'm the owner of the property here to represent for the zoning change. Does anybody have a question or comment from the commissioners to Mr. John? I think we're going to keep it simple. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Next hearing, resolution 2026-16, a resolution amending the zoning map of Jefferson County, Tennessee by reszoning property from A1 agriculture forestry to R2 high density residential partial number 061-07 2.24 acres. Tax map 064 West Highway 2570 New Market owners Brandon and Jessica Parker. Is anybody here to speak in this hearing? Sir, come to the podium.

Can I hand these out to everyone? You you can make it quick because it's only here in three minutes. It should be I'm Brandon Parton. the owner of the property and uh can you live at

uh 166 Cross Lake Lane in Dandridge. The left side of that little folder shows what I can do with the property now. Um the right side is what, you know, I'd like to do with it if I can get it reszoned. Um, I like to keep it nice and clean and uh, I really, you know, it's just an investment property that I can pay hand down to my kids one day, you know. Commissioner, does anybody have a question or comment for this gentleman? Not hearing any. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Anyone else? We'll move right along. approval and corrections to the agenda is hearing. Mr. Chairman, um whichever way you prefer, I've got an item I'd like to add to tonight's agenda. Sure. You want me to move for suspension of the rules? Sure.

Mr. Chairman, I move for suspension of the rules. Uh this was something that was recommended from the facilities committee. It did not go before budget committee, but it was recommended tonight by the facilities committee that we pull uh $35,000 from general fund 171 to pay the cope architects for a space study for the justice center concerning our courtrooms. All right, we will vote on the suspension of the rule. We have a motion on the floor. Second to suspend the rule.

We have 17 years roll. Rule has been suspended. Make Mr. Chairman, I move to add a budget amendment to tonight's agenda. Uh it's in the amount of $35,000. It's coming from uh Capital Fund 171 and it is for the COPE architects for a space study for the Jefferson County Justice Center. Is there a second? Second.

I'll second. I got one question or comment before we proceed to vote. This will be added before we vote. Do you want to add it to Jesse's agenda for the full commission? You put new business. You we whatever you is where I'd put it. Fine by me.

Sure. New business. All right, we can get everybody to vote. We have 17 yes, zero, no. It'll be added to the agenda under business. It will be it'll be H. Okay, moving right along. We got approval of minutes. You got a vote in session sess session March 23rd, 2026. Oh, I'm sorry. We got to we got to approve the consent agenda. I'm sorry. Oh yeah, I got right now.

Need a vote. Joe,

we have 17 yes, zero no. Agenda is set. You don't got to do the consent, do we? You have approval of the minutes voting session March 23rd, 2026. And you have a beer board March 23rd, 2026. Got a motion on the floor and a second. Proceed to vote. 17 yes, zero no passes. Now we are at the appearance of citizens. The first on appearance of citizens would be Jacob Thompson. Come to the podium. State your name and address. What you want to talk about? Jacob Thompson 1598. Want to tell you all my support for David Kelly to assume the um term for Brad Gas for constible in district 10. Uh David was very good to work with. very much enjoyed serving beside of him. Um there are some new requirements since he went out of office. So we just ask that you all table that till next meeting um so that he can get those taken care of. That's all I have to say. Thank you so much.

Thank you sir. Next we have Tom Carter and on deck we'll have Dean Julian. I'm here on behalf of the R2 zoning from A1 to R2 uh off of uh highway down there for Mr. Parton. Uh, I know there've been some concern about the high density, it being R2, but uh, I just wanted to assure everyone that the density will be determined by the amount of field line that someone can get in that zoning. Uh, I've heard somebody say it's going to be 40 apartments, you know, so many duplexes and things like this. There would be a restriction when you zone something or two as far as how dense it could be. In this situation right here, Mr. Parton could put two uh duplexes on that property by subdividing and his request is to put two triplexes. And I addressed this at the planning commission uh as far before they brought it to you all. And uh it was approved by the state planner to go ahead. It's on this R2 uh because of what's around there density. You got uh mobile home park. It's on 23 acres and I think there's right at 50 55 homes there. You've got Berry Ridge which has maybe 135 homes which is both those locations are no more than 1,000 ft from this location right here. So u

I'm the one that recommended him putting it to R2 for for that simple reason so he could get triplexes instead of duplexes. And I've got several other people. And most of these people are young people, people starting out trying to better theirel with extra income later on down the road. And I think it'd be a shame that we limit people on just little bitty issues as far as a R1 from A1 to R2 zone. And that's all I've got to say.

Thank you, Mr. Carter. Danny Julian on deck. We got Jim Fox.

I'm Danny Julian. 1633 Muddy Creek Road, Dandridge, Tennessee. I was going to address situation with the county workers pay the highway department. But I think that's already been taken care of part of it. Uh what I was wondering is why can we not get revenue out of these campgrounds charge the permanent campers that are in them charge them $150 $200 a year to be a partial resident of Dandridge since they use our roads our lakes why would that not be feasible to help our infrastructure we got all these campgrounds and they'd have to put a decal on have a decal on their camper saying they paid for this. I just think that would raise a lot of revenue from out of town people and people in these campers are not from Dandridge, but they're taking advantage of all our infrastructure. That's all I've got to say.

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Next, we got Jim Fox on deck. You got William Moore.

Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to to uh speak. My name is Jim Fox. I live on Aene Trail in Dandridge. Uh late last week, uh the election commission released the financial statements of that they have of several folks that are running for as candidates for various positions. There's a couple things that uh I noticed that uh I think that should be addressed. One, as far as the vacancy for for uh uh district 6, I believe one of the possible candidates made a contribution to one of the sitting commissioners here. That would I would think would be a conflict of interest in that he would be voting voting for that. So, if any commissioner has received any funds from anybody that's uh vying for this seat, uh I think the right thing to do would be to abstain from from voting for this. Secondly, uh the commission, the county and the commission as a whole is in litigation currently with a uh a with a business and that uh that business itself and the owners of that business has made several contributions to uh city commissioners and even potential commissioners. And since uh we're the commissioners are a defendant in this uh I see that as being a serious uh uh uh contradiction of interest and that uh that's something we should uh seriously look into as to um as to what's going on there and anybody that's involved in that should be recused from uh being a part of that litigation. Uh, I believe this to be a clear violation of ethics, possible witness tampering, and possibly even grounds for a uh a mistrial.

I appreciate it. I wish you'd look into it. Thank you for your time. Next, we have Gwen Moore. Next up, we have Charleston Burger on deck.

Hi there. I'm Gwen Moore from 2402 Highway 2570W. Um, I'm here about the the reasonzoning across the street from my home. And I wanted to let you know I am opposed to it. I have reasons. I I I and I don't know what they're planning on doing with it, but a lot of the neighborhood is concerned about it because of where it's at. The the highway there is dangerous anyway, and I just want to speak my piece about it.

Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Charleston Burger. On deck we have Jim Snder speaking on behalf of Jonathan Scott.

Good afternoon county commission. My name is Charleston Burgerer. I live at 1817 Fain Cemetery Road College. I spent the past several months studying the importance of local government and why both peers and adults around me failed to get involved at the local level to make the greatest impact they can. Through a countywide survey, interviews with residents and public officials in Jefferson County, I have confidently identified the central issue, a communication gap that limits public awareness of its true impact on local government. Despite the crucial role local government plays, my research suggests that many citizens continue to experience barriers of disengagement as a lack of transparency in Jefferson County remains the status quo. To better understand this issue, I conducted an independent anonymous survey over a 55day period, receiving responses from 122 Jefferson County residents, as well as interviews with citizens in each district. When examining trust in local government, respondents expressed mixed opinions. Some reported confidence at only 17%. While others disagreed and were more skeptical at se 31%. When asked to judge county commission's performance, respondents ranged from quote a decent job at 36% to quote a very poor job at 11%. Some respondents cited concerns such as quote too many commissioners, lack of follow-up, and county officials placing the interest of outside investors above the interest of citizens. Finally, question seven asked, "How can we get more citizens of Jefferson County involved? The most tangible action includes the creation of an HR department. Establishing a human resources department for the county commission is one of many solutions proposed in my research that could truly help Jefferson County grow to reach its full potential. When speaking with Jefferson County Mayor Mark Pototts on this issue, he noted the problem with

approving a salary for a new HR department that simply isn't in the budget. However, this proposal could still be feasible by bringing in additional tax revenue. Following the most recent commission meeting in which you all voted not to add any additional tax revenue for the next fiscal year for the delays unification between Jefferson County's legislative body and the people it serves. However, this could proposal could still be feasible. Various federal grants opportunities can assist counties like Jefferson in developing an HR department, particularly because it will be linked to workforce development, rural infrastructure, and community development. Through surveys, data collection, interviews, and analysis, I have concluded that by addressing the communication gap and putting these solutions into action, Jefferson County, Tennessee, has the potential and opportunity to rebuild trust and strengthen civic engagement to form a more unified community. Thank you.

And my packet should also be in front of you. I had Mr. Snograss pass it down. Thank you. Jim Snder speaking for Jonathan Scott. He will also be speaking for David Nelson. And Terry Teter, I believe. Terry Terry Teter. So, you want me to go all three again? You're up. Okay.

All right. Uh this this letter is from Jonathan Scott, 2326 Lamplider Lane, New Market, Tennessee. Dear members of the county commission, I'm writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed zoning change for parcel 061.07 from agriculture to multi-residential R2. And this is the one on 2570 at the four-way stop. Our community highly values this area for its agricultural use, open space, and rural character. Reclassification of R2 would significantly increase population density and strain local infrastructure, including roads, water systems, and emergency services. These changes risk reducing the quality of life for current residents and negatively impacting the local agricultural economy and environment. Furthermore, a multi-residential development raises serious concerns regarding increased traffic, noise, and the loss of green space and wildlife habits. I respect respectfully urge the commission to consider the long-term consequences of this proposal and prioritize the preservation of our community's character by denying this resoning request. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Jonathan Scott. All right. This is from David Nelson. Lives at 470 Judson Road, Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. My name is David Nelson. This letter is on my behalf. Does not represent views of anyone else, including its reader. Due to family obligations, I'm unable to attend the 4206 meeting. Thank you for allowing someone to read this letter in my absence. I want to share my thoughts about the resoning request from A1 to R2 on West Highway 2570, New Market.

In the year 2000, Jefferson County adopted an urban growth plan as required by the state of Tennessee. Under the enabling statute, the county was required to designate and did designate one urban grow growth boundaries, two planned growth areas, and three rural areas. TCA6-58-106 requires areas designated as rural areas to be preserved as one agricultural lands, forest, recreational areas, wildlife management areas or two for uses other than highdensity commercial, industrial or residential development. Further, TCA6-58-107 requires that all land use decisions by county regional planning commissions and county legislative bodies shall be consistent with the growth plan. In both sections 9.1 and 9.2 of our zoning resolution, the R2 zoning district is described as high density. An R2 highdensity residential district in this rural area would be inconsistent with the county's existing urban growth plan. Therefore, it is prohibited by TCA6-58-107. In addition, section 9.5 of our zoning resolution states that the intent of the R2 highdensity residential district is to establish highdensity residential uses that are adjacent to municipalities. This reszoning is for property which is nowhere near New Market or Danidge. Therefore, our zoning resolution precludes classifying it as an R2 highdensity residential district. Commissioners, please carefully weigh the rules governing your decision-making authority as you cast your vote on this resoning request. Respectfully, David Nelson.

Okay, one more. Uh, this letter is from Terry Teter, 867 Dalton Road, New Market, Tennessee. He's representing himself. Dear commissioners, I'm writing to urge you to vote no tonight on the resoning proposal for the Asheville Highway property. I have lived in this community for over 15 years and I'm deeply invested in protecting the character and future of the place I call home. The proposal deserves far more study before any changes are made. Opening the door to spot zoning in a rural area sets a precedent that could permanently alter the identity of our community. allowing rental properties at this location is not the right fit and the potential impacts, traffic density, infrastructure strain, and long-term precedent have not been fully evaluated. We have all seen the consequences of rushed zoning decisions in Knox County, and I do not want to see Jefferson County follow that same path. We elect our commissioners to bear our voice, and tonight we need you to represent the concerns of the residents who live here by voting no. Thank you for your time and your commitment to making thoughtful decisions for our area. That's it.

Thank you, sir. Next, we have Brandon Parton. On deck will be Mike Parker.

Brandon Pardon, are you here? You're good. My partner Good evening, chairman, commission. Um, I'm here tonight to uh oppose the zoning of the property at 2570. Um, that's going to be voted on tonight. There's a few reasons for this opposition. The zoning does not fit the area. There's no R2 zoning anywhere in west in the west end of Jefferson County. The area is all agriculture with large farms all around the property. In the regional planning meeting, the reason was given to move forward was because there's a mobile home community across the street, across the highway. That mobile home community has been there for decades and was grandfathered in. The other excuse that was given was because it's close to Sevir County or Sevirville. Uh the issue with that, we're not Sevir County. We're Jefferson County and we have zoning rules. Every single candidate that was at the debate talked about the issues with zoning. How can we continue to change zoning and make zoning changes like this when we still don't have a plan to fix it? And so my my challenge is simple tonight that we either table it or vote no on it until we can figure out exactly how to zone it correctly. Because if you do R2 zoning in this area of Asheville Highway, it opens up the box for everything to be turned into R2 zoning in that area and for mass dense housing to take place. our community. We're right on the edge of Knox County and Jefferson County, and we're already seeing that in the Carter community. There are hundreds of houses being built. The school's going to be overrun there within the next 12 to 18 months. And we just don't want the same thing to happen at Rush Strong. We need to have a firm plan in place of how we're going to grow and develop our county. The other issue is safety. When I went and and looked at the property, it's on a blind hill. So, if you pull out onto Asheville Highway, the issue you have is you're going to have that blind hill to have to deal with where there's already accidents. There's already a lot of

