City Council - Regular Meeting

And what's that?

Uh-huh. Nice.

Thank you. More things have to go on I just

Okay, it's 6 o'clock, time for night city council meeting. I will call the meeting to order. I ask Lee Clark to lead the invocation.

Pray. Our dear, most gracious Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this day. Just thank you for the cooler temperatures that we're having. I just ask you to be with the Gibbs family at the loss of David this week. And, dear Lord, just be with this council as we conduct business in the city that what we do will be pleasing to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Roll call, please.

Jerry Ashley.

Here.

Camille Burdine. Here. Chris Crow.

Here.

Tick Bryan. Here. Phil Moorhead.

Here.

Mayor Bell, you have a quorum.

We also have the minutes from the August 4th city council meeting. Motion to approve. Okay. Council Moorhead, seconded by Council Carmack. Any discussion on those minutes?

Aye.

Any opposed? Thank you. Now it's time for communication from citizens. So if anyone would like to speak tonight, now is the opportunity to do that. If you'd like to speak, please step to the podium and state your name and address. And you have three minutes to speak. There is a light system up there that will help you with the countdown of your time. There are some things I do ask, though. I do ask that people do not line up at the podium. If there's a speaker up there, just wait till they sit down, and then whoever wants to go next, go next. I know there's some people in the lobby as well, so if they want an opportunity to speak, they will have the opportunity to. We have officers out there who will help get them in the room to do that. We also ask that you treat every speaker with respect. No booing, no applause, and those types of things. And also, you get one chance to speak, too, as well. So if you'd like to speak, now's your time, and please step to the podium and state your name and address.

1695 horn Springs road. Y'all were elected to serve the best interests of all of your Lebanon residents. A committee was tasked and proposed potential sites for a sewage treatment plant. And somehow you overlooked the current site who already decided what kind of facility was to be built. How was that determined? What criteria was driving the decision? Was the newer technology plant like the Jones Creek treatment plant even toured like the Rutherford County facility? Today, I went to Smyrna, I went to Murfreesboro and I drove around those plants and I spoke with the residents who live around it in all directions and every one of them can smell their plant. Technology exists today that would allow a moving bed biofilm reactor and BBR sewage treatment plant to be built on the current land that our sewage plant already sits on. These type treatment plants are working today. They've been recognized for partnering with their communities. The Johns Creek Environmental Campus and the Bear Creek Sewage Treatment Facility are both located in Fulton County, Georgia. Look them up. They are completely different than what is being proposed. See the difference. I know this information and this was presented to Mayor Bell on July 6th in a face-to-face meeting. What was done with the information? Is it a secret? Who has the responsibility to address our community, us, and explain to all of us as to why we settled on or are only considering one type of facility. The Horn Springs Oreo Drive site number seven is an absolutely idiotic location. To put a city sewer plant in the county, which is zoned rural residential, it's not industrial. This is preposterous. This community is one of the most beautiful and desirable in Lebanon. This is why we all live there. A sewage plant will ruin one of the most pristine country living areas in Wilson County. For many years, this council has approved housing, townhomes, apartment developments, knowing that our infrastructure was not keeping up with where we were going with expansion. information in the background on what you are and are not proposing for a new sewer plant. How do we even know what it is you're looking for? How did you determine what is best for all Lebanon residents in the city as well as the county? It's time for you to step up, serve your community, make a decision that does not divide us between neighborhoods and it serves us all. Thank you.

This is a city council meeting. Thank you. Who's next?

Luke Willoughby, 1229 Bend Fork Drive. That's in the reserve of Horn Springs subdivision. And I've been asked to speak on behalf of our neighborhood and like the former individual, we'd like for you to remove the Site 7 from your consideration. Now, let's be honest. I think most people here, no one really wants a sewer plant in their backyard. in terms of the impact it's going to have on infrastructure strain, the quality of life, traffic, and the long-term impact to surrounding communities, I think, no matter where you put it, should be a concern. But also, like so many that you've heard, is that Site 7, unless I can be told differently, is not directly in the city of Lebanon. So my request to you is not, we just don't want this in our backyard. It's whose problem are we trying to solve and where the solution should be? I would ask that you consider what your mayor said months ago of looking at the current site and doing every single thing you can to show why it can't be there. The fact of the matter is, By moving the problem of the city to the county, not only is not fair right now, but it also sets up a slippery slope of future problems that the city is going to have. And for those reasons, we ask you remove Site 7 from your consideration. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Thank you all for taking the time to listen to us. My name is Stephanie Watkins and I live on Oriole Drive. My property backs up to the site on Horn Springs, Oriole Drive. We have lived there for 28 years. We bought this land because we wanted to live in a country setting and not in the city. We raised our children, our grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. When these kids say they're coming home, they mean to come to our house. Our family and friends love to come to our house to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. They just want to relax. We do not want to be a part of the city. When we first moved here, a neighbor had a small get together. And during this meeting, she stated how our area was like a small slice of heaven. I totally agreed with her. It is very peaceful. Not only do we have wonderful neighbors, but we have a lot of wildlife. When you come into the neighborhood, the temperature drops five to 10 degrees due to all the trees. This is our sanctuary, not just the people, but the birds and all the animals. Just a couple of weeks ago, a new neighbor from Horn Springs made the exact same statement to me from 28 years ago. We have a little slice of heaven here. Now the city comes along and wants to put a sewer treatment plant in our backyard. And if this happens for the rest of my life, I will see, hear, and smell poop 24-7 since a treatment plant runs all day and night. Trees will be bulldozed down and burned, replaced with concrete. This will no longer be a slice of heaven, but a concrete poop hell. Corn Springs cannot handle the traffic that this plant will create. It is very curvy, lots of hills, very little shoulder room. Right now, mailboxes get knocked down. People drive down the center of the road and cannot navigate the curbs. Some will end up losing their life with the trucks coming in and out of here. No one wants this plant here. We all bought in this area to be in the country and to raise our families. Our home and land is our retirement. This plant will decrease our property value. When I sat at the last meeting, I kept hearing about new technology. One person asked the committee to look at what these larger cities do, like Chicago, with the new technology. This is a city issue and should remain in the city across from the current plant. A new plant can be built. Then when completed, refurbish the old plant and both sites can be used. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Hello, my name is Scott Kitchen. I live at 432 Huntington Drive in Farmington Woods. I want to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak tonight. I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I'm not opposed to solving the problem that we have with our wastewater treatment plant. Our community is growing and our wastewater infrastructure must grow with it. I understand that completely. I also understand that the city has a legitimate reason to begin planning now because the existing system has exceeded its capacity. to have that problem resolved. I support moving forward. My concern is not whether we should plan. My concern is whether we're asking the questions in the right order. The city is currently evaluating sites for a future wastewater treatment facility, but before deciding where the facility should go, I believe we should first determine what wastewater solution Lebanon needs for the next 50 years. That was the charter that you set out for was something that would solve this problem long-term. If I want to build a house that requires a septic system, I don't go, and it doesn't do me any good to go out and find all the potential sites if I don't know that I will need it to perk for a five-bedroom house if I haven't said that up front. We haven't set the expectation. How do we truly evaluate the sites? According to the city's own planning, the system could ultimately expand from... per day to as much as 40 million gallons in the future. This means that this is not simply a real estate decision. This is a decision that will shape Lebanon's wastewater infrastructure for generations. Before selecting a site, citizens should understand some basic questions. What treatment technology are we considering? what are the projected flows over the next 10 20 and 50 years what are the discharge requirements how much land is actually required for the proposed technology what are the capital costs operating costs and long-term life cycles for these sites what collection system improvements pump stations and force mains will be required it's not just a here and now it's for the future These are the factors that should determine whether a site is truly suitable. I also believe that transparency is essential. Citizens should be able to see the alternatives that were evaluated, the engineering assumptions behind them, the projections, the costs, the environmental impacts, and the criteria used to compare potential sites. Having someone just come up and say, let's remove a site does not make sense for the long-term future of our community. Our selection committee was unable to include many important factors in their selection process. Their charter was merely to determine if the property owner was willing to sell. What about those sites where the property owner isn't willing to sell? What if it requires eminent domain for the best possible solution for our community for the next 50 years? Shouldn't that be considered as well? Transparency is not just about agreeing with every decision. It's about allowing citizens to understand how the decision was reached and evaluate the facts for themselves. I'm not asking for the city to stop. I'm asking for the city to strengthen the process before an irreversible decision is made.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else?

