Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

to the regular scheduled Johnson City Commission meeting held on Thursday, July 2nd at 6 p.m. at the Municipal and Safety Building. I'd like to call the meeting to order. For the first order of business, I'd like to welcome Pastor Ben Cole from Boone's Creek Christian Church for the invocation and then the pledge, if everybody'd stand.

God, I come to you now just in the powerful name of Jesus. Thank you, Father, for loving us. And as I throw out that word love, God, I would just ask that you would impress upon each person's heart in the room. of how you showed your love to us, God, that while we were yet sinners, you sent your son Jesus to die for us. And because of that, he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. And not only for our sins, God, but for the sins of the whole wide world. So I would pray that upon every believer in the room, God, that they have trusted in that for their salvation, that you remind people that that's a free gift of God that we have received through trusting our life, our salvation, and your complete work on the cross. God, I would just pray over every person that's involved in this meeting. As believers, as Christians, God, may it be that you have given them just a special gift to be able to lead this city, this great city that you have given us in Johnson City, God. May the person who has wisdom, may the person who has knowledge, may the person who has discernment, God, I pray over them now that they understand that those gifts are useless without being rooted in love. God, that all things that we do are to be rooted in love and without love, we're just a resounding gong, clanging cymbal. So God, I would pray just a spirit of wisdom and revelation that each person in the room walks out of here tonight knowing you better. Because the more we know you, the better you get. You told us that that is eternal life, that we know you, the one true God. and your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you again for sending him to die for our sins. And I ask again, humbly, God, you impress that on each person's heart. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Mayor, the first order of business is to consider approval of the minutes for the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting held on Thursday, June 25th, 2026.

Move approval.

Second.

Commissioner Fowler. Yes. Commissioner Goetz. Yes. Commissioner Wise. Yes. Vice Mayor Brock. Yes.

Mayor Cox. Yes.

The next order of business is a presentation of proclamations for Parks and Recreation Month. Accepting this proclamation will be Parks and Recreation staff.

Hey everybody, thanks for being here. Thanks for letting me read this proclamation to you guys. So whereas July is recognized as Parks and Recreation Month, celebrating the essential role parks and recreation play in promoting healthy, active, and connecting communities. And whereas United States House Representative has designated July as Parks and Recreation Month. recognize the vital contributions parks and recreation make to communities across the nation. And whereas the city of Johnson City is home to 24 parks, one multi-generational community center, two recreation centers that provide residents and visitors with opportunities for recreation, wellness, learning, and community engagement, And whereas parks and recreation improve quality of life by encouraging physical activity, supporting mental well-being, preserving natural spaces and providing programs and amenities for people of all ages. And whereas the city parks and recreation system strengthens our community by enhancing environmental stewardship, supporting economic vitality and creating welcoming places where families, friends and neighbors can gather. And whereas Parks and Recreation Month provides an opportunity to recognize the dedicated professionals and volunteers who maintain valuable community assets and enrich the lives of those they serve. Now, therefore, I, Mayor of the City of Johnson City, Tennessee, do hereby proclaim Parks and Recreation Month in Johnson City, Tennessee, and encourage all residents to play all out and appreciate the city's parks, recreation facilities, programs, and natural spaces. I'd love for you to share a few words, if you don't mind.

First of all, thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, for presenting us with this proclamation and recognizing Parks and Recreation Month. So each July, Parks and Recreation Month is held by the National Recreation and Parks Association. It celebrates dedicated professionals volunteers, and community partners who work every day to make our parks and recreation system thrive. This year's theme is The Power Of. It recognizes the incredible power parks and recreation have to connect people, inspire healthy lifestyles, strengthen communities, foster a sense of belonging, and provide meaningful access to nature for everyone. Parks and Recreation are far more than places to play. They are the heart of a thriving community. They create opportunities for families to connect, promote physical and mental well-being, and preserve our natural resources. So this year, here in Johnson City, we see the power of play every day.

Good evening. My name is Sam Miller. I'm the assistant director of Parks and Recreation over programming and operations. Parks and Recreation promotes the power of well-being by improving the physical, mental, and social health of our community through recreation and outdoor experiences.

Good evening. I'm Josh Collins, Trail Operations Manager with Johnson City. And this is Emerson Collins, who's a trail patron, lover of all parks. And we have the power of nature by protecting and enhancing our nature programs, parks, trails, greenways, and natural areas for future generations.

Hello. I'm Wayne Douglas, a Park Service Manager. The power of connection through our parks, community centers, trails, and special events where families and neighbors come together.

Good evening, I'm Adam Dixon, Multicultural Engagement Manager, and I am speaking on the power of community by creating welcoming spaces where everyone can gather, celebrate, and build lasting memories.

My name is Nick Lingerfeld. I'm the athletic manager for John C. Parks and Rec Athletics, and I'm speaking on the power of play through youth sports, playgrounds, camps, golf, aquatics, and recreation programs that inspire healthy, active lifestyles.

Hello, I'm Dr. Maggie Darden, Planning and Project Manager. The Parks and Recreation Department promotes the power of belonging by providing inclusive programs, parks, and facilities where every resident feels welcome.

Hello, I'm Cameron Clark. I'm the Assistant Director over Parks and Maintenance. So with this month being Parks and Recreation Month, we are inviting everyone out on every Thursday this month. So four different parks. We're going to have what we're calling Parties in the Park. All kids are welcome. All adults are welcome. We're going to have popsicles, games, music, fun time. Just try and get all of our community out and experience different parks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Does anyone else have anything they kind of want to share? We're blessed to have a beautiful park system here in a beautiful setting, and you guys do an amazing job. And I think one of the things we hear often is we need more space, and it's because you guys have it so activated and so appreciate everything you do to get everybody out and all you do for us very much.

Mayor, of course, we have to step in here for sure. You knew it. You knew it. To this team that you have, April, it's just amazing. I happened to attend a baseball tournament in another neighboring city the other day. And I just thought about how wonderful our facilities are here and how well y'all take care of it. So I want to say thank you. We have so many different offerings for all our children and adults in this city to be able to find something that they really like to do. I went over to Pine Oaks yesterday and saw the netting that got completed over there. And so now the new teaching center that another organization is sponsoring and paying for is going to be there. So we're going to have a one-of-a-kind golf course in all of the region. It'll be a teaching center year-round. So I couldn't be more proud of the work y'all have done there. So keep up the good work. Always be looking ahead because kids always have new wishes, right? So thank you so much for everything that you've done. And I am not only a commissioner, but I'm a participant in the parks program. So thank you very much.

On the agenda, we have one person signed up to speak under agenda item 7.1 and 10.3. This is the Hopper Road annexation and R2C consideration for zoning. This is a Mr. Jeremy Collins, 2949 Indian Ridge Road, Johnson City, signed up to speak against.

Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins, if you don't care to come up, then just state your name. And the way public comment works is you'll have three minutes to state your thoughts and concerns and questions you have. And it's time for us to kind of listen.

Absolutely. So this is the time to do this one, correct?

Yes, yes, sir.

Perfect. Commissioners, thank you all for being here. My name is Jeremy Collins.

