City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

There are four items on tonight's public hearing. And if you'd like to speak on one of these items, please step to the podium and state your name and address. You'll have three minutes to speak. There is a light system on the podium that will give you a countdown of your time. We do ask that if someone speaks that the audience show them respect and no booing, no clapping, anything like that. And we do ask you to not line up. If someone is speaking, just wait until they sit down and then step up to the podium. So we have four items. The first two are for the same property, so each one of those. Request by Deborah Ball for future land use plan amendment approval for about 0.82 acres at 690 Franken Road from FLH2 to RP1 and Ward 4. Planning Commission recommend approval by vote of 7-0 to April 28th meeting. This reference order is number 267413. Request by Deborah Ball for rezoning approval for about 0.82 acres at 690 Franklin Road from RD 9 to Ball Aviation Youth Education Center, Texas SP, in Ward 4. Planning Commission recommend approval by vote of 7-0 at the April 28th meeting. This represents ordinance number 267414. Anyone like to speak on this? Okay, seeing none, I'll move to number three. Adopting and enacting new codification of municipal ordinance for a city of 11 Tennessee, providing a penalty for violation, providing for manner of amending such code, and providing when such code and this ordinance shall become effective. Vandy Wright, city attorney. This reference order is number 267410. Anyone like to speak on this? Seeing none, I'll move number four to adopt the annual budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 ending June 30, 2027 by Lindsey Wolfenbarger, Finance Director and Rick Bell, Mayor. This represents Ornish number 267430. Would anyone like to speak on this?

My name is Forrest Gates. I live at 1148 Fairways. And my wife and I were married in Lebanon 49 years ago next month. And then we moved to Brazil and spent 32 years as missionaries there. In 2012, we moved back to Lebanon to take care of her mom and dad. Her father since passed away, but her mom's going to be 102 in two months. And she was raised also, born and raised, her mother was born and raised in Lebanon. My wife's grandparents were born and raised in Lebanon. Her great grandparents were born and raised in Lebanon and her great, great grandparents were all the way back to 1805. We have record of all that. So we've got a lot of connections to Lebanon and we have no plans of leaving here. We love Lebanon and we make this our home as long as God blesses us with life. Since returning from Brazil, I've been the family minister at the Highland Heights Church of Christ here across the street from the Jimmy Floyd Family Center. and I'd like to invite you all to come visit us when you get an opportunity. Many of us here tonight are not in agreement with one aspect of the proposed $3.7 million renovation of the Jimmy Floyd Family Center, specifically the plan to eliminate the two racquetball courts. For the past 11 years, Hello. Okay. For the past 11 years, Jimmy Floyd has been my source of exercise as I play racquetball for two hours, five days a week. I'm so thankful for Jimmy Floyd improving my quality of life, not only physically, but besides my church, Jimmy Floyd is my main source of connection to the community and a source of beautiful relationships. racquetball courts are an important part an outlet for exercise fellowship and healthy living and are the only racquetball courts in wilson county once they're removed this opportunity is gone not just for current users but for future generations as well so we recognize and appreciate the efforts to expand weight training and group fitness spaces within the existing footprint However, we believe alternative designs could be explored that would allow those priorities to be met while preserving the courts. This does not have to be an either or decision. We believe there is a path forward that supports expanding fitness opportunities and preserves a unique community asset that cannot easily be replaced. I've asked two of our racquetball friends with whom I regularly play to briefly share their perspectives and present what we believe is a reasonable solution. Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your continued service to our community.

Thank you.

Mayor, Councilman, one, thank you for your dedication and for your passion to serve this city. My name is Mark Taylor. I live in Iroquois subdivision. My wife and I moved here with two small children 28 years ago. We had another child after here and we've been blessed and fortunate to raise our children in the city of Lebanon. And we have no plans of going anywhere either. But Jimmy Floyd Center has been a part of our lives almost since day one. And I'm here to talk about the courts that my friend F.H. just spoke about. The courts serve as not only a gathering place for people to play racquetball, but it is also a place where people gather to play volleyball, volleyball practice, soccer practice, tennis. and a myriad of other sports that take place within the walls of those rooms. But just as an example of the activity for the racquetball courts themselves, last week we had two nights where there were 12 men each night. We had 15 people there on Saturday morning and eight there last night to utilize the courts. i know 3.7 million has been approved for renovations and i am in favor of an upgrade it needs a refresh especially the bathrooms and the locker rooms but hopefully There's been a survey made and a powerful business case made to support the demo of the thing that I believe sets Jimmy Floyd Center apart and makes it highly marketable. Personally, I was not asked about my perception of needs or upgrades, and to my knowledge, no one in our community, our Racquetball community was, but I can't say that with any certainty. I'm only asking that before we eliminate something that can never be replaced, something we are losing the one thing that makes jimmy floyd unique just to have it look like the 15 other or so gems in town are we willing to do that my last comment is about the jimmy floyd mission statement the statement says create a culture of wellness and recreation that encourages life and health strengthens families and serves our community Ball is a community within the Floyd and embodies the mission. It's an elect an eclectic group of guys to support one another, not only in the building, but outside the building. We are friendly and welcoming to those that visit. And we're also encouragement to those who young and old let's preserve this space. That means so much to so many. Thank you.

Thank you.