I just have one really simple comment to make. And my name is, I'm sorry, my name is Linda Stambro. I live at 713 Farmington Drive in Farmington Woods off of Carver. And there's two locations that are on Carver that we are concerned about. And my simple thing is we are a neighborhood. We, that whole area around there, is full of houses and neighborhoods, and it is no place to put an industrial water treatment plant. We have yards, we have trees, and it's just the wrong place to be putting it. So there has to be an option to put it somewhere else. There's a lot of people who showed up here today because I don't think anybody here probably wants it in their neighborhood either. And I would encourage all of you, to just stand up. If you say anything else, every one of you get up and just say, no, I don't want it in my neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, good evening. Kelly Staudter, 109 Springfield Drive, Farmington. Number one, I agree with everyone. We understand that this is a necessity. I think what we're asking for number one is full transparency because I don't think anybody here believes that we've seen or heard it from this council or from the minutes or the meetings. seemed to be a lot of backdoor politicking, just plain and simple. And I don't think when it comes to a project this size, that that's acceptable within the city. Number two, eight months ago, you stood here, we stood here and we fought for neighborhoods and you approved neighborhoods. And now you're telling us that doesn't matter because we're gonna take this same land and we're gonna turn it into a wastewater treatment plant. That's mine. But I also, Rachel could not be here this evening and I'm going to read this. This is from Rachel Defendall, who lives on Huntington, and I'm sorry, I don't know her exact address. I understand Lebanon's tremendous growth requires additional capacity. I'm not opposed to a new plant, but I'm concerned about where we put it. As healthcare providers, we believe public health should be the highest weighted criteria. The health concerns are supported by a ton of research, and she lists them here, and she had intended to hand this out to the council. 2016 peer-reviewed 235 residents living within approximately 0.3 miles of a wastewater treatment plant. Researchers found significant symptoms and headaches, tiredness, difficulty concentrating, gastrointestinal symptoms, and detected potentially pathogenic airborne microorganisms. 2024 study of the total environment measured wastewater bioaerosols at approximately 978 to 3710 colony forming units per cubic meter. Found that these pathogenic bacteria found that wind speed and humidity significantly influenced the bioaerosol concentrations. These absolutely establish a reason to ask why would we intentionally place one close to largely populated residential areas without first conducting an independent health system? When does matter, even an enclosed plant does not guarantee equipment, failure, maintenance outages, power outages, and ventilation will never occur. Having children, older residents and adults, even with asthma, COPD, cancer and immune compromised disorders, These serious conditions must be considered as vulnerable populations. How many homes within that quarter mile or half mile and how many are downwind? Why aren't we following protections similar to Davidson County? Davidson County requires a wastewater treatment facility to remain at least 1,000 feet or 0.19 miles from any residential property line. not from a house, from a residential property line? Why is Lebanon not following similar protections of their residents? Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Yeah, my name is Hope Huffman, 312 Carver Lane. I am about 30 seconds drive to the entrance at Site 13 that you're now considering as a location for the sewage treatment plant. You've got 1000 residents within probably a third of a mile. I agree with just about everyone. No one wants it in your backyard, Putting it in an area where you already have 1,000 or plus residents within that close of a proximity is, I don't think we should even be in that realm of consideration in the first place. So many other locations that would be available or that maybe you could even pursue outside of the ones I've heard other people just speak of already. to keep it, especially with some of the health hazards potentially that would affect residents that already live there. They can't close their doors and shut off any of those possible, you know, health situations, but they're there. I mean, I could walk to this front gate. I'm not sure where on that property the location of the treatment plant is going to be, but just the project itself to build, to whatever you're going to do to, you know, with all the traffic that's going to be there just in the building process, you're... a condition that already exists that's going to be there. And there's nothing we can do with the residents. They live there permanently. It's not like, you know, they can stay in a hotel for the rest of their life and hope that they can sell the property, which is going to be valued in the first place. Anyway, thank you for your time.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Good evening. My name is Jennifer Jones. I live at 337 Ellis Lane in the Carver Creek community. We are right next to Site 13. I walk my dogs directly to the property line. I just want to make sure that people are aware that there is an issue with the floodplain at the back of many of my neighbors' homes on Subin. is part of my land because it's in a protected wetland. So the county has come in or the city has come in and put a fence between myself and the stream or the creek that makes up Carver Creek. So there's part of my property I'm not allowed to touch and it is within very short walking distance The floodplain concerns me and it also concerns me that none of the information has been essentially shared with our communities being completely downwind, down the floodplain. I want to make sure that in the future the city council members and our representatives are explaining to members essentially what could happen or what is the potential to happen. We shouldn't have gotten to this point where you have this many people in your city council meeting when we are so close to a decision that I understand would be made by the end of next month. I do not think that we are ready. And this is really concerning as just a member of the community. I've only been here for two and a half years. Our community is not even fully complete. We haven't handed over our HOA has not been handed over to us because my understanding is that the city of Lebanon actually has some trouble with our builder. So if you are concerned about things in our neighborhood, about the things that don't match your codes, I'm concerned about why you would want to put a site so close to something that concerns you enough that you're not allowing our builder to release the properties to us.

you thank you patent owner 2968 horn springs road i gotta back you up on that uh at 2968 horn springs road i back up to the wonderful david weakly establishment which is part of five oaks They've done the same thing, and planning's had to do the same thing. They've had to put an OV on them. That's a notice of violation. They've got a list of six or seven things, including the property that joins mine. They've done very little in my eyes. I'm a pipe footer welder by trade. I'm retired, thank you, Jesus. But this was my line of business. I've seen what good work is and what bad work is. all up down horn springs road you've got this entire neighborhood which is going to be on the curve where you want to come out with on that site seven i nearly got hit by one of the thorn trucks one time right there i had to go in that little 7a it wasn't fun but gentlemen that place was never i never bought 16 acres to be in a tight neighborhood to be in an industrial zone i worked construction lord does i didn't want to be there i want to be in the countryside with my horses and my kids And I want, hopefully my kids can do the same thing with that property. But now I'm still listening to dynamite, newer neighborhoods coming around. I'm just thankful we don't have apartments on that side yet. But my biggest, I guess, directive for everybody here, we've already seen what the old system did or did not do. 60 years wasn't enough. is not even adaptable to make improvements to at this point without just really redoing the whole thing make it if you already heard everybody else they spoke very eloquently about this a new modern system is what we need that's the only thing we need we're talking about our future what's best for this town what's going to make us look better in middle tennessee not just compared to murfreesboro or anybody else they didn't do all that great they're still stinking up Thank you.

Anyone else?

I'm Teresa Larkins. I live at 416 Huntington Drive in Farmington Woods. And I did not come prepared to speak tonight. I don't like to speak in front of people. But somebody begged me to come up here. And the thing, let me make sure this. Okay, wait, I've lost it. And he handed me, okay, here it is. And he wants to know if the city is prepared to compensate homeowners for the decreased value of their homes. Over 200 homes in Farmington Woods plus Carver Creek and Maple Hill. If putting a sewer treatment plant near our homes is going to devalue them, then is the city prepared to do anything about that? And Also, if our homes are devalued, that's going to be a loss of revenue for property taxes for the city. As I said, I didn't come prepared to speak, so I don't know numbers on any of that. Personally, my big concern has just been that it doesn't seem like the city has done its due diligence. performing all these studies as far as air quality, health risk, all those sorts of things, environmental concerns. So anyway, that's, you know, those are just some of the things. I just, you know, if I could get a 100% guarantee that it was going to go in, it wouldn't look ugly and wouldn't stink and I wouldn't have to smell it all the time, I'd be fine with putting it anywhere. But we don't have that. And I don't know, I just feel like It just hasn't been researched enough. I know there's been some hurry about a deadline for getting some money, but you're talking about the numbers I've seen were in the millions, tens of millions of dollars. And so, a small amount of federal aid or whatever that's coming in for that. I'm really not knowledgeable to speak on all this stuff. But anyway, I just think that the city needs to do its due diligence and check all these things before selecting a site. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Debbie Purefoy. I'm at 710 Scarlet Place. I live in Plantation South. And I'm not a speaker, so I wrote out my comments. So I'm just going to read it to you guys because I'm not used to being able to do this. But I would just say that I agree with what a lot of people have said. I don't think we're ready. yet to make a decision on this because I think it affects a lot of people. And in my opinion, I think that you guys, as our governing committee, should be more aware of the good of the community. Because I know that that's what, I mean, I get that that's probably what you guys, that is the underlying thing that you guys strive for is the good of Lebanon. But I want to just say a few things. I want to make clear I understand that Lebanon needs additional wastewater capacity. I'm not opposed to the sewer project. I am opposed to putting this facility next to an established residential neighborhood when there are other viable locations, including an industrial location. I am asking you tonight to look beyond the initial construction price and consider the full long-term cost of the decision. Your own wastewater treatment plant site selection committee was established to evaluate sites based on objective criteria, including community impact, environmental impact, infrastructure, service efficiency, construction costs, and long-term service requirements. So I ask you, how can the community impact of putting a wastewater treatment plant next to people's homes be adequately accounted for simply because there is less rock to drill through or it is less expensive. The city may save money on construction if you do it in a residential neighborhood, but who pays the other cost? the homeowners do. And we are homeowners who really don't want our property to be devalued. We are the people who may have to live with the odor, the traffic, the visual impact, the loss of the character of our neighborhood, and potentially a reduction in our property values. Our homes are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. For most families, their home is their greatest financial investment. And for a lot of people, that is their retirement and that is what they have. And I don't think it is fair for the city to save money on the construction of a public facility while individual homeowners absorb the long term financial consequences of that decision. I also want to address the argument that modern wastewater plants control odor. I sincerely do hope that is true. But controlling odor is not the same as having no odor. And with the residential areas as close as they are, I was just thinking this afternoon whenever I walked out in this beautiful weather, you know, what if I'm dealing with, you know, in a few months to come, what if I'm dealing with, yes, I'm sorry, time's up. Okay, well, thank you.

Thanks, Sean. Anyone else?

Hello, Spencer Jackson, 274 Carver, 274 Steuben Court in Carver Creek. My wife and I relocated our family here to Lebanon because of the family values and the family environment that this city is clearly all about, namely such as Don Fox, Jimmy Floyd, the library programs, the school district, to name a few. I feel like putting this wastewater treatment in any residential area that's going to impact the health of families and devalue their long-term property investments is not that family first environment that we signed up for when we came to Lebanon and we were deciding where we wanted to raise our family. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

hi i'm chris plant i live at 301 persimmon way in hawks landing a similar situation you know we came to lebanon because of the values here we came here to retire and we bought property that's close to site 13 so we're just off a carver So this was not in our plans. I think one, I agree with a lot of comments tonight. One of my frustrations has been trying to find information about what sites were considered dismissed was a site that's right next to the sewage treatment plant just north of it. even in consideration since it's right there. You know, I'd like to be able to see more information about it. And I was unable to find anything on the Lebanon website, you know, any minutes or any maps or anything like that. So one thing I'd ask for is some transparency on the decisions that are going to be made. So what and wherefores. Thank you.

Hi, Bobby Sturgeon, 327 Ellis Lane. We're in Carver Creek also. Just, you guys wouldn't want this butted up to your property. And we just don't either. I think that that's all we're asking for is just don't put it in a residential area. We all know it needs to get done. And I think we just want more work, more time, more effort to try and come up with a solution that works for everybody. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else? 2598 Horn Springs Road, not 2698. First of all, I really want to thank all the counselors. You all have been very attentive to the comments from the citizenry here, and it really speaks volumes, I think, to the quality of the community that we have is that you're interested in hearing the feedback. We've all seen YouTubes of various community meetings where people are not. So first, thank you for that. I'm here to stand in opposition to the Oriel site, Site 7, so we'll get that out of the way right now. And I've spoken here and at planning meetings in the past, many of you all know me, and there's a recurring theme, and I really want to ring this bell again, and that is you have a long-term growth plan. You approve it every five or 10 years. I forget how frequent it is. You lay out what each area of the community should be from what the vision is. And yet here we are departing from that yet again. And I would ask what has changed? Well, we know we need a sewer plant. We know that's changed, but why are the areas being reconsidered and repurposed from what the original plan is? That's why you have a plan. You got community input on that plan. So I would ask you to go back to sort of this guide stone, this touchstone of having a long-term plan and put an industrial piece of equipment, a sewerage treatment plant in an industrial zoned area. That just seems common sense to me. I will piggyback on many of the comments that were shared earlier. regarding the importance of transparency. I know that there's some federal money at play where there's a clock on that. But from everything I'm hearing, and again, the data has been very vague, picking up news stories, but if this thing's going to cost $30, $40 million, a few hundred thousand or a million dollars from the federal government is not going to swing it one way or the other versus making a better decision. What's not clear, and I think from all the discussion, is what technology are we actually thinking about? During the sewage plant meeting, they showed the circular, I don't know what they're called, vats, whatever the sewage goes into. But there's other technologies that are also available. And I just don't know if those have really been considered. We haven't heard a lot of comment from the public officials. We've heard a lot of citizen comment on that. So in conclusion, your technology decision should drive the decision. because that'll determine how much land you need, where you can fit it, et cetera. And I do think that you need more time to ponder this, have a discussion about it. It should be as public as you can make it because I think people, the good news is the community cares. They're out here, they're interested, they want to know what's going to happen. In terms of transparency, last 15 seconds, the city council meeting minutes, believe it or not, are not on the agenda center. Like if you go on the website for the agenda center, the agenda's there, the minutes aren't. And I was looking for them because I wanted to understand the history of what the discussions have been, and I couldn't find them. I had to go digging around in another area. For some reason, they were there. So Mr. Mayor, I'd ask that you work with your team to maybe get those placed there. and just have better information sharing around all these topics. Transparency is what you need. So thank you.

