2026-09-01 - City Council

04:19Good afternoon everyone. I'll call to

04:20order the Tuesday, September 1st meeting

04:23of the Chattanooga City Council and

04:25recognize Councilwoman Null to lead us

04:27in our pledge of allegiance and

04:28invocation.

04:33>> Algiance to the flag of the United

04:36States of America and to the republic

04:38for which it stands. One nation under

04:42God, indivisible, with liberty and

04:45justice for all.

04:51If everyone would bow your heads.

04:54Heavenly Father, thank you for this day.

04:58Thank you for the responsibility to

05:00serve our community.

05:03Grant us wisdom to make sound decisions

05:07because Lord, you know,

05:10we have not here lately made those sound

05:14decisions.

05:16Let everyone keep in the forefront of

05:17their minds that we should progress

05:22instead of regress. That our ancestors

05:26lost their lives for us to have the

05:29right to vote. May we remember that

05:31every vote we cast has an impact on

05:35families, neighborhoods, businesses,

05:38and the future of the city.

05:41Bless our city, our residents, our first

05:44responders, Mayor Kelly and

05:47administration, and all those who work

05:50each day to make our community stronger.

05:53These words we ask in your name. Amen.

05:56>> Amen.

05:59>> Thank you, council.

06:01>> Um, welcome again, everyone, um, to our

06:03council meeting today. Um, at the

06:06beginning of the meeting, um, we like to

06:08give a kind of an overview of how our

06:09meeting operates. you'll know what to

06:11expect. Um we operate in two parts. The

06:14first part of our meeting is what's

06:16called our agenda session. Um where

06:18council will um consider the minutes

06:21from our last meeting first and

06:23foremost. Um and then we will look at

06:25the agenda for items to be voted on

06:28tonight and then items on our uh well

06:33normally we would look at our items for

06:35next week's agenda. We're not meeting

06:36next week um due to the Labor Day

06:39holiday. Um and so then we will look at

06:42items that will be on our agenda 3 weeks

06:45or more into the future. Um and that

06:48will all be a discussion amongst council

06:50to answer any questions or comments that

06:53any council uh members might have about

06:56particular items. Um we will then have a

07:00report from our library which we're

07:03looking forward to from from Will our

07:05library director. Um and then we'll have

07:08a meeting of our planning and zoning and

07:10housing committee led by Councilwoman

07:13Burrs.

07:14U after that we typically take a recess

07:17uh in which we um will have a attorney

07:20client meeting and we do need to meet

07:22with our attorney um during that recess

07:25this evening. So when the time comes for

07:27that, I'll announce the time that will

07:28be coming back after the recess and so

07:31that when we reconvene after the

07:33recesses and when we vote on all of the

07:35items on our agenda for this evening. Um

07:39and at the end of all of that, there is

07:40a time for members of the public who are

07:42here who would like to address council

07:44on any topic. Um and at that time we

07:47would welcome um anyone who's here for

07:50that purpose down to the podium down

07:52front and our attorney will read some

07:53rules at that time that govern our

07:56public comment period.

07:58Um so with that um council could I get a

08:01motion on the minutes from

08:02[clears throat] our last meeting?

08:04Second.

08:04>> All right. We do have a motion properly

08:06seconded and the minutes from our

08:08previous meeting will uh stand as

08:10published. Council, [snorts] if you

08:13would look with me at the agenda

08:16for tonight's meeting,

08:19starting with um well, we just have one

08:22ordinance. Um are there any questions on

08:25that ordinance on final reading on

08:28tonight's agenda?

08:32Okay. [snorts]

08:33[clears throat] Don't see any lights for

08:35that. Um we do not have any ordinance on

08:37first reading tonight, but we do have

08:39several resolutions.

08:41Um,

08:43and I do see some lights for questions

08:46on resolutions. We'll start with

08:47Councilman Clark.

08:48>> Uh, thank you, Chairman Davis. My

08:50question is for resolution on economic

08:52development from the Appalachian Region

08:55Commission, the 50% match, which is half

08:59a million dollars. Does that amount come

09:02from the Westside Evolve? Like what cost

09:04center where where's that money coming

09:06from?

09:07>> Hi, Richard Beand economic development.

09:10The matching uh funds are coming out of

09:12the um earmark that was designated for

09:14the James A. Henry building that came

09:16from the Congressman Fleshman. [snorts]

09:19>> Gotcha. Okay. Thank you.

09:24>> Is that all council?

09:25>> So So [clears throat]

09:26that's the earmark from council uh

09:28Congressman Fleman's office that was

09:32given towards a general fund to the city

09:34and that were used.

09:35>> No, it was it it was given to the city.

09:38It was wasn't to the general fund

09:39though. It was specifically for that

09:40building.

09:41>> Gotcha.

09:44>> Thank you. Uh, Mr. Chair.

09:46>> Okay. And thank you, Rich. It's not

09:48coming out of

09:49>> Let's see. Vice Chair Elliot, you're

09:51recognized.

09:52>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a I I have

09:54a question for item 9 C under human

09:58resources.

10:12How are you doing?

10:14>> Good afternoon.

10:15>> Good afternoon. Question. I see we're

10:17extending this for 4 months. Are we

10:21considering a change in how we handle

10:24this or is what's the logic behind this

10:28one? So before I got here, um, Mandy

10:32Green was working really hard to try to

10:34kind of get all our contracts aligned

10:37where they start and end pretty much on

10:39a fiscal, not a fiscal year, but on a

10:42calendar year basis. So this contract,

10:45if you notice, it started and it ended

10:48with its one year um, September, I think

10:50it was 28. And so what we're doing is

10:53extending that contract for the rest of

10:55the year to let it align with the new

10:59contract that we have agreed to and

11:00signed that will start on 112027

11:04and it will go out I think it's for four

11:06years with option to renew up to 5 years

11:08and that's going to fall in line with

11:10all the rest of the contracts that we

11:11have on the HR side.

11:12>> Okay, that's perfect.

11:13>> All right, thank you.

11:15>> Uh Amanda Green, chief operating

11:17officer. So we've already done the RFP

11:19for the other temp agencies. We have

11:20four temp agencies that were selected

11:22and those will begin in January.

11:24>> Okay, perfect. Thank you so much.

11:27>> Thank you, Chief Green.

11:28>> Is that all?

11:29>> Yes, sir.

11:29>> Thank you, Mr. Chair.

11:30>> And Councilman Clark, you're ready.

11:32>> Yeah. Uh Chief Green answered my

11:34question. So, just for clarity purposes,

11:36there is an RFP going out. Is that what

11:38you're saying?

11:40>> Sorry. I

11:43>> It's already been done. We're just

11:45waiting for the uh city attorney's

11:47office to finish up the contracts and

11:48they will go into effect January 1.

11:50>> Awesome. Thank you.

11:51>> Thank you. [snorts]

11:53>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sure,

11:56>> council. Are there any other questions

11:58on any resolutions on tonight's agenda?

12:04Okay. I don't see any lights here on the

12:07board. And so we will, if we're not

12:10meeting next week, we will look at um

12:12the purchasing items on tonight's agenda

12:17and hit your lights if you have

12:18questions on those.

12:21Vice Chair Elliott, you're recognized.

12:23>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a

12:25question about our security contract

12:28under parks and outdoors.

12:33I don't know if I may want to take this

12:34one. [snorts]

12:46Yes, sir. [snorts]

12:48>> Okay. Hey, Western. Um,

12:50this may require some institutional

12:52knowledge, but you know, I don't a Let

12:56me say this. I appreciate the fact that

12:57you guys split this contract. I think we

13:00were trying to find a onesizefits-all

13:03that was not serving our our needed

13:06space as well. Um, the concern I have is

13:11of SEI.

13:13>> Mhm. [clears throat]

13:13>> If I'm not mistaken, we used them in the

13:16past and we decided to move on from them

13:20because they were not providing adequate

13:22services for us. What makes us think

13:26that now is going to be different?

13:29>> So this particular contract, the only

13:31portion going to SEI is with the library

13:34and that has to do with um I believe

13:37that someone a staff person that is

13:39there through SEI that has an ongoing

13:41relationship with the library knows

13:44>> I'm I'm not Miss Jackie.

13:45>> Miss Jackie, thank you.

13:46>> Legend of the game, Miss Jackie.

13:48>> Uh so a longtime security person there

13:51at the library that is a part of SEI. So

13:54they've used they've decided to go with

13:56SEI. Everybody else in the city is going

13:58to use Waller.

13:59>> Okay. I didn't know that. And so that

14:00opens up some other questions. And while

14:03and I'm not trying to be rude when I say

14:05this. Well, I appreciate that she has

14:07probably become a foundation of that

14:10library. I don't think I or anybody else

14:14can make procurement decisions based on

14:16relationships. Um,

14:19and so I'm curious if we're only using

14:23is it just a downtown library for her

14:28>> or is SEI doing all libraries?

14:30>> Willow Hearn, executive director of the

14:32Chattanooga Public Library. We do have

14:34two security locations, but we have

14:36employee security. Um, we both have the

14:38downtown library and our Eastk facility.

14:39>> Is SEIU doing both?

14:41>> Yes.

14:43>> Okay. Um, and you're saying the reason

14:46you chose SEI for the library is because

14:49of the relationship we have with Miss

14:52Jackie?

14:52>> Yes. We've never had any issues with SEI

14:54on our behalf. That's not something

14:55we've ever had any issues with in the

14:57past.

14:58>> And that's what came from. Was this a

15:00RFP or a bid?

15:03>> So, we we scored an RFP because we have

15:06a relationship with somebody is what

15:09you're saying?

15:10>> I have not scored the RFP myself, sir.

15:19So no, the RFP was scored as a normal

15:21RFP. SEI did score fairly high in the

15:23RFP process. And so that is how they

15:26were an option. They were number two, I

15:27believe, on our scores. And so that was

15:30an option when we went back to the

15:32players that were hiring in the security

15:33as to who it was. And so SEI was one of

15:35the options. No one else chose them

15:38except for the library.