Mayor Bell, Alderman, my name is Paul Stum and I live at 515 West Spring Street in Lebanon. I want to begin by thanking each of you for what you do for our city. I know you all make a lot of tough decisions, including this decision about the sewer plant. And I know that's a controversial one. You all make a lot of tough decisions and I believe from the bottom of my heart that each one of you, because I know each one of you. Ms. Ashley, I've not met you in person, but I talked to you on the phone. Thank you for that. And I know each one of the rest of you, and I know that you make decisions which you believe are best for all of us who call this great city our home. So thank you for that. But I too want to address some concerns about the plans for renovation of the Jimmy Floyd Family Center. I want to begin just by saying that I reached out to my dear friend, Ms. Ann Floyd, whom some of you know. And I spoke to Ms. Floyd recently. You know, her family and her late husband, J.D., donated the land on which the Jimmy Floyd Family Center sits. And her late son, Jimmy, is the namesake of the center. Now, I would like to tell you, I would like to stand here and tell you tonight that Ms. Floyd was told me, she told me that she was adamantly opposed to eliminating the racquetball courts. But she didn't tell me that. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Ms. Floyd's never played racquetball. But the truth is, what she did say to me was, and I quote, she said, Paul, she said, I don't really have any say-so about what goes on at the Jimmy Floyd Center or what they do there. But what I hope is that they wouldn't do anything there that would dishonor the name of Jimmy. And I understand that. And what I believe with all of my heart is that you all have an opportunity as you contemplate the spending of a lot of money on renovating this center to do something that would not only not dishonor Jimmy, but would bring more honor to his name. I know you have the ability and I believe you have the responsibility to consider more options than those limited options that have been presented to you. I'm in favor of making upgrades to the Jimmy Floyd Center. I think it needs some upgrades, and I think that's important. And I agree with Alex Major, who's sitting here behind me, that we need, as a community, to do some things to improve that center. But I also am convinced, and by the way, I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of Tennessee, and I've reviewed the plans, and I know that there are options that have not yet been considered for renovating the center in a way that will accommodate the wants and desires of the management of the center, as well as the wants and desires of those of us in the racquetball community. So I implore each one of you to think about requesting other options from the talented architect whom I also know that did the designs. Wayne Oakley didn't present the two designs that wipe out the racquetball courts because he wanted to hurt the racquetball players. He did that just because that's all he was asked to do. And I think it's incumbent upon you as fiscal and fiduciary managers of this big budget before you spend $3.8 to $4.2 million. Is my time out?

Your time's up.

Thank you for your time. I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Hi, everybody. I'm Sky. I live at 840 Manor Lane here in beautiful Lebanon, Tennessee.

So what's your last name?

Medley. Sky Medley. I like long walks through the park, chocolate, sunset with friends, just real special moments. And really glad to be here with everybody. I moved here two years ago from Oregon to give you a – I'm going to step away because this is driving me crazy – I moved here from Oregon. Uh, I was looking for a community to raise a family. I was looking for a place to raise my family. I considered Lebanon as one of those top cities. It's, it's rural. It's great. It's got a great community. It's got a town square. That's awesome. And, uh, so we came here and I chose my house based on the community center here in Lebanon. It's really close to my house, about two miles away. Um, my daughter shoots a basketball there in the mornings and, uh, I taught my little one how to swim in the swimming pool. And now I get to watch her jump off the top diving board during the summer. It's really incredible. So that center was a real part of our lives. And I got to one day walking past this box one day, and I didn't really know what it was. I saw this ball flying around in there. I was like, that looks pretty cool. I'm going to go check that out. So I bravely went up to the desk, grabbed a racket, asked the guys, hey, can I get in here? And they looked at me like, sure, come on in. And the second time they gave me the ball, I was terrible. I was absolutely awful. I was in the way. I got hit. I think I hit somebody. But something happened that really didn't occur to me that was happening. Instead of pushing me away, they pulled me in. They gave me advice. They helped me. They coached me. They really took me in. And match after match, stroke after stroke, I learned a little bit more and I learned a little bit more. And I really found a community of people that were really supporting. And that was really awesome. And for an outsider moving here, that's exactly what I was looking for in a community. So I met every one of them. Rusty coached his kid for 12 years here in Lebanon in soccer. Like, Rusty, he's a professor. Like, Eric speaks three languages. He's even a dialect of Filipino. Where are you going to meet these kind of people? So I got to meet these incredible people and they took a guy like me who sells TVs out of his van and really brought him into the community. They're not stolen. They're not stolen. People really took me in and it shows a really huge community here. That's really special. And I'm really glad to be a part of it. Love for these. be preserved just from an outsider's perspective because it provided so much value for me and my family and it's something that really can't be replaced i really appreciate thank you very much for all your time i'm really really happy to be a part of the city and a part of the community thank you thank you anyone else

Eric Lay, 1332 Mays Lane here in Lebanon, Tennessee. Thank you very much for giving me a couple minutes to be able to speak. I just want to come out and tell you guys that even though I have quite a bit of gray hair going on, I do turn 50 this year. Contrary to popular belief, the racquetball courts are not used by a bunch of old people. you know, the good old boys group or something like that. I moved here about two and a half years ago and had an opportunity to play with some outstanding people out in California, where I was able to escape from five generations ago. I had family out here in Tennessee. Gradually, my generations of family, we we had moved across and headed west. And I am proud to be one of the generations that have moved us back east again to this great, great country. Anyways, I was warmly embraced by a great group of guys when we came out to Tennessee to be able to find that this area has racquetball courts in it. Where I came from, I had an opportunity. I was playing in the mornings. I was playing in the evenings. I started and ended my day with this wonderful sport to help ease stress and what have you. And what I like about the sport is the group of people that we're able to associate with. I just wanted to come out and testify to you guys as a witness that I have not been coming to these courts for the past 20 plus years or what have you. I'm new, relatively new to the area. These courts have new people all the time that do show up at them. that are welcomed with open arms in our community. We have longstanding individuals that have been coming there for quite a while. These individuals welcome people with open arms. We bring newbies into the court all the time, as we call them. We get a chance to help them not hit us and help them not hurt themselves and run into the walls and what have you. And there are individuals such as a gentleman named Don, who some of you are probably familiar with. He is always welcome to, willing to give lessons to individuals. We've had signs up that offer said lessons to individuals. These are things that the Jimmy Floyd itself does not offer, but we take it upon ourselves as a way to preserve the sport, to be able to bring in individuals of all generations, to be able to learn the sport. to show me show me the research that's been done to be able to have these courts be able to to have a chance and additionally are there really anybody else is there any other sports going on at the jimmy floyd where individuals take it upon themselves to be able to just teach lessons freely so I implore to all of you to take what individuals have spoken about here tonight to be able to go back and research other opportunities to be able to keep these courts alive. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Okay, seeing none, it is time for our city council meeting to begin. And before I call the city council meeting to order, there's one announcement I want to make. Resolution 262853, there's a typo on that. The sponsor is Lindsay Wolfenbarger, finance director. That's 262853, energy business. That's number 13, energy business. So there's a misprint there. So with that announcement, I will call the meeting to order. And I ask William Porter to come lead the invocation.