There's two that want to come up. Okay, okay.

michelle collier 453 huntington drive in the beautiful farmington woods subdivision moved here about three and a half years ago with my husband to retire from virginia the hustle and bustle of the dc area and came here to have a nice quiet life i agree with pretty much everything everyone here has said um i know it has to be built somewhere but Not in our backyard. Not in any of these people's backyards, as a matter of fact. Not just ours, not in anyone's backyard. I just have one question for you guys. Who on this board lives near Site 13, 22, or 7? All of you guys? And where do you stand on the issue?

Still gathering information.

Thank you. Light it back here. Come on up.

Hello, I was not planning on talking today either. So if you hear my heart racing, then I apologize. I'll use it to time how much time I have.

Firstly, I just name it.

Oh, yes. Thank you. Shannon Saliga, 124 Pekka Drive in the Carver Creek community. So I just wanted to boil it down to a personal level just so you all know the impact. I mean, everyone here is saying, you know, this is something that is affecting people's retirement, their livelihood, their dreams as a whole. This is something, you know, my husband and I, he grew up in Hendersonville. I've been out here for about 12 years, so I feel like I get the honorary, you know, Nashvillian badge at this point. But, you know, this is something we moved out to Lebanon about two years ago, almost three, I think, at this point. And, you know, this is where we plan on growing old. When we purchased our house, we were like, this is it. Like, we're going to get wrinkly here. This is where it's happening. And, you know, we go on weekly dates downtown, right in the town square. We got married at the Capitol Theater. Like, this is a city that I truly love. We talk to our friends all the time who are looking for a place to settle down. Like, we have a, you know, it's the year of engagements, right? And so just getting to... be able to have that respect and that love for a city is something that I've been able to pride myself on personally. And I know my husband feels the same. You know, I'm a super organized person. I love a plan. I have been planning monthly how we're improving our house. Every single month, we come up with like two tasks to do. And, you know, this was just something that obviously none of us were expecting, especially with the expansion farther behind our houses. Like it really, truly just covers that whole street there. And it would just be, you know, such a dream killer for so many of us that have truly invested in this city and in our lives here. So that's all. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? We'll get you next.

Keep popping up. I'm Greg Gibson and I live at 903 Larkspur Lane in Farmington Woods. I'm a little confused. We've got industrial areas and then we've got residential areas. Why even consider a residential area? That makes no sense. That just baffles my mind unless there's some underlying motive behind that. I retired out of the healthcare industry and I knew what comes with chemicals and plants around folks. I'm from East Tennessee originally, so East McCodack, there's a lot of complications with those chemicals pumped up in the air. I've got an immune compromised granddaughter. I want her to come see me and be able to come into my home without any concern about long-term complications. So financial is one thing, but the human impact, when you've got industrial areas that you could put this, use the industrial areas you have and spare these folks and their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren. the issues that can come from these chemicals and all this stuff that's going to be floating in the air. Please, this is not something that you could just flip a coin and say, hey, we're going to put it in this location. Look at the long-term impact. You've got folks' lives at stake here. We've got to have water treatment. It's got to be here. But the concern is, use the industrial sites you have, TRW, off Hartman. There's all kinds of places there. Empty buildings. Put it on an industrial area, not someone's backyard. So thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Good evening, my name is Dana Tenbrink. I'm at 122 Pecker Drive in the Carver Creek community. I'm not standing here against Lebanon's growth and I'm not against the wastewater infrastructure our growing city needs. I'm asking our leaders to make sure we grow responsibly. This should not be about site seven versus 13 or 22 or one neighborhood asking for this plant to be moved into someone else's backyard. We should be asking whether major wastewater infrastructure belongs next to established residential neighborhoods at all. For site 13, our community's research identified approximately 286 homes within a half a mile of the proposed site and approximately 115 Carver Creek homes within a quarter mile. Those aren't just numbers on a map, those are families, those are people who invested their savings into their homes, people raising children, retirees and residents who choose Lebanon because they believed in this community. Once a wastewater treatment plant is built, this decision cannot easily be undone. I'm asking the city to prioritize industrial zoned areas and locations designed for this type of infrastructure. With meaningful separation from established neighborhoods, If there are industrial areas or other appropriately zoned locations available, I believe those alternatives deserve to be fully explored before placing this type of infrastructure behind people's homes. I respectfully ask our city leaders before choosing any of these sites, please fully consider the proximity to homes, potential impacts on property values and quality of life, environmental concerns, and whether there are alternatives that create less impact on Lebanon residents. growth is necessary, wastewater infrastructure is necessary, but responsible planning means putting this infrastructure in the right place and protecting the people who already call Lebanon home. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Derek Dotson 106 Chapman Drive I rest my case we want the sewer plant to go in Gallatin as I said from the very beginning full full full disclosure I spent my childhood summers nearly every day growing up next to the across the creek from the current sewer plant and as you folks know I'm permanently brain damaged this is my this is my seventh turns out to be my seventh sewer plant site meeting for three of you this is your first so this is what you're going to see I'd like to revisit and finish my comments from the last City Council meeting with regard to the hundred thousand dollars to the Expo Center personal reference my uncle was one of the three folks who were responsible for buying what's now the james e ward agriculture center and as a kid i called james e ward uncle ward although he really wasn't my uncle in the year that a subset of county officials were trying to advance the then concept of an expo center my position at the time was that such a center would not break even for many years and that the drivers of the expo center should tell the public the truth and also that they thought the expo center would be an asset for the county worthy of the shorter term financial hurdles but instead that subset of county officials sought both silly and shady tactics to make it appear that an expo center was financially justified the story of the advancement of the expo center into reality has some ugly documented facts attached including by city hall including facts i would not want to announce in a public meeting thereby the expo center deserved to have no financial reward contribution from the city at the july 7th council meeting councillor bryan made a solid case for discontinuing the annual 100 000 contribution followed by councillor morehead who listed a few immediate financial needs of the city and he did it again on july the 21st i suggest you go back and read those minutes of councilor bryan councilor moorhead in the future i will weigh in on that topic incessantly if necessary and thereby disclosing why i didn't vote for the city budget i say that tongue-in-cheek perhaps lindsay's first brilliant move as The finance director was not paying this year that $100,000. The agenda packet tonight is 393 frigging pages. Without the minutes, the last time I looked this afternoon, maybe they're there now. I could understand why they were missing. um anyway whoever did all that work that is incredibly impressive incredibly impressive so if you haven't looked through that 393 pages folks go look because it is uh something to behold thank you

john langford 152 springfield drive uh first off thank you for your service um as someone who is an individual that's that is in the community i've been on planning commission i'm currently on industrial development board and back in january planning commission approved a new neighborhood where site 22 was one of the things that i asked during the Planning Commission was, what is the capacity of the current sewer system? And I was told 65%. Everything's fine. How did that change in two months? That's the one question that I want to know. And then another question, two of the three sites, I live smack dab in between them, in Farms and Woods, where million dollar homes are. And there are going to be other million dollar homes on the new neighborhood that we, the planning commission that I was on, approved. How is that worse than a sewer plant? A sewer plant in a residential community. Tell me, how does that make sense? As city commission, you also have the opportunity to use eminent domain. There is empty land. right next to where the current sewer plant is. You've looked at Rockwood. Rockwood is a willing seller. Yet we are looking at communities where we are all going to be surrounded by sewer. What do you think that will do to our million dollar homes? That is a question that you need to answer. because if our property value goes down what else goes down the property taxes and we don't have the good property taxes how can we play pay for the growth that is going to come forward those are the things that unfortunately you are tasked with as the city council i know it's a hard decision please do what is right for our communities and for this city because growth is going to come And one of the things that we've also looked at is if we do not fix this soon, also the growth will leave. And then what will we be left with? Those are the hard questions. I don't have all the answers. Please do not put this in site 22 or site 13. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

My name is John Thurston. I live at 16 Melly Court, which is in Plantation South subdivision. My primary focus is on Site 22. I've done some background watching and listening, attended a lot of the planning meetings when that whole area was being promoted as a housing development. And if I remember correctly, because I went to some of those planning commissions, your own staff recommended against that annexation. Council approved it anyway. There were all kinds of real estate agents in here, builders in here, talking about the wonderful opportunity now to have employment, to build new homes, and to develop this area into wonderful living area. As of last night, the ownership of at least a piece of that property has not changed hands. I'm wondering who in fact you are dealing with on the 150 acres on the west side of the road. According to the county's information that I got yesterday, it is still in the hands of the original owner. So I have no idea whose property arrangements you're dealing with, but I think that needs to be part of the transparency. Are you going to build a sewer plant there, or are you going to build homes? Are you going to generate income, or are you going to create further angst amongst the people who live in the area? I don't envy your position, but you've gotten yourselves into it, so have fun.

Anyone else?

There's a lady behind you, sir. There's a lady who just got up. Let's let her go first.