I'm the owner of 2949 Indian Ridge Road in Johnson City.

To our city commissioners, first I want to say thank you for all of your all's work on this project and due diligence on this project. This is now, I believe, the fifth time that you've had to discuss this item. And so with that being the fifth time, I know all the work that you put into it does not go unnoticed, and we thank you for taking the time to do that. Unfortunately, with the meeting and public hearing scheduled for today on July 2nd, I know many members of our community that have voiced concerns are not able to attend due to vacations and other items, but please do not feel that only us in this room tonight represent the entirety of our community. Personally, I'm unaware of any member of the Indian Ridge and Hopper Road community in favor of this annexation, except for the property owners. So first, I would like to establish why the denial of this annexation and proposed rezoning request is paramount to me and my family. The house I live in is my great-grandparents' house. In the 1950s, my papaw spent years buying and saving up all the material in an old barn behind the property to be able to build this house. We have had and still have multiple opportunities for us to sell out our portion to the developers as well, but morally it's something I cannot bring myself to do. I remember being a kid and running through these fields here, enjoying the wildlife and the safety behind the house and playing in the fields. This proposed annexation development will continue to change what little piece of Indian Ridge our elders worked so hard in their lifetime to establish. I also want to address some of the concerns of this proposal, including safety and other items. First, we all understand that Hopper Road is unable to handle the increased traffic. It can't handle the traffic as it is now, and then that would not include us adding 75 additional daily driving cards to the road. Second, Hopper Road sightlines are a major concern. One example of the many that I have is yesterday I took recyclables to the community recycling center in the Harbor Freight parking lot. On my way back home, I returned back down Hopper Road. I came over the hill right where the neighborhood's going to be. An elderly lady was in the street. She had to cross the road to get to her mailbox. Thankfully, I know what the speed limit is. I was abiding by the speed limit, so I was able to stop safely. When we increase this traffic, other people might not be able to do the same thing. She had a cane walking across the road to check her mailbox. So also, I wanted to also point out, our primary focus has been on Hopper Road, but we can also not forget the drag strip referred to as Indian Ridge Road, which lies right in front of my house. Again, I'm providing real examples of what has happened to me to paint the picture of the true impact of traffic on this community. In the last 12 months alone, my trash can has been hit twice by drivers on trash day, my mailbox has been hit three times, and a driver crest the hill in front of the carriage hill's entrance. Right when you pass carriage hills, they crest the hill flying, lost control, went into my yard and jumped my second driveway and hit the bank beside my house. I have video evidence of the damage of that for anyone that would like to see. So in a 12-month period, I alone can account for six instances where someone's life could have been taken instead of just property damage.

Thank you, Mr. Collins.

Commissioners, thank you very much. Thanks for being here.

Commissioners, the next item for consideration is the consent agenda.

It's pretty light. I'll start to my right. Is there anything you want to pull? . 6.2.1, please. Sounds great.

Item 6.2.1 is an RFP number 6420, and this is for the schools. We have someone from the schools to discuss this item. It's for virtual school add-on software program. I'm sorry, I don't know the representative.

Hi. Hi. Supervisor.

Yeah, if you'll just come up to the mic and say your name again so we can get it on the record.

Hi, Ms. Decker.

How are y'all?

I'm Julie Decker, supervisor in Johnson City Schools.

Thank you. And I am the new principal for the virtual school coming up. Oh, wow. Great. Congratulations. What we're doing here on this Edmentum is we're taking a look at cost. We're taking a look at the rigor of the program that's being offered and what we had and the services that we can get from that. With Pearson, which was the one that we came off of, it doesn't allow for those, and we were not very successful with it for the last two years. So the group before me, Dr. Josh Carter, Tina Faust, took a look at that and decided we already had Edmentum in the system, is then to continue with Edmentum because they have a virtual component to their program.

My reason for wanting to pull this was just a little explanation on what that, you know, the two softwares, kind of what that looked like, reasons for that. And also just to let you kind of talk a little bit about this offering of virtual schooling for the citizens and families in our region. As July 1, I took over as principal of the virtual school.

But yes, that's fine. In one day. In one day. But that's fine. Everybody else is on vacation. Last year, we served 127 students through virtual. We graduated 38, I believe is the number. Our youngest one for next year is in first grade. So we are in the lower grades now. We are a virtual group. 1 through 12. I think as we take a look at the Edmentum, I am familiar with that, but as we take a look at Edmentum through the whole coursework, I think a lot of it as we talk through it was just the capability of talking to Tennessee teachers who teach within the Edmentum as opposed to Pearson who have outside So our standards are Tennessee standards, 28 credits to graduate, just like Science Hill. And with this rigor that comes forward, I just think it's a better program than what we had.

Dr. Decker, well, congratulations. Oh, thank you. You're also going to continue to run CTE?

Yeah, that is correct.

All right.

So you've got two jobs.

I do have two jobs. I'm also the CT director, but we now go K-12 in CT. Congratulations. Thank you.

So will the virtual school also serve those students who maybe get sick or have to be out? Can they then log in to virtual school and be able to keep up with their studies? Yes. It is a public school.

It is an option that parents have. I do know that last year with Holly, Holly Corwin, who was the principal then, that we did have a student. He does, the family does junior Olympic snowboarding. So during the wintertime, they were snowboarding and on virtual, and then they came back to brick and mortar. when they came back. But yes, there have been allowances for different students, for at-risk groups, for different things. So again, it's an option. And also, as we take a look at grades, that students that don't meet the attendance, those students that don't meet finishing assignments, they go back to brick and mortar. So we don't want them to use it as an excuse to be truant.

So this new software gives them a better experience. That is correct. Like when we started in COVID, it was, you know.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Very good. Well, thank you.

Oh, you're more than welcome. Anything else? All right. Come visit us.

Where?

At your computer.

Marketplace school. Marketplace, where I was many years ago. Thank you.

I move approval on the consent agenda.

Second. Ms. Lause, will you call the roll?

Commissioner Fowler?

Yes.

Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Wise?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Brock?

Yes.

Mayor Cox?

Yes.

Next item is item 7.1, which is annexation by owner consent of 135 Hopper Road and 0 Hopper Road. This is a public hearing to consider approval of a final resolution calling for the voluntary annexation of approximately 13.64 acres along Hopper Road.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, commissioners, development coordinator with the planning division. Sorry, I'm having my PowerPoint just went. There we go. So this is the public hearing for both item 7.1 and 10.3. So I will be presenting on both of them in this presentation and they'll have separate public hearings. But tonight is the third reading of both the zoning assignment and final resolution. And just a brief reminder of the plan. It is a concept plan for 37 single family homes off of Hopper Road. Two homes will have a shared entrance along Indian Ridge Road and a traffic study will be completed at the time of preliminary plot approval if this were to move forward. Currently it is zoned R1 in Washington County and by staff rough math, we equated to roughly 31 lots could be built if it remained in the county as is. And with the requested R2C zoning, they are above the minimum lot size requirement of 6,000 square feet. Their minimum is roughly 7,200 square feet. So they are above that minimum threshold. Lastly, just a reminder that the property in question is number seven on the density chart and it is well under the average of units per acre of surrounding neighborhoods and existing residential developments with roughly 2.6 units per acre. Again, this is a public hearing for both the final resolution and zoning assignment and staff recommends approval for the resolution and R2C zoning assignment.