traffic in that area because of the four-way stop. If you take the exit to lamp lighter, lamp lighter isn't big enough for two vehicles. And so, you've got a bigger issue there. So, then what happens? We have to as a county address that issue with the infrastructure and h have to fix the roads and everything in that area. So, I urge you for now to vote no until we can figure out what the solution is for our zoning. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks, Sarah. Next, we'll move along with the agenda to the approval of notaries and bonds. I believe Frank's got an addition. Please, the commission. I've got four names that were added late. Tory Davis, Veronica Smith, James Clowninger, and Kayla Parker. Question or comment? Not hearing any. We'll proceed to vote. We have 17 yes zero. No passes.

Next we have nominating committee. You want to read them? Sure. You want to read them or you want me to?

You can. We met tonight. Uh we have a county board of equalization Bob Hardy, Bobby Rogers, Charles Briggs, Charles Crosby, and Ellie Smith. These are two-year terms. All are previous members. And we also uh this was recommended from the library board. K. Rutherford 726 629. Joe Payne 726 629. Rex Kicks 726 629. and Betty Kazerin 725 to 628 all of them was approved chairman sir should be Craig Rick instead Charles

Craig okay Craig sorry my face got Charles here all right uh question or comment not hearing any we'll proceed to vote

17 yes zero nos passes that's got Charles on it, but it's supposed to be Craig. You can have it.

All right. Next on the agenda, we have appointment of the 10th 10th district constable. And I believe we have a issue with that.

Frank, can you enlight us on that one? uh potential candidates are required to uh submit two forms to my office. One uh that they qualify and two they have to have a doctor's statement. Uh I had one candidate turn in the initial affidavit but was not able to get a doctor's statement. So at this time we do not have a qualified candidate uh to appoint. I've spoken with Mr. bug and and we have met the timeline that he will have this on the August election, but we should still appoint uh but possibly next month if we get a qualified candidate. Um I believe that candidate is working on getting the proper paperwork, but it's not nothing has been filed as of yet. TCA says it should be filed prior to the election. So my understanding we'd be unable to appoint tonight.

All right. So, the appointment for the 10th district constable will be moved to the next month's agenda. You want a motion on I was going to move to postpone. You want a motion on it? I just move it. Okay.

Next, we got reports from elected officials and department heads. First in Lions, County Mayor Mark Pots. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, commissioners. Uh news from the legislature is not information that I want to give you. you want to hear, but the real estate transfer tax tax is dead again. So, I've got an email. I'm going to try again next year. Next year's budget, try to get that real estate transfer tax. As you know, it's about 1.2 million that would come directly to us. We collect it, send it to the state went with it. They were using 50% of it. You know, you hired Mr. Seal as a lobbyist. We worked. all 95 counties worked and it just did not happen. Uh state doesn't want to give up that money. When you take 95 counties and you're getting a half million to a million, that's a it's a little guarded. So anyway, just want to tell you that uh that's going forward place there that came from your courtroom security committee. Uh it's on your desk. Uh it talks about for the new judge and and the expansion uh the needs. They do not make a recommendation. They just say that personnel and equipment cannot make it secure the way the state wants. So that report is on your desk. It was given out. U we just have to respond by December on that. It's just a matter that you receive the report. Other than that, I have no other information.

Question or comment for the mayor? Thanks, sir. Next we have chairman's comments. James Carmichael County Commission schedule. We have kicked around the ideas of different scheduling and me personally I think we need to go back to a work session. That's what I'd like to see and I'd like to see it go back to the old schedule and that is we had roughly eight meetings a year. The meetings that we would not have would be February, December, and August. And you would have a work session that would be scheduled like it used to be before one week before the voting meeting. I feel that the commission needs it. You need to hash out everything at the work session where when a voting meeting happens, we come in here, public comment, we vote, we go home. That's just the chairman's opinion. Floor is open to suggestions or somebody make a motion.

Well, comment. If we're going to make a change on something like this, why don't you put something in writing for us to actually see and touch? Waiting for the input. I'm just suggesting personally I think you can spend hours, you know, in answer to your comment. You can spend hours trying to come up with something and everybody else has got a different idea. So why do that? Why not get everybody? Well, that's up to you. If you want to clearly communicate to put it in writing, I'm speaking. I'm answering your question. You ask, I'm answering the question.

Okay. That's why it's not in writing because it's up for everybody to decide. It's not for me to decide. Y'all decide. You can write it right now. You can write your own schedule. Now, sir, you have the floor.

Mr. Brooks, Mr. Mr. Chairman, so you're proposing eight voting meetings per year and eight work sessions. Yes. Okay. It would be a two meeting tandem. The for for y'all that wasn't here years ago. Yeah. I recall we had a work session and then a week later the voting meeting is on the same like tonight. It was always the third Monday. Mhm. So be the second Monday and the third Monday would be your work session. If y'all want to alter that, that's up to you all. That's not up to me. I'm just the chairman. I enforce the rule you give me.

Yeah, I've got no issues with the work sessions. I would like to see a voting meeting scheduled each month so that we can take care of business coming from other departments uh such as the school board, the planning commission. I'd like I'd like to have uh meetings and we can always cancel a meeting if there were to be no business, but I would like our yearly schedule to have a once a month. That's what Terry Dockery had proposed last year. and uh we've had some business to to attend to every single month. So, me personally, I would like to see we maintain 12 voting meetings and I'm happy to have as many uh work sessions as as people feel that we need if we want to do it quarterly, if we want to do the eight uh work sessions, but um I strongly suggest that we stick with our 12 voting sessions per year. Well, to to answer to that is years ago we left the three months out because most people wanted Christmas off. February is really there's not very much business happens in February, but in August everybody's getting ready to go to school. They're all wanting to take their vacation. So, we allowed everybody to schedule where when you schedule every month, your problem's going to be is we're stuck at 17 to 18 commissioners every month, you know, trying to get everybody here. So, are you making a motion to do that?

Yeah, I'd be happy to do that. We don't have an agenda item on it, but uh I'm happy to move that we approve a meeting schedule, 12 voting meetings, and eight work sessions for uh fiscal year 2627. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Bes

July July 1st. Yes, sir. Yeah, that is the start of the schedule. which I sure can make a statement.