Let's pray. Father, we just thank you for this day. We thank you for the beautiful weather you've given us. We thank you for the rain that we had, and now everything's green and pretty, and we just thank you for that. We just thank you for our city and we thank you for our country. We pray that you protect our men and women that are fighting across the world to keep us safe. We just thank you for that and we pray that you watch over them. We pray for our leaders at the federal level. We pray for our leaders here at the city level and at state level. We pray for wisdom tonight as we make decisions that will affect Lebanon. And we just pray that you'll watch over everything that happens here and it'll be pleasing to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Please face the flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Roll call, please.

Joey Carmack.

Here.

Jerry Ashley. Here. Camille Burdine. Here. Chris Crow.

Here.

Chick Bryan. Here. Phil Moorhead. Here. Mayor Bell, you have a quorum.

Thank you. And we have the minutes of the May 19th City Council Meeting.

Motion to approve.

First one, Councilor Carmack. Second one, Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Now it's time for communication with citizens. I know there's probably several people who want to talk, but before we do that, we'd like to have some special guests here who would like to make a presentation. We asked representatives from the Sons of the American Revolution. So if you'd step up. Now it's time.

Sure. My name is Wayne Patton, 32 Greenwood Drive here in Lebanon, and I am honored to bring greetings on behalf of the Major David Wilson Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Our chapter proudly carries the name of Major David Wilson, a patriot whose courage helped secure the freedom we cherish today. It is our mission to preserve that legacy, honor those who served, and help our community stay connected to the story of America's founding. Today, I want to recognize our partners in this important work, the Margaret Gaston Chapter, the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with the many volunteers and community leaders who help keep our history alive here in Wilson County. As part of our nation's 250th anniversary, we are excited to share that the American Revolution Experience Traveling Exhibit will be hosted at the Historic Fight Fest and House from June 20th through June 19th. Sponsored by the DAR, this exhibit brings the Revolution area to life in a vivid, interactive way for family, students, and visitors of all ages. Mayor Bell, on behalf of the Major David Wilson Chapter, we would like to present you with a blank copy of the Declaration of Independence as part of the American 250 celebration. The purpose of this document is simply but powerful. We want the people of Wilson County to sign their names to it, just as our ancestors did 250 years ago. Each signature is a personal statement of gratitude for our freedoms, a recognition for the sacrifices made to secure them, and a commitment to the responsibilities of citizenship. We hope this signed declaration will be a meaningful keepsake for our community during this historic anniversary year. As we continue to celebrate America's 250th birthday, I am proud to announce a very special event on Saturday, July the 4th at 9 a.m., members of the david wilson chapter and daughters of the american revolution and other community leaders will gather on the steps of the wilson county courthouse to participate in a nationwide reading of the declaration of independence this reading will take place across all of the united states at the same hour from coast to coast in a shared moment of remembrance and gratitude. We invite everyone to join us to hear the words that launched a nation and celebrate the enduring promise of liberty. On behalf of the Major David Wilson Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, thank you for your support, your presence, and your shared love of country. We look forward to celebrating this historic year with you, and I thank you so much, sir.

May I be the first?

Thank you, and thank you for that presentation. Now onto our regular communication with citizens. So as before, you have three minutes to speak, and there's a light up there that'll tell you what your time limit is. So if anyone who wants to speak about anything, now's your opportunity.

Good evening. Good evening, Council. Mikel Qualls, 29 venue circle. Recently, I have confirmed what I already knew to be true. By researching Flock's own PR and website for public relations, the Murfreesboro Police have responded to a FOIA request of their own Flock transparency portal. In just two weeks, individual officers have searched the Flock OS system over 2,100 times, and only one of those searches had a case number. It is time to stop being dishonest about the use of Flock and admit that its use extends far beyond reading license plates. Here are some examples of the capability of these cameras and how police are able to search the system. The patterns of movement tool. Flock software and interface can process aggregated still images to retrace where a vehicle has been and highlight the frequency with which a license plate or vehicle passes specific cameras. Investigative mapping tool. Law enforcement utilizes software known as Flock OS, which does layer camera and location data. When an investigator or police officer pulls up a specific vehicle profile, the system aggregates all the point in time images captured of that car over a 30 day period This automatically generates a heat map that highlights the geographic areas where the driver spends the most time. All of these searches per the Murfreesboro police FOIA request are used without a warrant, a case number, and on people just driving the road where there were 2100 searches in two weeks time. Did anyone see 2100 people pulled over or 2100 people put in jail in two weeks in Murfreesboro? They're using this technology to spy on normal people going about their business. An officer may have no reason at all to be seeing where you have traveled or been. This capability is unconstitutional and is a communist surveillance system in the works. We have proof it is used on people without committing crimes. Council members, you need to vote to dismantle this system and end flock safety's contract with the city of Lebanon to preserve your integrity and honor your oath to the constitution. As John Adams said in his 1798 address to the Massachusetts militia, we have no government armed with power contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Holy and awesome God, I come before you and you only in reverence to how awesome you are. I pray you humble our hearts. Thank you for giving me the courage to speak here tonight and a sober mind to confront men and women willing to give up their liberty. We know that the only way to be free is to turn to you and repent. I pray for our council nightly and leaders to understand that what they are doing is tyrannical and immoral. Please open their minds and give them wisdom to understand that they swore an oath before you, our God, to support and defend the rights endowed to us at birth. Give them a clear mind and the courage to say no to an immoral surveillance state. Amen.