Any questions for staff?

7.1 is annexation and 10.3 is the application of the zone, correct? Correct. So how much? What weight does the concept plan have at this point? I mean, how should we understand it? Do they have to turn that into request in our 2C zone application, or is that just something they've added extra? How should we understand that?

So how it, this order of operations is tonight 7.1 is the annexation. If it is annexed, it will have a no concept plan until 10.3, that zoning assignment is approved and that concept plan becomes binding at that time. So there will be a short moment of agenda items before a binding concept plan is in place. Thank you.

Any other questions for staff? If not, I'll call for public hearing. With that, I'm going to open a public hearing. If anybody is here to speak for or against the annexation of Hopper Road, come forward. And just to remind, this one's for the annexation.

Hello, I'm Teresa Treadway. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I am a proud resident here in Johnson City. I've lived in this neighborhood since 2004, starting on Moccasin Court. And even back then, traveling on Indian Ridge and Hopper Road was challenging. I heard the roar of cars and trucks racing up and down Hopper Road, which prompted the speed bumps that helped some but hasn't fully resolved all of its problems. While our discussion today is about Hopper Road, I would still ask that you consider the impact from any future developments attached or near Indian Ridge as well. Have any of you driven on Hopper or Indian Ridge Road and met a school bus carrying our precious children at 6 30 in the morning? How about a garbage truck? Have you met a UPS truck at 7.30 at night while desperately trying to finish their deliveries on Hopper Road? Or even on any given day met an F-350 pickup truck carrying its construction trailer? All of these at most any time will take their half of the road and yours too because there's nowhere else for them to go. I can't tell you the number of times that I feel like I have seen my life pass before my eyes. So let's think of it another way. If a structural engineer says a bridge is unsafe, are you still going to allow hundreds of cars to pass on it and say we'll fix it later? Road improvements can be delayed. Construction schedules can change. Budgets can be adjusted. But if a preventable tragedy occurs while we are waiting, there's no undo button. We can always approve a development after the road is made safe. We cannot undo the consequences of approving it before then. I also see the city's plan for service projects that has a projection of 12 students potentially coming into our school district. Let's think about that. Let's think about them. I'd like everyone making this decision to ask themselves one question. If a fatal crash involving a child occurred on either of these roads in six months prior to approval, but before the road improvements were completed, would you be able to say we did everything reasonable to prevent it? If the answer is no, or even if I'm not sure, then we should fix the roads first. So let's send it back to the Planning Commission, take another look at the project, and protect our Johnson City residents, but mostly let's protect our children. Thank you.

Thanks, Ms. Fredway. Anyone else to speak for or against the annexation?

Good evening. My name's Charles Allen. You know, I had a whole bunch of stuff to say, but Teresa brings up a really good point. And I would hate to be in your all shoes tonight because at the end of the day. We all know in here, Hopper Road's not safe. I had lunch with some friends today and mentioned that I had to come speak this evening. And they said, what about? I said, Hopper Road. So it's five guys. Two of them immediately say, oh, gosh, that's a terrible road. One guy says, I had a head-on collision coming over the hill, one of the blind hills. The other guy says, I had the worst wreck I've ever had in my life on that road. Now, if you knew this guy, you'd know that's a bad breath because he's had a bunch of them. The decision, you know, I mean, Teresa mentioned it at the end of the day. How do you approve something? And I know you've got, we're going to look at site restrictions. We're going to look at this. We're going to look at that. It's bad as it is, regardless. I mean, even if we put one entrance at the bottom and do the best we can, 74 cars a day doesn't sound like much until you realize every time they come out and come back in, it's 128 cars, and then it's 256 cars, and so on and so forth. It's a tough decision. I mean, I'm all for growth, and I know you guys are too, but not growth at any cost. It's not worth it. Joe mentioned earlier, there's a lot of roads in town that need to be fixed and that we're behind the eight ball, I guess, in getting all of them fixed. And I agree with that. You've got a lot to do. But why would we make it worse by adding traffic to a road that can't handle what's already there? So I guess I'd appreciate your vote no. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Allen. Mr. Collins, if you don't care to restate your name when you come up.

So my name is Jeremy Collins, and I live at 2949 Indian Ridge. Thank you for allowing me to finish this. I've never done this before, so I didn't know what time was the right time to do that. So only a couple of other things I wanted to highlight is that first I wanted to highlight that the planning staff also recommended approval for the 105 townhomes. It got to you all the first time and you denied it immediately. So I do appreciate that as well. The last things I wanted to talk about is two weeks ago, my nephew who was four years old, he stayed with us for the day. I can't even take him down to check the mailbox because I can't trust drivers to keep their cars on the road. I understand the roundabout project that is supposed to alleviate the concerns of the S curve on the Indian Ridge. I also understand the red light at the end of Hopper Road is supposed to help individuals gain easier access to the highway. My caveat to that is how much more traffic is now going to avoid that red light and take Indian Ridge before they get to that point. That way they don't have to sit in traffic again at the red light. And the last thing I'll end with is I understand there's a shortage of homes in our area, but Hopper Road is not a feasible solution to address this. We cannot continue placing homes in this level of density on infrastructure that is 10 to 15 years behind on safety concerns alone. Thank you for your time this evening. I sincerely hope you consider everything laid out before you all tonight. We think about the safety of us. I just had a kid. He's seven weeks old. I think about the safety of him as we grow up. And at a minimum, I hope you all will at least push this back to the planning committee to propose lower density resolutions or vote no in its entirety.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Collins. Don't state your name.

My name is Kelly Beatty. I'm a over 20-year resident of Indian Ridge Road. My problem is the same problem of every resident of Indian Ridge Road. The road cannot handle more traffic. Indian Ridge Road already sustained a huge influx with the D.R. Horton input of over 100 homes. That number of people coming into that road with these number of houses that are coming in, not to mention I have driven up into D.R. Horton development. I see how they have it straightened out. They have roads that are into a dead end. They fully anticipate on coming back to you all when the land is available and come back and say, let us put another 100 and some homes in there. I, two months ago, had a car run through my fence and miss my house within, I kid you not, two inches. I have pictures if you'd like to see. That's not the first time that they took out my fence. I've had no less than five cars that pop up over that hill going fast and not realizing that there's traffic that's backed up. I can stand in, I can sit in line for more than five to seven minutes trying to get through traffic to get to my home, not taking the cut through. The cut through is Indian Ridge Road. No one wants to go down State of Franklin, cut up Market and go to Jonesboro. Everyone wants to come through State of, go from State of Franklin through Indian Ridge Road. That becomes a problem. And I've been there for over 20 years, and I haven't personally seen the number of influx of people that come through that road. And if it's your home, you wouldn't want that. And we see there's no shoulder on half of that road. There's no sidewalks on half of that road. And I'm on that half of that road. There's no red light on the other side of Indian Ridge Road. There's nowhere to direct what time people can leave onto market. The number of accidents I've seen people shoot across Market Street to try to get to the other side. And there's traffic coming down 55 miles an hour. And I've seen them hit the pole there. I've seen them crash out in front of my house. These are all things that I have to deal with on a daily basis just to get home. And my front yard doesn't have enough space to where someone can crash through it safely and not take out my house. I had two bushes taken out, part of a fence, and part of my siding was destroyed. I have pictures of all of that. Fortunately, this person had insurance. Most of the time, they come through and they leave. They leave my fence laying on the ground. And then I have to. I'm getting ready to put over $2,000 on a fence repair because someone took it out my fence. There's something that's got to be safety-wise that you all have to understand. This road cannot handle it. And 75 houses don't seem like a lot. But when you've got people coming in there in and out, Children, teenagers, there's no room for error on that road. Parts of the road are peeling off. If you drive down Indian Ridge Road, parts of it are falling off into the ditch. So you're either going to be in a ditch or someone's front yard. Those are what you have the options for. Thank you for your time.