Sure. The only thing I would The only thing that I would not like to see is we do what we normally did with work sessions. We come in and uh spend as little time as possible here. These work sessions should be the kind where we actually do the business and that way commissioners can be notified by citizens if they've got something that they want to make sure that we discuss or we point out. So it should be really classified as a working work session, not just let's you know everything and go out the door and we vote to next week. That's just my opinion and I'm putting it out there respectfully.

Thank you sir. Miss Katie.

Okay. I personally prefer the eight meetings with a work session because if you have meetings during one month with no work session, the same thing happens. You get in here and you're voting on stuff without any discussion. So, and we can always sp we can always um schedule a special called meeting if there's something urgent on the agenda. So I my personal preference is I don't like meeting with a voting meeting without a work session at all. I think it's dysfunctional for us. The communication isn't there. The documentation is not available. So I don't I don't want to support meeting without a work session. And I think when we had eight meetings a year, that was sufficient for us to do our business effectively because if you go to 12, then people don't want to meet 12 times a year with 12 work sessions.

Thank you. Anyone else with a comment? Mr. Coleman, I also agree with the eight meetings and eight work sessions. And as with past history, if there's any kind of issues are urgent, we never had a problem calling for a special call meeting to resolve those issues. A lot of times we come in and everything gets sprung on us and we have no idea what's going on with it and we're asking to vote on it. It's me. That's one way to correct it. Anyone else?

We'll proceed to vote. Closing comments. Eight work sessions. The the eight work sessions. What do you want to call them scheduling wise would be? So we'll exclude the month of February, December, August. What's the fourth month in that eight-month schedule? I think it was typically June and we did a special call. It was typically June that we actually that was vacation month. I I'm sorry. We had a special call for the budget. Okay. There was always a special call to finalize the budget which finalized tonight.

Yeah. So my uh we would have 12 meetings the third Monday of the month less holiday. Uh and then we would have eight work sessions which would fall on the second Monday. Again, unless there's a holiday. The months excluded would be the month of February, December, August, and June. Uh as long as uh Mr. Bales agrees to that as my second. Uh and in closing comments, I would just like to say we've had this come up in the past where the school system needs something approved, nonprofits need something approved. We should be in here each month conducting business for our county. We were elected to do that job. We should be in here doing that job. Trying to limit uh access to the people's government is is not a smart thing to do right now. Uh people deserve to have a county commission working each month for them.

Mr. Bes, I think if we're going to have a voting session, we need a work session in front of it. So I'll withdraw my second. We're gonna have a meeting. Do 12 and 12 to get paid for 12. There you go. You want to amend do 12 and 12? I'll agree to it. You don't want to come to I'll agree to it. Are we Are we in agreement? 1212. We're going to have work session or vote session. We had work session before. I'll agree to that.

Does everyone understand the situation at hand? We got to make sure we write this down correctly. We'll be ready to vote.

Does everyone understand what they're voting on? That's the new commission schedule will be 12 meetings, 12 work sessions. Greg Burton, you just explain that cuz there were so many flying around. I didn't know what we decided to vote on. It's getting ridiculous. 12 work sessions to our voting. Whoa. Whoa. Okay. You want it explained? You want to explain? You want me to? Yes, sir. 12 monthly meetings, 12 work sessions. If you don't like it, don't vote for it. We'll change and do something else.

We will proceed to vote. We have 10 yes, seven no fails for a lack of 11. Uh I think we need 14 to set our schedule, don't we? Nope. Simple 11. Well, I don't know. No, cuz it's simple 11. Okay. Simple 11. Okay. Does not pass. 10 yes, seven no. Is there another motion on the floor, Katie?

I make a motion we go back to our old schedule and I'm still not sure the months are right. So, can we just No, that is correct on the months. I I just left June out what I did. That was my mistake. So, you think it's around a second? May June. Can you use your microphone? Okay. So, tell me again every third month and it went in order because June was the biggest vacation month and a lot of commissioners used to all take June. I I thought it was May

instead of June. And it went I thought it went every 3 months we were off a month. But I don't have my notes in front of me. So, two minutes. I would like to do it based on old minutes and get the months right, but can we vote for it eight months with eight work sessions just like we did in the past? because I was chairman in 17.

Anyone else have a comment while we're looking for Okay. 2017, we met in January. We did not meet in February. We met in March. We met in April. Uh we did not meet in May. We met in June. That's the budget. We met in July. We did not meet in August. We met in September, October, and November. Did not meet in December. We did have two special call meetings in May of that year.

That was in 2017. We have a motion on the floor. It's been seconded. We probably need to get to it. Okay. So, for clarification, no meeting in January, May, August, and December. No, we met in January. You met in January. It's February. Oh, February. May February, May, August, and December. No meeting. The other did a little quick calendar work for you. Okay.

If it helps. So you would meet July the 13th work session. July the 20th is your regular meeting. You would skip August. You would go to September. September the 14th and the 21st would be your dates. You would then go to October the 13th and 20th, November 9th and 16th. Then that brings you into the new year, January the 11th and 19th. skip February, you got March 15th and 22nd, April the 12th and 19th. If you skip May, then you would have a special called in June or have a regular meeting with a special called afterward for the budget. That's if if you're going with that route. So, I just kind of put the dates to it for you.

That's one of those. Is that what you want? Yes. Second. Is that what you want? We have a list. We will Jim Sners right to speak. So, how does that uh I'm trying to think how does that affect our policies and procedures relative to the work session and distribution of the pack information packets? Would that be 6 days in advance of the work session or 6 days in advance of the voting? Be in advance of the work session. It's it's addressed in the rules. If there is a work session, Friday before work session, you get your packet from Friday before work session.

So, one day before work session, Friday, then you got Saturday, Sunday, and Monday's work session. Then you have a week before you vote. All right. So, we're going to come, we're going to get our packets probably Friday afternoon like we typically do. Then we got to read through all those over the weekend and research and study and call and ask questions. Then you got week. Then you got to wait. So that means most of us will show up for the work session unprepared. A lot of you will. You will read it.

I'm just I I just personally I never got much value out of getting that huge packet on late Friday afternoon and having to cram through it and call people over the weekend. I believe what we're doing is fairly efficient. Would I like more time to study? Absolutely. But we also have the power to make a motion to post postpone until the next meeting until we can get more research. So I think that's again I feel like this is very efficient process. We're taking care of county business every month and it there are times when we should have used our postpone power to delay something and study that. yield the floor

and also gives you the ability to add an item at your work session for your voting meeting. That's one phase that we come prepared. We will proceed to vote. What we made? All right, you can fix it.

Uh WD Henry, we have 12 yes, four no passes. That's all I have for you this evening from the chair. We go home. Not yet. You got to hang out with me a minute ago. That sets the schedule. The new schedule will be printed out and sent out to everyone. Other elected officials, county attorney, you got 11.

Directors, Mrs. Jesse, do you have anything for us? the February financials. I'll be happy to answer any questions if you have any on that. Anybody have a question for Jess?

