Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

The items are the first one is an ordinance to amend the land use plan for the property known as Locks Box Self Storage located at 12337 Lebanon Road, Map 53, Parcel 46 from Thoroughfare Commercial to Light Industrial. And the second one is an ordinance to resume and adopt the preliminary master development plan for approximately 4.1. Acres of property at Lebanon Road, Map 53, Part Up, Parcel 46, from Commercial General to Restrictive Industrial Plant Unit Development. The third is an ordinance to approve. The request to connect to the Mount Juliet sewer system made by the developer of 3150 Nonneville Road outside the city limits of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, identified as Wilson County, Tennessee, map 31, parcel 32.01. And the fourth and final item under consideration is an ordinance to submit to the voters of the city of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, the question whether to repeal the adoption of home rule. The public is invited to attend and comment. If you would like to make a public comment on any of these four items, I would invite you to first form a line behind the podium and then supply your name and address for the record, and you will be recognized for three minutes. All right, seeing none, we will close the public hearing and we will reconvene for a regularly scheduled meeting at 6.30. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Mount Juliet Board of Commissioners. Today is July 27th, and having a quorum present, I'll call this meeting to order. Our first item on the agenda is to set the agenda. I would propose taking 8A and 8B off consent. Those need to be read separately. I have one amendment for those. But in its place, I'd like to put 9A on consent. There's no objections? All right, hearing none. Any other changes to the agenda? All right. Without objection, the agenda is adopted. 8A and 8B will be read directly following the consent agenda, and we will add 9A to consent. So the next item is our invocation and pledge of allegiance. I'd ask our city manager, Mr. Martin, if you would lead us in the invocation and pledge.

If everybody will bow your heads with me, please. Dear Lord, we give thanks for the privilege of serving our community and for the freedoms we share. We ask for patience, understanding, and unity as we address the matters before us today. May our work be defined by shared commitment to justice, progress, and a common good. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, sir. Next item is the minutes from July 13th. I know any changes? All in favor of the minutes, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? All right, the minutes do pass with one abstention. Next item is citizen comments. This is your opportunity to address the Board of Commissioners. If you have a comment and would like to express it to the Board, I'd invite you to come forward, give your name and address for the record, and you will be recognized for three minutes. All right, seeing none, we'll close citizen comments. We'll move on to commissioner comments and report. Vice Mayor, you're recognized, sir.

Sure, thank you, Mayor, and thank you for the folks that are online as well as the folks that are in the audience tonight. Appreciate that, Mayor. Congratulations to the Matt Juliet 55 Plus Activity Center. That was great ribbon-cutting. Sorry I wasn't there. I was at church camp this week, but I know some other commissioners may be talking about that, but congratulations to... Those residents that are now able to be in a bigger place and have a great time. I remember sitting down with some of those folks at the parks many years ago, discussing these same plans. So excited about that. Just reminder for the families that are out there, school, Next week, I know for the students, like my kids, we're not so happy for dad bringing that up this late in the game. But just reminders, folks, just be careful. The yellow bus is going to be out there. It's going to be important for us as a reminder to the new drivers, just be aware of your surroundings, leave on time, and just be safe. Going down a couple things here for the – Parks Board survey monkeys out there. I sent that out a couple times as well as for the folks that want to, you know, hear more about what the parks can bring to Mount Juliet and they're looking for any ideas, any best practices, any type of improvements. So please head on over to the parks website there and log into the survey monkey. It's important for all of you to express your concerns or ideas for anything that we can improve on for the city of Mount Juliet. Also with parks, September 12th is community yard sale. Looking forward to seeing a lot of residents out there. I know it's a good opportunity to meet some of your neighbors as well as see what they want to get rid of. So last thing, early voting, Charlie Daniels for the residents that are using it. You know, just be careful. You know, there's still early voting that's, you know, it's out there. We're in the middle of a midterm election. And obviously, you know, there's a lot of traffic in there. So please be careful for all those residents. And, you know, there's one more thing that I want to throw out there because I'm still got two and a half minutes. I actually got pulled into a question. A resident asked me if I would go out and run for office here another four years. So I just want to throw this out there to the residents. you know for me to be able to predict what i can and cannot do in four years i don't want to lie to the citizens uh nor to myself but i do believe in term limits um i do have uh i believe a different calling so i don't see myself running for office in four years but um but i do want to throw that out there just to make sure so um that's just uh something i want to put out there on my heart so with that uh mayor that concludes my report and thank you so much thank you sir commissioner after you recognize five minutes sir

