Town Council - Regular Meeting

Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. Good evening and welcome to our January town council workshop to set our agenda

for our February meeting. Before we move into our items for discussion, Jerry, would you do our prayer tonight? And um Casey, will you do pledge? if you'll stand with us.

God, thank you so much for this day. Father, Lord, we just uh as we've gone through these past several days and the weather that our area has had. Father, I just want to say thank you for those that have been out there every day just to take care of our town. How much we appreciate them and what they've done, Lord. and thank you for for I know it's been rough, but just for sparing us for anything very serious, Lord. And Father, we just uh we pray as we come tonight that you will just uh give us clarity on the things that we look at and uh just keep us mindful of uh why we're here, Lord. And we just thank you so much, Father. Thank you for your son who died for us. And I pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Jerry. Thank you, Casey. I couldn't even hear Casey at the microphone.

You know what? So when I used to teach school, if kids would not make eye contact with you when you asked the question, that's the ones you always and she was almost all the way turned around in her seat looking down. So if you if you don't want to be chosen, you know. So okay. So we will move into our items for discussion. Um council only one through eight are actual proposed consent agenda items. So, um, our first item is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute a contract from Gory Reagan for a three-year agreement to use the attendance on demand system and to lease time clocks for employee time management. Carl,

hi, Mayor Council. Um, yeah, this is a request. We need to replace our time and attendance system. We're still using uh the oldfashioned punch time clocks and it's hard to get parts for them as well. is very inefficient from a staff standpoint to do all the manual calculations and the time cards, put them onto a spreadsheet. Uh so we're asking for a system to be purchased to uh automate all of that. Um it'll be coming from the information ser uh services department budget uh and may have a little contribution from finance uh for that. Uh but we're asking for this three-year agreement to uh take that into uh bring this into the town. It'll be year one cost of $46,700 with recurring costs annually of 387.

Questions for Carl on this? Dave, I noticed in the write up, one of the things that was discussed was that we were trying to do it in house and with the amount of time. I want to make sure that not just with this specific thing, but for other things that we're looking at that we're making sure we take into account the amount of time it might be taking if we're trying to do it inhouse and um and get something together when there may be a company out there that can do it. Yep. As efficiently as possible. So,

um questions on this for Carl? Okay, we'll move on to item two, which is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute an agreement with maintain X for a work order software for the public works department.

Thank you, Mayor Councel. Um, currently we are using work order system called fix and it's not one that exactly has been very effective within our department. So, what we're looking to do is move our building and grounds vehicle maintenance and traffic operations into maintain X system. We evaluated several of them and found out maintain next works best for those guys. Uh street storm water they are going to be moving to clic for a m for a work order system. Questions for Tom on this?

One question I had mayor is will this software be integrated with their C click fix software like if we get a work order handed to public works um or will that be totally separate? It'll be separate because most of the uh the functions and operations that will use this are more internal. So the traffic operations for the maintenance of the of the uh the traffic lights uh internally facilities maintenance and those sorts of things. So they're they're more non-publicf facing operations. Okay. Yeah. Is there anything available that would interface or

there there are some others that do interface but again it's something where the work order system from building and grounds we're almost never going to get a cclick fix request for something that will go to building and grounds so there's not really a need to integrate something with cclick fix into that work order system. Other questions? Okay. Item three is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute an application with the Army Corps of Engineers for use of Jefferson Pike for boat day on June 6, 2026.

Everybody's favorite day of the year, boat day coming up. So, we're going to be asking the Army Corps to be able to use Jefferson Springs Park again for another boat day. So, hope to see you all out there. And you know what? We don't have any new people that have to wear the costume this year. I think everybody's been here a year. Chief Goss. Oh, that's right. Chief Goss. I forgot about that. Are you prepared to wear I think it's a squirrel costume. I purposely sat behind his rub. So, we'll get you signed up for that and make sure that it fits and is clean for the um event. If he declares that Cameron has to do it, is that okay?

No, I think it has to be him. I think it has to be him. So,

uh, okay. Item four is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute the first amendment lease agreement for the senior activity center. Jeff, do you want to have some discussion? And so obviously it kind of speaks there on the thing, but for the uh for the public, this allows for we doesn't really change the the the agreement that we already have for at least with the senior center, but in order for them to uh receive some outside funds. uh the 25 plus 25 year lease uh is changed to basically just a 50-year lease where it's uh the town does not cancel it which I don't think that we would have anyway but uh they needed that rewarded so they could uh apply for some grant funding some sub substantial amounts from Christy Houston

curious about the decimal place on it 1.006 006. I'll have to look it up here. Oh, the annual rent.

Where's that? What's it under? It was just the dollar. We got So, it just says the annual rent is basically $1 in under key terms,000. Yes. Not even a whole scent. It's under key terms on the probably a typo on that. Yeah. On the agenda item page. Oh, on the agenda item page. Yes. Just on the agenda item page. All right. Now, look. Sometimes when we transfer it over, it may not go. Anyway, let's just All right. So, can we just change that on the agenda item page for? We will make note and any questions on this? Yes. I still have a question, too.

Okay. It talks about um that they have to have uh started on it within 36 months and 36 months will be well it'll be about a year from right now. Yes. U of course that that is just is not it doesn't automatically click into okay now it's over. That's for the town to exercise. Uh and so that was put in place to begin with uh would have no bearing on the contribution. Yeah. Just just to show that they were going to have some type of progress.

And Councilman Cole, I'm glad you brought that up because that was a concern of the senior center folks. And um so I I assured them that we would not exercise that. And I think this is a good place to to verbalize that for for them as long as the the council concurs with that. seems as though they've made substantial progress, especially with uh their their fundraising and obviously with the actions that we're presenting to you tonight for our next council meeting. So, um that was a concern of theirs. Uh we have that that right to not exercise that and I would not intend to, of course, with the again with the council's consent.

If I was them, I'd ask you to extend it. that they they they have they did. Yeah. Yeah. They they asked us to to bring that up this evening. So, um I said that and and Jeff said we didn't need to enter anything into an agenda item or amend the lease or anything to that extent, but just to verbalize it here would be be sufficient. We send them written notification. I think that's fine. But if you want us to add it in there, we can. Where would you take it to? They they wanted four rather than three. Mhm. 48. No, they wanted they went from three years to four years. 48 months. Yes.

Why not? Why wouldn't we change it if we're not going to exercise it? Well, just the minimum that this council put in there. So, I few years ago. So, that's just why I'm just saying we can change it. I mean, if they're asking us and we're not really we don't really care, then why don't you change it? Give them that comfort. Yeah. So, do we need to change it from an amendment to adding that into it and then also changing it from three to four? Well, we'll just make an amendment and it'll be it'll be fixed. But, council me, everybody good with that?

Okay. We'll move on to item five, which is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute a contract extension with Benchmark LLC for locating services for gas, water, and sewer. Mike?