Okay. The next item I do want to um just take a moment. Uh the refunding bond results memo was included in your packet. Um, just wanted to give you some feedback where we were, how we saved the county funding, and um, I appreciate your support on that. Uh, we did end up locking it in at a 3% rate. We were projected at 3.23%. So, that's a that's a positive looking at at a lower rate. We also were able to save the county over 4.2 2 million through the process. Um, but through this process, we were able to improve our bond rating and that's really what I want to brag on. So, um, I do appreciate you all. This does reflect this body right here and in this room over this and I understand that a lot of people don't really understand it and that's fine, but this is a big thing in my world. So, we are now AA1. That's huge for this county. Um, that's the highest rating our county has ever seen. And I just want to give the credit to you all. Um, Moody's did identify how we got to this point. And they said, um, by conservative budgeting practices, it's you all. Thank you. Prudent management of operations. That's our department heads and elected officials and sustained growth in local tax revenues. It just said over the past several years, management's disciplined approach has resulted in a materially strengthened balance sheet with available fund balance. And I just wanted to just say thank you

guys. This is huge. Um this will help us in our future. And uh now we have the challenge of sustaining it and keeping it. So, um, does anybody have any questions on what that means for our county? Remind them it's the best in the history of our county. The history, y'all. The best in the history of Jefferson County. So, that's definitely um bragworthy. I've got Steve working on an article for that. He doesn't know it yet because that's

I think actually if I may add the best thing to me was that we have matched Knox County and Sevir County with all of their millions of dollars. We have the same rating as they do. Same lottery. So that helps us in the future for any potential debt that we may have to go before. Um that helps us get a lower interest rate. We're more attractive. So uh it's just something to brag about. So, I appreciate you all. Thank you. Thank you. Sure.

Uh, we can take a lot of credit up here, but the finance department and Jesse under her leadership deserve a lot of credit, too. And I want to say thank you publicly for what you do and and that's a tough job, but u you're doing it with some qualifications and and and quality pork in that department. Thank you. Uh Tommy, I'm sorry, but I was about to hop over you.

No problem. No problem. Uh yes, I was asked to update on Jefferson Elementary School. Uh first I want to say just reiterate without finance department we'd be going blind. They help us so much and get us on the right path. I also want to uh let Pop know that the high school baseball team just won district champs. Brody threw a no hitter today. So, wow. So, I know you'd be interested.

But, uh Jefferson Elementary School, I sent out just a little bit of information on that. Um we as we've progressed along the path of of finishing design development and moving to the construction document phase um we've seen that we're not going to finish that construction document phase probably till sometime in in end of June mid July sometime in that phase and then that has to be bid out. So we the abatement out of that package and we have bid that separately that is out for bid currently and um we expect those bids to be in May the 7th to um evaluate those bids on May the 7th and uh award a bid enter into contract so that we could abate that building over the summer while no one is present. And then whenever um construction documents are finished, the project is bid out, a a contract is awarded, goes through um county and school attorneys, finalized, then we could start that project and and not have to worry about any abatement slowing that process down. um had some concerns asked at the board meeting just about you know what what happens if if something doesn't come in um such as it delays more comes in over budget you know we can always reduce cost within a a budget and u we we have to abate the school we need to make that happen anyway so um you know we are separating those packages we've talked to the board about that. Um they they have the final say in that as far as moving that

process along, but um we we look confident we've had two companies um express interest in abatement of that and we'll find that out soon. But um you know, we've not come across any big issues along the way. Uh so nothing major. So, we've had some water infiltrating into the system, but we found those uh issues and and solve them. Um there was some some plumbing leaks and different things that we found inspecting. Uh the sheriff helped us one day with a robot taking it through a tunnel. Uh found some stuff. So, that's helped us out a lot. I'll be happy to answer any questions anybody may have.

Question or comment? Mr. R. Hey, Director Arnold Rush Strong is looking great. We like the awning out there. It looks nice. Thank you all for getting on that. It's I guess it's finished now or almost close. Mhm. And uh the playgrounds are looking great. Thank you very much. What you and the board are doing there. We appreciate it. Welcome. Welcome. We try to everything we touch we try to make better today than it was yesterday. So, including our kids. Thank you, sir. Thank you. We will have a short 8:00 break.

Eat your fill of it. this meeting back to order. Next on the agenda, we have the budget committee and Mr. Tim SS. Well, Jesse, you want to you have paperwork? I don't. You don't have to come before. If I can stay seated, I'll be happy to leave if you can.

Okay. Um the budget committee did recommend all of the budget amendments that are presented before you. We can start with fund 101 amendment number 20. There are 14 items. Balance usage is $37,444. Reserve balance usage of $54,418. Question or comment? Not hearing any. We'll proceed to vote

17. Yes. It's got fund balance in it. No. So, drug fund 122 amendment number four. No use of fund balance or reserves. This is bringing in funds where they sold a ticket go question or comment to vote

17 yes zero no passes. Next item's highway fund 131 amendment number six use of reserves $42,48 and that's item number six. Question or comment? Proceed to vote. 17 yes, zero knows. Pass. Next items. Debt service fund 151, amendment number one, use of reserves 325,000. Question or comment? Proceed to vote.

17 yes. Leave no pass. All the school budget amendments. There is no use of fund balance or reserves. If you want to take take all three of them. Take all three. A, B, and C. Proceed to vote.

17. Yes. Zero. No. Passes. Policy review and updates. The first one. Travel policy. Okay, thanks. Travel policy 2.1. Um, these were recommended by the finance committee as well as the budget committee. Save the vote. Question or comment. 17 yes, zero no pass. Next.

Okay. The next one is 4.1 fund balance policy. And this was as well recommended by the finance committee as well as the budget committee. Question or comment. Proceed to vote.

What happened? What? Next we have 6.8 surplus policy. 4.3 4.3 debt management policy. Um the the proposed revisions on this policy, it does have to be approved each year and that was CASS recommendation on any of the proposed question or comment proceed. And the next one, the next one is 6.8 surplus property policy. It was recommended by the finance committee and it was uh

Mr. Chairman uh on a motion for Mr. Coleman, a second by me uh we move to move this to full county commission with no recommendation.

I want to speak on that.

Sure. Go ahead. under the review for the surplus property policy 6.8. Uh past history we've had uh the um uh property that's not used by other u um facilities in the county. uh to go to the um uh fire department's rescue squad or the animal shelter. um and this revision stricken from it and I'm asking for it to be put back um in place and basically it says for property other county departments of the school system the finance director shall present the miss to Jefferson County volunteer fire departments the Jefferson County rescue squad and the animal shelter funded by the county for their consideration And I feel like any way we can help that these volunteer departments, we need to do so.