15:42So now we've got to have Walden do

15:45everything else. Correct.

15:47>> Yes.

15:50>> Now what s what reassurances do we have

15:54that we're not about to fall into the

15:57same issue? Because what we had before

16:00[snorts] is we had one company trying to

16:04do all of our parks, do all of our

16:06community centers, do all of our other

16:10government facilities, and we were not

16:12getting ade adequate security. And

16:15here's where my concern is. I'll tell

16:18you, I have been in community centers

16:21where people have pulled out guns on

16:23folks.

16:24>> Thank God. And I'm use Aenddale for

16:27example. There have been incidents where

16:29young people have pulled out weapons on

16:31that campus because uh for whatever

16:34reason and thank God we had law

16:37enforcement officers who were there. We

16:39actually had an offduty law enforcement

16:41parent picking up a child that was able

16:44to step in and ensure that that

16:46situation did not get worse. I'm use

16:49Aanell as another example. I was there

16:52one other time and we had um students

16:55getting off the bus and you had the

16:58community haven community patrol program

17:01[clears throat] who intercepted a young

17:02person trying to come in the center with

17:04a weapon. Thank god we had officer

17:06Mayweather there to help intervene. So

17:10security and this is just one center.

17:13Security has been an ongoing issue for a

17:17lot of our areas. What makes us think

17:20this is going to be any different?

17:23>> Well, I would say that we wrote our

17:25scope for the security contract to make

17:26sure that we would have the right

17:28services provided. We also met with the

17:30individual companies before we made our

17:32award to make sure that they were going

17:33to be able to cover the needs that we

17:34had. I think one of the things that we

17:36recognized with our previous company,

17:38without throwing any shade on anybody,

17:40is that, you know, you get what you pay

17:42for. And so Walden is Waldron, I think,

17:44is more expensive um than than the last

17:47company was. and they do have armed and

17:49non-armed guards. And so the departments

17:51get to choose individually what they're

17:53going to choose as far as who they're

17:55going to secure. And so those

17:56departments were individually involved

17:58in making a decision about what their

18:00needs were for their individual

18:01departments. And that's really the best

18:03we can do. I mean, if a company is not

18:05going to provide us the services, we

18:06have a contract in place that we can end

18:08that contract or we can look for

18:10something else. But we have done

18:11everything we can on the front end to

18:13try to get specific expectations for

18:16those companies. So, we've gone over

18:17those with those companies. They've

18:18assured us they can provide it. I

18:19believe Walden has a very good

18:21reputation here in town. So, that's

18:23where we're at.

18:24>> What facilities are getting armed

18:26security and what's not?

18:29>> I don't have that list in front of me.

18:30Um,

18:32I think I want to say landfill is armed.

18:36[snorts] Um, I know Mox and Benos's

18:38unarmed. Uh, they may change their mind.

18:41We've talked about that. They could they

18:42can change. Uh, and I want to say I I

18:44don't know. I I'll have to get back to

18:46you on that.

18:46>> I'm gonna say this. I'm gonna look to

18:49defer this item and I don't know if I'm

18:52going to get any support, but I can't

18:54support something until I know exactly

18:56what type of securities we have at our

18:58different facilities.

18:59>> Okay.

19:00>> Okay.

19:01>> Okay.

19:01>> All right. Thank you. That's all, Mr.

19:03Chair.

19:03>> Okay.

19:04>> I got a question about

19:08>> Councilman Clark, you're recognized.

19:10Were were you were you were you

19:12indicating that some of those armed

19:14security people are going to public

19:15works?

19:16>> Yes, sir.

19:16>> Okay.

19:17>> There will be armed security at the DRC.

19:19>> You're good. Stay there. We can hear

19:20you. Go ahead.

19:21>> DRC and at the landfill.

19:23>> Gotcha.

19:28But not at Wastewater. The moccasin bin

19:32plant.

19:33>> That's not me.

19:34>> Oh, that's right. I forgot. I'm sorry.

19:36Sorry, man. Get your steps in water.

19:39Wastewater Administrator Mark Heiser has

19:41decided at this point not to put armed,

19:43but he may change his mind. We've been

19:44talking about it about what they're

19:46going to have out there. So, at this

19:47point, he said unarmed. They may change.

19:48>> Okay. But, but you're saying when it's

19:50armed, it goes to Walden, but the

19:52library will use SEI. Does that

19:55>> So, armed or unarmed go to Walden. So,

19:58they can provide either service just we

20:01decided to do a multi-art award. And so,

20:04we were able to pick multiple vendors.

20:06The library chose to stay with the

20:08second person that ranked second which

20:10was SEI. So they went with SEI.

20:12Everybody else wanted to go with Walden.

20:14And so they may pick armed or unarmed.

20:16But I'll get that information to you all

20:17as to what we who's going where. I think

20:19that was kept with procurement. So I

20:20will get that information to you all so

20:22you know how many are armed and how many

20:23are unarmed.

20:25>> Thank you uh Chief Green. I guess my

20:27question would be to Vice Chairman

20:29Elliott. the would the purpose of

20:30deferring it for however amount of time

20:35what would what would the purpose be for

20:37us to re-evaluate

20:39the secondary contract of SCI I don't

20:42know why I want to say SEIU it's not

20:44it's not the unit

20:45>> it's not it

20:46>> not it [laughter]

20:48um and I'm just asking I I definitely

20:50support uh deferring it I just want to

20:53be on the record with a directive to uh

20:57to the staff Like what ultimately what

21:00would be our purpose? Like would we send

21:03it back?

21:04>> I didn't get that.

21:06>> Try again.

21:06>> Okay. All right. [snorts] Sorry.

21:08[laughter]

21:09>> My phone didn't chip. Interesting.

21:11That's crazy. Like hacked my phone. Vice

21:14Chairman Elliot.

21:18>> Your question is what's the purpose of

21:19deferring?

21:20>> Well, yeah. So would the purpose to

21:21defer would it be to re-evaluate to ask

21:23the administration to reconsider their

21:25contract with SI?

21:29>> Well, I can't tell the administration

21:31how to move when selecting contracts.

21:34All I can do is vote up and down on one.

21:37Um, but I have concerns that we may be

21:41falling into the same pitfalls as before

21:44with security contracts and this is just

21:47too important not to get right. I I

21:50totally agree with you

21:50>> and I I want to start off with figuring

21:54out what um facilities are getting armed

21:58security and what's not because that has

22:01been a problem in the past. We have had

22:03some of our more sensitive areas who

22:07just does not have have not had adequate

22:09security

22:10>> and things have gone ary and we [snorts]

22:13owe it to the public and um

22:17our employees to make sure we're showing

22:19up for them and providing that those

22:21safeguards. So until I get some of those

22:23answers, I cannot support moving this

22:26item forward.

22:26>> Okay. Can I ask the uh chairman Davis a

22:29logistical question as as in how we

22:32vote? Um

22:35right now this is I don't I'm not sure

22:37if this is listed as a blanket, but is

22:39there a way tonight that [snorts] we can

22:43separate the two?

22:46>> Um yes,

22:47>> there just need to be a motion made to

22:50um withdraw that particular purchasing

22:53item from the group.

22:55>> Okay. So it's not like a blanket where

22:57one the vendor one and two are like a

22:59blanket contract. They're two separate

23:01contracts.

23:02>> Oh, you're talking about

23:04>> I'm just generally speaking.

23:06>> Okay,

23:07>> I see what you're asking.

23:08>> SEIC

23:10SEI, excuse me. SEI and Walden security.

23:13>> Looks like it's one contract.

23:15>> Can someone cl clarify Darren and Mandy

23:18if that is one contract? They're they're

23:20deliberated, but for the city attorney,

23:22is that something that we could do in

23:26[clears throat] separating them tonight

23:28if we were to defer SEI amendment or

23:32>> it [snorts] would take a motion and an

23:34amendment to that RFP on here and then

23:36the action to approve one and not to

23:39approve the other.

23:41>> So yes, there are two separate

23:42contracts, SEI and uh Walden, but I do

23:44have the information in front of me. Um,

23:46so library is unarmed. Moxinvent is

23:49unarmed. Parks are unarmed. Uh the uh

23:52community development is armed. DRC is

23:54armed. Landfill is armed. Uh and city

23:59hall is armed. And Well Advantage is

24:01armed.

24:03>> Family center.

24:03>> What' you say? I'm sorry.

24:05>> Family Justice Center.

24:06>> Dr. Burrs.

24:07>> Find it.

24:09[laughter]

24:10>> It's armed. Family Justice Center is

24:12armed. Armed.

24:15>> Okay.

24:17May I? [snorts]

24:19>> Sure.

24:20>> Okay. Um, my recommendation tonight, um,

24:23in support of Councilman Elliot's

24:25concerns, just to do a deferral from

24:28further deliberation, uh, would be to

24:30separate the two tonight,

24:33>> um, and to defer the new agreement with

24:38SEIU into further evaluation of that

24:41contract as far as to address his

24:45concerns. Mr. Sure.

24:47No.

24:50>> Okay.

24:51>> I'm sorry. We're doing a Okay.

24:52>> back and I'm so sorry.

24:53>> Yeah. Let's recognize I'll come back to

24:55you, Councilwoman.

24:58>> Okay.

24:59>> To clarify, Councilman, I want the whole

25:01thing deferred. Okay.

25:02>> That's what I'm motioning for. Now, if

25:04somebody makes a different motion or

25:05whatnot, that's fine. But I want all of

25:07it pushed off.

25:09>> Personally, [snorts]

25:10how since I just gave you this

25:12information, you want me just to send it

25:13to you? I have questions and I ra I

25:15think it may be best that we sit down

25:18and talk through some of those questions

25:20um just so we can get some clarity so we

25:23don't have to let it linger on the dice.

25:27But [laughter]

25:28[snorts]

25:31>> Mr. uh chair I wish to recognize

25:33>> Yes. Councilman Clark.