Yes, ma'am. Uh, so Benchmark currently does our locating. Um, we have two approved positions in the budget for locators that we've had posted since August of 25 that we're unable to fill at this time. We keep we've had 102 candidates and 94 have been rejected. most for lack of experience at all. Uh some we had applications from people that worked for current locating companies. They either didn't show up for the interview, declined. So, uh we're going to have to extend this with benchmark for another year. This will kind of eclipse the first year mark by a little bit, but they're I've already talked to them. They'll cover the locates just like they're doing. It is required by Tennessee law that we have uh locates. So we're going to have to extend this for another year.

So initially, help me remember, we initially were doing it oursel came and asked for us to look at a company because of the amount of time we were having to Yeah. And then we decided that was going to be more economical for us. And then we decided we were going to go back to

we were going to go back, but we hadn't been able to hire anybody quite frankly. I you know, we'll we'll look at trying to repost or or do something different on the post, but we're um Randall and Johnny with gas and water sewer maintenance are the main ones that are affected by that. They've called and talked to you know million people and can't we just can't nobody internally is applied. There's a lot of responsibility with locating and if you mislocate and stuff like that, you get turned over to the damage prevention board. It's it's not as as easy as it was in the old days and there's a lot of stuff in the ground. So, um

so the only the only comment I've got is just the difference in cost. $475,000 contract because we can't find somebody. Um obviously that's probably the cost of two or three people. Um, I guess if there's a liability that we're also getting by paying for this, that's a different conversation. But that I I don't know. My initial thought is if we've if we've had a 100 applicants and none of them met our requirements, maybe our requirements are too steep. Especially I mean or offer them 475,000 and see if you get more applicants, right? I mean,

so there's a couple of things. They do accept the liability. So if they mislocates, it's on them, not on the town. Uh the other thing is the applicants that we had had zero qualifications. It's not that the qualifications are steep. I mean, you got people calling from everywhere, hey, I'd like to be a locator. And they've never located in their life. It's it's a it's been a difficult situation on this one. So, you know, and the the 475 there is no increase to extend their contract. They did not put a cost escalator in there. So that's the same that we've paid this year. Yeah. I'm going to buy 475.

I got an uncle used to do it with a stick. So maybe get him to do it. We do want to take a look at position a little bit closer as we're going through our paying and compensation right now. Um just so we'll take a look at the position, see if we have it um graded correctly, if the salary range is correct, and if we need to make adjustments uh for that, we will. I think if we did even obviously we're still above uh what the contract amount would be, but um it it's just hard to find people for this. Do we know it's just a giant difference, right? We don't usually see that big of a difference. You know, one person or two people versus a$100,000 $150,000 contract, but

for them to charge us$475 for something we think one person can handle, that just seems like a big difference. It'd be two, but it it wouldn't I mean, there's an offset. We would definitely save money if we could hire people, you know, that were qualified and do it. There's no question. We might get 10 new applicants tomorrow after this conversation. Yeah. Um, are other communities doing it theirel or they Some do it theirelves, some have companies do it. Okay. It's kind of a mixed bag. Okay. Okay. We will put that on the agenda and move on to item six, which is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute an agreement with Arya Filtra system support relative to the 247 technical phone support for water treatment plant.

Uh yes, ma'am. This is the annual technical support for the membrane filtration system. Uh not only they do technical support, but they can actually uh remotely log into the system and troubleshoot and and change settings and stuff like that if we need to. So, uh, this is something we do every year with them. Questions on this? Okay. Then we will move on to item seven, which is approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute an agreement with Starpoint Imaging Services to digitize the official records of the town clerk, court clerk, and human resources department. Amber.

Yes, ma'am. Um, so I actually have two items. The next two, this one and the the next one on your agenda kind of correlate with each other. Um, I have been meeting with uh HR department and also the court clerk's office and uh I included some spreadsheets on your uh attachments. So, you can kind of see how paper heavy we are in some of our departments. Um, we really don't have a a process to keep those um safe in a disaster or any type of um if something was to happen to this building. So, uh since Mr. Suchi started, I kind of had a list of things that I wanted to do and and last year we were able to implement some of these softwares that are front-facing and and really good for the public and those have been great. But I think our next priority is to get some of these records digitized and there are statutes now that allow for us to operate with an official uh digital record for municipality. So that's what these items would be for. um the Starpoint imaging services. Uh thankful to Beth and Sier with the finance department. They were able to help us work with these two entities through co-ops and government contracts as well um to negotiate these services and StarPoint came on site and they looked at each of our uh department's records in person and kind of analyzed the amount of records that were in each department and came up with this quote. Um, everybody seemed to be pretty happy with the quote from a department head standpoint. I know that the court clerk uh had communicated to me that she had gotten one quote that was just for her department that was more than all three of these combined. So, um, we are pleased with uh the communications that we've had with Star Point so far and would ask that we be approved to go forward with this service for uh the HR

department for the town clerk records and the court clerk records. questions on this. The only question I got is when you know those are sensitive documents and and I'm sure they have ways of securing those documents and that we'll have the paper copies secured until the whole project is completed and we get the digital files on it. I'm just worrying about security and losing sure the paper documents until we get the final product.

Sure. And I I spoke to our representative at length on how this process would take place if this is approved. And essentially what they do is they'll schedule a time with each of us to come in at one time and they'll bring a team in and remove all of the records from site. But they box those records up. They barcode each one of those with the contents of what's in each box. And yes, they store them in a secure location. And we will have access to the records throughout the whole digitization process. Okay. If I need a record that they have in their possession, I can email them. I'll have a direct email as will the HR department and the court clerk and we can tell them we need this record. They'll be able to locate that record and they'll scan it to us within a half an hour. Sure.

Um they did communicate to me that he didn't want to make promises on a time frame, but he said give or take. He thought that he could get this done in about 90 days. They're going to start with the human resource or the human resources department first due to the sensitivity of those documents, personnel files. Um, and then they'll move on to court clerk and then my town clerk records. And I also spoke with uh Lisa Brewer, our court clerk, and she is advised that hers are archived records only that um have a lifetime retention on them. So they don't access them all the time. So that's why we wanted to start with HR first and then move to these other departments. Yes. Thank you. Where are the digital copies going to be stored?

Um so when they deliver those to us, they will deliver them on an external encrypted hard drive which um will be in our possession and then they're they will actually they're going to hold on to the digital copy as well because they actually integrate with the next item on your agenda which is the laserfish software. Okay. Um and that will be the document management and kind of the the enterprise content uh software that will eventually house the documents. So when we get um laserfish set up, if you guys approve us to go forward with that as well, they will actually send all of that data into laserfish for us to be housed. So we won't be storing any future documents, right? This carries forward not just for what we have on file now.

Yes, sir. So my hope is for my department and I can't speak for Mr. Craig or or um Court Clerk Brewer. But um my hope is to move towards just a digital a digital record from here. I've already started since I took this position kind of maintaining a digital record for myself and I have those ready to move into this system. Right now they're just in in our Google Drive. Um but once I get all of these records, they won't come back to me. um they'll hold on to them for up to six months just to allow us to kind of make sure that everything's there and then they will prop properly dispose of those records. So this will become our official record. I've also worked with um Carl and it to vet uh this software as well that I'm asking for you all to approve and and he's worked with them and other municipalities and says it's it's a very robust system. So

So for open record requests and things like that, it's just pretty much instant. Correct. Correct. You're not copying 300 pages of something to give to somebody in the public or whatever. So, correct. And another um perk to this as well is Laserfish integrates with my next request open records management software. So Dave, how much room do you think this is going to free up of not having to have documents stored? I know like at Lisa's place, they're everywhere. You know what I mean? she is busting at the sinks because of having to keep all of that.