Thanks, Ms. Beatty.

Can you spell your last name for me? Can you spell your last name for me? B-E-A-T-T-Y.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else that wishes to speak?

I'm going to make this quick because I sent each commissioner a letter. I hope you all got those letters. I appreciate you reading them. This is a terrible job to have to read so much stuff and listen to so much stuff. I'll keep this short. That's one reason I sent the letter. My contention is that no matter what improvements you do onto Hopper Road, you put 37 more units, probably two cars per unit, all the excess and egress traffic from buses and schools and visitors and all that sort of stuff, you have an impossible thing. I mean, Indian Ridge Road and Hopper Road both need improvements. I'm going to contend with you that Hopper Road is a death trap. You're not going to release it by the... corrections you're trying to make. You certainly won't do it by dumping more traffic on it. And my final thing is you can dress it up for the prom, but it still won't dance.

Thank you.

I hate to ask, do you care to come restate your name? I'm sorry. My name? Yes, for the record. We've got to get it for the record.

Robert L. King.

In name only, King. King, K-I-N-G. Thank you. Thank you. I usually remind you to state your name when you come up. If you don't care to come up, then state your name.

George Smith, Director of Engineering for Landstar 367, Hog Hollow Road. Typically, when we do one of these projects, we go through multiple concept plans and multiple ways to develop a property for a property owner. And these two ladies, the foxes, have wanted to have their property developed for a while. And so we brought our best plans to the city and worked with staff to come up with this 37. We came in with 100 and some townhomes originally. The density was too high. We listened to that. We went back and redesigned it. And we have a company named States and Homes that's going to build in this subdivision. They build half-million-dollar homes. They build super nice homes. So this will be an asset to the community, these 37 homes. When we turn in a concept plan like this and a traffic study is requested, we do that traffic study. That traffic study tells us what... they propose we should do for any issues that they raise. Now, that may be things the city would do. It may be things we would do cooperatively. It may be things that would be entirely on our plate. But that comes out during the traffic study that we've talked about before. I talked to your city, Mr. Todd, a traffic engineer, and most of the traffic that that road sees is pass-through traffic. It's not the homes on the road. I don't know how you fix it because I am not a traffic engineer. Maybe we put stop signs at the top of the hill or close the road if it's a terrible road. Maybe we close a section of it and put a turnaround in and not have through traffic to address that. But anyway, for a traffic study, commonly we're asked to... widen the road. We do that. We've done that at other places. We put in turn lanes. We put in turn lanes on main roads. And this one in particular, when we talk about that roundabout and the curve easing to help traffic on Indian Ridge Road, our company donated the property to do that. We didn't get paid for it. We didn't ask to be paid for it. We donated it because your city engineer said this will help in this area. And so when we designed Indian Ridge, we designed a tile to a roundabout that didn't exist and gave that property to the city way before we started talking about this project. So just a point of information. Our company does not want to cause traffic problems for people at all. And we address them when they're identified.

My name is Tony Treadway. I live in the neighborhood. I want to make sure we get a recording of the developer promising to pay for taking out hills on the road and widening the road for us because we all agree that there's key challenges to the road in regard to safety. The one thing I would ask the city commission is to think about changing the culture of the city when it comes to residential developments, annexation and granting their zoning. Time after time after time, you approve these knowing that road improvements are necessary and you never get about funding anything. We heard in the work session tonight. There's no promise that no matter what the site plan does, when the city will or if get around fixing Hopper Road, the city has got to start investing in the improvements and greater housing capabilities within the city. Hopper Road is a huge example of that. So I encourage you to work with the developer when you grant this, which I know you will. And let's get the hills taken care of and some road improvements. That sight line's got to be fixed. Thank you very much. Thanks, Mr. Treadway.

Anyone else to speak for or against?

Seeing none, I will close the public hearing.

Commissioners, any comments or motions?

I'll just add a comment. I think one of the most challenging things that we run into is when we have growth in the city and it reaches out into what we used to call our urban growth boundary, you wind up facing that development on single lane roads that were developed in the county many, many, many years ago. And so it makes it very difficult to look at how those improvements over time can be made. But you not only have city development out in these areas, but you have a lot of county development going on in these areas right now. In fact, I think their growth may be a little bit even more than what we're seeing in the city. So it is a problem that we all face. And it's not just, you know, the city. And Mr. Treboy, I've known you for a long time, so I think I can kind of push back just a little bit. The timeframe is frustrating, but we have to have, you know, dollars to fund the infrastructure. I think we have $15 million worth of capital projects going on for roads improvements right now as we speak. So coming up with the solutions is often very difficult. I've been on Hopper Road. I've driven it many times since the conversation came up well over a year ago, and it is that kind of single-lane country road that's been there, I don't know how long, but a long, long time. I thought it was kind of interesting, and I'm sorry I've forgotten your name, who represents Landstar, who maybe suggested just close the road or, you know, at Market Street, maybe close it off, and that way it would be just for local traffic. That's kind of an interesting concept right there. But we do recognize this. Is there a solution? We need to be fair to the developer. We need to be fair to you. We need to be fair to all those who are involved in their daily transportation on Indian Ridge Road and Hopper Road as well. So I'm just saying these things to say I'm not really callous and are looking at this like, oh, well, we'll get it fixed sometime. I've really, really realized this, and it's a tough decision. And last time I voted in favor of it, you know, I have my struggles with it right now. Thank you.