Adrema Higgins, 105 Moss Court. I'm here concerning behavior that erupted at yesterday's work session on June the 1st, 2026. Jerry Ashley and Camille Burdine. Why $20,000 was spent for a city employee to update their office furniture. As a city council person, you have the right as you represent the citizens that are taxpayers in the city. Thank you for what you're doing and will continue to do on this City Council. Several Tennessee rules of professional conduct were broken here yesterday afternoon by our city attorney. I want to bring those to light. Based on Tennessee legal ethics and municipal law, the following rules would likely have been broken. Rule 1.7, conflict of interest. The city attorney's client is the municipality, not the individual city employee. Advising a city employee to sue members of the governing body, the council, creates a direct conflict as the attorney is essentially acting against their own client, the city or the council people. Rule 1.13, organization as client, abiding a lawsuit that disrupts city governance and pits an employee against elected leadership likely violates this duty. Rule 3.1, an attorney breaks this rule by promoting litigation intended to harass or intimidate city council members. And rule 8.4, may not violate the rules of professional conduct or engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. That's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Good evening, everyone. Jessica Garrett, 626 Hazelwood Pike. Dear Council and Mayor, first I would like to touch base on some ordinances from the last meeting. Due to some of my informants, I have a desire to tell you that Public Works doesn't need any new crew members. They don't need new trucks right now. They got a lot of crew members that they could utilize a whole lot better. So that needs to be looked at. Another reason why the TRW site would be better for the waste management plant instead of for public works. They have a lot of things they don't utilize now. What would they do with such a large building? That makes no sense to me. Secondly, I am requesting for this municipality to legally designate all of Hazelwood Pike as a no-truck facility. I don't care how you have to do that. I want it signed. I asked for signs over a month ago. I've also asked for the sign at East Forest to be moved up because no 18-wheeler can see a sign that is like three foot off the ground. Get real, y'all. It ain't hard. It's a couple of bolts. Go unbolt it and move it. I'm tired of these trucks, y'all. You're going to keep hearing from me until it gets fixed. I'm not leaving you alone. Also, with that, you need to take the time to submit some official map updates to all mapping platforms, including all commercial truck GPS systems. That tells those truck drivers those roads are no through truck roads. You got guys from out of town that don't have a clue where they're going over there, but they're going up past Sam Houston Elementary. You want them driving by your kids? Because I don't. Get it fixed, there's no excuse at this point. It's now your road, it's not the county or the state's anymore. It's a city road now. Lastly, I would like to address why an economic development director would be allowed to spend almost $20,000 on an office reno when, Mayor Bell, your office shouldn't cost that much. But something that hit me a little close to home. A $1,500 chair, I understand having disabilities. I've had back surgery. However, my husband works for you all and has a disability. And all you've given him is a federal benefit and an EEOC discrimination charge against you all. So stop and think about that when you spend $20,000 on somebody with a disability.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Hello, Council. I'm Bob Zenker, 6258 Old Murfreesboro Road here in Lebanon. I'm excited to announce that Lebanon has new options associated for soccer in the community. So Lebanon Soccer Club is a new club about two months old. We're a non-for-profit. 501c3 so we've been working hard to be able to have an effective board that's of local members that's focused associated related to providing youth activities related around soccer that's affordable transparent and really focused associated on building a family and community around soccer I know many of you probably soccer is not the sport that you love. There's other sports that are out there. I think that's great. But I do think there's a good sense of our board, of the people who are volunteering associated for this to be able to come to the community and say that we can do and provide options related for soccer here. I look forward over the years to be able to work with you guys and just to be able to continue to serve our community. Thanks so much.

Thank you. Anyone else? I'll move on to my comments.

I do have a couple things tonight.

And the first one is, as I said two weeks ago, we had two openings on the Planning Commission. And a couple weeks ago, we did fill one of those. And so tonight, I'm announcing that Lisa Chaney has been appointed to the Planning Commission. And she lives in Ward 2. And I want to thank Councilor Ashley for recommending her. So I had a meeting with her that went really well. She met with Josh and Kristen today, and after those meetings, she said she'd like to serve. So I appreciate her doing that, just as I appreciate everyone who serves in all of our committees, who volunteer to do that. uh those are important positions and and they they don't get paid for it and and they're very uh important to our operations so uh so thank you counselor ashley for recommending ms cheney and um i think she'll make a great addition to the planning commission and um and before that ward 2 did not have a representative so now she will do that so i appreciate that Also, as we know from the public hearing, the budget is on the agenda tonight, and I want to thank everyone who took part in putting that together. I thank Lindsey as your first budget process, you and Sherry for working on that, and all members of your staff who took part, all the department heads who took part in that as well. So I want to thank them. and for the work they did and the city council for the work you did for the work sessions and studying and asking a lot of good questions. So tonight is the first reading for that. And so I just want to thank everyone for taking part. And with that, Councilor Carmack.