Yeah, it's certainly going to free up space from a storage perspective and of course as we continue down the road, it's just going to get worse if we don't do this. Um I I don't think I could put a number on like square footage or anything like that, but we're talking storage rooms that now become available. Um and and I've seen I I've seen the the records over there at the at the courts and uh it's it's pretty astronomical. So, um, but you know, just from even the document storage side is is one thing, but the document management is really where you get your bang for the for your buck on this. Not only from the public records perspective, but the document retrieval internally and the security features that that come with the software as well. Um, so

Okay. Okay. Um, Amber already kind of referred to item eight, but it's approval of the terms of an authorization for the mayor to execute an agreement with MCCI for laser fish enterprise content management software for the town clerk, court clerk, and human resources department's records. Anything else you want to add?

Um, just the capabilities of this. This is not just an electronic filing cabinet. It it's going to have um document or uh text recognition. and it's got some AI capabilities in there that will, you know, pick up on on key terms and things like that. We'll be able to set retention schedules on documents. I know that some of the documents that I've inherited from predecessors, you know, they're just sitting in a filing cabinet and there's no real retention that's been assigned to those. So, if it's a contractual document, technically we're supposed to be able to dispose of that seven years from the time that the contract has been completed. Um, some of those I still have and that's stuff that I'm going to have to sort through, but the hope is moving forward that some of these records as we're putting them in that we can set retentions on those automatically.

Okay. The only thing I would like to add or just point out really for the council is there's reoccurring annual support. It's obviously um it's going to be based on some sort of consumption. We may not hit the next level for years, but as this continues and as that data grows, especially the court clerks who keeps forever, then there is the potential that this will cost more in future years. Now, not significantly more, but incrementally incremental more cost as we get bigger. And who goes in and deletes once they've been the amount of time that we've had to keep? So, the system if we set a retention schedule on it, the system will take care of that for the retention itself. How long are we required to keep files?

Everything is different. There there's a whole retention schedule that we've adopted through MTAS. Um that for every type of document, it's different. So like codes and planning could be seven years, but some of my records are are lifetime. So when they're uploaded onto that, is that put on there so it knows when it can be deleted? It will have to be set by the by the employee in that department or whoever is putting those records in. You usually classify the document and a specific classification has an associated retention policy. So if you say this is a contract, well that's a seven years past the the last date, right? So you don't really have to know, oh, I got to delete this on this date. It's more of this type of document has to stay this long. Yep.

Okay.

Okay. Um item nine is consideration of an ordinance amending the Smyrna Municipal Code Title 12 relative to the adoption of the 2024 uniform building codes. Hey Christie. Hi. Um, this ordinance will be for the official adoption of the 24 uniform building codes from the international code council. We've been working on this project for about nine months now in conjunction with u the building officials from Lever, Murphusboro, Ruffford County, and Eagleville. Um, also we have been working with our fire department, our utilities department and storm water. Um, we have consulted with the Tennessee Home Builders Association on these changes, um, and discussed several of their concerns. Um, I think that we're pretty good with them also. Um, and the code staff, my code staff is prepared. Um, we have the books, we've been studying up on it, and we're ready to implement if y'all approve this. Um, also on January 14th of this year, we had a um an event over at the event center with several developers and contractors and presented a um a little class to them about the significant changes. We got a lot of good feedback um positive feedback from them regarding this change. Uh we will be implementing this. Uh Murphy'sboro is also implementing this. They may be a little bit behind us. I think Rutherford County is on task to get this implemented. Um I have not talked with Joe specifically what his date is. We had kind of agreed that everyone would kind of shoot for April the 1st so that the whole um Ruffer County would be going up to the new codes at the same time.

So the the seven years starts when we adopt it. Is that correct? Where does it start when 2024? It start it starts when uh it's when the codes are adopted by the state which they are on for residential under 2018 codes which we're coming off of and we'll be going up to the 24. So as long as we're within seven years of what the state of Tennessee is, we're good. Okay.

I have u one question. The last time we I think adopted 2018, there was a lot of requirements of utilities. Is there as far as upgrading the water lines for fire flows? Is there anything major like that? There will be. Yeah. Uh we're um specifically we're adopting a 1 in water line from the house to service line. Yeah, we're going to start doing that. Uh we already have the pull down. There's several minor changes. I don't think there were any big concerns for them. And then the other water lines had to be a foot deep. No. Well, they are a foot deep.

Uh the sewer line um they are buried a foot deep, but the actual size of them has in the past been 3/4 of an inch. We're going up to one inch because there's so many issues with water lines and the pull down um access. We already implemented that. I couldn't remember. We did that. We did that um this last year I believe. Uh if there's mechanical equipment, it has to be accessible either through a walk out or pull down or permanent ladders.

Okay. And then like say someone's designing a project and then all of a sudden we adopt that 2024 code. How does that transition period work? It's based on when you obtain your permit. So, we are doing plan reviews now for projects that probably will not be getting their permits until after April the 1st when I hope to implement this. So, on those there will be maybe a little maneuvering or whatever. There's not a whole lot difference. Yeah, we'll definitely but I'm already looking at the plans commercially. Yeah. Already for the 24 codes. So,

she talks about that a little bit in the presentation on page one. If you go look, it talks about permits on this date by this time, etc. Other questions? Okay. Then we will look at um item 10, which is consideration of an ordinance relative to a budget amendment for fiscal year 2026. And this is a second reading. Hey, Sierra.

Good evening. These are the regular midyear budget amendments. The bulk of these amendments are funding the purchase of police vehicles and the completion of an FY25 fiber network expansion project. Just like the original budget, it's got to be balanced. All the budget amendments have to be balanced. So the offsetting increase the offsetting entries to these increases in expenses are decreases to expenses. Most are relating from um reduction in expected retirement matching and um increases to revenue from the extension of our banking service contract. questions for Sierra. We've gone over this a couple of times. Okay, seeing none, we'll put that on the agenda and move on to item 11, which is consideration of an ordinance amending the Smyrna Municipal Code, Title 5, Chapter 2, relative to the privilege and business taxes. This is a second reading.

Are you I thought Gary was going to do it. I thought he was looking like he was coming up to the mic. So,

uh, Ben worked with Treasury, uh, quite a lot on this. Um, and so, basically there wasn't anything in place to add a late fee for these these, uh, they call them minimal business licenses. And so, they've increased uh, almost three-fold. From 22 there 128 accounts, and 25 there are 600. So obviously there's some administrative costs when they start having to to locate folks, send out letters, those types of things. Hey, you need to come back in and pay your uh pay your fee. And so uh after due diligence and speaking with Secretary of State and the comprollers's office, uh this is what Ben came up with. This just allows us to apply a late fee.