25:34>> Uh Mandy, one second please. Um

25:38uh

25:40[snorts] for educational purposes if we

25:45so this contract goes into effect when

25:48>> if approved tonight.

25:50>> You're approving it tonight and then we

25:51will have it in effect as soon as we

25:53can.

25:53>> So who's currently securing these

25:54places?

25:55>> So I believe we're open market right now

25:57because we don't have a contract in

25:58place. So we are just securing security

26:00through open market.

26:02>> What does that mean? Like we just V. So

26:05there's several sites you all have

26:06mentioned tonight. So are there multiple

26:08vendors that are just randomly securing

26:10our facilities right now?

26:13>> I cannot

26:15point. I believe that's how we were

26:17doing um like community development had

26:18a company. Everybody had a separate

26:20company as we were waiting in between.

26:21>> Okay. So this is time sensitive.

26:23>> It is time sensitive.

26:24>> Thank you Mandy. Um I'm done.

26:26>> All right. Thank you.

26:28>> Councilwoman Burrs, did you wish to be

26:30recognized?

26:31>> Yeah. Thank you.

26:34I think you answered my question on the

26:37timing. That's what I was concerned

26:38about is when does this need to go to

26:41effect because what are we leaving un

26:43covered right now? So, everybody's

26:45covered at this point. They're just

26:46doing their own thing.

26:47>> Yes.

26:48>> So, the main thing is to get one

26:50contract or contracts in place to move

26:53forward.

26:54>> Yes.

26:54>> Okay.

26:54>> Yes.

26:55>> Thank you, Mr.

26:56>> Thank you.

26:56>> Okay. And Vice Chair Elliot, you're

26:58recognized. Um before we wrap up, I will

27:00say this. I've been asking about this

27:02contract for several weeks now and this

27:06is the first time we've had an

27:07opportunity to talk about it. So I

27:09understand timing is important but also

27:13making sure that people's concerns are

27:15important as well. And so I haven't

27:18brought this request to the dis but this

27:20is something I have brought up a couple

27:22times up until this point. So I just

27:25need to get my head wrapped around it

27:27before I can uh feel comfortable voting

27:30on it. But if we decide to go one way or

27:31another, that's the prerogative of the

27:33council. All right. Thank you, Mr.

27:36Chairman.

27:37>> Council, are there any other questions

27:39on purchasing items?

27:42Okay. Do not see any lights. So, we'll

27:45look at future considerations.

27:48If you would turn to that document with

27:50me and hit your light if you have any

27:52questions about any items on our future

27:55considerations list.

27:59>> [clears throat]

28:01[snorts]

28:11>> All right. I don't see any lights. So,

28:14we will move on then um to

28:18our department report from the library.

28:20And we're happy to welcome Will back to

28:22the podium.

28:29>> [snorts]

28:32>> Good afternoon, city council. My name is

28:33Willer Hearn. I'm the executive director

28:35of the Chattanooga Public Library, and

28:36I'm pleased to give you the department

28:38update from the library.

28:41Uh before we get into things, I do want

28:42to honor a legend of literacy. Um I know

28:45we honored her last week, but I think

28:46she's so great, we need to honor her

28:47again. Um she's done so much for

28:49literacy in our community and through

28:50the nation. So, if you could please join

28:52me with the Imagination Library and all

28:53the other things she's done. So, if you

28:55could join me in just a moment of

28:56silence for Dolly Parton.

29:01[snorts]

29:03Thank you. Well, we have a lot to talk

29:06to today about and not a lot of time to

29:07get into it. Um, but I first want to

29:09thank all of you for all your support

29:11and guidance and helping us. Um, I

29:13usually give you an update on what we've

29:14done since I've last spoken with you.

29:16Today, I have so much to talk about our

29:17past, present, and future, but I simply

29:19don't have time to cover all those

29:20things. That said, I'd love to sit down

29:22with you, talk with you 15, 30, more

29:25than an hour. I can talk about the

29:26library for a long time as you can see.

29:27Um, so I'd love to sit down and talk

29:29with you. If you don't get a chance to

29:31do that, I've also included a link to

29:33our strategic plan, which we unveiled

29:34last time I spoke with you. Um, we have

29:37[clears throat] updated with our FY26

29:38progress so you can see the goals we

29:40were able to accomplish back last fiscal

29:42year and going forward our goals for

29:44next fiscal year. So, love to sit down

29:45and talk with you. But for now, what I'd

29:48like to talk is about our downtown

29:49library, celebrating its 50y year

29:51anniversary. Um, so downtown uh turns 50

29:55years old uh on October 17th. We're

29:57really excited about that. And this

29:59anniversary is about honoring what

30:01Chattanooga built and invested in 50

30:03years ago. We're also using as a

30:05catalyst to reinvest in ourselves. We

30:07all know how vibrant inside the library

30:08is, and we want to make sure the outside

30:10of the library is just as vibrant as the

30:12inside. So, I'll talk about that a

30:14little bit later on. And while every

30:15single Chattanooga public library

30:16location is equally important, the

30:18downtown really acts as an engine for

30:20the rest of the libraries being the hub

30:21where everyone is able to that's where

30:23we store most our books. That's where we

30:25kind of um have all our central

30:27administration and we have like our

30:28fourth floor and all the other items

30:30that we um get out to the location. So

30:32it's a critically important part. So I

30:34want to all personally invite you on

30:36October 17th is literally the 50th uh

30:38anniversary to the day um of the

30:41downtown library's 50th birthday. Um, so

30:44we'll have so much going on. So this is

30:45my personal invite to every single one

30:47of you. 9:00 am to 6 pm. Come on down.

30:50We'd love to see you. Um, specifically

30:51at 2 p.m. And I'll tell you a little why

30:53at 2 p.m. I'd love to have you come on

30:54down. But we're going to have food.

30:56We're going to have activities. We're

30:57going to have community partners

30:58celebrating the library's impact of all

31:00the impact we've had for for years and

31:01years. Um, we'll have local authors

31:04maker day. So much a little bit

31:05something for everybody. So we'd love to

31:07come have you come down there and

31:08experience it and not just hear about me

31:10about our 50th year anniversary.

31:13And as I mentioned, we want to use this

31:15as a catalyst to reinvest in oursel.

31:16Again, making the outside just as

31:18vibrant as the inside. You'll see a

31:19little bit of a theme. Chattanooga has a

31:21wonderful outdoor environment. It's one

31:22of our strategic advantages. And we want

31:24to capitalize on that in our urban

31:25environment that we are in. Um so, we

31:28know we've been preparing this for a

31:29long time. about a year and a half ago

31:30with a grant from Lindhurst and the help

31:32of Matt Whitaker, the patron saint of

31:34our um native garden [clears throat]

31:36here. We've actually been able to

31:38install a native garden and it's bloomed

31:40and it's done even better than we could

31:42possibly imagine. So, we're really

31:44excited about that. It even has a little

31:45walkway so you can go through it. Excuse

31:47me, I am fighting a little bit of red

31:48weed allergies. So, um thanks for your

31:50patience there. Uh second off, we uh

31:54worked with public art to have a mural.

31:56It's through a grant through city

31:57stages, which is particularly relevant

31:59because we're going to be having some of

32:00our musical performances and other bits

32:02out on the plaza there. So, that's

32:03exactly what it's intended for. And if

32:05you take a look, the um fish and the

32:08plants on there are actually

32:09representations of native species as

32:12well to this area. So, again, kind of

32:13going with that natural theme we have.

32:15This one kind of breaks away from that.

32:17If you didn't know, Rock City is where

32:19uh mini golf, goofy golf or goonolf,

32:21whatever you want to call it, u was

32:23invented. Uh the current iteration of

32:24that. So, we want to really honor and

32:26celebrate the cultural heritage that

32:28we've been able to give the whole

32:29nation. And so, yes, we do have a mini

32:31golf course in collaboration with Rock

32:33City there. And you can check out a club

32:34and play it. It's a little difficult.

32:36So, if you get a hole in one, I'd be

32:38really impressed and maybe not believe

32:39you. Uh, the other part I do want to

32:42highlight is uh save the best for last.

32:44We are installing a pocket park in

32:46collaboration with our parks downtown uh

32:49parks as well, their downtown library.

32:51in our front yard there. We'll be

32:52installing a some swings, a horizontal

32:54climbing wall, going with that native

32:56theme, some uh playable flowers and a

32:58dragonfly seessaw. And again, this is a

33:00national park city seed. We're really

33:02playing up that idea of National Park

33:04City. We all know about a city and a

33:06park. We want to make sure we have a

33:08park at our library as well, too. So,

33:10again, really celebrating our outdoors

33:11[snorts] and activating the downtown as

33:13the downtown library is a critical

33:14component of activating the whole

33:16downtown.

33:18Moving on from that, um, speaking of our

33:20past and present right now, I do want to

33:22talk a little bit about a renovation

33:24that we'll be doing here soon, the third

33:26floor of the library, which is local

33:27history and genealogy. We're actually

33:29renovating that whole floor, and we're

33:30really excited about it. We were able to

33:32have a private donation fund all of this

33:34so we can continue to be good stewards

33:36of the um, Chad the Chattanooga's

33:38funding for all y'all. So, um, again,

33:41uh, Chattanooga Public Library has one

33:42of the oldest and most robust

33:44collections in the state. It's a

33:46wonderful collection. Um, this is a

33:49remarkable historical collection. This

33:51really ends up being Chattanooga's

33:53collective memory. That's really

33:55important to us to be able to preserve

33:56and hold on to that. The collection

33:58again is exceptional. The space has a

34:00little bit to be desired and we're going

34:01to be fixing that here. And I'll

34:02highlight some of those things and what

34:04we're going to be doing to fix that.

34:06Anyway, we um we really do hold

34:08Chhattanooga's memory. So, looking at

34:10that, if you've been in there about a

34:12month ago, because we're actively

34:13working on this space, it doesn't quite

34:14look like this right now, but this is

34:16what this space looked like um about a

34:18month ago. As you can see, uh the

34:20reference test is tucked back, so it's

34:21not readily accessible. These [snorts]

34:23stacks are just kind of out in the open.