I think for me, it's helpful to kind of unpack the choices that we're being asked to make. Right now, the question in front of us is simply, should this property be in the city or should this property remain in the unincorporated county? That's what we're being asked. We're not being asked 37 and 31. And we've got a concept plan up on the screen, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the question we're getting ready to take up. The question we're getting ready to take up Should this 13 acres be in the city or outside the city? Now there've been a lot of comments made about the road that I think are fair having driven the road and concerns about it. But right now it's not a city road. and it's not going to be evaluated against city standards if and when somebody comes along to develop it if it isn't annexed. And I think the point that people have tried to make relative to how it is currently zoned in the county is I oppose the 100 and however many townhomes, and I opposed it because the density was woefully inappropriate in my view for the context. It didn't look like what was around it. It was going to create quite, I mean, literally nearly three times the volume that we're talking about now. 37 homes, you know, rough math, probably you'd get 31 if you just did it in the county. For me, I feel better about its prospects for successful resolution of all of the issues that have been cited in if it's in the city. If it's not in the city, then it's, I mean, with all due respect, it's no longer our, would not be our problem. And so purely on the question of should this be in the city or not, that's the only question we're answering at this moment. I think it makes sense to have it in the city. I think it makes sense for people in the city to have it in the city. I do think the developer is still going to have challenges. They can't go start putting a shovel in the dirt. If this passes tonight, they've got to get engineers and they've got a lot of boxes they have to check between hearing the first shovel hit in the ground. And those checklists are longer in the city than they are in the county. And so that's where I'm leaning on the question of the annexation issue.

Well, just to follow up with that, and I know it kind of gets lost in all the conversation and words, but the law has changed. And where you said there's more checkboxes in the city and the county, well, a couple months ago, it still had to meet the city checkboxes. And as the law has changed, that no longer is the case. It does not have to come to the regional planning commission or the city planning office to meet those checkboxes. checkbox. And so when you're looking at this for the community of Johnson City as a whole, and we have these donut locations that are county within city limits, and if this is in the county, it can't have brush pickup. It can't go to the school that's right next door. You know, fire and police looks a little different. And so... as you develop through the city and as the laws have changed i mean i think it's crucial for the city as a whole to make sure this stuff gets developed to city standards and i'm not that wasn't as much of an issue a couple weeks ago but the law has changed and so if we want to develop the city standards whatever it is it needs to be in the city limits

I concur. And I think I really appreciate staff kind of taking the time. And I think, you know, some residents attending our work session to really kind of break it down. I did not have the opportunity to see this the first time it came through. I was not on the commission yet. So had some homework to do, drove, you know, the roads from a various combination of directions. And I hear you on the concerns with safety issues. I also think there's a recognition from the developer on some of those opportunities and challenges. So for the reasons previously mentioned, I do see the value of it being in the city so that we do have the opportunity to be part of the process of hopefully remedying some of these safety concerns.

And I'll entertain a motion if anybody has one.

Well, I didn't know if you... I don't want to make everybody feel like they have to. Now, I will... I'm the only physician up here and worried about health more than... Not more than they were, but I deal with it every day. That's part of my job. So... I know some of you are not going to want to hear this, but I think it's safer for this to be in the city than it is for it to be in the county. And I don't like that road either. I've driven it a few times to make sure. And yeah, I don't even like my car on the road, much less meeting another car on that road. So... I really feel like the developer will fix the area and I am sure that our city will help them fix this road to make it safer than it is now. I know it'll be more traffic on it, but at least we'll be safer if the city does it than if the county does it. So I know safety wise, I just think it'd be better to be in the city than in the county. So I'm sorry.

I mean, I'll make a motion to approve.

And again, I will second it because of safety. And Ms. Lassley, call the roll.

Commissioner Fowler?

Yes.

Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Wise? Yes. Vice Mayor Brock? Yes. Mayor Cox?

Yes. And there's another public, we've got another step in the meeting.

But first, we're going to take a detour through item 8.1 and talk about a totally unrelated topic.

Yes. The next item is item 8.1, which is ordinance 4946-26. This is the first reading for an ordinance for the rezoning of 0.33 acres from R4 to B1 to allow for additional business signage of an existing child care center.

Excuse me, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioner of City Management.

My name is Heath Martin with Planner 1 with the City's Planning Division, and I'm here to present the first reading for a rezoning for 1012 Knob Creek Road. We're here this evening on July 2nd for the first reading. This rezoning was submitted to the Planning Commission on June 9th and was passed unanimously. And past this date, it will continue to move forward. The second reading will be on July 16th. The final reading will be on August 6th. Local area view of where this is located, this is off of Nod Creek Road at the intersection of Johnson Avenue. And you can see in the upper right-hand corner is Clark Street Baptist Church, and to the southeast is Kiwanis Park. The request is to zone one parcel of land at just over a third of an acre from R4 medium density to B1 Neighborhood Business District. And the reason is to accommodate additional signage for an existing child care center. And at the table below, you can see a reference to what the current signage allowance is for R4 and the increase in that signage allotted for a district of B1 for the same business type. Current zoning is R4. Adjacent zoning is primarily residential. And there's a business district just across the street from it. And the requested zoning is B1. Current land use is and will remain a child care center. And there's residential use to the north and west and commercial business to the east and south. Just to briefly overview the district itself, the intent of B1. An underlined area here is for businesses and services residing adjacent residential areas without adversely impacting residential character of the area. Commercial use should be in scale and character with the adjacent uses and does not encourage the generation of additional traffic from outside the area. So as this child care center will remain the same size and the same scale as what it is right now, we feel that this, the intent of the B1 district is appropriate. The concept plan is simple. The only thing that would change would be, again, this is the beginning of the conversation. The applicant has proposed freestanding sign at the intersection of Knob Creek and Johnson Avenue, which would be the lower end of this picture here. This is the concept plan. It does become binding. It does meet the standards of B1. And it will require site distance compliance if ultimately the applicant decides to put his sign at the corner of the property itself. There is the ability to combine the square footage of sign allowances from both facing the street spaces into one corner one for a larger sign. But if it looks like the site distance is tricky or difficult to navigate, the applicant will still have a right to have two signs on both sides of the property.

With a change in the zone, will they have any kind of buffering that becomes required because they're now a higher intensity use adjacent to... Not for this district, no, sir.

Okay. And here is an example of what's under signed regulations for vision clearance in the site-desis triangle. So as Knob Creek is categorized as an arterial road and Johnson is a minor, we do have the established setback requirements for this triangle here. And we work with city engineers to make sure that the applicant is clear on what the site triangle would be for this intersection and make sure that people coming on Johnson Avenue who wanted to turn left on the Knob Creek would be able to look to the right to have the right site distance to make sure they can make a safe turn.

So they may be able to combine their two frontage sign allowances, but then they may not be able to get to that size because of site distance.

Right. It all depends on perspective. How big would it be? How close to the building would it be at that point? Aesthetically, it doesn't make sense, but the applicant will have that choice. And they're working with us right now to go over what their sign would look like.

Do you know offhand what the height allowance is for the freestanding sign? believe it has to be i think it's gonna be the height the height below the biggest eight feet up in the air i think i'll say the max height i'm not sure for sure i have to look at that i believe it could be 12 feet and then another one that's is a b1 i don't think allows residential on the main level so when i look at this going from a residential r4 what's more appropriate is a R4 could bring in the future is what I'm thinking. What happens in the future? You could have apartments on there, but when it's B1, you can't ever have a residential on the main level, I don't think. Just a... Yeah.

Yeah.

Childcare Center's been there for years and years and years. I was kind of surprised when it came to us that it wasn't B1, you know, even at that time. It's right in that commercial zone, right behind CVS Pharmacy, I think is what it is. If you're ready for a motion, I will make a motion to approve.