And Ben gave us quite a long presentation on this to explain it. So, are there any questions for Jeff? Okay. Item 12 is consideration of an ordinance amending the 2025 2026 fiscal year fee schedule to add a late penalty for delinquent business privilege taxes. This is also a second reading. So, this is just amending the fee schedule to do what we're talking about in item 11. Are there any questions on that? What's the implementation date? See one on the ordinance. Usually we have it immediately after the ordinance. Okay,

Jeff, while you're looking that up, I'll continue on. Are you good with that? Sure. Okay. Item 13 is consideration of a resolution relative to a plan of services for property located on tax map 35, part of parcel 81.04. Hey Kevin, mayor and council, this is a excuse me, plan of services uh that puts into place the the services the town would be providing um for the annexation which is the next item on your agenda. Um the town would be providing all services to this property. The planning commission did hold a public hearing and reviewed this and did recommend approval and staff would also recommend approval.

Questions for the plan of services on this? Okay, we'll move on to item 14, which is consideration of an ordinance relative to the annexation and P zoning of property on tax map 35, part of parcel 81.04, requested by Sunny Patel containing 3.54 acres. The property is located at 8216 Florence Road and this is a second reading. Kevin,

this is the annexation request on Florence Road. It's directly across from Lisa Lane. Lage plan would support medium density residential in this area. surrounding zoning is C2 in town and RM in Rutherford County. Uh town, as I said earlier, would be providing all services. There is an existing single family house on this property. Uh this proposal would allow for 35,400 ft of conventional self storage and covered outdoor storage in nine buildings. Uh the existing house on excuse me on the property is to be converted to an office uh for the storage build business as well as some additional rental spaces within that structure. Uh four of the buildings about 13,700 ft² would be conventional self storage remaining five which is 21,700 ft² would be covered storage uh for boats and RVs things of that nature. The property is bordered on the west and north by the US Army Corps of Engineers property uh and a vacant privately owned wooded track to the east. As a part of the review, the planning commission did require that the developer preserve 20 ft of the existing vegetation along that eastern property line where feasible and at any location where it's not feasible or it doesn't exist, a type D buffer would be required to be constructed. Access to the development would be through the C2 zoned area which is also part of this overall parcel same parcel. U it's developed with a convenience store, gas station and other businesses there. The majority of this track does lie within the 500year flood plane but this has no additional regulatory requirements um for the property. The planning commission did review this did recommend approval. Nothing has changed since you looked at it on first reading. questions on the storage units on Florence.

I have and I guess this is Mark or Steve or I don't care who. It just looks like it's a tight throat going into that from the store and it's right outside of the main entrance to the to the store there, too. Could they not have put a another entrance way down on the map there all the way to the right? Isn't that where the detention pond is? I think some of that area is a detention. I think uh I know there is a detention in that top left corner as well. U

when you say the right you mean this end of this What are you talking about? The big green spot is over there. Yeah. kind of south of the where the existing house is that they're going to convert some of the parking they're showing to be added. Um I mean that's might be something we go look at. I think there is a a detention area or something in that area. There was something there. I can't recall exactly but we could certainly look I mean that would be have a second way in and out to that northern through that. just looks like that's going to be such a congested area and trying to get in there. Somebody get run over or

place for wrecks to happen. You know, storage storage buildings very often, you know, you're taking a big truck in there and so you got to take a big, you know, U-Haul truck, let's just say, and you got to take it into that spot and then make that little turn right there.

Yeah. And that's one thing when we looked at it, we did ask them and they did widen the area kind of in between each building because there was their initial plan. It was very even much tighter than this as you go into the site. The fire department couldn't maneuver it. Um so that we did they did widen those drive aisles to make to accommodate the fire department and they they were uh with the revision they were okay with the changes there. Um, also to accommodate a U-Haul truck or if you're going to park a large RV there, if you got to drive it in there as well, you know, things of that nature, too, because some of those are are covered storage. So, um, just my two cents worth.

Anything else? Okay. Okay. Item 15 is our housekeeping item for annexation, consideration of a resolution and memorandum of ordinance 26-7 relative to the annexation and P zoning of property on tax map 35, part of parcel 81.04. Item 16 is consideration of an ordinance relative to the amendment of the existing PRD of the property located on tax map 55, partial 31.00 owned by Charter Commercial LLC containing 25 acres. This request is from M2 Group on behalf of the property owners and is located at the end of Antique Avenue and this is a second reading. Kevin,

yeah, this is a request to amend the PRD known as Derby Run. Uh, this does the portion of the property does about Antique Avenue. It's an existing county road. The land use plan would support medium density single family residential in this area. Uh, surrounding zoning is the Amber and Cedar Hills PRD in town and RM and Rutherford County. The existing PRD for Derby Run was approved in August 2019 for up to 204 single family homes on 68.66 acres. It was amended in July 2020 to reduce the number of loss to 202 and amended the road layout. Uh the original PRD did require the houses to be at least 1,600 square feet to be constructed of brickstone and fiber cement siding. Uh the amended PRD um as approved does provide 29.35 acres of total open space with 4.75 acres of improved open space. Um this requested amendment would add four houses so it would be a total of 206. Um these would be accessed via an extension of Antique Avenue which is an existing county road. The lots would range in size from 610 of an acre to 1.85 acres. Total open space remaining would be 21.2 acres with still the remaining the same 4.75 acres of improved space. Uh this is in excess of the requirement of 10.3 acres of open space and 3.09 acres of improved space. A 20ft buffer is shown for the property boundaries which above the county zoning which is consistent with the new PRD requirements. Um the plan commission did review this to recommend approval and uh we did I did reach out to the county and they are well aware of this. The developer and their engineer has contacted them. They're coordinating the the extension of that road and they're aware of it. So

question Jerome I think that was your question was that about the road with the county right and also questions um setting a precedent for the future of PRDS that's been approved and then they come back to be amended but they were originally approved on a certain amount of density of course these are large lots like Kevin said from 6 to 1.85 85. I don't have an issue with that. I just don't, you know, want to set a precedence. I don't disagree with that. I I agree with you. I mean, I think the biggest thing on this one is when we originally approved it, we were uh based on a certain amount of open space and obviously now they're taking some of that open space away. They still meet the requirements.

They're taking that bit over eight acres. We were we initially approved it expecting a larger number. So, we just have to keep an eye on that, too. Yeah. Okay. Other questions? Okay. We will put that on the agenda and move on to item 17, which is consideration of an ordinance amending the text of the Smarter Municipal Zoning Ordinance, Article 4, Section 4.010.4A, article 5, section 5.052.2 and 5.052.7 and adding article 7, section 7.061.21 21 regarding a climate controlled storage facility requirements in the C2 and C5 districts. And this is a second reading. Kevin,

yeah, this is something that the planning commission and council talked about a couple of different times at our our joint meetings. Um, and this would add climate control storage as a use allowed via special exception review by the board of zoning appeals in the C2 and C5 districts. Um, and so it would just basically amend there's several different sections of the ordinance to that are being amended here, but essentially it's just to add that it is a BZA review in those two districts and then adding u in article 7 those are the conditions uh that would they would have to meet as a part of that review by the board of zoning appeals. And then we did uh the article four change that is just to add a parking requirement for this type of development which we didn't have one currently. So the plan commission excuse me the plan commission did review this and did recommend approval and staff would also recommend approval. Again nothing's changed on it since you looked at it on first reading.