Thank you, Mayor. I'll be quick. Appreciate everybody joining online and those that came in person. Had a lot of flooding over the last couple of weeks, right? I think one of the best decisions this board, and there were many really good decisions that we made, but I think certainly one of the top five was the creation of Stormwater. stormwater utility um that money is getting put to work and we've got two projects one in clearview estates which we have an agenda item to move forward with the contract uh to the contractor um that's going to be putting in those storm preventive measures and also Belinda City. I think we've got some efforts that are going to be made there. So I know people are extremely frustrated with the flooding. And unfortunately, it's going to happen when we get heavy range. But the city is doing everything we can to mitigate those areas that are in desperate need of mitigation. Also, congrats to the seniors and the opening of the senior center. And also to reiterate what Vice Mayor mentioned, welcome back to school. It's next week. We're starting next week. Please be safe. Be aware of your surroundings when you're driving through school zones. Please be mindful the speed limits. Sometimes we often forget about that in the early mornings, especially when the school's in session. So please drive safe and welcome back teachers and welcome back to school students. Concludes my report.

Thank you, sir. We'll recognize Commissioner Lely for her comments.

Thank you. Can you put up the green white wall? All right, again, this is the, I don't know how many years, annual Greenway Walk that BPAC, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, that I serve on as well as Commissioner Giles. So this year, our Greenway Walk is Thursday, August 13th at 6 o'clock. We meet in the back of Charlie Daniels Park at the trailhead of Cedar Creek Greenway. Everyone is invited. It's 3.3 miles. It's pretty flat. And it's mostly shaded. It's a very nice walk. Really, really pretty. Um, so you're invited to come out to that and join us. The run out date is August 27th. It's also a Thursday at six o'clock. Okay. Um, And as the vice mayor mentioned, he didn't say the date, so I'll say those. Early voting ends, and this election cycle ends August 1st, and the actual election date for the primaries is August 6th. So if you haven't voted yet, please do so. Okay, Victory Nissan is about to break ground, and so that's very exciting. That's a great addition to the city. They've already been working on there. Kenny, will they have an official groundbreaking? Do you know?

Sorry. Sorry, ma'am.

Yes, ma'am, they will, and they should be providing that test soon. As soon as we get that, we'll make sure to provide it to the elected body.

Okay.

Yeah.

So if you'd like to attend that, just watch for details. Again, as it's been mentioned, welcome back, teachers. We love you, and we don't know what happened to the summer, but here we are already. And I know you're excited, and I'm sure the students are. So welcome back. We fully support you, and I will see you Wednesday morning. early Wednesday morning. If you play pickleball or even if you don't, this is a fundraising opportunity for the animal shelter. We don't budget veterinarian expenses for the animal shelter. So this is our fourth annual, this is the only pickleball tournament the city does, is the fourth annual Pickles for Pubs. And this is a fundraiser to go toward the animal shelter for expenses for the animals in their care. It's October 3rd. It's on a Saturday. So if you want to sign up for that or make donations, you're welcome to do so. The sales tax holiday starts this weekend, and that's July 31st through August 2nd, back-to-school tax-free weekend. Again, I was at the ribbon cutting for the senior center, who has now moved in the building of former police headquarters behind the new headquarters now. That was very exciting. They expanded their kitchen, and it's very spacious in there. Awesome. It's really, really pretty. Got to take the tour. Now, there has been some confusion. Some people think that they're part of the city now. They are not. They retain their nonprofit status. and the city is leasing them the building. There's an out-of-city sewer item on the agenda tonight where, okay, so we passed in 2020 or 21, we passed a resolution that said in order to get sewer, you have to be annexed into the city. Well, the state passed a law at the end of last session signed by the governor that if there, is access to the sewer force main on an adjacent property that the city has to connect. So I was disappointed that we don't really get a vote in that, but it is state law. There's two items on the agenda tonight. One is the downtown project. So I've got some things I'm gonna say about that. The other one is home rule. We want to put that before the voters. And so hopefully there'll be a discussion on both so we can explain further. And one other thing is, Infrastructure, we all know, is a big issue. And North Mount Juliet Road will never be widened. It just won't. The only alternative there is the Western Connector. We brought that up several years ago, and it got tabled. But personally, I think it's time to bring it back and start talking about it again. That will... It would be decades down the road, but of course, it's got to start somewhere. Personally, I just think it's time to pick up that ball and discuss it further. And that completes my comments.