34:24And in those little gray cubes in the

34:26back there, um in the top part of it,

34:30those are our archival area. It's about

34:3298% full. So, flash forward to what

34:36we're currently looking at. There are

34:38three goals and I'll go through each one

34:39of them with you quickly. The archive

34:41storage again 98% full. Um, so we wanted

34:45to make sure we could continue to

34:47collect items because we'd have to make

34:49a difficult choice if it [clears throat]

34:50gets full. Either we have to start

34:51deassessing items, meaning getting rid

34:53of some of the history that people have

34:54decided to keep for years and years, or

34:56we would have to stop collecting

34:57altogether. We all know Chhattanooga

35:00continues to make history, as all of you

35:02do, and so we want to continue to

35:03collect that history um as well too. And

35:06we're also adding a different a new

35:07updated HVAC unit to help with

35:10temperature and humidity, which are two

35:11of the arch nemesis of archives.

35:14Two, uh whether you go to the library to

35:16check out a book, attend a program, go

35:18to the fourth floor to make something,

35:20or research here, local history and

35:21genealogology, what the library really

35:23offers people is exceptional customer

35:25service and an exceptional service

35:26experience. That reference desk from

35:28being tucked back is now front and

35:30center. So, you can see someone willing

35:31to help you from the very get-go. Um,

35:34people often looking for the quiet

35:35traditional space of a library. I

35:37mentioned how vibrant the library is.

35:39Those quiet spaces are harder to come

35:40by. This third floor acts as our quiet

35:42traditional space for people to come to.

35:44So, we've added more seating and more

35:46comfortable seating. Additionally, our

35:48exhibit space is now lockable. And

35:50what's exciting about that is allows us

35:52to have more traveling exhibits come

35:53through. That's one of the requirements

35:55to have some of the exhibits come

35:56through. And so, now we can uh it opens

35:58us up to more opportunities there. And

36:00last, but certainly not least, to the

36:01very left of that green circle, we have

36:03the history gateway. What our local

36:04history and genealogy department is

36:06excellent at doing is making history

36:08come to life. This is going to be a

36:09place where people can interact with our

36:11collection firsthand. We are the public

36:12library altogether, and this is the

36:13public's collection. We want them to

36:15experience it firsthand, be able to

36:17touch it, be able to see it with their

36:19own eyes. [clears throat] And last, but

36:21not least, we want to make sure we do a

36:22better job with or we want to make sure

36:24we do a good job with preservation and

36:25security. Um, that zigzag green line in

36:28the middle right there is actually going

36:29to be a glass wall. This separates the

36:31rest of the collection from the area. As

36:33you can see, that reference desk is

36:35friendly, but it also allows us to have

36:36better viewpoints and great uh view

36:38lines of what comes in and out of the

36:40the library there. We just want to make

36:42sure to hold on these invaluable items

36:44that are literally irreplaceable for

36:46future generations to enjoy them. And

36:48that's not the only work we need to do

36:50downtown. The first floor of the library

36:51is changing as well. We got a very

36:53generous donation from UTC, some of

36:54their old furniture. As you can see, it

36:56looks great. We've also added some study

36:58rooms, popular [clears throat] demand.

36:59It's something that people have been

37:01requesting a long time. So, we want to

37:02be responsive to that. That's what the

37:03library likes to do is be responsive to

37:05its community. And so, we've added that

37:07among some other things as well, too.

37:08So, you see an iterative approach there.

37:10We also critically need to look at our

37:11second floor, which is our youth

37:12services floor. This is a victim of its

37:15own success. On the weekends, we will

37:17have more than 100 people attend one of

37:19our um storytime programs. we'll see

37:21people come in, look, and go, "Nope."

37:24and turn away. And we really want to be

37:25able to meet that capacity and demand

37:27there. So, we're really looking at

37:28reinventing that whole second floor of

37:30the library. And it's not just downtown.

37:32We need to look across our system. Um,

37:34the Eastgate Library, um, we were

37:36supposed to be in that building 5 years.

37:38There's a very interesting uh, story

37:39there from local history. Speaking of

37:41that, if you want to talk to me about

37:42that, I'd be happy to. Uh, we are now

37:44celebrating, we're supposed to be there

37:455 years. We're now celebrating our 48th

37:47year there. Um, so this is a rented

37:50facility. Um, I will say it has not been

37:52as maintained as best as it should be.

37:54It is not in the order is well past its

37:56end of life and we are dedicated to

37:58Brainard and we want to make sure we

37:59stay in Brainer to serve that community.

38:01Um, the community deserves better and

38:02our staff deserves better tools to serve

38:04that community. So, we're actively

38:05[clears throat] looking for a new space

38:06there. Two, the Northgate Library. This

38:09is a city-owned building. It actually

38:11turns 50 years old next spring. It's in

38:13better condition. It's near the end of

38:15its life, but it's not quite there yet.

38:17What the real issue here is capacity. Um

38:20we have um we have is the second highest

38:23uh card holdership in all of the city.

38:26It is the first highest circulating uh

38:28zip code and is the highest circulating

38:30location even higher than downtown.

38:32>> What's really stopping us from offering

38:34more materials, more programs, more

38:36services is space. We need to meet that

38:39community's demand. We need double that

38:40space.

38:43And last, but certainly not least, East

38:44Brainer 37421.

38:46Um, we've been hearing for years and

38:48years that we do need a space there.

38:49Every consultant for the last 20 years

38:51has told us we need a space there. It is

38:52one of the most densely populated

38:54places, is one of the furthest away from

38:56a library location. Um, we desperately

38:58need a space out there. The community

39:00has grown and we need to grow alongside

39:01with it. The community has asked for it

39:04time and time again. Anecdotally, they

39:05say, "Where's my library?" RPA surveys

39:07have said, "We need a library out

39:08there." The demand is there. We really

39:10need to fill that space. and offer

39:12services to that part of our community.

39:15And so want to again thank you for all

39:17the impact and all the support you have,

39:18all the guidance, feedback and support

39:20from all of you. We've been able to do

39:22even more with your support and help. Uh

39:24and 50 years ago, Chattanooga made a

39:26great decision to invest in its public

39:27library. And I think that ROI has been

39:29really, really impactful for all of us.

39:31Look at what that investment's become.

39:33We have another opportunity now to make

39:35those investments that people will still

39:36be talking about 50 years from today.

39:39Chattanooga continues to make history.

39:42So does its library. Thank you for

39:44helping us write the next chapter.

39:48>> And that's my presentation.

39:51>> Thank you, Will. Are there any questions

39:53or comments for Will? Council.

39:57>> Councilman Harvey, you're recognized.

39:59>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Will, thank you

40:01for what you do at the library. Um, I am

40:04a proud library card holder, as is my

40:06wife and now my one-year-old daughter.

40:09Um, so I just wanted to say that, brag a

40:11little bit that uh I am a library card

40:14holder. Um, I also want to plug the

40:16third floor uh archives. U the older I

40:19get, the more old people activities that

40:21I want to do. [laughter] And I've gotten

40:24really into genealogy and spent two

40:26hours up there just going through

40:29archives. uh as an eighth generation

40:31Tennessian, uh it was really cool to see

40:34a lot of my family history uh that is

40:36preserved there. I actually found a

40:37picture of my uh second greatgrandfather

40:41um with his 26 children that he had. Um

40:45so, uh it was there. So, it was really

40:47cool to see my family history come to

40:48life. So, definitely uh highly recommend

40:51going and checking out the third floor.

40:52It's really cool. So, yeah, excited to

40:54see the the renovation.

40:56>> Thank you very much.

40:58And uh speaking of preservation, I'm I'm

41:00very thankful that somebody preserved

41:02that picture of me during the chicken

41:03[laughter] dance during the Northgate

41:05story time. So

41:06>> we appreciate that.

41:07>> Yeah. And I would encourage my fellow

41:09council members, go out to the library

41:11near you and participate in a story

41:13time. Um it'll keep you young at heart

41:16um serving some of our our youngest

41:18constituents. So any other questions or

41:22comments, council for Will?

41:25>> All right. Well, thank you very much.

41:26Thank you so much. I appreciate your all

41:28time.

41:31>> Okay, with that, I will yield the chair

41:33to Councilwoman Burrs, who will lead us

41:35in our planning, zoning, and housing

41:37committee meeting.

41:40[snorts]

41:49Okay. I wish to open this month's

41:51planning and zoning committee meeting.

41:52Can I get a motion to approve the

41:54minutes from last our last meeting?

41:56Second.

41:57>> Second. Thank you. Uh with proper motion

42:00and second, our minutes shall stand as

42:03published. So we have uh three things to

42:05cover tonight and then anything else you

42:07all would like to talk about. Um the

42:09first thing we have is our upcoming

42:11cases which will be heard on September

42:1315th. And we just have a few of those.

42:16Only two have been flagged by RPA staff,

42:21but of course, as always, we'll talk

42:23about anything you all want to talk

42:24about. And then we also have one matter

42:28to go over an amendment, a zoning

42:30amendment regarding drive-throughs,

42:32which Karen, I guess Karen or Karen will

42:34go over with us. And then we're going to

42:36have a short presentation from Brian

42:38Schultz, just an education session on

42:41subdivision plans versus zoning plans.

42:44So moving forward, uh, council members,

42:47I have two items that were highlighted

42:49by RPA, which is 202610

42:530, which is in district 1, and then

42:57202600098,

43:01which is in district five. Other than

43:06that, are there any other matters that

43:08you all wish to hear about tonight?

43:13I see no lights. So Karen, if you want

43:16to Oh, um I apologize. Councilman

43:18Henderson. [clears throat] Well, you

43:21said here about I do have a question, I

43:23guess, for Karen about 0095

43:27just to confirm

43:29the applicant does want to withdraw that

43:31application,

43:34>> which I mean we'll have to take action

43:36on, but

43:36>> right, I do believe we got official

43:38withdrawal notice. We sent an email

43:40yesterday and we're thinking we got it

43:42today that was sent in Nicole, but we'll

43:44confirm that.