Questions on this one? Okay. Then we'll move on to item 18 which is consideration of an ordinance amending the text of the Smrna Municipal Zoning Ordinance Article 2 section 2.020 regarding solid waste services and this is a second reading Kevin. Yeah,

this is something that we brought forward um as staff um because this is something that currently the zoting ordinance is doesn't address in any way. Um solid waste services such as storage of rolloff dumpsters or a trash hauling business are not really addressed. And so this would u we had an issue uh business was uh trying to open up on a C2 zone lot had no approvals of any kind or anything. and they just were trying to open up and then um didn't really believe that was an appropriate place for this type of business, but there really wasn't anything in our ordinance to really um hang our hat on to prevent it and also just didn't provide any clarity to to that owner or any other future developer to what they wanted or something like this could be. And so uh this these amendments would define solid waste services place them in the activity type of warehousing good transport and storage which would have the effect of allowing this use in I1 I2 I3 and A1. Uh it does need to be pointed out that this is only the storage you know of trucks containers and equipment used in the solid waste industry would not be for landfill or anything like that. Um the plan commission did review this did recommend approval. Uh we we did reach out to the airport authority, talked with Evan Lester. Um he felt he he wasn't worried about it. He said this is something we own all the property that are in that is in that zone anyway. So if if if we're allowed in that zone, it would mean we were signing a lease with someone to do that. And so he he did not have any concerns after I talked with him about it. So

we meaning the airport authority, not we meaning the town of Smyrna. That's correct. Yes. Yes. Yes. Other questions? Okay, then we will put that on the agenda. And item 19 is consideration of an ordinance amending the text of the Smyrna municipal zoning ordinance article 4 section 4.030F regarding temporary use regulations for outdoor sales of food or retail merchandise. And this is a second reading.

Yeah, this is another item that comes as a fruit of the joint meetings with the planning commission and council. Um these are just to modify some of the regulations placed on transient vendors. Um there's also a disconnect between the zoning ordinance and municipal code. So that would be rectified with this so that those are consistent. Um the amendment would create a better better definition of merchandise to meet any consumer item that is presented to be new or used and also removes a stipulation that these vendors shall be reviewed by the BCA. Uh and better aligning the zoning ordinance with the municipal code. text has been added to the zoning ordinance clarifying any vendor shall obtain a transient vendor permit prior to conducting sales. A separate permit will be required to be obtained by the property owner from which sales are to be conducted by a transient vendor and the owners or on-site employee may be cited for failure to comply with any zoning ordinance or municipal code requirements. Uh this amendment would not affect mobile food vendors. These would have a separate regulations already and and nonprofit entities uh events conducted on town owned property and private events uh with no um sales to the general public um also are exempt from those requirements. Uh the planning commission did review this did recommend approval and again nothing has changed since we looked at it on first. We have quite a bit of discussion in our joint meeting and then also at our um when this came through on first reading. Are there any additional questions or comments?

Okay. Then we will put that on the agenda and move on to item 19 which is consideration of an ordinance amending the text of the Smart Municipal Zoning Ordinance Article 2 section 2.020 and adding article 4 section 4.030.H regarding yard sales. And this is a second reading. Kevin.

Yeah, this is something that uh again kind of part of the joint meetings that we held. Currently, the ordinance zoning ordinance doesn't have a definition of a yard sale, no provisions for for conducting those. And so, uh we brought this forward to kind of bring some clarity to the ordinance and for everyone. Um these amendments would create a definition of what a yard sale would be. Anything garage sales, tag sales, whatever you would call it, or any, you know, temporary sale of personal property. Um reselling products is a prohibited activity. Uh article 4 section 4.030H would create specific provisions applicable to yard sales. These provisions restrict yard sales to a maximum of four events per address per year. Uh cannot exceed three consecutive days or two consecutive weekends and no permits would be required. So we're not asking you to get a permit for a yard sale. just that you would be no more than four times a year and no more than three days at a time or two weekends at a time. Um the planning commission did review this did recommend approval. Again, nothing has changed on this since we looked at it on first reading. Um been a lot of discussion about this since this we all passed this on first reading. So I did want to bring forward kind of what some of the surrounding communities around us do. Uh we looked at Murphy'sboro, Nolanville, Franklin, and Rutherford County. Um, all of them also restrict yard sales to four times per year. Uh, some of them uh do require a permit um like a $5 permit or whatever. Uh, we're not saying that at all. We're not recommending that to you. Um, Rutherford County further restricts it to no more than three days in any 90-day period. So, there's even more than not just the four times per year. So, um, so this is not anything that's unusual for our community. Um, and so

this is really just to allow again people to conduct yard sales and what most people would normally do. Um, we've had several that are not conducting yard sales are really um out of their home conducting retail businesses. So, um, in calling a yard sale and so that's this is to address those few situations. We have multiple complaints from some of those neighbors to some of those homes there where these are being conducted. So, that's why we brought it forward to the to the joint meeting and then brought it to you at your first reading last month. So, again, nothing's changed on this since first reading.

Questions for Kevin on this? Kevin, right here in the middle of the summary, it says reselling products is a prohibited activity. Yeah. And that's basically where where we've had several times we've had people that are they're they're buying products, Amazon pallets or whatever, and just reselling. They're not really selling their personal property. They're selling you know, property they buy got at a good deal somewhere and reselling it and it's, you know, laundry detergent or toothpaste or things of that nature, not their kids clothes that they've outgrown, you know, that kind of thing.

That' be Todd's job to police that. Sure. Okay, other questions. Okay, we are now to our public comment period. And the town's public comment period should be reserved for those citizens that have signed up to address the town council or a border committee at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting pursuant to the town's public comment policy. Speakers are limited to three minutes and additional comments may be submitted in writing. Amber, I did not see any public comment for tonight. Is that correct? I forgot to give you your list. I'm just getting there.

I was going to say I didn't see any. Okay. Um Cameron, anything? Chief, anything? Charles, Charles, last call. Um, mayor and council, just want to thank you for the opportunity for the last six years to work on road projects within my community and our community. So, really appreciate that opportunity and uh look forward to what comes up next. Chris has got quite a list for me ready to go. Well, Charles will be retiring as of tomorrow. Yes.

And so, um, I just want to say thank you. You have gotten a lot done in the last six years, and we appreciate everything that you've done, and, um, we're going to miss you. All right. Well, thank you. I appreciate everything we've done. Thank you. You're my neighbor, I know. So, I expect you to keep the neighborhood roads and everything in good shape after we retire. Hey, I was out there on Sunday cleaning the storm drain so the roads could drain better. So, I was out there. thing. I appreciate the job that you've done for the town. You've always stood there in good times and bad times when the heat is on you. You've always just high character guy and I just appreciate the job that you've done.