Thank you, Commissioner. I'll just ask everybody to keep Commissioner Giles and his family in your prayers. And with that, I'll recognize Mr. Martin for his comments.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioner, those in the audience and watching from home. The sales tax holiday coming up. Thank you, Commissioner, for mentioning that. Please shop local. All our local businesses appreciate that. And that's what drives the economy for the city is shopping local. SALES TAX REVENUE GENERATES THE MOST MONEY THAT OPERATES THE CITY. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND COMMISSIONER HEMPENY, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT. I THINK MOUNTAIN IS ONE OF THE LAST CITIES TO START ITS OWN STORM WATER UTILITY. I'M THANKFUL FOR THAT. TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE, MYSELF AND MR. MULLINS WENT TO VISIT A SITE LAST WEEK AND IT WAS ON SOUTH BASS. AND THAT REPAIR ALONE WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT $130,000.

AND IT WAS LITERALLY JUST WHERE A PIPE WOULD SEPARATE AND CREATE SOME WASHOUT WITH THE ROAD.

Those kind of proactive approaches are being made all over the city to keep things like that from happening. So thank you all. And, Mayor, that concludes my report.

Thank you, sir. Senate Agenda 8C, a resolution approving the award of construction contract for the stormwater drainage improvement project and authorize the mayor to sign the contract. 8D, a resolution approving the award of construction contract for the Lebanon Roadside Walk Phase 3 project and authorize the mayor to sign the contract. And then 9A, which is an ordinance approving the request to connect to the Mount Juliet sewer system made by the developer of 3050 Nonneville Road outside the city limits of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, identified as Wilson County, Tennessee, Map 31, Parcel 32.01. All in favor of the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye. Any opposed? The consent agenda does pass. Is there any objection to considering 8A and B simultaneously? 8A, which is an ordinance to amend the land use plan for the property known as lockbox self-storage located at 12337 Lebanon Road, map 53, parcel 46, from Therafire Commercial to Light Industrial. 8B, which is an ordinance to rezone and adopt a preliminary master development plan for approximately 4.1 acres of property on Lebanon Road, map 53, part of parcel 46 from Commercial General to Restrictive Industrial Plan Unit Development. Motion and second. I have an amendment for 8B, which is... under engineering it currently reads under number one a six foot sidewalk along 11 and road frontage is required i will move to strike that and replace it with language a sidewalk at least six feet wide shall be constructed along lebanon road along the project frontage should the tdot sidewalk project have broken ground prior to this development going vertical this condition shall be omitted Motion second. Any objections? All right, that's adopted. We're back on 8A, and 8B is once amended. Any other questions or comments? All in favor of the two items, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Those do pass. Under new business 10A, an ordinance to rezone the property at 1888 Golden Bear Gateway, approximately 18.4 acres, map 54, part of parcel 16.01 and part of parcel 16.02 from RS 40 low density residential to CMU commercial mixed use.

Motion.

Motion and second on that. Question for the attorney. The legal description, is that in any way binding on the outcome of this? I don't normally scrutinize those, but I got one of them recognized the political subdivision as M-O-U-N-T, which doesn't exist. And the other one was it referenced curb, C-U-R-B road, and I think I thought it was a typo, but every reference in there is C-U-R-B Road. And I'm certain they mean curd.

I would hope they mean curd, yes.

Is that any bearing?

We can just, upon approval, just ask that they update it.

Update those, perfect. All right, any questions and comments on this? All right, all in favor, please signify by saying aye. Any opposed? 10A does pass. The next item is 10B, which is an ordinance to submit to the voters of the city of Mount Juliet. The question, shall this municipality repeal the adoption of home rule?

Second.

Motion is second. The item's on the table. Commissioner Mullaly, you're recognized.

I would just like to explain why it's on the agenda in order to get it on the November ballot. We have to have passed two readings on the ordinance. And so it's on tonight. And if this passes, it would be on the August 10th agenda, I believe, which is just prior to the election commission deadline. And so that's the reason it's on this, uh, agenda for first reading tonight. And the city is going to have an announcement on Wednesday with more detail. So maybe late Wednesday afternoon? Maybe sometime Wednesday? Okay. All right.

Any other comments?

Questions?

Yes, ma'am.