43:45>> Okay. And then I did get an email

43:48confirming that uh 010 0 the applicant's

43:52attorney did request uh withdrawal of

43:55that application as well.

43:57>> Okay.

43:57>> So, we don't need to hear about that one

43:59tonight. No,

44:00>> either. Okay. Wonderful. We're down to

44:02one.

44:04All right. I see no other lights. Then

44:07Karen, let's proceed with 0098.

44:23[snorts]

44:28So 0098 is at 5251 and 5313 Champion

44:33Road. Uh this is um just off Highway 58.

44:38The applicant is requesting to lift

44:40conditions from CC commercial zoning

44:43from a prior resoning ordinance from

44:452021. They propose to build and operate

44:48a commercial and industrial supply

44:50business on the property and we'll

44:52refine that use kind of as we go along.

44:54Um so the property was reszoned in 2021.

44:58Um there were six conditions placed on

45:00it at the time. The two

45:03>> [clears throat]

45:03>> um condition one and two um which is no

45:06storage of vehicles within 50 feet of

45:08the ride ofway of Champion Road and

45:09lighting to be directed away from all

45:11residential areas or properties is

45:13intended to remain. This was originally

45:16proposed Booker T. Washington is just

45:18down the street from this. This was

45:19originally proposed during the resoning

45:21process in 21 to be boat and RV storage

45:24kind of geared towards that use. Um and

45:26so some of these conditions you can kind

45:28of understand it through that lens. one

45:30access point onto Champion Road, a seven

45:32foot tall fence to be installed around

45:34the storage facility areas, outdoor

45:36storage facility use only. Even [snorts]

45:38though it was only limited to that, it

45:39also limited out these other um the

45:42other uses at the time. And so I do um

45:45as I mentioned it, Champion Road is just

45:48off Highway 58. You can see it on the

45:50map, the intersection there with Highway

45:5258. And just to the north is the

45:55southernmost boundary of Booker T.

45:57Washington Park. It's just off the the

45:59um the map there. The site's currently

46:01vacant um directly adjacent to

46:03stateowned property to the east, a

46:06church to the south, and residential

46:08properties to the west and northwest.

46:10And so the applicant provided a site

46:12plan and during the review we noticed

46:15that much although two properties have

46:17been requested to have lifted the

46:19lifting the conditions, only one

46:21property seemed to have the uses

46:23associated with that warehousing kind of

46:26um commercial use. And so that's where

46:29in the review staff started to split

46:31into the two properties. And you'll see

46:34the um final recommendation splits those

46:36two properties. You have one that has

46:38that warehouse and um delivery area and

46:41then the other property doesn't show any

46:42structures on it at this point. [snorts]

46:45Plan Chattanooga re recommend suburban

46:47corridor with the idea of keeping the

46:49corridor as more of that commercial use

46:51and not going as far into this area.

46:53This isn't a zoning case and it's just

46:55provided more for information. This is

46:57lifting that condition from the

47:00commercial [snorts] resoning in 2021.

47:03So there are series of four conditions

47:06being lifted. I'm going to really focus

47:07on one of them which is the use. But um

47:10conditions three and four. So one and

47:12two are remaining conditions three and

47:14four. One is regarding traffic and the

47:16other is regarding a fence. Uh because

47:19this isn't intended to be kind of that

47:21back and forth with trailers and RVs

47:23coming back and forth, staff has

47:25recommended supporting the removal of

47:27the only one access point onto Champion

47:29Road and that the fence would be

47:31replaced by the required buffer

47:33condition. So it's not that there would

47:36not be any buffering, it would be

47:38default to the current landscape

47:40regulations. So staff supported removing

47:42those. I think the main probably meat of

47:44this is the outdoor uh the condition to

47:47outdoor storage facility use only. So

47:50this property could be developed under

47:51the prior zoning ordinance definition of

47:53outdoor storage facility. We did work to

47:55confirm this and this is the pattern um

47:58with conditions referencing older

48:00language. The def of that definition of

48:03that use allowed the outdoor storage on

48:05the site of any goods, materials,

48:07merchandise, recreational vehicles,

48:09motor vehicles, passenger vehicles, and

48:11commercial vehicles. The commercial

48:13vehicles could include earthmoving

48:14equipment vehicles such as but not

48:16limited to dump trucks and earthmoving

48:18equipment. And I know that was a lot,

48:20but we did put that in here to be clear.

48:22Although at the time of resoning it was

48:24proposed to be kind of RV boat storage,

48:26maybe related to the lake uses or river

48:29uses, that's not in there. So really

48:31earthmoving equipment, storage of

48:33earthmoving equipment could be um

48:35developed on that site. So um the

48:38proposed use is now changing to a

48:41proposed singlestory building with

48:43office space and some warehouse space

48:44for commercial industrial supply

48:46operation. And the application doesn't

48:49um and didn't indicate any outdoor

48:51storage on the site. Sites 950 ft from

48:54Highway 58. Staff supported amending the

48:57condition for use to offset possible

48:59nuisances that one, the outdoor storage

49:01of materials and commercial vehicles

49:03could have related to visual appearance

49:04at this corridor heading to Booker T.

49:06Washington State Park and two, heavy

49:09duty construction trucks and equipment

49:10on this two-lane road. And so staff

49:13recommended lifting that condition with

49:16a um however that um it be replaced with

49:20a condition heavy retail rental and

49:22service with no outdoor storage

49:23permitted. And so um one and two is

49:27staying staff recommended lifting some

49:28of the other conditions in instead of

49:31lifting the condition and allowing all

49:33the uses in that commercial zone is um

49:36recommending the use which is um worked

49:39with LDO to confirm that we agree that

49:41this is a heavy retail rental and

49:43service use with no outdoor storage. And

49:46so that is only for the one property at

49:485313 Champion Road. Again, we we split

49:51the recommendation. So recommend denying

49:54the applicant's request, revising it

49:56where this is shown and the applicant

49:58and planning commission noted that they

49:59found that acceptable. And then the

50:02second property that was part of this

50:03lifting condition case stays the same.

50:05So all the conditions placed on it in

50:072021 would stay in place. There's no

50:09proposal at this time. So if something

50:11needed to be done at that time, the

50:12applicant would need to come through and

50:14lift or amend those conditions. So there

50:17was um one person present at planning

50:19commission um just u mentioned that due

50:22to um timing and storms were not able

50:25felt that um neighborhood members were

50:27not able to attend the public meeting

50:29and just was um encouraging another

50:31neighborhood meeting. The plating

50:33commission found um basically

50:36recommended approval of the staff

50:38recommendation. So that is to deny um

50:41the athletes request have the amended

50:44three the three conditions shown there

50:46on 5313

50:47and then leave the other property um

50:50with existing conditions and I'm happy

50:52to answer any questions. I know that was

50:54a lot but it's kind of a complicated

50:56case trying to figure out what is best

50:58there. And we did want to be really

51:00clear and help the community understand

51:02with the one condition of what could be

51:03developed there to help them understand

51:06kind of going through the process what's

51:08allowed by right and what a lifting of

51:10conditions could mean for them.

51:13>> Council thank you Karen. Councilman

51:15Clark this is in your district. Do you

51:17have any comments or questions?

51:18>> Um I want to uh make a comment regarding

51:20the public meeting that we had. It was

51:22it was very well attended with several

51:24neighbors actually. Um, prior to us

51:27having the meeting, there was like a

51:28monsoon that happened like 30 minutes

51:30before.

51:31>> Um, and we still had several members

51:33present and have had the opportunity to

51:35talk to neighboring um, individuals.

51:38There's not a lot of residential area in

51:40a commercial zone. So, there's not a lot

51:41of houses right there other than near

51:43Rotary Drive um, in some of the

51:47neighboring uh, subdivisions like River

51:49Rock Cove and it's not close enough for

51:51them to have um, for this to impact

51:54them. Um, one thing I want to note when

51:57the conditions were placed on this in

51:592001, I

52:00>> believe it's 2021,

52:02>> 2021, is that it was that those

52:04conditions were specific to a certain

52:06type of business. That business never

52:08happened. There's [clears throat] a new

52:10business, a warehouse business that

52:11wants to purchase this. So, it was only

52:13natural that we lift the conditions that

52:16no longer was applicable

52:19to that site because that business no

52:21longer exists. Uh Karen, one question I

52:23do have, so I just want to put that on

52:25the record. I do plan to uh support um

52:29the denial of some of of the conditions

52:32and but you you have added some.

52:34>> That's correct. We added that use

52:36condition because the zone allows a wide

52:38variety of uses. This still has a lot of

52:41residential neighborhoods and it's off

52:43the commercial corridor.

52:44>> Right. and part if you could go back to

52:46that screen where you put the amended

52:49language regarding the heavy duty

52:51trucks.

52:53>> Um yes that's the go should be there

52:56>> it says so when you say amending are you

52:59adding that to condition that language

53:01to condition five?

53:02>> Um no we noted what could be done there

53:05which is the heavy duty trucks. The

53:07language in blue is just saying we

53:09recommend lifting the condition or

53:11changing the condition for outdoor

53:13storage facility only because you could

53:15have heavy duty trucks on that street

53:18and we felt that amending that condition

53:20would actually improve that situation.

53:22>> Gotcha. Thank you so much for that

53:24clarity. That's all u chairwoman.

53:27>> Thank you. I I see no other lights. So,

53:31we'll move on to the next item,

53:34which [snorts] is the amendment

53:36regarding the drive-throughs.

53:39>> Yes. And um so we had a um robust

53:43discussion at planning commission about

53:45drive-throughs. And so there were se

53:47several elements of that discussion.