Bird. I live on the corner of Mockingbird and Oriole. Been there since 1982, raised two sons. They left in the morning after breakfast. They would chase crawdads and catch grasshoppers and fish in the creek. Great place to raise children. It's not a place for a sewer plant, but yet on the backside, of Oriole Drive is where one of the sites the city is considering for that. Two things. The people that are here, I guess some of them, most of them, don't contribute to that waste stream. We do contribute to your taxes. We buy clothing. We buy food. We buy gas in the city. But we don't vote for you. We can't. We don't vote against you or for you, either one. And what they said about property values is exactly right. Do you know there are four widows living in Rolling Hills? One of them lives adjacent to that site. Two of them live across the street from it. Can you imagine what that's going to do to their property values? I ask you to consider that seriously. That sewer plant doesn't belong where there's families and homes and houses. Now, if it takes three years to build it, I'm probably not going to be here to worry about it. But the other people will. And it's not a fit place to put a sewer plant at all. Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Susan Yohola Conroyer. I was born and raised in Lebanon, graduated from Lebanon High School. My mother taught right here at Castle Heights. I went away to college, and when I met my husband and we married, led our lives, we retired, and we decided to come back to my home to retire. 202 Sagamore Drive in Farmington Woods. There's Creek right behind our house, which is the one evidently that wants to be used for this wastewater plant. But when we decided to come back here, I did not know I was gonna come into this mess. I loved growing up here. I'm disappointed with the actions that led to this. And I think from all of the people that have spoken, that a lot of trust in our leaders, city leaders has been eroded. And I think you need to realize that you're here to represent the people. I'm not opposed to the wastewater plant. I know it has to be done. But I was also curious as to why on site 13, an area was added afterwards, after everything had been studied, it was added for extra acreage. That is the area that is in all the residential areas. New technology makes it possible to use strictly the Rockwood area industrial area or that and the old one and i'm sorry i know but um i hear a lot about the murfreesboro plant that was that was in 2000 that's 25 years ago why are you basing your your studies on technology that's that old so much progress has been made since then And this is a very emotional time for these families and these neighborhoods that you need to consider exactly what you're doing because everyone in all of Lebanon needs to know that they can be next in line for something like this. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? We'll get you next. Okay.

My name is Rebecca Slocum. My husband William and I own 323 Carver Lane, which is right next door to the vacant lot. There is a question about being involved with the new sewer plant. I ditto everything everybody has said, but what somebody has not said was, you know, we ourselves, we have a garden and it's with a hundred foot of that property line that's open. We have neighbors who have chickens. We have a garden. 100 feet of that property line if this new plant should spring a leak or if it should not and just the chemicals in the air what's that going to do with the chickens what's that going to do with our ground where we're planting vegetables and stuff to make our lunches and our dinners and our suppers everybody likes to eat right I just don't see it. You have all this industrial area around town, around in the country. Why do you want to make it in our city, in our neighborhoods right next door? We also have on a slope in our property where all the rainwater comes down and it goes down a wash that's on our property. That backs up into our yard where our yard kind of looks like a swamp area every time we have a bad rainstorm. If that plant should spring a leak, what's that going to do? That is going to cause a big problem. So if the council wants to go ahead and put a plant there, our desire to grow a garden will cease. I want to know whose house we can pick up the vegetables that we won't be able to grow.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Tim Freeman. I live at 403 Huntington Drive. And this is Lebanon. As you can see, everybody here is not here to say anything against the sewer treatment plant. They're saying they don't want it in our backyards. These are the people of Lebanon. You've all been voted in office. You are our spokespeople. These are the people telling you what it is that we want you and need you to do for us. Why are we not hearing from all of you who's gonna stand up for the health issues that are at risk for your people of Lebanon, for everybody that is here? I love living in Lebanon. Lebanon is an incredible city. Keep Lebanon an incredible city. People talked about some of the city services. Lebanon is incredible. Why are we not hearing that, don't worry, We're not gonna create a health hazard for our residents, for those who have voted us in office. Don't worry, we're Lebanon. We're gonna lead all the other cities. How come we're not hearing we're bringing the best technology to solve this sewer issue? Who here has our back? You are supposed to be your spokesperson for all of us. Who's here representing our grandkids? Who's here representing the retired people here? Who's gonna have our back? Which one of you is gonna speak up for the young families that have come here to build their family? Which of you can we count on you to make this right decision for us? We all understand that we need a sewer treatment plant, but we also understand, we've heard that you've been known about it for 15 years. Some of us are now in neighborhoods that were part of the development program, which now you wanna put a sewer plant next to. Well, maybe you shouldn't have proved all those places because you knew you had a sewer plant to put in. But the bottom line is here we are today. Who's going to stand up for us? Who's gonna stand up for our grandkids? This is gonna be a forever plant. This is not something that can be changed in five years. Oh, it didn't work there. too many problems. I really see so many problems for the city council with health issues, with people talking about real estate issues. But who here is going to be here for us? The people of Lebanon who have voted all of you into office, you're our voice. You're hearing the voices of the people here in Lebanon. And I have a 22, but there's 13, there's seven. We're all here for all of the sites in the neighborhoods. It does not belong in the neighborhood. It clearly doesn't. There's too many... Just forget about willing buyers and the money that's coming to you from the federal government and all the other deals that are supposedly happening. It's about health. Health should be the number one issue. We should be hearing guarantees from you. We'll have the best sewer system and we will not create a health hazard for our citizens because you would make us leave this wonderful city of Lebanon. And thank you for those of you who have been listening to our, paying attention to our comments tonight.

ANYONE ELSE?

I'M ANGIE OUTSON, AND I LIVE AT 222 SOUBAN COURT. I DON'T THINK I COULD SAY ANYTHING MORE THAT EVERYONE HASN'T HIT ON TONIGHT. EVERY SINGLE POINT I HAD, EVERYBODY IS SAYING THE SAME THING. I THINK WHAT I WANT YOU TO TAKE AWAY FROM TONIGHT IS WE HAVE FILLED THIS BUILDING with concern. We have had a complete lack of transparency from this council in decisions that affect everyone here, their livelihood, their health, and everything else that everyone spoke to tonight. I think what we're asking you is radical transparency going forward. We want to know that you have our best interests, you're representing us, and that we can make good decisions on growth for the future of the next 50, 60, 70 years. That's it for me. I'm really, I think this started at the end of the last meeting on August 4th. A lot of us were blindsided by information. We've ran, we've come together and you've heard it all tonight. Please take heed of that and do something better in the future.

It's Brenda Beringer and I live at 828 Brook Trail in beautiful Farmingwood subdivision, at least up until this point in time. We came here to retire and make this town our home forever until Jesus calls me home. And I believe that this town was a place that God actually did plant me because I prayed about it a long time because I saw your sign, eat, play, be a part of a growing community, be a part of a place where people want to let their children thrive. And now I have to worry about children smelling poop every day. I smell poop without having to go outside my house. Why do I want to sit in my backyard and be smelling this all the time? But even more importantly, I look at all of you and I see power. You and each and every one of you have the power to change what is happening. None of these sites should be in residential. You have industrial land. You have the power to make that happen. Money, are you really gonna let greed overcome all of these people? When I see power here, it's these people that gave it to you and your future will all depend on what they decide to do. How are we going to sell our homes when that time comes and we need to? Our whole lives, 40 years, I worked in healthcare to provide for the home that I would like to send down to my children. Do you think they want to live in a pool plant? I don't think so. And none of these people do either. You've got land. You've all been voted in. Mayor Bell, when I came here, I saw the things that you did and I was so excited about the progress you brought in this town. I commended you, but I'm struggling tonight because I just don't see the transparency here. So I'm going to leave you with the last thing that I know in my heart, and that is love your neighbor as you love yourself and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Thank you. Anyone else? I know there are some people in the lobby who want to speak.

Hi, I'm Katherine Isaacson. I live at 1800 Horn Springs Road. And for those that don't know, I'm by Site 7. The entrance to Horn Springs would face my house. So like any logical person, I thought, what should I do? So I started a petition last week and met with some of my neighbors. We currently have 534 people just word of mouth that signed up in opposition to Site 7. So I'm going to read you a little excerpt from that because I always tell my kids, If you have a problem, you need to speak up and use your voice. So that's what I'm doing tonight. So the proposed location extends far beyond the city limits and designated urban growth boundaries. This move by the city indicates an unsolicited expansion into areas that should remain protected from developments. Our rural setting with its wide open spaces, peaceful retreats, face the risk of becoming an industrial zone, which would drastically alter the character of our community. Our site is zoned as rural residential. Instead, there's a location currently available in the industrial zone across from the current sewer plant. We urge the city to reconsider their plans and seek alternative sites for their sewage treatment facility that do not encroach upon rural residential zones. We believe that a solution exists that addresses the city's infrastructure needs without compromising the integrity of our community. We would also like to encourage the city to review newer technologies that are successfully being utilized in other cities. Thank you all so much for your time.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Alexandra Lockhart and I live at 415 Huntington Drive in Lebanon. And I live in Farmington Woods. My husband and I moved here a year ago from California. And we chose Tennessee because we love the state. And we chose Lebanon because we fell in love with the city. Putting a water waste treatment plant in our neighborhood I think is not the right decision. And one of the things I want to state just for health reasons, I'm a nurse, I've been a nurse for over 30 years. I'm also a Navy veteran and my husband is an Army veteran. If you remember in California, there's a very famous movie called Aaron Brockovich. If you all know that movie, there was a town Hinkley that was eventually PG&E was sued for the health reasons. So I am wanting to remind you that if a sewage plant were to go in a neighborhood and cause health issues, are you prepared for any lawsuits that may come your way? That particular, that settlement was 333 million. I just wanted to remind you of that. thank you i say no to site 13 no to site 22 and no to site 7. thank you very much thank you

Hi, I'm Jennifer Hewson. I live at 216 Subin Court. I live in the Carver Creek subdivision. I'm eight houses down from site 13 plus. There are going to be hundreds of homes from Carver Creek, Carver Lane, Alhama Drive, and Madrid Drive that will have the sewer plant hundreds of feet away from their homes. It will be visible from my living room. Talk about relaxing. A lot of us will have it in their front and back yards. We all bought a house in Lebanon for a reason. We understand a new sewer plant is needed, but please reconsider and not put it within established neighborhoods. There are a lot of us like myself that work from home and are concerned about the odor and health issues. Those of us that work at home, we're never going to break from it. We also don't want to give up getting to go outside during the warmer months because of odors. I know people will say just move, but that's easier said than done. I love where I live and it breaks my heart thinking of a new plant possibly going and then next to my home. Since finding out Carver Lane was added to Site 13, it has been a heartbreaking nightmare. Please consider removing Site 13 and all other residential sites from the list. You have industrial sites that can be used. Carver Creek started petition a week ago and we have 610 signatures as of a few minutes ago. If you're wondering why so many of us are wearing red today, it's because we're all banded together. None of us from any of these sites deserve to have this in their back or front yards. P.S. to the Red Solo Cup person, you rock. If you know, you know.

Is there anyone else in the lobby?

Okay.

All right. Thank you. I can't see, so.

Go ahead, right there at the podium.

No, right there. No, sir.

My name's Randy Douglas. I'm a United Methodist pastor and retired here in Lebanon six years ago. My wife and I, Gail, moved here. We live on 314 Madrid Drive, which Literally, Site 13 is in our backyard. And there's a road that goes off the cul-de-sac. passed our house into site 13. And it would be, we just want to let everybody know that we are opposed to the treatment plant being in our backyard and all the other sites that have been, that people are opposed to here today. Please choose another site. Thank you.