Well, I will say that if both of these readings pass, the city's going to have – five public meetings town hall type meetings one in each district and then one citywide so to help where residents can come out and you know understand what home rule is and you know what everything means so we later as it gets closer to november we are going to have five meetings on that public meetings

I'm sure a meeting talking about home rule charters versus general law charters is probably going to have people lined up out the door. Can't think of anything more exciting. But it is important for this city, and I think it's an important step, and I appreciate everybody who's worked to put this together to this point. Anything else? All in favor of the ordinance, please signify by saying aye. Any opposed? That does pass. Next item is 10 C a resolution approving the purchase and sales agreement for certain city owned property and authorized the city manager to execute the agreement. Motion second. The item's on the table. Commissioner Hefter, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to make this statement before we get into deliberations on this. I'm going to be recusing myself from this vote. I do want to clearly state that there is no personal financial interest that I'm gaining on this property or on my property. private residence that's adjacent to the city property so i want to make that very clear i'm doing it out of an abundance of caution um and so there's no perception that i'm financially benefiting from this although i could argue that my residential primary residential value would go down um I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to abstain from any discussions. I said this last year when I was reelected that I would not be voting on this, and I'm not going to be. So with that, thank you, sir.

Commissioner Lilly.

Okay. I have some images for you. And as a lot of you know, the city, long before I ever got here, has been working on creating a downtown district. This is a town center overlay district that was put in place long before I was ever here. You can see it's in two sections, but that's primarily the district. Since I've been here, we've made numerous amounts of zoning amendments in preparation for creating a downtown district. So the BOC had voted to allow Kenny to open up RFPs to get bids, and we got two. The BOC voted by majority to accept Mission Seller's proposal, and it was the highest bid, right? There seemed to be some confusion over that at the Planning Commission. We are at a point of purchase sale agreement right now, after years of planning toward this, and we are here. We should not, in my opinion, we should not miss this opportunity before us. We've been working on this, and here it is. It was suggested at the Planning Commission that we should sit on the property until interest rates drop, and we would get more money. Well, who in the world knows when that'll be, uh, in the meantime, the city leases some buildings on the property, and this would continue until we sit on it and wait to see what the, the, uh, you know, interest rates we're going to do. So in the meantime, we collect about 35,000 a year. So are we really going to throw this opportunity out the window to sit on $35,000 a year for who knows how long? So are we going to further delay the city's downtown walkable district, and that's what this is, to create a walkable downtown area. Or are we going to do what we have been planning for? Either we do it or we don't. If we're not gonna do it, I think we should go back and change all those zoning amendments back to the way they were, because the amendments serve no purpose other than this. So this just gives you an idea. In pink, there's the property that we're talking about with the exception of where City Hall sits, which is right there. That'll remain as is, the rest of the property, which is in question. Now, I may not have gotten exactly where it is, but that's, it's close. And then I highlighted some roads in yellow, so you can see the eastern, western roads, which do need to be expanded out to help with infrastructure. So, now, we have a signal going in at Curd. which is up here, and we have the vision right here. So it's been suggested that a signal go in at East Hill right here. Now, if you look at that and you plan way, way, way in the future, you can see possibly at some point, years and years, if not decades, down the road, it makes sense as far as roads are concerned. because that would go straight through down West Caldwell. And I hope the West Caldwell people don't get upset because there's no plans for this. It's just a future vision is all it is. And it comes down Fourth Avenue and connects to West Division. And it does have a railroad crossing. So road-wise, it makes total sense. But if we're going to build a walkable downtown area, pedestrian-wise, it does not make sense. And here's why. We would have two crossings, which would be at East Hill and Division. So this right here is primarily your walkable area right there. It does not make sense to walk north to East Hill just across the street and walk back down to the walkable area just across the street or go all the way down to Division and come back up. So it would make more sense to me if the signal went on Caldwell and of course, uh, road commissioner, traffic commissioner on public works, of course would have all their studies, you know, and all this, this is just my vision. Uh, it would make more sense to me to have the signal at Caldwell because it's more into the walkable area and people can walk up to the Caldwell, across the street and come back down. They don't have that far to walk. So, again, in the blue is primarily your walkable area. Now, if Charlie's Place on the west side right here builds out, and it will at some point, again, that's going to be right there in the walkable area. And it would connect to Caldwell, West Caldwell, which would be right there at the signal. So again, these are my opinions and that's what it's worth. It's my opinion. But anyway, the bottom line here is we have this opportunity and we should not pass on it. It's what we've been working for.

Thank you, Commissioner. I will point out you mentioned the pink is approximately what's being considered. There may vary by a parcel or so on this. Yeah, it might. This is a sales agreement, so I don't want anyone on Cobwell Street to become alarmed. No. Any of these other streets, because this is just a sales agreement, so there's nothing on here about moving red lights or anything. This is just a sales agreement. Right. Anyone else? Questions or comments? All right. All in favor of 10C, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? I'm sorry.

Yes.

Yes. We've already recorded the vote, ma'am, on this item, but I'll be happy to speak to you here. We're at the heel of the agenda at the moment. Is there any objection to adjournment? Hearing none, we are adjourned.