53:50What was mostly discussed at um planning

53:52commission is not moved forward to

53:53council. And so there was a lot of

53:56discussion about what might happen on

53:58some of the more um urban corridors with

54:00drive-throughs. That is not in front of

54:02you today. So just to let you know, this

54:04was the part that had very little or

54:07less discussion. Um so we have had

54:10multiple discussions with people about

54:12drive-throughs, particularly um in the

54:16zone we're not talking about today, but

54:17the CC zone, which is the one we're

54:19discussing. And so the CC zone is the

54:21old it's a former C2 zone. Most of those

54:24properties were equivalent. That zone

54:26allowed drive-throughs by right with no

54:29standards. The new zoning ordinance put

54:32in standards, which we'll touch on in

54:33here in a moment. And now we have two

54:35types of drive-throughs that are fine.

54:37We have standalone, which would um just

54:40be like a coffee shop drive-thru, and

54:42then when one where it's an accessory to

54:44another use. And so we are making that

54:46distinction because there's more just

54:48drive-throughs that where you don't go

54:49in and sit or any other activity occurs.

54:52Um so the new zoning ordinance um did

54:55two things that added these standards.

54:57And so standards address items such as

55:00screening

55:01um um making sure not preventing

55:04disruption on streets, stacking, no

55:07drive-through components within 50 ft of

55:09a residential use. There is no change to

55:12that. This was one item that went in the

55:13new zoning ordinance. The second item

55:15was defining where these these go. And

55:18so instead of by right in the C2 now CC

55:21zone instead of by right um they went in

55:24as a special exception. So um especially

55:28on the uh the minutes at the meeting. Um

55:32u we spoke with public works

55:33transportation. They didn't have any

55:35documented concerns nor did we have any

55:38recent documented concerns or comments

55:39regarding drive-through since those new

55:41zoning ordinance standards had gone into

55:43place. But because Z um the zoning

55:47ordinance drive-thru standards do not

55:49make a distinction on what type of road

55:51you're on. So it would treat Highway 153

55:54the same as it would treat Main Street.

55:57Drive-throughs are not that

55:58contextsensitive.

56:00We are may recommending a change only be

56:03um for outside the urban overlay. We do

56:06think of our urban area as more

56:07walkable, bikable. There's more transit.

56:10There's more pedestrian bike activity.

56:13So, we are not recommending a change

56:15within the urban overlay and because

56:17they're not context, the drive-through

56:19language is not contextsensitive. We're

56:21only talking about outside the urban

56:23overlay. So, this would be Hixon Pike um

56:27East Brainard Road, Lee Highway, Gun

56:30Barrel Road, more of our um full those

56:33commercial corridors. So, there's four

56:36recommended changes. I numbered them to

56:38kind of so it's not hopefully too

56:40confusing. We're recommending and

56:42planning commission move forward um that

56:45if you're in the CC zone instead of a

56:48special exception permit by Boza, you go

56:50to a permitted by right use outside the

56:53urban overlay zone. So that had been um

56:56in place prior to the new zoning which

56:59required the special exceptions permit.

57:01All of those had either been withdrawn

57:03or approved at that point. we have the

57:05new standards in place and so this is a

57:08recommended change in um conjunction

57:12with the next item which should be item

57:13three and four which I might have turned

57:16off the

57:18Rick would you mind moving to the next

57:19slide I apologize so during the review

57:23of drive-throughs uh we have two other

57:25recommendations

57:27um one is that no drive-through ingress

57:29or egress shall cross the riverwalk or

57:31city greenway trail or connector unless

57:33that's the only vehicular access and so

57:36we um have presented to council thinking

57:38about pedestrian safety. Um this gave us

57:41a chance to rethink that. Um the item

57:45the next item is to help try to prevent

57:47stacking over sidewalks and industry.

57:49But this item is just acknowledge that

57:51that users of the Riverwalk connector

57:53trails greenways have different types of

57:56users on them that might not be as kind

57:58of road savvy. and that in and out that

58:01a drive-thru provides that only if you

58:04um if that's only vehicle access to the

58:06property, you should be looking for

58:08another access. It doesn't there's not a

58:10lot of places where um the a commercial

58:14property and this would be you have to

58:16be zoned for a drive-thru would that to

58:18happen, but it's just something that we

58:20wanted to recommend putting in place.

58:22And then the fourth item that's part of

58:23this change is that stacking spaces

58:26begin at the first point of service

58:27instead of the last point. It allows

58:30more stacking with idea if I'm driving

58:33and cars are backing up behind me, we're

58:34not backing up onto the sidewalk or the

58:36street. And so it's kind of the idea of

58:39changing to permitted by right use on

58:41commercial, those CC commercial

58:43corridors outside the urban overlay, but

58:45these would apply anywhere. and just to

58:48make sure that um we're trying to um

58:52um get car, you know, get we're not

58:54having that drive-thru activity as much

58:56on those sidewalks.

58:58And that's the recommended items for

59:00this change.

59:02>> Karen, I just I see no lights. Anyone

59:05have any questions? Questions?

59:08>> Oh, I don't know why I keep missing you.

59:10Yeah, Councilman Henderson.

59:12>> Karen, let me make sure I understand

59:14this. under the old C2.

59:17>> Yes.

59:18>> We allowed the drive-thru standalone or

59:22as accessory.

59:23>> That's right. We didn't make that

59:24distinction. Drive-throughs were just a

59:26permitted use as a part of those

59:28activities.

59:29>> And all we're doing, if I understand you

59:31correctly, is now going back to the way

59:34we used to do business under the C2

59:37>> um outside the urban overlay. That's

59:38correct.

59:39>> Yeah. Outside the urban overlay. and

59:40pairing that with additional standards

59:42here just we hadn't kind of done a

59:44thorough review of drive-through since

59:46that went in the ordinance in 24.

59:49>> Okay. Explain to me the significance of

59:52number four this stacking beginning at

59:55the first point of service.

59:57>> So um we met with public works

59:59transportation a representative that we

1:00:01coordinate with quite a bit and we

1:00:02[snorts] were just reviewing to confirm

1:00:05before we um said we haven't had any

1:00:07complaints. Is that true? what is going

1:00:09on? How is the board of zoning appeals

1:00:11working? And um we did talk about

1:00:14drive-throughs that back up on the

1:00:16streets. And so this was and thinking

1:00:18about drive-thru when there's queuing in

1:00:21drive-thrus

1:00:22um that this would stacking has to be

1:00:27pushed back a little bit so there's more

1:00:29room to stack. And so we don't have um

1:00:32the see would seem to prevent cars from

1:00:34backing up into the street or you know

1:00:36backing up onto a sidewalk.

1:00:40>> Is there regulations as to how many

1:00:43stacking spaces you have?

1:00:45>> There is language and it's I believe

1:00:48it's number two there. So um one and two

1:00:51is currently in the ordinance. to

1:00:52provide a minimum of four stacking

1:00:54spaces per lane or bay. And then it

1:00:56talks about provided must be A and B

1:01:00there. And so this is amending B instead

1:01:02of beginning at the final point of

1:01:04service moving to the first point of

1:01:06service.

1:01:10>> Okay. And that looks like that would

1:01:13create less stacking to me.

1:01:16>> It is um it should be I think the

1:01:18intention is to be moving stacking up.

1:01:21>> Yeah. And so,

1:01:23um, I'm sorry. Instead of the final,

1:01:26it's going to the first. Yes.

1:01:29>> It's the actually reverse.

1:01:31>> Oh, okay. Okay.

1:01:32>> So, I Okay.

1:01:34>> Yes. It's intended to give more room for

1:01:36stacking. So, all the cars are moving up

1:01:38and stacking before you hit that

1:01:41sidewalk.

1:01:42>> Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you.

1:01:46One question.

1:01:47>> Yes, Mr. Attorney.

1:01:48>> Yeah. I always get concerned whenever I

1:01:51see something that says unless that is

1:01:53the only vehicular access to the

1:01:55property. Why would we ever allow

1:01:56someone to have a I guess drive-thru

1:02:00where there is a riverwalk or a city

1:02:02trail greenway uh that is fronting that?

1:02:05It looks like that is a pedestrian issue

1:02:07that would need to be dealt with. I I

1:02:09just don't like the unless

1:02:10>> the um so we did use language from the

1:02:13parks and outdoor plan. So we borrowed

1:02:15that to to say so there was a question

1:02:17of is this a Riverwalker city greenway

1:02:20trail or connector. We tried to borrow

1:02:22that from the parks and outdoor plan. We

1:02:24did during the public process someone

1:02:25noted highway 58 where we have kind of

1:02:28the greenway trail. And so we had

1:02:31originally had pretty much full stop.

1:02:34And then with a greenway trail connector

1:02:36on Highway 58 which functions

1:02:37differently than perhaps a regular

1:02:39sidewalk. We did change that language in

1:02:41response to some public comment. I'm

1:02:43just concerned for the safety aspect of

1:02:45pedestrians.

1:02:45>> Yes, sir.

1:02:51>> We um we think uh this seemed to be kind

1:02:55of a a use variant situation with could

1:02:58someone get a variance for this, but we

1:02:59intention was not to prevent someone to

1:03:01have use of their property, but we did

1:03:03want to be aware that we might

1:03:05particularly highway 58 due to its

1:03:07linear corridor nature does not have a

1:03:09lot of streets to access from. side

1:03:12street. So, we put that in with this in

1:03:14mind.

1:03:16>> Anything else?

1:03:17>> No, ma'am.

1:03:18>> Okay, I see no other lights. Karen,

1:03:22thank you. Um, just with regards to

1:03:24CMU1, we'll be discussing that at the

1:03:27upcom the September

1:03:30planning commission meeting. I know that

1:03:31the commission asked for some more

1:03:33information relative to drive-throughs

1:03:35in the urban overlay.

1:03:37>> I don't believe we're discussing it

1:03:38September. um we might provide some

1:03:41information but we do not have a an

1:03:44amendment and I don't believe we'll have

1:03:45a full discussion about at that time.

1:03:47>> So not yet.

1:03:48>> Um we got some direction um that we can

1:03:51still handle it on a case by case basis

1:03:53and we do have some zoning cases.