Thank you.

So I hope my nerves don't lay down on me. We moved to Lebanon. I'm Gail Douglas. We live on 314 Madrid Drive. When you say that the Site 13 is in your backyard, it is in my backyard. literally in my backyard. We came before this council five years ago and protested about the apartments that were gonna go in and it was pushed through. And then all of a sudden the work stops and we had dynamite in our backyard hitting our house, hitting our garage. And now they say that the plan went bankrupt. So Mayor Bell, I'm wondering, I've heard a rumor that you have family that is with the bank that owns the money that is due for the bankruptcy. If that's true, you need to excuse yourself on voting on this issue because you can't be fair.

It's not bankrupt.

It's not bankrupt? Okay. Well, whatever happened to it, it fell apart. And it seemed like it was poor planning then. And having this issue pushed through again, seems like it's poor planning again. Guys, we don't need a sewer plant. in our backyard, in a residential area, when there's plenty of places here in town that is zoned for industrial use. And as a registered nurse, I'm just really concerned about the wastewater and all the environmental impacts, not only for us, but for our kids and our grandkids. It's going to be irreversible. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Karen Acklin Williams. I live at 398 Huntington Drive. I just believe that there is solidarity in numbers. I do not want any of the sewer plants or the wastewater treatment facilities near community neighborhoods. I am an immune compromised individual. Not only that, I am also an educator. If I get sick, and then i go to school if i have to work you know i think that's more split spread of disease i also speak with my family my husband is a veteran we've moved all different places and to come back and ready to settle here the things that my husband has seen the things that we've had to endure just being in the military and going to various places you know we'd like to enjoy kind of the fruits of our labor, the things that we work for. And I just don't think that the wastewater treatment facility in our neighborhood would be good for us or any of the communities around. Thank you.

Thank you.

How are y'all doing? I don't really have anything prepared. It's funny though, I think I've learned a few things tonight. It seems as though I got a letter five years ago about a neighborhood gonna be built behind my home. I live at 490 Plantation Boulevard. That didn't happen. And I think I understood a gentleman earlier to say, Well, actually, the neighborhood. I thought about a park of some kind. None of that happened. And now we're looking at a sewer system. I don't know anything about a sewer system, really, except it's just below the gutter. And I can't imagine what that would do, as it's literally, Site 22 is literally in my back over on the other side of the fence row. It makes me wonder why we're pushing that area so hard. And it does affect a lot of people. And I used to live on South Beckwith Road, 2000. They brought in Providence. Okay. We dealt with it because we had an escape route to the interstate. Then they started building neighborhoods on quarter-acre lots all the way around it. And by the time I got out of there, I got half of what that property was worth six years previous. And the people that bought it now, they're building 600 homes behind it that are all rental homes. And they're asking me, what do you do? And I said, just mow closer or further away from the fence row. They want to take the fence row down, cut their privacy. So the other day, maybe it was a month ago, I get a reassessment on my property. Staggering, by the way. I didn't get a letter on the septic coming in, but I got a letter on the park and I got a letter on the neighborhood. Maybe I missed it in the mail. So they assessed my property for a quarter of a million dollars more than a recent comp. And they say, well, that's good. Your property value's gone up. It hadn't gone up that much. And the property value's going up. That's good. No, it's not. If you sell your property, you make a lateral move. Big deal. You didn't benefit anything. And when I was down there debating what my property was worth with some comps that I'd gotten through some realtors, I told them one of the real problems I had, the data that they use or the data, depending on where you're from, was well obviously it's no good you need to reassess your data thank you sir your time's up thank you i meant to tell you i'm acoustically challenged sorry sorry but your time is up okay well but we do need your name for the record please need your name for the record for the record Everybody says this doesn't make any sense. My name? I thought I didn't give it. Wilson Welshans, the deaf guy. Thank you.

I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

It doesn't make sense. No, there's thousands of multi-unit houses across the street from a car wash.

Thank you. Thank you.

say the best for last right um this has been going on for a while philip donnell 914 maple hill road i know you all know me some of y'all might not but i'm i'm next to site 22 i'm just north site 22 is my aunt and uncle's part of the farm but um i guess really what i want to address is um The potential for other sites, I was at most of the sewer committee meetings, and I'm going to have to throw Mr. Lane under the bus because at the last meeting, he said he felt like there was more questions that were brought up then that needed more investigation, that needed to really be looked into. And I kind of feel that's where we are. Jeff Baines was quoted in the newspaper saying, we were put in charge of trying to find sites, not technology. And so I did a Google search today, the most recent sewer treatment plant in the United States, and it came back from Greenfield, California. and i talked to the director of public works there today and she was very forthcoming with information and she connected me with the company that's doing the membrane bioreactors and i don't know necessarily if that is something that would work here but i think that we really need to to at least check into that, find out if TDEC would approve it. There's still so many variables. You know, we had the matrix and that was fine and dandy and it got us down to three sites, but is that really, you know, the end-all be-all for for what Lebanon needs moving forward and um it's it's gonna be a heavy burden and and I realize that that September 30th deadline is looming but I think we just need to pay stupid tax on that let's just forget that and and really talk to the community in in work sessions let's not worry about that little bit of money because in the long run where we're going We need to have a good fit for everybody. Thank you.

Anyone else? One more, sorry. Okay, sorry. Julie Coble, 1695 Horn Springs Road. if you look around everybody here is here for the same reason we all live in a residential area that you want to put a sewer system in it's curious to me that all the sites that were looked at the three that remain are all residential i don't know what's going on there but nobody wants that we're all here for the same reason and you small group of people hold all of our homes, our livelihoods, our futures in your hands. Do the right thing. Let's find a non-residential site, an industrial area. We've got to have one. There's got to be one industrial area in Lebanon that works. Do the right thing. Put yourself in our shoes, put yourself in our backyards, and do the right thing.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

We're good. In the lobby, they're good.

OK, they're going in the lobby. OK. All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to my comments. And before I speak on the issue that everyone's been talking about, I do have one announcement to make. A few meetings ago, the city council approved a design review committee a group of citizens who can look at building standards in the Hartman Drive overlay. And so now I'm going to announce three people to be members of that committee. The first one is Will Hager. Will Hager lives in Ward 3. And Will is a professional city planner. He works in the private sector now, but he's a big part of our community. And he's agreed to serve on that committee. So I appreciate Will for agreeing to do that. um the second one is uh casey monet she's in ward four ward four is a neighborhood that that borders the hartman drive overlay and um so i felt it was appropriate for her she's in in the design world and has worked in the construction world for a long time and so i appreciate casey and the third member is uh larry mazel uh larry lives in ward one And he is a retired city planner. He's worked in cities throughout the southeast in that world and has a lot of expertise. So now I'm officially naming those three people to the Zion Review Committee. So I want to thank the city council for approving that. I want to thank Council Burnout for sponsoring it. I think that's a very important committee for the future going forward. And I think a lot of great work will be done by that committee. So before I talk tonight about the sewer plant, Steve Jones is here. He works for water management. He's a consultant. He's ex-official member of the site selection committee. He's also a member of our infrastructure committee, which has played a role in this process as well. So Steve, can you step up the podium? And after I ask Steve some questions, Steve's going to stay around. I have some comments, but if the council, if you have any questions when I'm finished, you know, Steve's here as well. Steve, you know, there's been a lot of talk about technology. Can you talk about the operation of the plant, the functionality of it, and sort of how we got that point?

Yeah. So everybody keeps bringing up different technologies and there are different technologies. But when we boil down what happens in a water reclamation facility, we utilize biological processes and we feed those biological processes the incoming waste stream. And we add air to it. And that air allows the biology within these tanks to break these constituents down, BOD, ammonia, and other things that we have in there. There are ways that we can hold more biology in a tank. Sorry, I'm trying not to have an echo here. So there are ways that we can hold more biology in a tank. Membranes are one way. With a membrane system, you can hold up to about 10,000 what we refer to as mixed liquor. That's a measurement on how we tell what the solids concentration in a tank is. With MBBR, which has been around since the 1980s, we can hold about 5,000 mixed liquor, down to the type of technology that's at the existing treatment plant now, which is about 2,500 to 3,000 mixed liquor. So with going with these type of technologies, you can get a smaller footprint for the aerobic portion of the treatment plant. With membranes, we can also eliminate things like clarifiers. But all of these things have a cost. And so our job as the consultants for the city of Lebanon is to help look at, I feel like, two things. Number one is reliability, always reliability, because everyone wants this plant to operate continuously 24-7, 365 days a year. And so having reliable technology is in my opinion, the most important thing, because if the treatment plant stops working, where's this flow going to go? And so we look at reliability and then we look at cost because cost is the second factor that we look at, because this is rate payer funds. This is the rate payers of the city of Lebanon on the sewer system that have to pay for these treatment systems. And when I look at something like a membrane, for example, I've got a quote in my office right now for a membrane system. For the membrane system to replace the clarifiers, it's about twice the capital cost. The membranes also have a lifespan of 8 to 10 years. So whereas a clarifier has a motor in the center of it, probably get 40 years out of that motor, every 10 years we're going to replace membranes. If it already costs twice as much and then every 10 years we're replacing it, there's a significant cost there. So when we sit down with the utilities director and the plant management staff and we go through this and with the mayor and council, what we do is we lay out these different options. What's reliable? What does it cost? What's that end cost going to be on the rate payers? And that's how we get to these decisions. We have looked at this technology. I have 14 different cost estimates that involve different combinations of technologies that can be utilized to build a treatment facility to support the continued growth of the city of Lebanon. while that information's not all been shared at the previous meetings talking about land that is the information that we used to make the recommendations for minimum acreage not only for what needs to be built today but to accommodate future expansion and create a good buffer so that people don't back directly up to and look into a facility um so with with so

So with Operation Plant, I know there's some indoor parts of it. So what is the indoor part?

So generally, in order to mitigate any other concerns, we are going to enclose the headworks. So that's the initial location that all flow comes into from the collection system. And from there, we're going to do all the anaerobic and anoxic basins. We're going to have those covered, and we're going to collect that air. and we're going to collect all of the air off of any solids processing facilities. Those are the tanks that generate the most odor concerns, and so we'll collect that air, we'll run those through combination scrubbers that use biological with a carbon cap on top of them to make sure that we mitigate odor concerns.

Now I have another question too. so as as you know there's been a lot of questions about tonight about um you know deep dive studies and into properties and and things like that so what what are the next steps what as far as studying properties how long that takes that process

So right now with the three properties that we've been asked to look further into, we're working with the city and waiting on getting right of access or right of entry to those properties so that we can do environmental site assessments, see what kind of material is possibly on a site, If it's in an industrial area, especially in due geotechnical investigation to see what kind of challenges there are, you know, what's it up to bedrock? Are there any sinkhole concerns or any challenges like that that need to be taken into account that would make it more difficult to build a facility or dictate where a facility would be located on a piece of property that would move it closer to a property line that's trying to be avoided?