Oh, thank you. I appreciate all the support that y'all given me to focus on road projects and give me the means to get them done. Right. Okay. Carl, Jeffrey, Mike, Casey, Tom, Kevin, Christie, Mike, Heather, Chief,

look at all those people behind you and see what they say. just want to stab you just want to maybe mention a delivery date that for our armor. Yes. So hopefully we will have the armor. That's right. That's right.

So we received an email last night that hopefully the armored vehicle will be shipped out this Friday or possibly Monday due to the weather delays. But hopefully by the middle of next week we will have that. And I just want to say thank you all for making this happen for the police department. It's something I know that Captain Gibson and others had been asking for for a long time and I appreciate you guys seeing it through along with Dave making this happen and allowing us to get this piece of equipment that I think is very vital and important not only for the department but for the citizens of this town. So I I appreciate that. Great. Thanks. Thank you,

Amber. Dave, just a few slides tonight. Oh, Charles King is retiring. So, Charles, we stole your thunder. Sorry. He did, but I guess in this situation, he's allowed to. But let me just say, uh, Charles, you know, for as long as I've been here, isn't that long, uh, you have conducted yourself with professionalism at all times, and you've always looked out for the best interest of Samra. And for that, I thank you. I thank you for the things that you have uh taught me, brought me up to speed on, and I wish you the best in your retirement.

Thank you. Uh we had a fun couple of days uh here in Middle Tennessee and um I want to take a few minutes to update everyone on how the town responded during the recent winter storm because it really was a strong example of preparation, teamwork, execution, and dedication across our entire organization. Our public works crews were out around the clock through the storm. They uh came into the shop at about 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. They deployed seven plows and salt trucks for graders. Over the past four days, they treated more than 2,600 miles of roadway and applied over 350 tons of salt to help keep these roads as safe as possible for our residents. Beyond the roads, town crews responded quickly to storm related hazards. They removed over a 100 fallen trees and limbs and addressed 20 down or impacted utility lines, helping prevent additional disruptions and keeping the community safe. Our emergency operations center stayed fully engaged during this event, handling 141 emergency calls and nearly 400 total dispatch calls, including responses from police, fire, and utilities. Coordination between SimRNA and Ruford County EMA ensured residents received timely assistance when conditions were at their worst. Clear communication was always a priority during this time. Our public information officer, Heather Kent, provided more than 30 updates across social media platforms and to our website, sharing real-time information, safety reminders, and service updates before, during, and after the storm to help residents stay informed. Overall,

this response reflects the town of Smra's commitment to preparedness, collaboration, and taking care of our community. I'm very very proud of our employees and grateful to our community partners who assisted during this event. Additionally, I want to thank TWWR for providing manpower to address this winter storm. Uh we got a call and had uh they offered their their assistance. So, we had uh six TWWR personnel uh from East, Middle, and West Tennessee help us out with the cleanup. Just an update on uh what we're doing uh at this time. Uh we continue to uh clear debris from our right of way. All the roadways at this point should be clear, but we do have a lot of pickup to do. Uh last time I checked, we had about probably 30 of locations out of 56 that had been cleared. We started on the west side of our community um where we were most impacted and now we'll be able to work our way into town. Um, after the recent winter storm and using over 300 tons of salt, uh, we're beginning to see these potholes develop across the town. Our streets department has already started repairing those and will continue to address these issues as they arrive. Our first priority really was making sure that the roadways were safe and we're clearing the debris from them. Residents are encouraged to report potholes and you can find more information by visiting the town's website on our status. Brush collection uh residential brush collection is temporary suspended while we use these resources to focus on clearing the debris from our roadways and as residents clean up we ask that brush be placed according to our town guidelines which are also available on our website uh so services can resume safely and

efficiently. I really want to just stop reading this and just say that um over this weekend and from these pictures that you can see I got to tell you that our staff was completely uh engaged in the whole time. Um, I think there were times where we had to tell them to stop because they would have just kept going and going. And, uh, from our streets crews to our traffic, uh, folks and PD, utilities, parks, um, did and continue to do just a tremendous job. What I'm most proud of is the collaborative nature in which we all worked. And um it was all hands on deck and everybody helped each other and I just want to sincerely thank the staff for the great work that they have done. Um really I know that your coordination and more importantly uh the boots on the ground really are the are the champions of this event and uh I want to thank you all for that. Appreciate it.

Think we all echo that as well. I mean you all Dave I know you and I had a call on the Sunday before the week before the storm and your total focus was coordination of all departments. When you flip back can you flip back one screen for me? Sorry that's you think about some cities or towns that have hundreds of employees that they're able to put out. This is what took care of us. And you think about all of those days, 24 hours a day that they've been out working. So, um, Dave, you were the leader of this and making sure that it was coordinated. And I can't say enough to you, but to all the department heads, to those that were in the field, thank you seems so little, but we were able to stay home. most of us in the town of Smyrna were able to keep on our electricity and our heat and you all were out making sure we stayed safe. So, um Dave, thank you to you to admin and to everybody who who pitched in. We appreciate that. Um there are still those that are out there struggling in other uh adjoining counties. Um, I think I heard Leverne still has 600 or 800 without electricity still. So, um, remember those they're still out there that are having a hard time right now. So, um, please make sure you let your staff know how much we appreciate what they've done.

You know, Mayor, the, uh, we take so much for granted, don't we? Yeah. I mean, we go through a storm like this and then you realize every day I've got power in my home or every day I've got food in the cabinet and then you have a storm like this and sometimes it makes you realize what could be what could happen in a case like this. And so that that team of people, you've all acknowledged them and I want to do the same thing while we're talking about it. Uh Dave, Heather, you guys both did a great job getting the news out there. Dave, you kept us informed probably uh more than anybody has ever kept us probably in the past informed about an an incident like this. We were always a breast of what was going on out there. I appreciate that. And all the staff and all the people uh that part of this, I know we all had a big meeting on Friday in preparation for this. And uh Middle Tennessee Electric is done a wonderful job. Chris Jones and his staff over there did a wonderful job as well. Uh, I know they're still they're still dealing with power outages, but I didn't hear about Smyrna Heaven any more than maybe 10. So, uh, if that happened, I don't know the exact numbers, but that's kind of what I'd heard early on. Maybe that grew. But, um, these guys right here, there's a couple negative Nellies always, you know, come fix, come get my road clear or whatever it is, but these guys right here work their tails off. And like you said, Dave, they didn't want to stop. They wanted to keep on going. They were worried about those people, even the ones that were negative about their roads being iced. But uh we had a major storm here and not it's like none other for a long, long time. And to have this crew do the job that they did is phenomenal. So thank you all. Thank you all. Every department that did your job, we appreciate it. Okay, Jeffrey,

Council Cole, your question on the uh late fee. It's effective immediately, so if it passes be March 10th. Thank you, sir. Jerome.