Second. Ms. Louse, will you call the roll?

Commissioner Fowler? Yes. Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Wise? Yes. Vice Mayor Brock? Yes. Mayor Cox?

Yes.

Commissioners, the next item is 9.1, which is an ordinance to revise the Code of Johnson City to reference purchasing authority thresholds and the relevant portions of the Johnson City Purchasing Policy Manual by amending Title V, Chapter 1 of the Code of Johnson City, Tennessee. This is the second reading and public hearing of Ordinance 4940-26. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, and city staff.

Megan Bell with the legal department back for the second reading of the changes to Title V of our John City Code. You may remember this is a housekeeping matter. This is to make a more efficient process and to make sure that there's less chance for inconsistencies between Tennessee Code, City Code and our purchasing policy. I do want to make sure that I note just because of questions that were asked of me after, This does not include any changes to the limits of authority. This is just making the reference to the purchasing policy and those limits stay the same. So it is for 5-102 and 5-117 and 118 to take the number references out and direct the reader to the purchasing policy which matches the numbers that are found in the Tennessee Code. Then the next steps following this, if this is passed, any changes to the purchasing policy would need to follow the process that we have been following from the beginning where the commission still reviews that through work session first and then would approve those changes or request different changes through a resolution. Are there any questions of me?

Questions for staff? Seeing none, I am going to open a public hearing. Anyone here to speak for or against item 9.1, please come forward and state your name. Seeing none, I will close the public hearing. Move approval. Second. Ms. Lause, will you call the roll?

Commissioner Fowler? Yes. Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Weiss? Yes. Vice Mayor Brock? Yes. Mayor Cox?

Yes.

Commissioners, the next order of business is item 10.1. This is ordinance 4943-26. This is the third reading of an ordinance for the rezoning of 9.52 acres from R3 to R4 for 1170 West Mountain View Road.

Good evening again. I'm Manteith Martin, Planner 1 in the Planning Division. There have been no changes from the first and second reading, and staff continues to recommend approval.

Any questions? In light of no changes, I'd make a motion to approve. Second. Ms. Laus?

Commissioner Fowler?

Yes.

Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Wise? Yes. Vice Mayor Brock? Yes.

Mayor Cox?

Yes.

And before Heath leaves, Mr. Martin, I want to take this opportunity. This is Heath's last meeting, and I really want to thank you for your professionalism and what you've brought to the planning department. I had an interesting interview today for a planner, and they said, what do you like most about your job and most about the city? And I said, it's the people I work with. And Mr. Martin has been one of those people that have been most enjoyable to work with and has stepped in and done any task that he's been asked to do and done it very well. So I want to thank you very much for your service to the city.

Thanks for the opportunity. It's been a pleasure.

And on behalf of the commission, are you sure?

It was a hard decision, but, yes, I understand.

It was great. But I'm still in Johnson City, so I'm not going anywhere. But you know I did run into him at Tannery Knob. I'm up there riding bikes with the kids. And I'm like, oh, what are you doing? And he's like, well, I just moved up here. And we'll have East Tennessee, and I'm going to actually go. And I've retired a couple times, but I'm going to go work at the city and really want to learn planning. And so we were lucky to have you. And glad you're in Johnson City. Yeah, maybe we'll see you tearing ups. Absolutely.

Thank you for bringing your family to Johnson City. Thank you for all the work and all the contributions you've made. In a short tenure, you've made such a great impact. So best wishes to you and your family and enjoy well-deserved retirement.

Absolutely. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.

Next item of business. Next item of business is item 10.2. This is ordinance 4944-26. This is a third reading for an ordinance providing for the conveyance of city-owned property in the former Optimus Park located in the 9th Civil District of Washington County to the Vintage Hotel Group. This property is designated as lot 3A consisting of approximately 2.5 acres.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, City Administration, I'm Steve Willis, Deputy City Manager. There have been no changes to this from first or second reading. You see the parcel highlighted in pink there in the map. And should you approve this, this evening we are set to close on the property on July the 9th. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

So, Mr. Willis, this is just for the public. This will be a new hotel?

Yes, ma'am.

Up behind Publix? Yes, ma'am. Overall market in the state of Franklin?

The vintage hotel group from Chattanooga will be the owner of the property. They have not yet submitted the plans for the hotel, but I'm sure they will do that in short order after closing.

So we don't know the concept of what it would be? No, ma'am. That's a good location for it. I think being up on the hill like that, they'll have a room with a view.

Yes, ma'am. I would make a motion to approve and get this property on the tax rolls.

Second.

Ms. Lause, will you call the roll?

Commissioner Fowler?

Yes.

Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Wise? Yes. Vice Mayor Brock? Yes. Mayor Cox?

Yes.

The next order of business is item 10.3, ordinance 4945-26. This is the third reading and public hearing for an ordinance assigning the low-density residential district to approximately 13.64 acres located along Hopper Road at 135 Hopper Road and 0 Hopper Road.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, this is the third reading and a public hearing, but staff still recommends a zoning assignment of R2C.

Thanks, Riley. Any questions for staff?

Just to remind us, the lot sizes are going to be about 7,500 square feet, somewhere in there.

It is. The pro concept plan is 7,234 square feet.

I'm going to open the public hearing. If anybody's here to speak for or against, this is the zoning assignment to Hopper Road. Come forward. And I hate to be redundant, but if you don't care to restate your name.

Kelly Beatty. As I said before, there are multiple reasons why I don't believe that. They should be able to put homes. I understand that homes happen and that's a beautiful land. But you've got to also understand that now that this property is inside the city limits, it's now the city's responsibility to take care of the roads that surround it and support this property. So there again, we come back to the whole issue. There are no sidewalks. There are there is no. There's no room for error on driving. And there's too many people that come up over those hills on Hopper Road because I've been on Hopper Road. It's off of Indian Ridge Road. Great little way to get to Sonic, you know, if you really want an ice cream. But it's the same problem. It's the same problem. I actually came on my way home, witnessed the accident of Mr. Collins. seeing it happen. It's not just a Hopper Road issue. It's an Indian Ridge Road issue. It's all inside the city limits now. Now it's a city problem. So I think what you have to do is you have to allow the Planning Commission to go in and say, what can we do to make this road better before we even move forward and have homes in here to congest it even further? Because yes, Indian Ridge Road is a cut through. It has been since I've been a resident of Johnson City for over 25 years. And it has been ever since then. But the number of volume of people who want to come to Johnson City isn't that wonderful. But let's not oversaturate one area because there is so much other land in Indian Ridge Road that I fear that we will be back in the same position where other places will be coming and saying, we want this land and we want to put 100 homes and we want to do this. If the roads can substantiate what it has now, if it cannot substantiate it, then how can you continue to further allow it to develop? That's all I'm asking is for you to sit back and say, if this was my home, would I want this traffic coming down Indian Ridge Road, coming down Hopper Road? At what point does the city say, yeah, we're going to get property taxes and we're going to get this and we're going to get that, but we're also going to get a huge safety problem that is already going to be compounded with whatever issues it has now. These are issues that aren't going away. I've seen so many traffic studies. They've had the little strips out there and they count the cars and they count the cars, but I never see anything happening on Indian Ridge Road or Hopper Road. They put speed bumps. And at one point I thought, well, maybe they should put a speed bump on Hopper because everybody that hops up over that road on Indian Ridge Road, there is a ditch there that the road stops and the ground is probably at least a foot to foot and a half below that. So when you go off that road, you're crashing into a tree. And I've seen it happen multiple times into that tree. And if they overcorrect, that's where my fence gets taken out because they come on the other side of the road. And so my concern is it hasn't been since the beginning. Safety. Thank you for your time.