Do you estimate that?

It'll be at least 90 days after we get right of entry. I talked to an environmental firm today that could do the geotechnical work. And by the time we have right of entry, it'll take them about 30 days to get mobilized and on site a week to do the testing. And then they'll have to write their report and send it back to us. So right now, I wouldn't expect to have that until after the first of the year.

So anything that's presented to council, they'll take for a work session to discuss anything going forward because they need all the information they can possibly get. It takes 90 days?

Yes.

OK. And that's a full, complete study of those properties and all aspects of land cost, everything you can think of, right? Yes. Absolutely. OK. All right.

Thank you.

No problem. All right. You can go sit down. If people have questions, I'm sure they'll ask. Sir, public comments, it's our turn to talk. I understand that, ma'am, but still, it's our turn to talk. And I'm sure all of us have some things we want to say. The first thing I want to say is that there are, as Severi said, there are seven elected officials sitting back here. And I want to make sure everyone knows that there's no one back here this decision lightly. I can assure you of that. Everyone back here takes this job seriously. They focus on all the issues of all aspects of every issue that we vote on up here. And this one obviously is a big issue. It's a big issue for us, and it's obviously an important issue for you. In fact, and I've said this several times publicly, um and i'll say it again and and his name is mentioned earlier uh jeff baines used to be our commissioner of public works he was over our utility department for 30 years and he is service chair of the site selection committee Not long after I took office, we sat down and he told me that this was something that we were going to face. And he said, it's the most important decision that you will make as a city, but it's also going to be the most controversial. The important part of it is, and several of you have spoken on this, but I do want to reiterate this. The plant we have now was built in 1963. And through those years, there have been upgrades to it. There has been work done on it. There's no doubt about that. But we're at a point where patching it up no longer works. And I know most people got to the podium and said, you know, that you understand that we need a new facility. And I appreciate that. But, you know, I know people have reached out to me about growth. And somebody did send an email, I think, to all of us. Maybe it was all of us. Maybe it was just to me about leaks in our pipes and things like that. And we should focus on those areas first. I want to repeat what Jeremiah Exum, he's our plant manager, he's not here tonight, but he said this at a previous meeting, that if we, if tomorrow we said all building stops, no more buildings in Lebanon, and if we went out and fixed every pipe and every leak, which we work on them all the time, but if that was 100%, we would still need a new plant because it is basically too old. It is a, it's like any old piece of machinery, anything, anybody's business or anything else, it comes to a point to where You just can't put enough money at it to make it work. At some point, you have to create something new, and that's where we are. I do want to talk about growth for a minute, and I want to brag on the council here and the work that they do. They take a really serious view of growth in the city particularly residential growth over the past six years they have voted to place over 30 new regulations on developers those regulations are designed to make whatever is built here better but I can assure you there's a lot of people who don't want to build those regulations and they go somewhere else Just about a little less than a year ago, this council voted to tighten up our zoning code. And what's important about that is, is that every property inside our city has a zone. And every property owner has a right to build what that zone allows as long as they follow our regulations. And so what was important about tie-up at zoning code was we increased our regulations. We increased our guidelines. So even though they have the right to build and we can't stop them because they have that legal right, we can tighten up. And this council did that. A really good way to control or manage growth is through looking hard at annexations. And I understand there was an annexation several months ago on Maple Road for a subdivision. But I want to say this council as a whole throughout the city has really taken a tight view of annexations, especially residential annexations. We've created an annexation committee, which is the first step that someone has to go to if they want to request annexation, which is a committee that takes that very seriously. Councillor Crowell serves on that committee as part of his role on the Planning Commission. And that's somebody that takes that seriously. There's a lot of steps somebody has to go through before they get to the point to even get to here. And a lot of times people don't even get here. But if they do, they have the right to be heard and they have the right for a decision to be made. And this council, you know, over the past several years, it has been rare to have an annexation for residential development. And I say that understanding there was one on Mayfair Road. They realize that. But if you look at the entire picture, it has been rare. So I just want to say that just to, you know, again, brag on the council and also to make sure everybody understands that we take a very close eye on growth. That's something everyone takes very seriously. And again, I know that people spoke. You understand when you plant, you plant because of the age. But I do want to say that about growth and make sure that people realize what the council's view and how hard they work on that. But it's also controversial. And the controversial aspect of this is obviously, where will a new facility go? And I didn't ask Steve this when he was standing at the podium. But very early on in the process, he mentioned cost. He mentioned that that's the rate payers that pay that cost. that we really have to watch out for this that's part of our due diligence as well that building on the site that we we already have increases the cost significantly so the process started to to look for look for a site And it's not something that started three months ago. It's something that's been going on for a while. And people ask about other sites. And so this is something we've talked about too. I've said publicly, I think other people here have as well. The pipeline that goes to my current plant that takes cleaned water out to the river It goes northwest. It comes out next to the Sportsman's Club on Mann Road. That's where the pipe comes out. There's a big sign on the lake that tells you that. And so when consultant and staff start analyzing sites, It needs to be close to that pipeline. And so when you ask about direction, that's the direction that needs to be looked at. So when this process started, it started like for years infrastructure projects have happened here for a long time. The consultants and the staff, they started to look at sites, looking at the map, looking at potential locations and studying those locations and really digging into, as Steve said, property sizes, how close to the pipeline and different things like that. After they worked on that, they brought them to me and we talked about it. And so as we looked at different locations, one of the things that we came down to to move forward, and this was before anything came to council, but we decided this would be a good option moving forward, was to really focus on the Hartman Drive area. In my mind, I'm not an engineer, I thought The current plant's been there 63 years in that area. Let's put the plant somewhere in the same area, the new plant. So we looked at sites in that area. There were a few that stood out. And we had a work session, and we presented properties to the work session, or to the city council in that work session. Two of the properties stood out. One was at the corner of Hartman Drive and Coles Ferry Pike. Donors of that property, they quickly let us know if they were not willing to sell. And so we moved on to the next site that was discussed. And that site was Rockwood. Again, that area, the old plant is there, the infrastructure is there, the road, the pipe is there in the area and all those things. So we went from the site where the people did not want to sell and went to Rockwood. Now I'll say this, you know, when we're talking about Rockwood, it was not anything on Carver Lane, it was Rockwood. And, you know, so why Rockwood? Well, a couple of things. It's a half mile from the current plant. You know, it is industrial. The owners, I think we said earlier, is willing to sell. And we began to start that process. And so, yeah. At that point, there was a resolution on the city council to create the site selection committee. And that resolution passed five to one. And I want to say this. The night it was placed on the committee, I thought it was a great idea. And I thought it was a great idea for several reasons. One, the people who were recommended to be on the committee were all great people. There were engineers on that committee. There were there's a member of the citizen a private citizen on the committee there were counselors on the committee and You know this would was this would give it new eyes Again we have been going through the process as as we do with all of our infrastructure project infrastructure projects and and so You know, this one, as important as it is, as important as you guys have all said it is, as important as we know it is, having a committee look at it with different eyes, having public meetings, hearing from the public. You know, for the past several months, the committee has heard from a lot of people. um and and and i believe the committee has listened to to the people and and they worked hard uh you know to to to do that uh there was a matrix system is created they voted um looked at dozens of sites um And then the resolution that was introduced, it came down to where that committee would recommend to the city council at least three sites. And that's what that committee did. And again, the people in the committee worked hard. They did, and listened to a lot of people. They truly listened, I know they did. So there's three sites that are presented to city council. I want to say this, though, about the outcome. I don't know what the right word is, whether it's concern or disappointment, but a lot of people have mentioned Site 22 on Maple Hill Road. that site was never previously considered as as as we studied it internally and never be considered it was added to the list because a neighboring property owner stood the podium and said it should be considered um i really don't think site 22 should have been added to the list I'm going to go back to the Rockwood site. I also want to say that the apartment complex that has the barbed wire or has the chain link fence around it, It had never been considered previously either. And personally, I don't think that should be added to the list either. I think if Rockwood was ever considered, I just don't think that property would need to be added to it. That's my personal opinion. So we're here. There's been a lot of hard work done. This council has done a lot of great work through the years. on all kinds of different issues. The committee worked really hard. I just disagree with a couple of aspects of it and those aspects of it. And going forward, as Steve just said, it's going to take three months to get property studied council work session before there's anything that happens for anything gets on any kind of agenda to be voted on but i i i do want to say this ultimately the council's going to have to vote on something i think most people in here said that a plant needs to be built the council's got to put on something but but i want to say this for me and and people I know people sometimes get confused how it operates up here. But we have six city councilors. It takes four votes to approve anything. If someone's missing and something is three yeses and two nos, it doesn't pass. You have to have four yeses to pass anything. The only time I get to vote is if it's a tie. So if site 22 gets on the agenda and it's a tie, I'm going to vote no. If site 13 gets on the agenda and the apartment property is attached to it, and it's a 3-3 tie, I'm going to vote no. But at some point, it's going to be a bill. And as I said earlier, everybody has to make hard decisions. And in those instances, for those three properties that were never considered previously,

that that's that's my decision so thank you counselor i want to thank everybody for coming out and all those who have reached out to me um as most of us know um we everybody came around the maple hill area we had a development coming in worked very hard on it worked with a lot of the neighbors kelly was involved as well and got the development passed in a nice in a nice development neighborhood It was then added to the list because, again, someone had came up and said they wanted to add it to the list. If it is ever voted on or comes on an agenda, I will not vote for SOT 22. I think it needs to be developed the way it was approved eight months ago, what everyone thinks it was supposed to be. And I don't think we need to do it. For the individual that got up and added it to the list because he is the family of the said there was a willing seller, that was unfortunate. As far as site 13 plus or 13A and how that goes, I don't know that the city needs all of the property that goes back to the apartment complex. I've driven through Carver Creek several times, and it would literally be in some people's backyard. People on Midgeria Drive, when I went in, it's going to be in their backyards, and especially Ms. Douglas'. I've talked to her several times, even when the apartment complex was going in, and then it stopped and the fence went up. So I would only vote for the Rockwood property if it comes to that point. That's all I have.

Thank you, Councillor Ashley.