Uh, yes, Mayor. I have a public service announcement. Uh, the My Smart app is your direct connection to the town. You can report issues anytime, track updates, and see your feedback in action. go to town of smrna.org to sign up for the app and this is app where you can notify of any issues around town and it'll go directly to the department heads to get addressed. But just wanted to echo um what mayor and Mark said about the effort that the town staff and Dave what you did and coordination of that effort um the essential workers and the non-essential workers uh it's uh you know when you sit at home in your warm house and maybe your pajamas and these guys are out you know in the cold and making sure the roads are clear and salt and everything is uh I just I just want to say I appreciate it and um proud to live here. when you look just one county each way how they were impacted or towns u we are very fortunate to have the folks we do and the coordination of that effort and third item Charles congratulations enjoyed working with you there is life after retired engineering okay

all right it's called council yeah let's see how counsel uh but we need to talk before you uh think about that. Okay, Raquel.

Well, Charles, congratulations on your retirement. Thank you for how you have um moved the town forward with um all the developments and how you represented the town over the six years you've been here. Thank you for that. Um I will also echo everybody's sentiments with regards to the uh weather event that we had. Um, it was a very coordinated effort by all of the departments and I truly also appreciate all the work that was put into it. Thank you Dave starting at the top and all the way down um for all of the people that um took care of the town of Smyrna during this event. I actually had someone um stop me, a a lady who had she's been here a couple of years, but she was from Indiana and she wanted me to give a kudos to the town of Smyrna um the admin and all the departments. She said that she uh didn't expect Smyrna to have taken care of the event the way that it was because we don't get as much snow or ice as uh what she had been used to. And so she was pleasantly surprised and pleased with how everything was handled and the coordinated effort that was put forth and she asked that cord uh kudos be um acknowledged to you all. So thank you all and I do have a slide. So the town of Smyrna is seeking residents interested in serving on various boards and committees. These volunteer positions play a vital role in shaping policies, programs, and the future of our community. So, if you are passionate about making a difference, we encourage you to apply at www.townofserna.org. And some of the boards and committees that we will be needing uh volunteers for are Sister City, Smyrna Housing

Authority, Planning Commission, Historic Zoning, the BZA, Beer Board, Project Assistance, Package Liquor Board, Storm Water Advisory, Industrial Development Board, and Adjustment and Appeals Board. So, if any of those interest you, please go sign up and apply. Thank you. HG.

Okay. Once again, great pats on the back to the all the town staff who did a terrific job on it. But, um, you know, winter's young and y'all set the bar very high. So, we have expectations now. Um, I have a slide. Love where you live. Let's keep help keep Sparta litter free for 2026. You know, I like to throw in up there in the right hand corner is the recycle emblem. So, uh you know, we need to keep as little trash into the um landfill as we can and um also shop local, keep our taxes low, and also be kind. Thank you all for listening and thank you for watching.

Jerry,

yeah, I've got a slide as well. The town of Smart is getting ready to do a road show and basically it is for the uh the mayor, town council administration are excited to take town updates on the road and meet the residents right in their neighborhoods. This makes it easier for the community to stay informed, ask questions, and be a part of the conversation. And each road show is going to include a brief town overview, public safety updates, infrastructure and transportation projects, growth and development, parks and recreation, and ways the residents can stay engaged, followed by a open question and answer. The goal is simply open transparent communications that builds trust, strengthens connections, and creates meaningful dialogue between town leadership and community. So, if you can, please come out and uh and join us. Uh the first one's going to be on February the 12th at Steuart's Creek Middle School. The next one will be May 14th. It has not been determined where that one's going to be yet, but uh if you want to be able to to sit and talk with us and ask questions and uh kind of get an update of what's going on um at uh kind of at your pace and your questions, uh just join us. Uh this is something new for us. I think we're looking forward to it and just being able to to sit down and and meet with with those that want to want to uh be a part of it. So, please come out. Um, as everybody else has has already said, uh I as well echo what was done over the past weekend or so. I have not ever seen a a uh coordinated effort uh like uh like I saw this past uh this past weekend. And uh I just I know they showed pictures of all of those that were out there doing that. I know a lot of you in here was uh spent a lot of time and effort and uh away from uh your home to make it uh make it happen. Uh

parks department helping other departments and u uh the uh road group and all just all of you just uh fire, police. Um I uh somebody sent me a text and said uh uh and they had heard it I guess on the scanner and they sent it I think it was Andy Miller calling in to somebody saying hey we got a vehicle here that's got having a little bit of problems broken down in front of Jerry Schwar's house. I didn't even know it was out there and when I went looked it was gone. So your vehicle

it wasn't uh mine were in the garage where they needed to be and where I needed to be. Uh Dave I had to go back and look. I thought when uh the way this was handled, uh I went back and looked. I thought, did we hire Dave from up north or or down south? And uh uh looked like you knew what you were doing with uh with some stuff that uh and weather that you're not used to uh being a part of. So uh I know you were kind of heading this thing up and and I appreciate what you did and and I know you had a lot of help. So but I do I appreciate it. Uh Charles buddy, thank you for what you've done. Uh it's been uh it's been fun working with you. I know we'll see you in the neighborhood. Uh and uh just uh enjoy retirement and again, thanks for what you've done. Okay,

that's all I got. Mayor Steve,

so the bad thing about going fifth or sixth is you say everything everybody else already said, right? But uh Charles, thank you. Appreciate it. I I am envious that you're getting to retire. I would like to be doing the same. Uh so congratulations. Enjoy. Enjoy your freedom. That's what I call it, freedom. So, uh, enjoy. Um, Dave, you know, I called you a couple times during the event, sent you some texts. I think I've kind of already told you what I thought about how how well you've handled things and how well it went. But, um, I agree with what Mark and Jerry said specifically. Um, I've none of our previous events have been as well coordinated and as well as communicated as this one was. Um there was never any question in my mind about what we were doing or what our employees were working on and how we were responding. You kept us very well and very well up to date and of course coordinated those efforts. I drive to Franklin for work uh went three days this week and it's easy to or not so easy to compare one town to another and say you know Smyrna did better than Murphy'sboro whatever. But what I can tell you is the second you cross the county line on Rock Springs Road and Rocky Fork, it's a marketked difference. Uh there were still roads this afternoon down to one lane with trees laying across them uh just over the county line in Williamson County. And so that you know that's you can't argue they got more ice that just 100 feet away, right? So, uh, it shows the work that we did and the work that you guys did to keep the roads cleared and opened and, uh, minimize the impact and I I really appreciate it. Um, I think our, uh, citizens noticed that there wasn't a lot of negative comments. That's usually how we gauge success, right? We don't get the good ones, we only don't get the bad ones. So, there wasn't a lot of negative comments, so that must have made everybody's happy. Um, so, thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Uh I do have a slide uh the Jeff Cous

memorial run this year. Um this one's a little special. This one is uh going to be on September 11th, 2026, which is the 25th anniversary of 911. Um we're going to uh do it on where am I at? 7th annual Top Gun Run, Captain Captain Cous USMC Memorial, September 11th at Lee Victory Park. All proceeds support the continued care of the memorial. Um, that's one thing that I think we're all proud of is that that memorial has never cost any taxpayer dollars from the very beginning. Um, the the design, the build, um, and the maintenance has all been funded and cared for by uh, sponsors, donations, and mostly this run. So, um, we obviously want you to continue to help support that memorial and help keep that going. Uh, if you want more information, you can register and learn more about it at townoferna.org.