Come back to me, please.

Okay. Please remind me. I always forget. All right. Councilor Ashley.

I'm going to defer any comments to another appropriate time.

Okay. Thank you. Councilor Burdine.

um i'd like to make several comments um i'd like to address the matters that arose and during last night's work session regarding questions i raised concerning a department head's budget the purchase of what i consider luxury items i think most people have that list and they were purchased with taxpayer funds and concerning and also a concern i had regarding the city's inventory controls for assets purchased with public dollars. For sake of transparency and public accountability, I have a recording of the work session that I intend to submit for inclusion, pass that down to Kristen, for official record, and any taxpayer who wishes to obtain that may do so by submitting a Freedom of Information Request Act. for the work session held on June the 1st, 2026, and it is labeled WS6-126. During that discussion, I was very disappointed by statements and comments directed towards me by several officials, including the mayor, Chris Corral, Sarah Hastings, and particularly our city attorney. As an elected official, I take my job very seriously. My obligation to ask questions, review expenditures, and ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayers' resources. Those responsibilities are not optional for me. They are fundamental duties of a public service. session, I contacted MTASC and had a thorough discussion regarding the role and authority and responsibilities of a city council member. The guidance I received was consistent with my understanding of those duties and differed from some certain limitations that were presented during this work session by the city attorney. At the recommendation of MTAS, I also contacted the Tennessee Comptroller's Office regarding the concerns that have been raised. I have been in contact with several departments, and my case is currently with the Internal Investigation Unit. My responsibility is to the citizens of this community and to the proper oversights of public funds. Until these concerns are adequately addressed, I am satisfied in that I am satisfied with the public information necessary to fulfill my fiduciary responsibilities have been provided. I cannot in good conscience support the current budget before us. Therefore, I will not be voting in favor of the budget at this time.

That's it. Thank you. Councilor Crowe.

Mayor, thank you. We'll talk about a couple of things going on in Ward 4, whom I'm elected to represent. First of all, appreciate everyone coming out tonight. I know for a time or two, he lives in Ward 4, and appreciate your input and your service to our country. Deborah Ball is proposing an aviation education facility in Ward 4. And I know Mr. John would be very proud of your efforts. And a lot of his work will end up translating through you to benefit the public, benefit a lot of young people, and people of all ages. But I really appreciate what you're doing and the fact that you're putting in a Ward 4 next to the airport. i want to talk just a minute about um some complaints in ward 4 particularly with regard to construction talked with kristen earlier today there's a lot of growth across the city and ward 4 probably gets its more than its fair share and you know we um want people to obey the rules that we've passed. And there are specific hours that people are allowed to work, and they shouldn't be working outside of those hours. If there's hammering going on, if there's construction noise going on, Outside of those permitted hours, those folks need to be given the opportunity to correct that. And then if they can't correct it, then they're going to be stopped with orders. And we have done that in the past. We received a specific complaint over in Timber Ridge with the Hickory Knoll development. It's a Lenore development. I've talked a little bit with Kristen about that today. Can you give me a little bit of an update on that?

sure so we've recently revised our noise ordinance and we've been working closely with the police department codes on on that which is which is working more efficiently than it was and in this particular case we have met with their director of construction they have submitted to us steps that they intend to take subcontractors are an issue out here And so they've got a plan in place to address it with their subcontractors, and then they will start fining them. And then if that doesn't work, then we will issue the stop work order for them. So it's a step process. We're working in conjunction with the police department, but they are aware we also have an in-person meeting set up with them and their team on Friday to reiterate where we're at and how serious we are about this.

I appreciate that. And from what I understand, there are some builders who will find their own subcontractors. And I applaud them for doing that. But I'm here to say, from my standpoint, if people are working outside the appropriate hours in Ward 4, that's not going to be permitted. And if they can get more work done by having a stop work order and not doing any work, then we'll try that. But we're not going to allow the people who live in Ward 4 to be harassed by workers at work whenever they feel like it. So we're not going to be doing that anymore. Also just want to comment a little bit on the budget as well. I know the mayor made a couple of comments. This is a tough budget year. We do have an increase in revenue, but we also have a significant increase in expense. And that's to be expected for a growing community. We have an excellent police department, an excellent fire department. All of our services across the city, department heads, all of them, as far as I know, everyone's doing an excellent job. And I think this budget reflects reward for that. It reflects our intention to continue to implement the services that we're committed to in our community. And I think it's a difficult balancing act sometimes to bring all of those things to bear. But I think this budget does that. I appreciate the mayor's edict early on to control spending. It's very difficult to do that, again, when we have more people to serve. to serve them without going over in expenditures is very tough. And so I appreciate, again, the department heads that heeded that call and tried to control expenditures. There's some things that we have to do. Again, we're providing essential services in the city. And, you know, we do hear from people that have issues from time to time, but by and large, the people I talk to are very happy with the services provided by the city. So, again, appreciate the mayor, the department heads, Lindsay. I think you did an excellent job. Appreciate all of your work on that. And the council, I think, asked a lot of good questions. I will say going forward, it's a very tight budget. I think Lindsay was conservative in her revenue estimates. And I, for one, will be watching closely as we move forward in terms of budget amendments and making sure that we strictly adhere to the budget that we have and make sure that we don't get out of bounds before the end of the next budget year. But again, appreciate everyone's work on that. And that's all I have, Mayor. Thank you.

Mr. Bryan?

I don't have anything, Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Moorhead.