I wanted to thank everyone for coming out as well. Obviously we are here every other week and a lot of times it's a different group of people with other concerns that impact their quality of life, their home values and those type of things. So unfortunately we get to deal with these type of issues. They're different issues, but we can draw a crowd at any given time. because people were impacted by different issues. But we do appreciate you coming out and appreciate your comments. I was not part of the committee that was formed. I think the committee was an excellent idea. I think that this is the largest financial decision that the city has ever made and it should be done with a group of experts. And I appreciate the people that participated in the committee. I appreciated their input. I appreciate their expertise. And I think that that was the right decision to form a committee that none of us should be making these type of decisions single-handedly with limited information. So at this point, the committee has finished their process and we understand that they're getting into each of these sites to look at the different sites. It has not come to the City Council. I have no information whatsoever about the cost of any of these sites or what they found in any of the sites and what sites might be the most appropriate but obviously recognize that this is an incredibly important decision and it's going to take some time to get to the point that we can discuss it and You know, again, I understand the stress that this is causing on everybody, and I want everyone to feel assured that I think we all take this very seriously and are going to make the best decisions that we can.

Thank you. Council Member. Yes.

Again, as they've already stated and I state every time that we love for our galley to be full and we want to hear from people. We did establish a committee. I think that a lot of the information and questions that you had here today were answered in some of those meetings. Are they not on? Are the minutes not on?

Christian, Tonya.

I may have missed those. I did not realize that until Derek mentioned it.

There's no minutes from the wastewater treatment plant on there?

No, the minutes of the wastewater treatment plant site selection committee are online on our website.

There's also YouTube, right? Or Facebook?

And they have been filming YouTube as well, so that should still be on YouTube.

So I would encourage, you know, everybody to read those, to look at those videos. All of those meetings were posted. They were posted in the newspaper. I believe that it has been a very transparent process and, you know, open to the public and the meetings. As Jerry just said, we have been given no other information. I personally was on that committee, helped establish that committee. I know there were two others on that committee. But after that, we have not been told a work session. It looks like we're not going to worry about a deadline for the grant. Is that correct?

That is correct. With the timeline of the studies of the properties, as Steve said, it'll take at least 90 days. So that's a longer part of it.

um we will be discussing um because we have talked a little bit about what kind of plant it could be and i believe in those work sessions or the meetings that we had what was put on there was a placeholder was not necessarily what kind of plant we're going to have it was a placeholder to hold that space of where it could be on all of the properties And so I hope going forward after we've done investigations and environmentals, as we've all talked, we will have work sessions which are open to the public. They are posted. There will be minutes. Hopefully we will record them.

Allow me to add that on our work sessions, we don't typically put them on YouTube, but for these, we will. So people can watch them if they can't attend.

We will discuss, I hope, the different types of plans, like Steve did say, because we have to make a big financial decision. So I am sorry that you all are continuing to have to come up here and express your feelings. We are hearing you. We have listened. We're going to continue to do so. And it's a big decision, but we were elected to make these decisions. And sometimes we have to make very difficult ones. I believe each and every one of us do take it to heart, do do the research. And I hope we're being very transparent to you all as the people who elected us to be here. But again, again, I can't give any more information than whatever I have. And that's what I have at this time is we have three sites. I've got no other information, even myself, on that. Work sessions have not been posted. It sounds like it's going to be 90 days. So I guess that's what we'll wait to see. Again, we haven't discussed all the things that we've been accused of discussing other than what you have heard at the wastewater treatment plant committee meetings. I do encourage you to read those minutes. I do encourage you, because this has been going on for the last three or four months, and definitely it started back in March for us as a council. So I would encourage you all to keep looking at our website, to keep coming here and to getting the knowledge. I'm sorry that some of you all are just receiving information four weeks ago, but we are not sending letters to the whole city. We do have ways to communicate and ways we are required to communicate by state law. So usually the advertising is what, two weeks before a meeting, 10 days?

Tonya? Advertising for meetings is how far in advance? 10 days?

So you all should get notice on that. That's all I have at this time.

Thank you. Councilor Crowell?

Thank you, Mayor. As a representative of Ward 4, I just want to say that where you're sitting is exactly how I started as a city councilman. There was something that was coming in next to my house. We have a century farm out on Weevil Pike, and it was not something that we wanted, and I didn't even know when the city council met. when I first became engaged, but I found out when it met and came and expressed my opinion and tried to rally the neighbors and do the same things that you all are doing tonight. Ultimately, we didn't prevail in what we wanted, but I learned the process and learned how to advocate for our neighborhood and for people that live in my area and became the elected representative for Ward 4, so you never know what coming to these meetings will turn into. But I appreciate you all being engaged in the process. This committee's been meeting for however many months now and appreciate my fellow counselors for doing that and the ones who they've been involved on the committee i think most of those people have been involved in the infrastructure committee they were already on it and already had been working on it for some period of time so i hear the concerns about transparency and i think that's always a concern uh particularly for somebody who might not have known what was going on again i've been in that in those shoes before so i understand that and i hear what you're saying um believe me I don't think there's any intent on anybody up here to hide anything or to not be transparent. It's a difficult decision and somebody's not going to be happy, right? Everybody wants the city to be able to operate efficiently and for us to, I think, to have a new plant. Even if we didn't grow, we need to have a better plant than the one we have now. clearly. So we're going to get one and we're going to hopefully put it in a location that serves the city as a whole better. And I just want to say too, the mayor mentioned my role on the SP and annexation committee. Um, you know, when I got involved with the council, the planning commission seemed like a place where, you know, we do enough battle up here on the, on the city council. And it seemed like a place where you were dealing with barbed wire and brass knuckles and whatever else on the planning commission. I wasn't real interested in doing that, but, uh, know that there are a lot of things that come through the planning commission um that don't make it to city council a lot of things that you know when we started the sp and annexation committee um that we've been able to effectively kill in the sp and annexation committee so you know i'm one of these our our city is 42 square miles in a footprint and and i think generally that's enough it needs to be something very compelling and there needs to be a public benefit to the city of lebanon to consider expanding it any further than it is and and people need to build what they say they're going to build i'm a firm believer in that it makes me very upset to find out that a builder has shifted gears on us and so uh you know that that makes me angry and i fight it i fought it and i've you know almost to the point of getting the city sued uh because i believe that strongly in it if if somebody says they're going to build something a certain way that's that's what they promised they've come to these all these meetings and drug all these folks out here and said that's what they're going to do and then if they don't do it um you know they need to be held accountable and if we can't stop them on that development because of a technicality then we'll we'll remember it the next school round but i just wanted to make those comments and again i appreciate you all being engaged in the process i know it's fatiguing and difficult again i've been there on a different issue but but hang in there it's important that you continue to to stay alert as to what's going on thank you mayor thank you councillor bryan

Thank you, Mayor. There's one topic about the wastewater treatment facility that hadn't been brought up. And it's the fact that how much fun it is living next to a wastewater treatment facility. Because I live right next to one. I live right down the street from the current one. and i live in weston heights and i've been living there 22 years next to the current wastewater treatment facility now when we first moved there now and then there were some issues There were some odor issues. Like I say, I've been there 22 years. And over the years, they have corrected those issues. And as much as they could, upgraded, corrected. And to this point, there hasn't been any noticeable odors. I'm talking about for at least 10 years. Now that may seem funny to some of you, but I have experienced it. And I know that they have upgraded that plant as much as they possibly can. And that's why we need a new one. I drive by that plant several times a week because I have relatives that live out Hartman Drive on the other end. And when we first moved there, my granddaughter, who we raise, used to call it, there's the poop plant. But your concerns, I can understand that. I can understand if you're concerned about health issues, but I'm just saying for somebody and our whole neighborhood would agree that as far as health concerns and odor and things like that, the new facility will be upgraded it'll be a modern facility and there is not going to be anywhere near what this current facility is you're talking about facility that was built in 1963 and i know that modern facilities are nowhere near the technology that it was in 1963. And you'll have to agree with that. They don't use the same technology. The new plant will have the new technology. And it'll be a vast improvement over what we have now. And for somebody that lives that close to the wastewater treatment facility, I have no complaints. And as far as property values go, I've never seen that on any kind of real estate estimate that I've ever had. I bought my house in, well, 22 years ago, whatever that adds up to be, 2003. That was never an issue. That was never brought up. And my house has increased in value quadruple since I've been there. I think your concerns are valid, but I just want to help you kind of put some of that to rest. That a lot of your concerns are, like I said, they're valid, but I haven't had the experience with living near the wastewater treatment facility plant that you are thinking is going to be your experience, if that makes sense.

Okay, that's all I have. Thank you.

I want to thank you all for coming. First comment I have is I didn't know it was red shirt day. I think I look pretty good in red. I would have worn one if I'd known that was the color of the day. I understand what all you folks are saying. The few folks over here that have talked about coming that our grandparents and their kids are here and other grandkids are here. My wife and I moved to Lebanon in August of 2018. So we've only been here eight years. And since then, my daughter has moved here with her husband and she brought her granddaughter here and blessed us with a second granddaughter since she's been here. So when I sit here, any decision that I make, i want you to know whether you believe it or not uh i don't make these decisions what i think is best for me because i'm knocking on the door 70 i'm not going to be around here long enough they're going to have a long-term effect but my kids love this town my grandchildren love this town and whatever i do i want to make sure i do that they want to be here another 50 years and they want to call this home and hopefully we'll have great grandkids here before i pass All I can tell you at this point as far as what's going on is we don't know what we don't know yet. And what I mean by that is that site selection committee was only formed to come up with a list of sites. The real work now has to start as far as the cost, the different alternatives that are available, and present that to the council. We know nothing more than you know. As far as being transparent, every one of those sewer selection committee meetings, I was on that committee. Those were all open to the public. Nobody's hidden anything. There have been no meetings beyond what was held in the public. We haven't gotten together. The council has not talked about this at all. and when we do get that information from mr jones which i understand now is a minimum of 90 days because the council has not even voted yet to pass to give the right of assessment to get to those properties so we're not even 90 days we're probably more like 120 because he doesn't have the legal right to even approach those owners to be on that property until that passes two readings that that clock doesn't even start ticking yet so if you want to continue to come twice a month until after the first year i'd love to have you because i think it's great having a full house but anything that you ask us and anything that you throw at us i'm not going to have a better answer until i hear what he has to say and until we have work sessions which are also open to the public You'll know as much as we know, as fast as we know, if you attend those work sessions. We try to be very, very transparent, doing the best I can. I have no intentions of trying to do anything that isn't out in the open. Life's too short. And as a friend of mine said that I play golf with, you know, at our age, we're in the fourth quarter of the football game. So Not time to screw up at this stage of the game, you know, just finish the game and be done with it. So should this have been started and looked at 15 years ago? Heck yeah, because if it had, I wouldn't have to deal with this at all today. But now that we have to deal with it, I am going to try to make the best choice that I can for the entire city of Lebanon and for the future generations within the city of Lebanon. i'm sure i've learned since i've been on this council i don't care if i say the sky is blue somebody's gonna say it's green or somebody's gonna say it's yellow so i know we're not gonna make everybody 100 happy but i truly believe everybody who sits up here will do what they believe is the best for the city for the citizens today and the citizens down the road that's all i have

Thank you. Before we go to the consent agenda, I do have a message from John who's in the booth, who's a part of our IT department. He did say that the minutes are uploaded under the agenda center on our website. So they are there. John confirmed that. Ma'am. Ma'am, we're going to business now. We can talk about it after the meeting, but right now we're going to start voting.