1:03:55>> Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. Any other

1:03:57questions for Karen before she switches

1:04:00out with Brian?

1:04:03>> Thank you Karen as always.

1:04:20I'm here to talk about subdivision

1:04:22plants at the request of Chairman Davis

1:04:24to hopefully clear up some confusion.

1:04:26This comes up time to time from [snorts]

1:04:28the public and some of the city council.

1:04:30Um why don't plats or subdivision plats

1:04:34come from this body for action? So

1:04:35hopefully we'll after the day it's got

1:04:37four slides. We'll go through this

1:04:38pretty quickly and hopefully clear up

1:04:41some confusion or why they don't come

1:04:43for this body. Everything we do as as a

1:04:46planning agency or planners across the

1:04:48state follows state law. Tennessee code

1:04:50annotated. That's where we look look

1:04:52towards in terms of zoning and

1:04:53subdivision planning. So al I'll talk

1:04:55about state law quite a bit. Uh state

1:04:58law gives local governments the

1:04:59necessary authority to adopt and enforce

1:05:02subdivision regulations.

1:05:04This law also defines what is a

1:05:06subdivision, how plats are submitted to

1:05:08the planning commission, and provides

1:05:10procedures for the adoption and

1:05:12submission of subdivision plat. If you

1:05:15want to know more about this, at the

1:05:16bottom of the screen, I think you have

1:05:17it in your slide there. That's the state

1:05:19law references of title 13, chapters 3,

1:05:224, and 7. Uh chapters three refer to how

1:05:26you set up a municipal planning or sorry

1:05:28a regional planning commission and talks

1:05:29about subdivisions and how you do um the

1:05:33reviews. Chapter four is regarding

1:05:36municipal planning commission. And

1:05:37chapter 7 specifically related to zoning

1:05:39procedures.

1:05:41So what is a subdivision or state law?

1:05:43That's defined by 13341.

1:05:46It's basically a two-part test and I

1:05:48won't read this whole definition but

1:05:49it's two parts. Uh the first part means

1:05:52the division of a tract or parcel of

1:05:55land into two or more lots, sites or

1:05:58other division and this is the key

1:06:01requiring a new street or utility

1:06:03construction. So that's the first part.

1:06:05You're dividing into two or more lots

1:06:06and you're building a new street or

1:06:08utilities. That's a subdivision plat

1:06:11requiring submittal to staff and

1:06:13planning commission. The second part is

1:06:16any division less than five acres. So

1:06:18any any division of property into uh

1:06:20lots that are less than five acres,

1:06:23regardless if you're building a road or

1:06:25utilities, that's a plat under state

1:06:26law, and you have to submit a plat for

1:06:28review and adoption by the planning

1:06:30commission. By utility construction,

1:06:33that doesn't mean your individual

1:06:34service lines. These are your main

1:06:36public lines, main public water line, uh

1:06:39new streets. So that's the definition of

1:06:41what a subdivision is under state law.

1:06:45So we of get asked this question a lot

1:06:48too. What are the stages of a

1:06:49subdivision plat review process? It has

1:06:52really four steps really. The first part

1:06:54is a preliminary plat. And that's

1:06:56probably a misnomer on the name. I would

1:06:58like to change that at some point. Uh

1:07:00call it a concept plan. Sometimes people

1:07:03get confused on what that means. It's

1:07:05really just a conceptual rendering of

1:07:07what the development will look like. It

1:07:09gives us a staff and the planning

1:07:11commission opportunity to review that

1:07:12conceptual plan. Does it meet the

1:07:15subdivision regulations? Does it meet

1:07:16zoning? Does it appear to meet all other

1:07:19building codes, storm water codes,

1:07:22whatever codes the city's adopted? Does

1:07:24it primarily meet that? So that's the

1:07:26conceptual plan or preliminary plat. It

1:07:30doesn't mean you can go out and start

1:07:31grading and clearing the site. There's

1:07:33another step. So if plan commission

1:07:35approves a preliminary plat, the next

1:07:38step is the developer engineer submits

1:07:40civil plans or construction plans to

1:07:42land development office for review.

1:07:45That gets into storm water, how you're

1:07:48building the roads, how you're building

1:07:49utilities, all that information is very

1:07:52detailed civil plans. If that is

1:07:53approved by land development office, you

1:07:56then get your stor your grading permit

1:07:58and you can start grading and putting in

1:08:00infrastructure. [snorts] That's when

1:08:02people see something happening on the

1:08:03ground. It's when the land's being

1:08:05cleared. So again, that's the

1:08:07construction engineering plan stage,

1:08:09which is stage three. Once that's

1:08:12completed and all that's installed and

1:08:14ready to be accepted by the city as um

1:08:17meeting all the requirements, you then

1:08:18submit a final plaque. That final pla

1:08:20formality that goes in front of the

1:08:21planning commission. That's a final

1:08:23recording document that gets recorded

1:08:26the rest of deeds office that describes

1:08:28your legal boundaries. It doesn't

1:08:29transfer ownership until you do the

1:08:31deed, but it helps describe those deeds

1:08:32for those lots. [snorts] Once that gets

1:08:34recorded, you can start pulling building

1:08:36permits to actually construct the homes.

1:08:41Um, so how can I find out if it's a

1:08:43subdivision plan being developed near

1:08:44me? Well, the easiest way is our

1:08:46website. Uh, you can check that website

1:08:49each month at www.chrpa.org

1:08:53for monthly case information in terms of

1:08:54zoning and subdivision plat. If you want

1:08:57to look at previous approved plats, you

1:08:59can also look at our dashboard. It has

1:09:00all the plats that have been recorded in

1:09:02the city. So you people can look at that

1:09:04site.

1:09:06Sometimes we get asked a lot of

1:09:07questions. Why is a plat being rushed?

1:09:09Why is it being put on the agenda pretty

1:09:12quickly? Well, the reason is state law.

1:09:14State law ties our hands. Her TCA 1334

1:09:18404. When a plat has been submitted to

1:09:20the staff, we have 30 days to place that

1:09:23plat on the plan commission agenda or

1:09:25it's deemed approved. So we have no

1:09:28luxury of deferring that plat forever.

1:09:30So once we get it, it's considered

1:09:32complete, we have to put it on the plan

1:09:33commission agenda.

1:09:36Then the second part is who adopts

1:09:37subdivision regulations. Unlike zoning

1:09:39amendments that you see, you know, they

1:09:41go to the plan commission for

1:09:42recommendation, then they ultimately

1:09:43come to this body for final review and

1:09:45action. subdivision regulations are

1:09:48different. That authority stops with the

1:09:50planning commission. That's per TCA. Uh

1:09:52133 403 states the regional planning

1:09:55commission is exercising its powers of

1:09:57planning powers shall adopt regulations

1:10:00governing the subdivision of land in

1:10:02this jurisdiction. So that section says

1:10:04that any amendment to the subreg rest of

1:10:06the planning commission.

1:10:09We often get this question. I think I

1:10:11met with chairman Davis last week.

1:10:13What's the role of city council in

1:10:14subdivision platting? Uh, [snorts]

1:10:16and you know, I send you each month a

1:10:18rundown of the zoning cases in

1:10:20subdivision plat. Uh, but really on uh

1:10:24the council has no authority over

1:10:26subdivision plats that rest with a

1:10:28planning commission. That's coming out

1:10:29of state law 13342.

1:10:32No plat of a subdivision of land shall

1:10:34be filed or recorded until it has been

1:10:36approved by such regional planning

1:10:38commission or the staff of the regional

1:10:41planning commission. So it doesn't

1:10:42mention anywhere city council or

1:10:43legislative bodies. Uh the sole

1:10:46responsibility of approving subdivision

1:10:47plat rest with the planning commission.

1:10:50And so what we do again is notify

1:10:53council of any plat you have in your

1:10:54district. So really we talk about

1:10:56subdivision plat. It is different than

1:10:58zoning cases. It's if it meets the

1:11:00requirements it meets the requirements.

1:11:01They have no authority but to approve.

1:11:04[snorts] So with that that's my

1:11:05presentation. If you got any questions

1:11:06I'll be glad to answer on platting.

1:11:11That's short and sweet.

1:11:12>> I don't see any immediate Oh, I do see a

1:11:14light now. Just as I was getting ready

1:11:16to say something. Councilwoman Hill,

1:11:18thank you.

1:11:19>> Thank you. Um, so this plat process um

1:11:24has been an interesting conversation in

1:11:25District 2 recently um because we have a

1:11:29very large piece of property that's

1:11:31being cleared. Um and in fact it's so

1:11:34large that the land disturbance um is a

1:11:38[snorts] very small portion of the

1:11:39property even though it's a huge amount

1:11:41of land being disturbed. And the what

1:11:43I've been advised is that um this falls

1:11:46under that

1:11:49second element of when a subdivision

1:11:51plat is not approved is not required um

1:11:54with the potential that all a all tracks

1:11:58of land are greater than 5 acres and no

1:12:01street or utility is being constructed.

1:12:05So my question is

1:12:10when do those

1:12:13plats get recorded? Is it when a

1:12:15property is then sold

1:12:17>> and a title attorney hand?

1:12:19>> They would do a title attorney do a new

1:12:20deed creating five acre tracks.

1:12:23>> So there eventually becomes a record of

1:12:25them.

1:12:25>> Correct. [snorts]

1:12:26>> Okay. Thank you.

1:12:29>> That's all Madam Chair.

1:12:32I see no other lights. Just a quick

1:12:35question just comparison

1:12:38sub. Well, there's two there's two parts

1:12:39to the question.

1:12:42There are limits to what uh the regional

1:12:45planning commission can deny a

1:12:49subdivision plat. We have to follow

1:12:51certain laws. Correct.

1:12:53>> Um can you do a quick comparison? You

1:12:56kind of alluded to it. the difference

1:12:57between the approval of a subdivision

1:12:59plat and the approval of a reasonzoning

1:13:02of a property.