Anyone else here to speak for or against the zoning assignment of R2C on Hopper Road? And if you don't care, state your name.

Jeremy Collins, it's me again. Zoning assignment, I think, is more applicable to us having more concerns. I am full agreement that if it's in the city, you all can take care of it in the city. You all can help with the safety in the city. I'm in full agreement with that. The zoning is where we get into some considerations. So my fence line is 1,200 feet along this property. This puts 12 backyards directly along my fence line. with this new plot approval. 37 homes, 75 cars, give or take. I do ask that if it, for some reason, does get to approval, please do the traffic study when school's in session. The last traffic study was done when school was not in session. Those are not accurate numbers. Thank you.

I'll just say one thing, because it's the last chance.

My name is Robert King, and I live on Hopper Road with my lovely wife. That's to get me dinner tonight. Okay. I think that if you're going to send this back, reconsider the density. If you can bring that density down, you may save a life per square foot. I don't know, but I worry about it. And if you have any way of doing that, now that you brought it into the mother city, please treat it like your children and get that density down. Thank you. Thanks, Mr. King.

Anyone else? If you don't care to state your name.

Brandon Stamper, 132 Walkers Bend Road, Johnson City, Tennessee. I'm a Flannistar. And Commissioner Brock just wanted to address a couple things. I know you had mentioned in previous meetings and addressed it again, lot size and lot averaging. We did not apply that to this development. What Ms. Riley was actually referring to as the minimum lot size is 7,200. Right. The average lot size, if everything is taken together and we were to apply lot averaging, the average for the development is 10,250, give or take a few. There are multiple lots exceeding 12, 15, and even 20,000 square feet as well as a flexion mat. So there is a large variation of the lots and stuff in that. I know the density continues to come up. As staff has already pointed out, the density in the R2C, we are... We are more than meeting the requirements of R2B as far as the lot size if we were to apply a lot averaging. So on top of that, from, you know, I'm sorry. So from that standpoint, at 2.6, the average of the other developments around there have an average per acre, I believe, of 3.4, almost 3.5. So we are nine-tenths, almost a full unit short per acre than what the surrounding developments are that the city has pulled in. So from that standpoint, we feel it's appropriate. We also know that there are issues that are going to be addressed from traffic. The traffic study will determine that. That will go back before city staff, as we've said on multiple times, we know there's going to be things that come back. We know there might be things we're working with the city. There might be things that were required, but that's going to be identified through that long checklist that everyone's been talking about. That still has to happen to go through this process. So just wanted to be available if there are any additional questions or anything that comes from any of that.

Thank you, Mr. Stammer.

Thank you, guys.

I'm Danny Clarkson. Our office is at 367 Hog Hollow Road, Johnson City. As I have had the opportunity to meet with some of the folks here that are opposed to it, I really believe a lot of them have a lot of good intent. And I believe that some that I've talked to personally knows that we'll do our best to hopefully... leave it a little better than we found it. That's our aim and our intent to do about the whole thing. But all have been very kind, as they are in disagreement, but they've been very kind to us. I just want you all to know that. Very respectful. Thank you all.

Thanks.

Anyone else? Seeing none, I will close public hearing. commissioners on any comments or motions.

I'll go ahead. This again comes down to safety for me and I am going to hold the developer and the city staff accountable to make sure this is safer than it is right now. And I've been, been told and I, I will hold them to their word also that this is going to be safer for everybody in that area. I know the light at Indian Ridge is, where it's coming out is going to make it safer. Nothing works very fast in the government. I don't know if you all figured that out. But after 10 years of doing this, I am as frustrated as you all are with how slow some things go. And I don't like it, and I wish to speed it up. But things go slowly. Safety-wise, I want it to go quicker. it does but we've got to get it safe and safer than it is right now for the people driving especially you know i'm i heard mr collins i've i know mr collins my kids know mr collins and he's a great kid and i want to do things safer so his mailbox doesn't get hit anymore on indian ridge and he's in these other people don't have people running into their houses almost kind of things. I hear that. I want it safer. The roundabout is going to help. The light's going to help. Widening in Ridge is going to help. Widening Hopper Road is going to help. It can't happen fast enough for me either, but I understand, but I, and I understand your concerns. Thanks.

Nope.

I'd make a motion to approve. Any seconds?

Second.

I would do discussion.

I mean, for me, the first question was the annexation question. We're applying a land use that is negligible in terms of its difference as to what would happen under the county land use rules that it was under. We're putting a lot of confidence in the developer, the traffic engineers and staff. But it's only as we move this forward that we're going to make any kind of progress on dealing with some of the fundamental issues that you all have highlighted. So that's my rationale. We're not really changing. We're bringing we're applying city land use designation on a property, but it's not really that different than what was on it yesterday.

Well, I'll mirror that, too. And I know this is change is hard and this could be. I know this area of town has had some congestion and I got a comment after the last meeting from an area member questioning my leadership of pushing this and kind of voting for it. And the thing about it is I. And this is – I know what the community wants. And it may not seem like it, but this being in the city with a zoning assignment that's tied to a concept plan is better than the unknown of being in the county in an R1 that can still have – a variety of pretty significant density without the same regulations. And so I think real leadership is making hard decisions that's right for the whole community and right for even people in the area in the moment, even though it's not easy to hear. And this is different, as Joe said, than an agriculture farm that's getting rezoned. This is a... similar zoning than what it is now with a little more control and expectations on it. So any other comments? Ms. Lause, will you call the roll?

Commissioner Fowler?

Yes.

Commissioner Goetz? Yes. Commissioner Wise? Yes. Vice Mayor Brock? Yes. Mayor Cox? Yes.

Ms. Padney, you can't leave. I was watching last week, and I know that Steve said some words a week early, but I do want to say to you that you've been with us through thick and thin, through a lot of difficult times.

It's not your last one either, is it?

It is your last meeting, and you've seen us through some hard times, and you've always kept a smile on your face, and you've put up with some difficult times. So I really want to say a huge thank you to you. You've always been a team player, too. So we wish you the very best. Nashville isn't all it's cracked up to be, and you still have time to stay here, too. We'll still be here.

And again, are you sure?

And that is something I would say, if it isn't all this cracked up to be, you can come back.

I did Riley. You can always come.

I appreciate that. Thank you guys.

Thank you as well.

I'm going to miss you.

You will be missed.

Thank you. Thank you.