Just a couple quick things. I, too, want to thank the people that come to these meetings. It gives us real input as to what your thoughts are, your feelings are, what's going on in the city. Mike, you and I have talked before. We don't always agree, but I'm always happy to listen and hear your case. Deborah, I'm excited for the aviation for the youth. I think that would be fantastic and a great honor to your late husband. As far as the Jimmy Floyd Center, I... don't can't take credit that it's being renovated now but but prior to running for office had said that boy this place is supposed to be one of the crown jewels of the city and it's looking pretty worn and pretty haggard so i'm i'm very excited to see that renovation go forward and hope that all gets approved tonight as well and i do want to thank lindsay and sherry for working on this budget i know that's a tremendous amount of work just the amount of paper that gets handed us at each of those work sessions is instrument i i don't even know how you can do all that quite honestly all those figures but god bless you and thank you for doing it And then as far as our budget for the coming year, I'm happy to say, I'm sure it's already publicly out there that even with these assessments now, the city has maintained their tax rates. So we are revenue neutral. So with the growth of the city, nobody's taxes, assuming your assessment is within that 67%, if it didn't go up more than that, you should not see any tax increase this year. So you'll be paying the same amount of dollars you paid prior years. I'm really proud of the city that we're able to continue to do all that we do, provide a great police department, a great fire department, city services that we have, and do that without having to raise anybody's taxes. Thank you.

Thank you. We have a consent agenda. It has 10 items on it. I forgot. You know, there's a lot between you and now, so go ahead.

I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS AS WELL. LINDSEY, CONGRATULATIONS ON DOING YOUR FIRST ONE. IT WAS VERY SEAMLESS AND WE ALL HAD GREAT WORK SESSIONS WITH THEM IN DOING THAT. SECONDLY, CHRIS HAD MENTIONED HAVING LENAR DOWN IN HIS WARD. I HAVE DEALT WITH LENAR IN WARD ONE FOR A LONG TIME AND THANKS TO CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE COACH DEPARTMENT FOR GETTING THEM TO WORK WITHIN THEIR HOURS. THEY ARE STARTING BACK THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND I HOPE THE ISSUE DOES NOT ARISE AGAIN, BUT THEY QUIT BOND LAND IN WARD ONE. So Mike was that hard on them. And as I've disclosed for the past nine years, we are voting on the budget tonight, and my father and brother-in-law both work for the city, and I have no conflict with voting on it, and I will be voting to approve the budget. Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, wait. Ms. Garrett, the sign that we had asked to get Ms. Garrett on Forest Street, where is that at?

We've sent a work order to the street department to get those installed. Um, so there's a process. There's one call you got to get in place and then we have to order the signs.

So we'll check on the one call. I'm sorry.

It should have been put up today.

I'm not raising the signs that we requested raising the signs.

We'll get the sign out there. Let me check on the one that needs to be raised. Okay. Okay, let me check on it. But the ones that, they told me today that the ones on Hazelwood and on Hartsville Pike had been installed.

Okay. They're there tomorrow. Thank you, and that's all I got.

thank you uh don't consider agenda has um 10 items on i'll read each one of those or somewhere 26 74 15 second read authorized budget amendments for the water treatment plant by regina santana utilities director or somewhere 26 74 16 second reading to authorize a budget amendment for traffic maintenance by lee clark public works director Morse number 26-74-17, second reading to authorize a budget amendment for the street department by Lee Clark, public works director. Morse number 26-74-18, second reading to authorize a budget amendment for drainage mitigation to purchase a trailer and hydroceder by R.T. Baldwin, assistant public works director. Worship number 26, 7419, second reading to authorize budget amendments for additional mowing maintenance personnel by Lee Carr, public works director. Worship number 26, 7420, second reading to authorize budget amendments for two employee buyouts by Lindsey Wittenbarger, finance director. Worship number 26, 7421, second reading to approve a budget amendment for the garage for City Works Fleet Software by Lee Cart, Public Works Director. Orsimer 26-74-22, second reading to approve a budget amendment for the Recreation Department to purchase a utility vehicle by William Porter, Parks and Recreation Director, and Lindsey Wolfenbarger, Finance Director. Orsimer 26-74-23, second reading to approve a light item transfer for the Engineering Department for a vehicle by Kristen Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning. Orsmore 267424, Secondary and Approved Professional Services Agreement for Engineering Design Services, Phase 2 of the Levin Sports Complex and Approved Related Budget Amendment by Kristen Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning, and William Porter, Parks and Recreation Director.

Approved.

Second. Motion by Councillor Crowell. Second by Councillor Moorhead. Any discussion on those? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Now to Old Business Ordinance Number 267426. Second reading to approve a budget amendment for the Public Works Department for walking tour improvements and to authorized staff negotiate with property owner for related easement by Lee Cart, Public Works Director.

Motion to approve.

Second. Motion by Councillor Moorhead. Second by Councillor Burdine. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. No new business. Orange number 267413. First reading to amend the future land use plan in the city of Lebanon, Tennessee by changing 690 Franklin Road from FLH2 residential two units per acre to RPI residential public institutional in Ward 4. Request by Deborah Ball.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councilor Crowell. Second by Councilor Carmack. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Question number 267414. First reading to amend the official zoning atlas of the City of Lebanon, Tennessee by changing 690 Franken Road from RD9 Duplex Residential 9000 to Ball Aviation Youth Education Center Tech Specific Plan Award for request by Debra Ball.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councilor Crowell. Second by Councilor Carmack. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Council approve a certificate of compliance for retail food store wine sales at 1000 Mercerboro Road by Lindsey Wolfenbarger, Finance Director.

Motion to approve. Second.