So, I'm making a motion for that to be put back into this policy. Is there a second? Well, we've already got a motion. We can amend it. Katie Huffaker, you can speak while we get this figured out. Then Marcus Street. Okay. So, I I don't know if the sheriff's here or the road superintendent Joe, would you like to come and tell us why? Could you give us some information on this and let us know why it was taken out?

All the way to the podium, sir on the that thing like the fire departments can take it. But my problem with that is they're not, you know, they don't got to show what they do with it once they take it. I just think if they're going to get something, they ought to be like my department and have to keep it and whatever. If it's sold, it comes back to us. But the way it is right now, they can take it and do what they want.

So my understanding that's what has happened in the past, right? like you all didn't sell it. You gave it to somebody else that was non-government and then when it got there it got sold where you could have sold it and gotten the money for the county department is my understanding why this was taken out. If you got a fire department that needs an explore something then let them ask the departments and say hey we need explore can you donate them? Anyone else got a question for Jer? My question is where did that happen at? Where did that happen at? Does that happen? Has it happened?

That's what I've heard. But I got I'm asking is is there any proof that that's happened? And as I said, I think as much volunteer services as we get from the fire departments and the squad and the animal shelter that we deserve to help them any way possible. Not saying don't help them, but I think they understand. Well, if there's an issue with u what they do with the property, then maybe we need to ask the county attorney to draw up a policy that once they're through with it is to be returned to the county.

Well, that's, you know, that be fine. My motion still sands to uh leave that in the policy as far as s sur surplus property on some sort of list. Well, I wanted to amend Well, I wanted to add the wording what Ronnie just said where somewhere in there

if it goes to another entity, fire department, rescue squad, care that when they surplus it again, they have to let us know. So, I would like to add that wording in this motion in the document. Well, why not just come back to the county? Yeah. Or come back to the county. Okay. You good with that? I'm good with that. I'm good with a second on that. Need to amend it. Okay. Tim, was you going to speak? Because I got BL was up and now you got about to get scattered out here. So, you're accepting her amendment. You're accepted. Yes. Okay.

Yeah. I second it. Okay. Can we just roll this to next meeting because it's not urgent to but that way we read it before we vote on it. I mean, can Frank not do that now? We can do that right now. Okay. See, no problem. But if you're asking the county attorney to comment in about this to write it up, we'd have to move it to the next meeting. Would that not be right, Doug? So we will if you want to postpone or send it to the next meeting and deal with it then.

Okay. I got Marcus here. Is that uh you want Can we Can I get Eric to speak please?

Sure. Eric, come on up. You and Joe swap places. Thank you. The state surplus policy used to be that even if the county took a vehicle, if you bought it from the state surplus, you had to maintain that vehicle for one year and at any time the state could come back and take it from you whether you bought it from or paid. So if the county proposed that, my whole thing is when the sheriff's department gets rid of it, it's junk. When EMS gets rid of it, it's junk. It's wore out. Absolutely wore out. You're And I'm not against the fire departments, not against rescue squad, no matter what. Life member of the rescue squad. But if we're going to give money away when you're taking things that we could be putting back in our budget, yeah, that's small. But those vehicles add money, too. And it helps offset if you got cuz if you come over and look what I've got, ain't nobody wants what I've got. but it's scrap and it can be sold as scrap. But that's something to think about in your policy. If you're going to do something like that, uh, with the state's policy being in line, it has to be maintained for one year and the county would have to know that and then given the option of bringing it back to the county.

State policy still like that? As far as I know, I can research and find out for sure. Marcus, you you still got the floor. I just uh I know we voted unanimous as finance committee for this because of the reason that Joe and Eric explain and I have no problem if we word it to where you just can't get something and do what you want to with it because it it needs to come back to the county. It needs to come back to the county. They should tell us what they want to do with it. Sounds may like a second simple fix.

If they want it, they got to bring it back. Jim, you was keyed in. You rest. Yeah. Okay. So, what's the pleasure? Where we at? We have a motion on the floor and a second. What's the motion? Yeah. Read the motion, please. Your motion, sir. Do you want to add to it that they have to maintain it? That's what we did. That's what's already been done. The motion was keep the fire department, rescue squad, and animal shelter funded by the county in however they

once once they're uh to dispose of it comes back to the county. It comes back to the county when that's simple enough. Now, the second Tim, you agree?

Yep. proceed the vote. 17 yes, zero nos. Passes. Next county commission items. FY 202425 Jefferson County government audit. Do we need to vote to accept that question or comment? Not seeing any. We'll proceed to vote. 17 yes, zero no passes. Dead obligation report. We have a motion on the floor. has been seconded. Question or comment, proceed to vote. 170 passes. We go down. Nonprofits, fire, rescue, libraries, old business. We are an old business. Appointment of the six district commissioner.

I'll make a motion we table it till second. Next month till next month. Yeah. Is that We have a motion on the floor. Is that what they said? They wanted to wait give a month for them to get their paperwork in. Got a motion on the floor. You're doing You're doing the same for the commissioner. My bad. The only thing is we have a time constraint. Yeah. That we got to deal with. It's 120 days, Frank. And we're we're going to be at the we're going to be at the limit at that. So, Mr. Snograss, uh, like to nominate Mike Parker,

he made a motion at the table, so we'll have to deal with that first. Is it for the commissioner or for the constable? I'll withdraw my motion. He's going to be winning. He withdrew his motion. So, I'll nominate Mike Parker. I'm going to nominate Mike Parker. That's Yes. We have a nomination on the floor for Mike Parker. Mr. Chairman, sir, like to nominate Robert Grer. We have a nomination on the floor for Robert Bruner. Second. We have a second by Ronnie Coleman. Second. I just

I would like to suggest that we hear from each one of them again because this is extremely important. Does anyone object? I would before we go that I have a letter from Ransom Douglas. He asked me to read tonight. Is that acceptable? That'll be acceptable right now. I'm on it.

All right. As step down as the sixth district county commissioner as required by state law. Serving this county has been an honor and I remain deeply committed to its continued growth, stability, and success. As I consider who would be best suited to fill the remainder of my term, I felt it was important to support someone who not only understands the needs of our community, but who also possesses the character and mindset necessary to lead effectively. For these reasons, I once again would like to express my support for Mike Parker. Mike is a man of strong character and integrity, qualities that are essential in public service. He approaches challenges with a forward-thinking perspective and is willing to engage in respectful, meaningful discussions even when opinions differ. In a time when division has become increasingly common within our elected bodies, Mike stands out as someone who prioritizes collaboration and thoughtful dialogue. I firmly believe that Mike will approach decisions with best interests of the entire county in mind rather than personal benefit. His willingness to listen, share ideas, and work toward solutions that positively impact all citizens makes him well qualified to serve in this role. Our county deserves leadership that is focused, fair, and committed to progress. I'm confident that Mike Parker embodies these values and will serve our community with dedication and purpose. Respectfully, Ransom Douglas.