Okay, thank you.

We have six items on the consent agenda. I'll read each one of those. Orders number 26, 74, 51. Second reading to approve a construction agreement with R.J. Coleman Railroad Company, Nashville and Eastern Railroad for railroad crossing improvements related to the grant-funded sidewalk project on North Cal State's Avenue by Chris Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning. I guess I'll wait.

Let's see what happens to the rest of the city.

No, anywhere. Somebody owns the farm. Somebody owns the lake.

We'll talk to you after the meeting is over. Yep. Yep. Just hang out. We'll talk to you after the meeting is over.

It must have been the smell.

All right. I will start over the consent agenda. Ordinance number 26-74-51. Secondary to approve a construction agreement with RJ Coleman Railroad Company, Nashville and Eastern Railroad for railroad crossing improvements related to the grant-funded sidewalk project from North Calcites Avenue by Christian Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning. Morse code 267452, second reading to approve bids and work contract for TDOT 3R sidewalk improvements project and to retain consultant engineering services, TDOT PIN 12946800 by Kristen Rice, executive director of engineering and planning. Morse code 267453, second reading to authorize a budget amendment for the resurfacing of the South Hartman Drive playground by William Porter Parks Recreation Director. Morse number 267454, second reading, authorize a budget amendment for the gas department for the emergency replacement of an air conditioning unit by Regina Santana, utilities director. Morse number 267455, second reading to council the regularly called city council meeting on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026 by Rick Bell, mayor. Morse number 267456, second reading to amend title four of the Lebanon Municipal Code by Sylvia Reichel, HR director.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councilor Moorhead, second by Councilor Crowell, discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Now the old business. Orsimer 267448, second reading to amend Title 14 to change permitted wall and fence design standards, replacing 14504D10, landscaping, screening, and buffering. Request by staff. To approve. Second. Motion by Councilor Carmack, second by Councilor Crowell, discussion. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Thank you. Or so 267449, second reading to amend title 14 to change 14303, residential zoning districts accessory building tables. 14304A, RPI Residential Public Institutional Accessory Building Table 14304B, UC University Campus Accessory Building Table and 14.503, Supplemental Bulk Regulations for Accessory Buildings to Establish Uniform Standards for Accessory Buildings, request by staff.

Motion to approve.

That's for Councilor Crouse, second by Councilor Cormack, discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you, now to do business. Orsimer 26-74-62, first reading to approve a TDOT local construction railroad agreements for the railroad crossing approaches project on West Main Street, SR 24. And South Maple Street, T-DOT contract numbers CRR070606 and CRR070607. T-DOT PIN numbers 135120 and 135122 by Christian Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning, and Jake Pruitt, Capital Projects Manager. Motion to approve. Second. Second by Councilor Moorhead. Second by Councilor Burdine. Discussion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Thank you. Article 26-7463, first reading to approve a TDOT local agency project agreement for resurfacing of SR-10 from near Cedar Forest Road to near SR-24 State Project number 95S010M3003, PIN 136334, agreement number 260119 by Kristen Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning, and Jake Pruitt, Capital Projects Manager. Motion to approve. Second.

Question from Councilor Carmack.

Second from Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Thank you. Question from 26-74-64. First reading to amend the Lebanon Municipal Code Title 22 Stormwater. Adopting a new stormwater credit manual. Revising stormwater management requirements. And creating Chapter 3. Establishing sinkhole regulations. By Christian Rice, Executive Director of Engineering and Planning. And Maddie Neely, Engineering Services Director of Development. Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Councilman Morehead. Second by Councilman Burdine. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Orders for 2674-65. First reading to approve bids or contract for the 2026 sidewalk improvements project CL26003 by Kristen Rice.

Motion to approve.

Executive Director of Engineering and Planning and Jake Pruitt, Capital Projects Manager. Motion by Councilor Ashley. Second. Councilor Crowell. Chris, speak to it. Fine. Any discussion?

No, Mayor, that was, Camille had made the motion to approve.

Sorry, I thought it was here. I'm sorry. Motion by Councilor Burdine. Second. Councilor Crowell.

Sorry.

Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? You got me while I was still talking. I was having a hard time hearing. Ordinance number 26-7466 to approve budget amendments relative to the new refunding bond for radio communications bond and public safety bond by Lindsey Wolfenbarger, Finance Director.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councilor Carmack. Second by Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262889 to approve contract with TDOT for the routine maintenance of state routes. Contractor Edison. Registration ID is 1567 and contract number CMA2734 by Lee Clark, Public Works Director.

Motion approved. Second.

Motion by Councilor Crowell. Second by Councilor Bryan. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Question number 262893 to approve the aerial photography agreement with near map by Mike Cosworth, MIS director.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion by Councilor Carmack. Second by Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 26-28-94, to approve the research agreement with Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the Coach Program Partnership. Bidex Major, Jimmy Floyd, Center Director.

Motion to approve.

Motion by Councilor Carmack. Second by Councilor Crowell. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution 26-28-95, to authorize advertising for construction manager at risk services for Lebanon Sports Complex Phase II by Christian Rice, Executive Director of Management and Planning, and Jake Pruitt, Calvert Projects Manager.

Second. Second. Second.

Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Some more heads, second by Councilor Crowell, discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262898 to approve an agreement WebEx colony migration for the Mass Department by Mike Collinsworth, the Mass Director. Motion by Councillor Crowell, second by Councillor Moorhead. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262899 to approve the Professional Services Agreement for Omnia Software Solutions for the Stormwater Department provided to Mickey, Stormwater Coordinator, and Christian Rice, Director of Engineering and Planning.

Motion to approve.

That's my counsel. Second, my counsel Carmack discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 26-2901, to approve an agreement with KCI Technologies for City Works Maintenance by Mike Consworth, MS Director. Second. Second. Crowell, seconded by Councillor Bryan. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262902, to approve an agreement with KCI Technologies for project management, ArcGIS hub web application support, maintenance, monitor configuration, and as needed support by Mike Consworth, MIS director.

Motion to approve.

Councilor Moorhead, seconded by Councilor Bryan. Discussion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 26-2903, to approve a professional service agreement for the 2026 gas rate study by Regina Santana, utilities director, and Lindsey Wolfenbarger, finance director.

So moved.

Seconded by Councilor Bryan, seconded by Councilor Crowell. Discussion?

Yeah, Regina, can you clarify, because I can't remember. I've slept since then. Did we do a rate study for our sewer?

We have one that's underway for water and sewer. I would anticipate sometime later this fall we'll have a work session. The company, which is the same company that we're hiring to do the gas portion of it, will come do a presentation. We've met with them. virtually a couple different meetings. They've needed additional information from us. We've asked them to look at some different things like cost of sewer, utility rates specifically for the sewer that goes out to the racetrack to be looked at differently, different things like that. So because just using that sewer, because it's the easiest one, it costs us more to maintain and operate that line than it does sewer that's right here in the city limits by the plant. So their rates should be a little different. So there's things they're still working on for us.

This fall, we'll get some more information. Okay. Thank you.

Other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution 26-2904, to approve the Pipeline Crossing License Agreement NERR 26029 with R.J. Coleman Railroad Company, National Eastern Railroad Line by Regina Santana, Utilities Director. Motion to approve. was most of my counselor brian second my counselor krell discussion all right every side aye we opposed thank you verses from 26 2905 to approve supplement number two to utility relocation contract number 8905 with tdot related to sewer relocation for the harshal pipe widening project PIN 10320301, STP 14116-95013-221814. Contract number 8905 by Virginia Santana, Utilities Director. Motion to approve. Second. My counsel, Carmack. Second, my counsel, Bryan. Discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Resolution number 262906 to approve supplement number two to utility relocation contract number 8904 with TDOT related to gas relocation for the Harshal Pike Winding Project. PIN 10320301, STP 14116, 95013, 221814. Motion to approve. Contract number 8904 by Gina Santana, Utilities Director. Motion by Councillor Carmack. Second by Councillor Crowell. Discussion? all in favor say aye aye any opposed thank you resolution number 262907 authorizing agreement with the clean harbors environmental services inc for placement of landscaping and things within the pude by regina santana approve second some more heads like my council crowd discussion yes okay gina could you talk to us a little bit about this i don't know what pude is and i doubt anybody else in the audience does as well so

It stands for public utility and drainage easement. We require easements around the perimeter of every lot that's built or subdivided. This one here just makes it clear that we're letting them put this fence and landscape and whatever is shown on their site plan in that easement. But should we ever need to access that easement and it has to be removed, it's at their cost that we're not responsible for it or replacing it. All right. Thank you.

Okay, any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Version number 262908, to accept bids for the Racetrack Pump Station Rehabilitation, project number CL26007, by Regina Santana, Utilities Director. Motion by Councilor Crowell, second by Councilor Carmack, discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Version number 26-2909, authorizing the issuance, sale, and payment of general obligation and interfund capital at late notes in the aggregate principal amount of not exceed $1,275,000 by Lindsay Wolfenbarger, finance director.

Motion approved.

Motion by Councilor Moorhead, second by Councilor Crowell, discussion.

Yes. Okay. See, that's big money. Could you talk to everybody about what that involves?

So these two resolutions are just steps in the process for the gas department to give us a little extra money while we do the gas rate study.

State that again. So we're taking some money out of the general fund and moving it to?

Yeah, to help with some things in the capital of the gas fund as we do the gas rate study.

So we didn't plan that before and in our budget?

It's just an additional, I mean, you know, we haven't done a gas rate study since 2008. I mean, we haven't raised rates in gas since 2008. So it's just part of the process.

So, yeah, until we get that gas rate study done, this is something that Lindsay and I sat out and talked about what we need to do, really, just to make sure that the gas department, this will work until we get that gas rate done. All right. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Registration of 26-29-10 authorizing the issuance of not to exceed $2 million in Interfund Gas System Revenue Anticipation Notes in C-11, Tennessee by Lizzie Wolfenbarger, Finance Director. Motion to approve.

Second.

Second by Councilman Crowell. Second by Councilman Bryan. Discussion?

This is the same thing as the one before. It still has to do with the gas system. Okay.

Okay, any further discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. We are adjourned.