And lastly, we have comment under, we have a public comment under other. We have Trisha Parades from 14, 415, I'm sorry, I'm a little emotional here. I'm sure you will accept my apology. West Pine Street to talk about property tax increase.

This is not my last meeting. Tuesday this week, the Washington County Board of Equalization completed our session for this year. As the chair and the city appointee, I thank you for the opportunity to serve. As you know, the Board of Equalization deals exclusively with appraised property values. However, there's a very short line from appraised values to assessed values through the tax rate to our tax bills. It is that endpoint of the tax bill that brings the vast majority of people before us to appeal their property value. Increasingly, we're seeing more and more fixed income residents come before us. They come before us not with the opportunity to weigh the priority of needs versus wants in their financials. They are dealing almost exclusively with the needs in their lives. Even a $10 increase to their property tax bill is $10 less of food, of medical supplies, of transportation. In making our decision, the Board of Equalization is bound to consider only data. We are bound to be fair and equal to all property owners. Our decisions are not made subjectively. The difference between our decisions and the decision that will face you soon on the property tax rate increase is that you do have the option to think subjectively about what to do. The property tax rate increase that's being considered soon deals with both needs and wants for the city. Our young swimmers need a place to swim. Their pool is part of the public good, and I support keeping that for them. A new aquatic center at this point in time is not a need for the city. It's a want. Given the competing financial priorities facing the city, facing our residents, I ask you to consider pulling back on the property rate increase, consider the needs, and give yourselves more time to be more thoughtful on when is the right time to commit us to financial obligations that are permanent. Thank you.

Thanks, Ms. Craig.

Our next speaker is Danielle Goodridge at 314 Scenic Oak Drive to speak about the budget.

If you don't care to state your name for the record.

Danielle Goodrich, thank you, commissioners. Tomorrow is Independence Day, and this year we celebrate America 250, 250 years of self-government, representation, and liberty. It is a reminder to our elected officials that they were chosen to represent the people, and it is a reminder to the people that they must elect leaders willing to listen. Recently, this commission voted to raise property taxes and approved moving forward with the aquatic center project. You may look at this as a dumb deal, but many people in this community do not. Now that the Freedom Hall pool is being repaired, there's even less public support for a massive taxpayer-funded aquatic center, projected to lose money year after year. And by the time you actually start to build it, estimates could be much more, requiring another tax increase. Many residents are asking a very reasonable question. If the original community concern was losing access to a pool and the pool is now being fixed, why should taxpayers still take on another major financial obligation? At the same time, families across the city are struggling with inflation, higher taxes, and the increased cost of living. Government should demonstrate the same restraint families are forced to practice every day. This is why I'm once again asking this commission to allow the people to vote directly through a referendum on the November ballot regarding the Aquatic Center and any associated taxpayer-backed debt. Mayor Cox, regarding Hopper Road earlier, you said, I know what the community wants. If you're right, there's no problem putting this to a vote. I'm also asking this commission to place a referendum on the ballot to expand the commission from five members to seven. Johnson City has grown tremendously over the years, but representation has not grown with it. More citizens now live here, pay taxes here, and raise families here. As the city grows, representation should grow too. Do not leave incoming commissioners tied to decisions that may represent the will of only a few. Two of you may not be here after the November election. Make sure these projects truly reflect the will of the many. Let the people decide. Whitney, you led the way on the no vote. You could also lead the way on the referendum effort. Since you were on the ballot this year, supporting a referendum would demonstrate leadership, transparency, and a willingness to listen to the electorate. By the next meeting, this commission could place both referendum questions on the agenda and allow the public a voice. A referendum is not obstruction, it's accountability, it's representation. And in the spirit of Independence Day and America 250, it's exactly what self-government is supposed to look like. Thank you.

That is all of our formal agenda.

Anything else, commissioners? Okay.

Well, just to follow up on Ms. Goodrich's opening comments there, Saturday night we have Freedom Hall fireworks in celebration of our 250th anniversary. anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I think it's a wonderful time. This is a great time for us all to get grounded again about the beautiful nature of this country, about the gift that we've been given by our forefathers, who started this nation on a set of seven core pillars. that if we go back and attach to those pillars, we can begin to enjoy the richness of this country for time to come and to be great representatives to our children. We must pass along to our children our commitment to the principles of this great nation. I think it's a time that we really put out a call to action to all of us to say, what do we need to do to have better governance and for all of us to accept the responsibilities of citizenship? We have a very divided country. We perhaps can't do anything about what's in another state, what's in the nation's capital, but we can do something about it here. And so let's embrace each other during this time. I mean, what a better time than the 250th birthday of this nation that And to recognize and to thank the people who have given service, who have given sacrifice, and many who have given their lives to keep the democracy that we have. And when we think about those people and then we... get ourselves in kind of a twit over small things in our community. I think it's time to really put things into perspective on how we stay grounded. how we are the great role models to our children so that they pick up the mantle as we go forward. And so this is for elected leaders, this is for all citizens that we look at those fundamental values of this country because it's a great place. And if we don't know it's a great place, listen to the soccer teams from other nations who are here They have been the best spokespersons for the beauty of this country. And so let's embrace it again. Come out to Freedom Hall if you can. If you do, bring lots of water with you. Dress with light clothing on. It's going to be a warm one for sure. But I think it's going to be a beautiful night. So happy 250th America.

I echo what the Vice Mayor said and the beautiful comments. I'm really looking forward to all the celebrations this weekend and the many staff, public safety, public works, Parks and Rec, you know, so many that have worked very hard to get our city ready for a great celebration, as well as those that will see that across the finish line on Saturday evening. But I think I'd also be remiss if I didn't recognize, you know, the temperatures this week have been quite steamy. And there are a lot of city staff that are outside working very, very hard every day. There's some paving projects going on in a part of town that I pass through quite frequently. Those folks are working very hard. So I really just want to commend, if you will pass on to our city staff, all the work that they are doing. I really look forward to making great memories this weekend with our community. And happy birthday, America.

Nothing to add. Mayor, if I may, regarding Saturday night, we've had a slight change this afternoon. Pepsi, obviously the major sponsor of the event Saturday night, along with Food City, notified us about 3 o'clock today. They had secured the Target parking lot for pickup by our shuttles, but unfortunately there were some issues. insurance issues. So we've had to pivot. So thanks to our communications folks and Parks and Recreation staff, that pickup point will now be the James Ellis Complex at Wingdeer Park beginning at 5 o'clock on Saturday evening. So we will work to get that information out to the public through our social media pages as well as through a media release and It's very regretful that that's happened, but it's something that we certainly had no control over, and Pepsi certainly shares their apologies for that happening this late in the game. But as has been commented on already, our staff does a fantastic job, and they pivoted within a matter of hours and got it worked out to where we could still get folks shuttled over to the site. So thank you.

I think Shenandoah is going to be the highlight of the evening.

Yes, yes, looking for a big crowd. Vice Mayor Brock is going to be the highlight of the evening. But so the parking is really the mayor's fault.

So we go on. Somebody post that tonight.

I shut down Target parking lot. All right, with that, I'll close the meeting.