Councilor Carmack. Second. Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Council confirmation of the reappointment of Bill Ash to serve on the Lebanon Beer Board by Rick Bell, Mayor. Councilor Moorhead. Second. Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Verse number 26, 7425, first reading to authorize budget amendments for the building maintenance department by Lisa Lane, purchasing agent, and Lizzie Wolfenbarger, finance director.

Motion to approve.

Councilor Carmack, second by Councilor Crowell, discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Verse 126, 74, 27, first reading to approve final change order and related budget amendment for the landfill pump station and force main project by Regina Santana, utilities director. Motion. Motion by Councilor Burdine.

Burdine, yes. Do we have a second?

I did.

Motion by Councilor Burdine, second by Councilor Crowell, discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Verse number 26, 74, 29, first reading to amend ordinance number 22, 64, 38, relative to the water sewer sinking fund by Lizzie Wolf and Barbara, finance director.

Second.

Councilor Crowell, second by Councilor Carmack, discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Motion number 26, 7430.

Motion to divide the question.

First reading to adopt the annual budget and tax rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2026, ending June 30th, 2027 by Lindsey Wolfenbarger, finance director, Rick Bell, mayor.

Second.

Okay, motion to divide the question. And a second discussion.

I want to divide the question to remove the Jimmy Floyd Center renovations out and let them be voted on separately.

OK, so any discussion on that? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you.

We're going to vote on first.

So we're going to divide the question. Do we need an ordinance number for this?

OK, Kristen.

For the Jimmy Floyd, do we need a budget number?

A new ordinance number will be 26-74-33. OK.

And I would like to make a motion to amend that ordinance number to allow the one racquetball court as presented at the work session. Second.

Motion is seconded by Councilor Carmack and Councilor Crowell to amend the divided ordinance, the new ordinance, to have one racquetball court. Discussions?

Yeah, I'll be voting against that after going through the work session and realizing the few people that actually use that racquetball court versus the thousands of people that use that center on a daily basis. And to keep one court will add an additional $300,000 to the cost of that renovation based on the preliminary numbers that were given at the work session. I just don't think it's worth an additional $300,000 expense for potentially 20, 30 people that use that, which I respect that they want to have a racquetball court. But when you have thousands of other people and to have the group fitness center that now is overflowing on the basketball courts because they have no other place to go. I just think space is much better utilized as the current design was presented to us.

Okay. Any further discussion?

I would agree with that. Alex, I appreciate all your work. We had two work sessions regarding just this project, and the data was pretty intense to, you know, do away with racquetball. You know, I hope that, I do think that our community as a whole does need a racquet club out there, and I encourage all those that participate to work together to find an investor for Racquet Club. But as a Jimmy Floyd Center is for the public as a whole and our children and many people who enjoy all the activities there, I think it's best that as presented, we should keep it as presented in the work sessions.

Okay, further discussion?

Yes, Mayor. A couple of comments. One, I'll say that basically the only comments we had along the way, pro or con, about the budget, I think were by the folks who represented the racquetball contingency. So I point that out for consideration. I also want to say a couple of other things about the Floyd Center. The Floyd Center definitely needs a renovation. You know, I think it's a great idea. And I give Phil a lot of credit, honestly, because he thought about this before he came on the council. And he's been advocating about it since he got here. You know, we've all been hearing about the Floyd Center, Alex. We heard about it when you were here and you became the manager and you deserve a lot of credit as well because you've done a lot of the heavy lifting after Phil died. from a council standpoint so i'm fully supporting renovating the facility and you know there's no question about that um i i do question a little bit um the idea that that we couldn't leave a racquetball court maybe we don't accomplish all five of the stated goals that were articulated last night and again you did an excellent job alex But I do think there's a possible way. It's probably not going to get the four required votes tonight. But, again, I'm not afraid to step out and say what my opinion is even if I'm the only vote. So, again, I support the renovation. I do think there's a way to get that done. And, you know, that's my position. And one other thing I'll point out, you know, the numbers that we're looking at are basically estimates at this point. This hasn't gone out to bid. And so we have no idea, really, what it's going to look like when we go out to bid. So we'll find out. It may come back to us. Again, I'm going to support the renovation. I fully support it. And I think our community should. But if it comes back to us, we may be having this discussion again anyway. Thank you, Mayor.

And the only thing I'm going to say about it is I've talked to several of them out there. And I talked to a lot of y'all standing right there beside where Ms. Conrad is two weeks ago. And I just felt like, you know, we should try to meet in the middle and do a compromise like I had explained to y'all. And so that's what I've attempted to do. I commend Alex for everything he's done. I worked at the Floyd Center when I was 17 and 18 years old, and I'm 40, about to be 41. And it looks the same as it did back then. Well, he's done some updates since he's taken over. Back when it was in my ward, I always advocated for it. I know Jerry has and Phil, of course, has as well. I just felt like we should really try to save the two courts. And I will vote to, if this doesn't pass, I'll vote for the renovations because I want to see them done. But I just thought I wanted to at least try this. That's all I've got.

Okay.

Hey, repeat what we're voting on.

I was about to do that. So the first for this vote is for the amendment to keep one racquetball court. So this is for the amendment to keep one racquetball court. So if you want to keep one racquetball court, vote yes. that's that's what thank you okay that's that's the first vote we'll come to the other ones absolutely i was going to that too you guys are ahead of me uh roll call kristen i will say too this is ordinance number 26 74 33 that we're voting on and if you vote in favor you're voting for what mayor one record one record yes you're voting for to keep one racquetball court okay

Cormack? Yes. Jerry Ashley?

No.

Camille Burdine? No. Chris Crow?

Yes.

Chick Bryan?

No.

Phil Moorhead?

No.

It fails four to two.