Well, we'll proceed to vote. Thank you, sir. Mr. BL,

thank you, Mr. Chairman. Nothing's changed in the whole situation. Two of you will win in May. You and Bruner, Parker and Bruner, and you'll face me in August. Nothing's changed in that. We're still the only three people in this room that will go against each other. So if you want to be voices for the district so much, like you say, I would ask you to wait till May, wait till the election in May and whoever's first, all nomination will be partners till August and then we'll have a three, you know, we'll all three go at it and see who wins. I don't see the necessity to do this when I hear equally from both sides. I'm not am I supposed to do? I'm the only one in here has to face all of you, both of you. in August. So, it's not fair either way to me or to either of you. In my opinion, that would be the fairest way to do this if that's what we want to do and promote. What's another 30 days? How long's it been? Seat from white pine's been empty.

Joe Coleman, I'd like to speak on this commentary that was in the paper. Thursday, Jefferson County Preservation Society endorses the reservation slate for county mayor, county commission. All these people they put in the paper here and this Jefferson County stay on point here.

This this Jefferson County Preservation Society, I don't know what their uh where their power comes from. I don't know anything about it, but they're endorsing certain candidates here and everything is going to change in this August election. And you can be assured of that it will change. Now, the decisions you make tonight might not be good after August. I don't know what you're going to do, but you better be making the right decisions for Jefferson County because it is changing. Thank you, sir. We will proceed to vote. Your name will be called when you hear again.

Oh, yes. You will respect. Does anybody object to both candidates speaking? There's not an objection. Mr. Parker, come to the microphone. Katie, can I speak? You speaking to him? No, I p I pushed the button before you said. Oh, I didn't see it. I'm sorry. Hold that just a minute, Mr. Tang. I'm sorry. I didn't see a little light come on. So, I want to move to table what Rob recommended. And since Doug's in the room, he can tell us if that's according to state law or not. if we can move to table it.

Okay. The problem is we have to vote. Just let me interject right here. Chairman, we have to vote someone in as quick as possible. That is the rules. We have 120 days to do that. We have to hold a vote tonight. If you No, we don't. If you vote. No, we don't. Whatever you want to vote. Vote. Whatever you want to vote. We have to hold a vote tonight. You're the I don't think so. You're outlined. Okay. You have the floor. Okay. So, how many days has it been? Yes. Since our last meeting? 60. Since our last meeting? 60. No. No. 30. It's been at least 30.

And the election will fall in 120 days. We can do that. So my question is are will we be within the 120day window if we seat the person in May and do it by popular vote from the district on the primary and if we're in the 120 days I would like to move to table it. Hold on one second. Would you please I'm not sure if Frank would know if we're either within the 120 days or we're not. Right. May will be within the 120 days. I've done the math, but May would be your deadline.

The meeting would fall within the 120 days. U except in Davidson and Shelby counties, the county commission must fill a vacancy within 120 days of receiving notice from the county clerk unless during that time there is a general election scheduled in the county and there is sufficient time for the vac to be placed on the ballot. There was a notice it was within the it was prior to the uh March meeting. The way I looked at July meeting would be the 120 days.

That way nobody did. They waited this long. Are you okay with that? I mean who you want to represent. You make an emotion. I'm making a table. If I second it, are you tableabling to kill or do you table with the next date in mind? Cuz the Robert's rule says you can't table to kill. No, you don't need to table this. It needs to be moved to the next meeting if that's what you want to do. That's postpon won't work with me. I I don't want to kill it. I want to postpone it if that's the proper terminology. Postpone would be until the May commission meeting. I second it.

We have a motion on the floor to postpone. A second. Question or comment? Yes. I'm sorry. Go ahead. WD was first. I would just like Miss uh Katie to clarify the purpose behind postponing another 30 days. Okay.

This is my clarification. I don't Facebook and I'm not going to, but I don't think kind words have been said back and forth over multiple issues lately. And I think the district will show who the popular vote is and we will go by what the district shows and that will help us determine. We voted on it before two, three times. We didn't get enough votes. most likely the same thing's going to happen again. So, we can sit here and argue about it and debate or we can let the citizens in the district help guide us in a direction of what to do next meeting. And that's my reasoning.

Yeah, you're number three. So, that Randy and WD is actually ahead of you, but you've done so. So, Randy, go ahead and speak. No, I hate agree with R. That's all I got to say. I hate it, but it works best. Randy, what' you say? Rob, let's postpone. Okay, let me do Henry. You're next. I call for the question. Let's vote. That done it. If you're for the postponement, vote yes. If you're against it, vote no. Hold up here. playing.

I believe that was s We have 12 yes, five no. Postpone next meeting. Next we have new business. Resolution 2026-13, resolution to adopt a fee schedule update for the Jefferson County Department of Environmental Health. Second reading. question or comment

go back. I received that letter. So February the 24th as we started.

We're okay. We're okay. We're okay.

Question or comment before we proceed to vote? 88 17 yes zero no passes. Next resolution 2026-14 a resolution amending the zoning map of Jefferson County, Tennessee by reszoning property A1 agriculture forestry to C2 general commercial 1639 West Highway 11 E new market owners Appalachian construction resign design one request to speak Randy Bennis

if anybody's seen that area before They started cleaning it up. It looks a whole lot better. And and what they're wanting to do there is is a good use of that land. Yes, sir. That's all I got. Does this come recommended from zoner? Yeah, it does. I think

it does. We'll proceed to vote. 17 yes, zero no. Resolution passes. Next resolution. A resolution amending the zoning map of Jefferson County, Tennessee by reszoning property from A1 Agricultural Forestry to R2 highdensity residential West Highway 2570 New Market owners Randon and Jessica Parton. No request to speak. We'll proceed to vote.

What's motion? My motion is to deny to deny this to R2. No, I'm Yeah, I figured you won't be I thought he make the motion to approve. I thought he was too withdrawn. You're the second. Marcus is the second. There is a motion on the floor to deny. One request to speak. Mr. Brooks.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to uh read just so everyone's understanding. I'm on the planning commission. Myself and Mr. Bales are both on the planning commission. We're the two county commissioners that sit there. I wanted to read the comments from our planner. It was said earlier that she approved of this. Uh these are her comments. The request from A1 agriculture to R2 highdensity residential is not warranted. This is an area of lowdensity housing with no similar zone districts or higher density land uses nearby to justify the requested higher density designation. Single family dwellings are allowable under the current zone district and utilities to service multifamily are not present in the area. Uh I voted against this in planning commission. This is not an appropriate uh location per state law and per our zoning regulations to have highdensity development. Uh I realize some people are going to argue, well, it's just 2.4 acres. The issue you're going to run into is when the next developer buys a neighboring parcel in the area and comes and requests an R2 zone, we're going to struggle to have grounds to deny that legally. Once we open Pandora's box, developers can continue to buy up farmland and come in and request this reszoning. We do not have the infrastructure to support this. Again, we do not have the infrastructure to support this. If we're going to approve this, there should be a plan to give more money to the fire department that covers that area, more money to the school system that's going to educate the children. We're going to need more money at the landfill. We're going to need more money at the highway department. If we continue to allow high density coming into the county, we're going to have to come up with a plan to pay for all of this. I rest. Mr. Chairman,

Katie Hicker, can I ask Stephanie, could you come up and and Tom too, please? So my understanding was the planner approved it or she recommended it in

Brooks's comments were what her comments were before she went out and looked at the property. After looking at the property, she said it she thought it'd be a situation where this would come into play. Change it from R1, I mean A1 to R1. R2. Okay. So, in the meeting she gave her opinion and the planning commission voted and it passed. Yes. Four to two to one. Okay. And you looked at it for septic. Yes.