And I will tell you, we have some really, really good stuff planned this year. I know I said that last year, but I'm telling you, this is the current logo, right? The new one. Yes. Yep. And I know last year, every year we kind of hit right at that limit of how many are we going to expect this year? Do we have a number that we're We sold out last year. Actually went over our target. We ended up registering 821 last year I believe and I think we said we were going to go to what 750. So, we have we have a hard time saying no when people want to get involved. But,

yeah, I just know that there's some things that we are limited like it's obviously a timed and chipped event and there's only so many of those that we can, you know, we can't really turn that up on a dime, right? It takes some coordination. So, there are some limits and so that's why it's always best to go sign up early and then you won't have to worry about it. And when the mayor says more than one reallyies, it's going to be special. Yeah. It's something that we did not ever think we would be able to make happen. So, she says really really it's a really That's right. That's right.

And you know, a lot of the contributors to this are companies and developers and private funders and all it. It's a spectrum of people who have bought into the community and given a lot of money. Initially, I can remember one visit that the mayor and I actually went to with an ask. You remember that? And when we got done, we thought the number would be less than it turned out to be. That's how invested these people were in making this happen. They were all bought into the the idea that we had a tragedy, one of our Blue Angel family members, and um they stepped up. I think we we've seen that many times, you know, um everybody from, you know, the the companies you would expect like Old South and Nissan and the large companies all the way down to the smallest mom and pop companies that maybe don't generally contribute a lot of money to the community like that that wrote checks that, you know, kind of came out of their personal money. You know, it wasn't just a deduction, it was an actual investment. And we saw that a lot.

It's funny you say that. the one that I remember the most.

The big ask was important, don't get me wrong, but um Amber and um Tiffany and I were sitting under the tent on Front Street and a little boy rode up on his bicycle and he was so excited to pull that change out of his pocket to put it into the bucket to help be part of bringing the plane. And he said, "Is this going to help get the plane?" And we were like, "Yeah, that'll help get the plane." And so it was so important to him as well. And and I still think to this day, you can go up there any time of day, any day of the week, and there is somebody up there in awe of that memorial and proud of what their community has done. So it's something that um I think we'll continue to be proud of long after we're no longer serving, but um that is still part of our community.

So So I would say get signed up. You don't want Amber. They don't want to miss it, do they? They do not want to miss it. Yes, we did talk about the new logo for the Top Gun Night Run, but what have I haven't mentioned tonight is the logo that we have in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, which is logo that we developed for Tennessee 250. And so, uh, I shared that with you all. Uh, I think it looks fantastic and, uh, we'll be seeing a lot more of that. uh here shortly we'll we'll present to you what we're looking at doing in terms of activities and those sorts of things to uh support this tremendous once in a lifetime event. Um but did want to point out the new logo that we've developed for this. That's great.

Marky Mark. Yeah, I got a slide I think that'll pop up. So last week Dr. Horton and Potts View Development had their ribbon cutting. I was not there but I can see that the mayor is tucked in on the far left side there. So I know you attended. But I don't know if any others were there or not. I couldn't tell. Steve did. And they did. So there you go. They had a good attendance on behalf of the town.

Also, uh, Viva Lafresa Bakery, that's the old doughnut palace down there on Lowry Street. Uh, Dave and Heather and I were there for that one. And, uh, man, there's such wonderfully nice people in there. And, uh, they've been there for a little while. This is sort of their relaunch. Um, their names were Josh and Jasmine. They had some food there for us to try. It was delicious and they are so excited and glad to be part of the Smyrna community. Uh on another note, this past week, I want to say a thank you to uh the planning office, uh Kevin and Mitch and to Christy over in codes. I had somebody with a lot of questions about a property and I pointed them in their direction and they were very prompt and got back to them and uh they were very appreciative. So, I want to thank you guys and your your offices for taking care of that for them. Uh, I want to say condolences to a good friend of mine, Leon Hawk. Leon was a mainstay real estate agent in and around this area for gosh, I've been almost 40 years and he was in it longer than me. So, Leon was just a fun guy. Always had wit and charm and a big smile, a hug, whatever you called it. But, uh, we're going to miss Leon. He was with Action Homes for teenth amount of years over there with Pat Lee and Leon was a good guy. So to his family, I send my condolences to them. Last thing I'm celebrating Sunday, uh Connie and I are going to be going to uh Spring Hill and we're going to be celebrating my grandson's baptism and we're excited about that. That's all I have there.

Great. Um couple of slides. First of all, thank you to Leadership Middle Tennessee for asking me to come out and share about the town of Smyrna and welcome Leadership Middle Tennessee um to Smyrna. And we had great conversation. Um for some reason, Mayor McFarland always wants to make fun of that we're a town and not a city. And so he spoke the day before. So he made sure they asked why we are called a town and not a city. And um so I made sure to to inform them of that. Um second is Dave and I were honored to uh attend the Japanese society's new year celebration. Um got to speak there and the consulant general was also there. Um we heard there was a gentleman down there that played music and he did an amazing job. Dave, didn't you think?

He did. I thought so too. Um, so if you ever get the chance to come out, they have it every year. It is a huge celebration. I encourage you to do that. Would like to take this opportunity to thank our state delegation. We had worked with them in January talking about things that we were working on um that that we were wanting to see done during this legislative year and they were informing us of things. And so we started talking about T dot projects and they worked to get us a meeting with the governor. We had that meeting last th went Wednesday. Wednesday. Thank you. Um and had a really good conversation with the governor about projects that we want to see moved forward. So we thank Governor Lee for taking the time to meet with us. Last but not least, um, one of the things that we implemented three years ago was our scholarship program. This was something we wanted to see done from the Top Gun Night Run and we had to wait until um we were we were financially ready to do that. And so, not only do you get to have a good time in the upkeep of the memorial, but it's also contributing to a scholarship. and we give three $2,000 scholarships and that is now open. It is for any student that attends um a Smyrna school or if you live inside the city limits and you homeschool or you live inside the city limits and might attend central or somewhere else, you are eligible. Um the deadline is March 13th and that is a hard deadline and we ask that the application be submitted in total. So, um, that's something that we're always excited about. Um, myself, uh, Kelly

Goose Tree that used to be the principal at Browns Chapel, Gary Winton from Mllo, um, Landy from the Blue Angels, and, um, Janet Cous are the ones who look at the scholarships and choose um, which students are selected. So, get your scholarships in. I saw another graphic on that particular one and it said, "Do you know a senior, a Smarta senior who might be doing this?" And I the first thing that came to my mind is maybe Jerome might want to apply for that scholarship. That's the first one today. Jerome, I couldn't help it.

Just Just so we clarify the record, you're older than me. Amazing, Jerry. Yeah, Jerry, don't get in this conversation. Um so um anything else? Okay, I guess if there is nothing else then we are ajourned. One and a half hours now.