Okay, so the amendment to keep Warner Blackwell Court fails. Now we're back to the divided question on the Floyd Center renovations.

And I'll make a motion to approve that.

This was at the original time? I think you've already done that.

So by dividing the Jimmy Floyd budget out of the general budget, that budget.

We're not dividing the budget out. We're dividing the renovations only.

Make that clear.

The renovations only are being divided, not the entire budget. I don't want that like that. So it's the renovation. That's not the way I stated it. Does that make sense?

So let me be clear. So this vote is for the original motion now is for the original plan. So I just want to be clear.

So Councilor Carmack made a motion to split the renovation package out of the budget. And that passed. And then he made a motion to amend that one to to keep on racquetball court. The one racquetball court failed. Correct. So now the vote is now we're talking about his original motion split motion to to renovate the renovation package.

So this would be the original renovation package that was brought to us? That's the way I understand it. I just want to be clear with Andy.

I want to make sure it's very clear. When I divided the question, it was not to divide the entire budget. It was to divide the renovations only. My amendment has failed. So now do I need to make a motion to approve?

So when we talked about dividing the question, I was under the impression that you were wanting to pull the Jimmy Floyd budget out of the general budget, vote on it separately. No. That would include a racquetball court. By just wanting to include a racquetball court, basically you're just amending the budget. So we could have just voted on, you could have made the motion to approve the general budget as amended with your amendment. But it's okay the way we did it.

It's good the way we did it. So you made a motion to divide the renovation plan out of the budget. It was second and it was approved. So now we're talking about that. Now we're voting on that. So there's a discussion on that.

So the motion, just so I'm clear, is now for the original plan as presented with no rack of all courts?

Yes. That's the way I understand it. Right. Okay. Any discussion on that? Okay. We'll recall that one too, Chris.

Joey Carmack? Yes. Jerry Ashley?

Yes.

Camille Burden?

Yes.

Chris Crowe.

Yes.

Tick Bryan. Yes. Phil Moorhead. Yes. Pass unanimous.

Okay, thank you. Now we are back to the original ordinance 267430 for the budget.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councillor Carmack and second by Councillor Crowe. Any discussion?

Yeah, I'd like to have a discussion. I think that given the current complex pending issues in the city, I am not going to be voting in favor of the budget this evening.

Okay, thank you. Any further discussion? Okay, let's roll call that one too, Kristen.

Joey Carmack?

Yes.

Jerry Ashley? No. Camille Burden?

No. Chris Frey?

Yes.

Tick Bryan? Yes. Gilmore Head?

Yes.

Pass 4 to 2.

Now to Ordinance Number 267431, first reading to approve the Interim Restrictional Waste Forest Service Agreement by Regina Santana, Utilities Director.

Second to approve.

Second.

Most of my council crowds, like my council Carmack discussion on privacy. Any opposed? Thank you. Or it's more 2674 32 first read and authorized budget amendments for the lump sum payment to TCRS for the TCRS hazard supplement pay by Lindsay Wolfenbarger finance director.

Second.

Mayor Mrakas, The Council car max like we're counselor crowd discussion on paper so any opposed, thank you for this number 2628 51 to approve an agreement with ceasefire business for city email backup and recovery services, but Mike consworth and my s director motion to approve second. Vice-Chairman, Councilor Carmack. Second, Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262852 to approve an agreement for the purchase of fireworks for the city-sponsored 4th of July event by Lisa Lane, purchasing agent, and Lisa Wood from Barter, finance director. Motion by Councilor Crowell, second by Councilor Cormack. Discussion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Thank you. Next one is one I mentioned before the meeting started. Resolution number 262853 to acknowledge the presentation of the report of debt obligation related to general obligation bond series 2026AEQ basin and gas project bond for the amount of $1,680,000 by Lindsay Wolfenbarger, finance director.

Approve. Second. Second. Second.

Second by Councilor Krause. Second by Councilor Bryan. Any discussion?

Could you say that again? Is that 1 million or 17?

I'm sorry, 17,680,000. I'm sorry. If I said it wrong, I apologize. 17,680,000. Any further discussion?

All in favor say aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262854 to approve a master service agreement for professional engineering services with Ardera Group Inc. for professional services on an as-needed basis and attachment number one assignment 20261 for standard utility specification assistance by Regina Santana, Utilities Director.

Motion to approve. For more heads, second by Councilor Crowell. Discussion?

All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Thank you. Version number 262856, to accept BIS award contract for the 2026 Natural Gas Rehabilitation Project for Castle Heights and Indian Hills, by Regina Santana, Utilities Director.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councillor Carmack. Second by Councillor Ashley. Discussion?

All in favor say aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Versus 262858. To accept bids or contract for the runway 119 rehabilitation project at the 11 Missoula Airport. RT Baldwin, Assistant Public Works Director.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion by Councillor Moorhead.

Second by Councillor Ashley. Discussion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262859 to establish a hazardous duty supplemental benefit pursuant to chapter 919 of the 2024 public acts codified in Tennessee code annotated section 836212 to authorize the payment of the hazardous duty supplemental benefit pursuant to Tennessee code annotated section 836212 hybrid by Lindsey Wolfenbarger, finance director.

Motion to approve.

Votes for Councilor Ashley, seconded by Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Version number 262860, to establish a hazardous duty supplemental benefit pursuant to Chapter 919 of the 2024 Public Acts, codified in Tennessee Code Annotated Section 836.212, to authorize the payment of the hazardous duty supplemental benefit pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated Section 836.212, Legacy, by Lindsay Wolfenberger, Finance Director. Motion to approve.

Second.

Councilor Moorhead, Councilor Ashley, discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? We are adjourned.