And instead of two units, which if if he kept it zoned like it is, it would be divided and there would be two duplexes with two road access onto the main road. Yes. If it reszones, he would have two buildings with three units each. So, and each unit's a two-bedroom. Yes.

So, essentially two more units. So, we're doing four versus six. One road entry versus two road entries and the planner recommended it or didn't have an issue with it. I mean, we didn't they didn't discuss road entry on that because he was wanting to do one road to both, right? So, one entry for each entrance. All right. Thank you, Parker Street.

You know, I've listened to a lot lately to people talk about voting. I think every commissioner and whatever position they're running for, we bring up zoning. We bring up zoning over and over. I listened to Commissioner Sny Grass read what the code says. There's no way in the world I can vote for this. And I have warned you all before. And when I say warn, I respectfully tell you. I'm from a county that is the same size, almost the same size as Jeffson County. If you want to see R2 density, take a trip down to Cuban, Georgia, and take a look at it or look at it online. look at the land to Jefferson County and look at the people to Jefferson County and I still go down and I drive on road that I drove on when I was in high school. Yes, I went to high school and those roads you have to have turnabouts just to co control the flow of traffic. You're opening up as Commission Brook said Pandora's box. We're doing something. We're spot zoning and it's not right. is not in the growth boundary. Can I also call for vote, please?

That's what we're going to do. Vote to deny. I got closing still. Hurry. Okay, it's coming up on the screen here. Sorry. Well,

it's there. There we go. There we go. All right.

Okay. So, uh first couple pages are the excerpt from our packets. Uh this is the large uh overview of the area and the all the home community across the street that that was mentioned. And you can see here there's no C2. So this could almost fall this could basically fall into a spot zoning. I'm sorry not C2 R2 into a spot zoning situation. This is the parcel itself that was also on our packets. This is the overview here. You'll see all the agricultural land as you're going up 2570 towards Danidge, also down Snyder Road. And here's the main issue. This should have never been put into an R2. It directly violates our rules and operating procedures for the county. uh and that's not quite large enough but I want to read this uh first one which is the land use plan under that under residential under objective one policies under item number two there it says to allow higher density residential developments to in urban growth boundaries that are well served by public water and a sound road system. Okay. So, R2 is is meant to be in the cities up to the cities or right in their growth boundaries, not out in the middle of the rural area. That was the way that was set up. You go to the next slide on 9.5 uh which is actually our zoning resolutions on the intent of this district is to establish areas for highdensity residential uses that are adjacent to municipalities and to prevent non-compatible commercial, industrial and other uses that would interfere with the residential and aesthetic characteristics of the district. They

are designed to promote the efficient development of the county by encouraging residential activities in areas with good roads, good utilities, good access to commercial activities. My my point is here, if we're not going to follow our rules, then anybody that supports it is just saying, "Hey, we're as commissioners, we're going to do what we want to do regardless of what our rules and procedures say." So, who out here would believe whatever we do if we can't follow our own rules and procedures? It has absolutely nothing to do with what's going in or how many sewers or what have you. This does not follow our county rules and procedures. If we go against this and someone else brings in wants to bring in an R2, that entire valley up through there can be turned into high density. And we have very legal little legal stance to go against that because we've already set a precedence. Again, utilities are already strained out in that area. As again, more cost to operate. High density will just cram in there most likely by developers and then we'll be adding more money or trying to find more money. But bottom line is we're going against our own rules here. Who's going to believe anything we do if we just say, "Hey, throw those out the door and we'll do what we want to do. Again, I'm against the R2.

So, a vote for yes is voting to deny and yes is voting to deny. No is voting to not You got 970 though does not pass fails to get 11. Move right along to the next one.

Is there another motion? Yeah, Frank, you ain't got it up there yet.

What's your motion? I'll make a motion we approve it. We got a motion on the floor to approve it. Is there a second? Second. Got a second with Mr. John. I think we've done talked enough. We'll proceed to vote when we get ready. What did we not just vote on this? No, you voted to deny. You make a motion.

Now the original resolution's back on the floor by Mr. Tim S. You made a motion to deny. The second was Mr. G.

Why are we doing again? Cuz he just made a motion to approve. You just You just voted down a motion to deny. did not get 11. So it did nothing. So if you're for it, vote what? You vote. If you're vote what? And we should end every one of these like that. This is what you vote. So don't you vote? So if you don't want it, vote no. If you do want it, vote yes. Correct. Yes.

You have seven yes, nine. It gets 11. That is you. Next. Resolution 20 26-17. Resolution declaring a surplus to authorize Jefferson County Sheriff's Office to surplus dispose of said equipment. Mr. Chairman. Sure. If it's acceptable with you and uh the commission, I would like to move that we accept items D through G. items D through G uh on uh on one motion at that last read. Highly acceptable. Highly acceptable. Does anyone have a problem?

So move, Mr. Chairman. Just remind you we do have an item H. We'll proceed to vote. 17 yes, zero no passes. Item eight. You've got a $35,000 expenditure to coat architects. Then that's coming out of capital fund 171. Anybody got a question or comment for that?

You want to speak to it? Anybody that wasn't in the budget? Well, actually it wasn't in the Yeah. Uh yeah. Um this was recommended by the facilities committee today. I apologize I did not bring this up in budget committee, but uh basically we're getting to an area where the state is uh soon going to come in and tell us that we have to add on to uh probably two courtrooms, maybe three. So this is a space study to start addressing that need. Um it's we're we're we're getting to where it's going to be a have to. Um the state is is not going to ask us one day. They're going to come in and tell us that yes, we do have to make this addition.

Question or comment. See the vote. 17 yes, zero no passes. Uh Mr. Reed brought it to my attention that they are almost positive yes maybe or not a no for the tax relief for veterans and uh senior citizens right senior citizens they did find it 10 million plus dollars.

So it looks like it's good. We'll find out real quick. We'll entertain a motion to go