1:13:03>> Sure. We just had a training last month,

1:13:04a plan commission with a county attorney

1:13:06to present some stuff on on on

1:13:08subdivision platting when you can deny.

1:13:10You can the plan commission can deny a

1:13:12plat, but there has to be documented

1:13:14proof of some you're violating the

1:13:16subreg. You're not in compliance with

1:13:18some standard in the subreg. If you're

1:13:20violating that and not correcting that

1:13:22issue, you can deny it. You could deny

1:13:24it for safety reasons. But because

1:13:26[snorts] 50 people show up and say

1:13:29um the roads are unsafe, they have there

1:13:31has to be some documentation, just not

1:13:33hearsay. Uh so if you can do a study

1:13:36through a traffic study that these

1:13:38individual driveway curb cuts may cause

1:13:40a safety concern, you can deny the plat

1:13:42at that point. But if that plat meets

1:13:44all the requirements,

1:13:46you have no choice but to you may not

1:13:48like it, but if it meets the

1:13:49requirements, you have no choice but to

1:13:50approve it or you change your

1:13:52requirements.

1:13:53>> And so the planning commission, their

1:13:55hands are kind of

1:13:56>> tied and state law changes that. And

1:13:58actually, when a plaque gets on the

1:14:00planning commission agenda, they have to

1:14:02act within 60 days. If they don't act

1:14:04either to deny it or or or approve it,

1:14:07it's deemed approved. And that's all

1:14:08under state law. actually taking effect

1:14:11in January is another state law

1:14:12amendment that once we as staff get a

1:14:15subdivision plat. We have 30 days to

1:14:18send uh staff comments to the developer

1:14:22they respond back within so many days

1:14:24and if and if we don't [clears throat]

1:14:26do that it's deemed approved. So state

1:14:27law it's a heavy on private property

1:14:29rights. [clears throat]

1:14:31>> So one other question and I think unless

1:14:33I see any other lights we'll we'll move

1:14:34on.

1:14:36If I if I buy a piece of property that's

1:14:38not zoned for what I have in mind for

1:14:41use, which comes first, the reszone or

1:14:44the platting?

1:14:45>> Use the reszoning.

1:14:46>> Okay. So, lots of times when the when

1:14:48the subdivision plats, more often than

1:14:50not, when the subdivision plat come

1:14:52before the planning commission, the

1:14:55property's already been reszoned for

1:14:56that particular use. So, it's just a

1:14:58matter of, as you said, what what is the

1:15:00conceptual plan?

1:15:02>> Correct. now that it's been say reszoned

1:15:05for that particular use

1:15:06>> and and Trina obviously she's a

1:15:08subdivision coordinator when doing

1:15:10reszoning there's conditions on it uh we

1:15:12take the conditions and make sure that

1:15:13platty it meets the conditions so zoning

1:15:16and subision regulations go hand in hand

1:15:18uh but the subregs are a little

1:15:20different it's really about how you plat

1:15:21that property uh we get questions all

1:15:23the time why don't we send notification

1:15:26letters out to abuing property owners

1:15:28like we do a zoning case that's

1:15:29primarily why if it meets the

1:15:31requirements it's a formality the public

1:15:33notice was during a zoning case. I know

1:15:36Council Chairman Davis is experiencing

1:15:37that now with a plat on his property

1:15:39near his in his district that's causing

1:15:41some grief.

1:15:43>> Okay. Thank you, Brian. I see no other

1:15:46lights. Chairman Davis, have your did

1:15:49that satisfy?

1:15:50>> Yes.

1:15:51>> The information you wanted to

1:15:52communicate? Okay. And what time would

1:15:54you like to recess until

1:15:57>> 5:15? I'll have a brief attorney.

1:15:59>> Okay. Uh thank you all. We will recess

1:16:02until 5:15 and we do have an attorney

1:16:05client meeting.

1:16:08Key word.

1:16:10Did you hear that?

1:48:26We are back in session. Madame clerk, if

1:48:28you would please read item 7A.

1:48:32>> A resolution authorizing economic

1:48:34development to apply for and if war

1:48:36accept an appellation. I'm sorry about

1:48:38that. I'm I'm reading. [laughter]

1:48:40>> Sorry.

1:48:44>> 7 A an ordinance amending Chattanooga

1:48:46City Code Part 2 chapter 31 section

1:48:4831362

1:48:50general duties of the storm water

1:48:52regulations board.

1:48:54>> Second.

1:48:54>> We have a motion properly seconded.

1:48:56Council, are there any questions or

1:48:58comments on this item before we vote?

1:49:01All in favor?

1:49:03>> Any opposed?

1:49:05And the ordinance passes on final

1:49:07reading. Item 9A, please.

1:49:11>> A resolution authorizing economic

1:49:13development to apply for and if awarded,

1:49:15[clears throat] accept an Appalachian

1:49:16Regional Commission ARC grant for the

1:49:19buildout of the Health Clinic at the

1:49:20West Side with a 50% match of $500,000

1:49:24for a total amount not to exceed $1

1:49:26million.

1:49:27>> Motion.

1:49:28>> Second. Have a motion properly seconded

1:49:30on this resolution. Council, are there

1:49:32any questions or comments before we

1:49:34vote? [clears throat]

1:49:36All in favor? I. Any opposed? And the

1:49:40resolution is adopted. Item 9B, please.

1:49:44>> A resolution authorizing the

1:49:45administrator of community development

1:49:47to apply for and if awarded, accept a

1:49:49nonrecurring allocation grant from the

1:49:52Tennessee Department of Disability and

1:49:54Aging to be used to support current and

1:49:56[clears throat] future senior programs

1:49:58from FY27 through FY28. as well as

1:50:02replace gym equipment at the Glenwood

1:50:04Center for the seniors in the amount of

1:50:06$50,000.

1:50:08>> Move to approve.

1:50:10>> Have a motion properly seconded on this

1:50:12resolution. Are there any questions or

1:50:14comments, council, before we vote?

1:50:17>> All in favor? I. Any opposed? And the

1:50:21resolution is adopted. Um item 9 C,

1:50:24please. A resolution authorizing the

1:50:26Chief Human Resources Officer to extend

1:50:29the 22nd Century Technologies, Inc.

1:50:32contract agreement for an additional

1:50:34four months with the extension terms

1:50:36beginning September 9, 2026 and ending

1:50:38on December 31, 2026.

1:50:41>> Move to approve.

1:50:43>> We have a motion properly seconded on

1:50:44this resolution. Are there any questions

1:50:46or comments before we vote? Council,

1:50:50>> all in favor?

1:50:52>> Any opposed? The resolution is adopted.

1:50:56Item 9D, please.

1:50:58A resolution authorizing the

1:50:59administrative for the Department of

1:51:01Public Works to award contract number

1:51:03E24018201

1:51:05Rape Crisis Center to Point General

1:51:08Contractors LLC in the amount of

1:51:11998,57346

1:51:15with a [snorts] contingency in the

1:51:17amount of $100,000 for a total amount

1:51:19not to exceed $1,198,57346.

1:51:26Move

1:51:26>> to approve.

1:51:28But motion properly seconded on this

1:51:30resolution. Council, are there any

1:51:32questions or comments before we vote?

1:51:35>> All in favor?

1:51:37>> Any opposed? And the resolution is

1:51:39adopted.

1:51:41Item 9E, please. A resolution

1:51:44authorizing the administrative for the

1:51:46Department of Public Works to avoid

1:51:47contract number L250001201

1:51:51Chattanooga Public Library third floor

1:51:53archives upgrades to Robert Roberts LLC

1:51:56in the amount of $369,313

1:52:00with a contingency in the amount of

1:52:02$37,000

1:52:04for a total amount not to exceed

1:52:06$46,313.

1:52:11>> Second. We have a motion properly

1:52:13seconded on this resolution. Council,

1:52:15are there any questions or comments

1:52:17before we vote? [snorts]

1:52:19All in favor?

1:52:20>> I. Any opposed? And the resolution is

1:52:23adopted. And finally, item 9F, please.

1:52:27>> [snorts]

1:52:27>> A resolution authorizing the

1:52:28appointments of Donna Castile, Allison

1:52:31Tate, David Kowalsski, Joshua Chandler,

1:52:34Demetrius Hull, and Jason Chanty as

1:52:36special police officers unarmed for the

1:52:38city of Chattanooga Department of Public

1:52:40Works land development office expressly

1:52:43limited to the performance of duties and

1:52:45their position as code enforcement

1:52:46officer in the land development office.

1:52:49>> Motion to approve. Second.

1:52:51>> We have a motion properly seconded on

1:52:53this resolution. Council, are there any

1:52:55questions or comments before we vote?

1:52:58All in favor?

1:52:59>> I.

1:53:00>> Any opposed? And resolution is adopted.

1:53:03That takes us to purchases.

1:53:05[clears throat]

1:53:11>> Good evening, council.

1:53:13>> Evening.

1:53:13>> We have eight purchases recommended for

1:53:16approval this evening. Item number one

1:53:18is with public works. This is a new

1:53:20agreement for litter abatement and

1:53:22structure boarding services.

1:53:25This will be a 4-year agreement with an

1:53:27annual amount limit of $575,000.

1:53:30The award will go to TRG Lawn Care and

1:53:33River City remodeling as a best bid.

1:53:36Item number two is with DTS. This is a

1:53:38one-time purchase for an endto-end

1:53:40decision support system for integrated

1:53:42smart electric grid and transportation

1:53:45system management with soul source

1:53:47purchase. this soul source purchase that

1:53:49partners with UTC utilizing the ATC MTD

1:53:53grant in the amount of 52,792.

1:53:58Item number three is with wastewater.

1:54:00This is a new agreement for air

1:54:01compressor annual maintenance and repair

1:54:03services. This will be a 4-year

1:54:05agreement with an annual amount limit of

1:54:07$55,000. The award will go to National

1:54:10Compressor as the best bid. Item number

1:54:12four is with public works. This is a

1:54:14one-time purchase for three

1:54:16self-leveling suspension systems for

1:54:18fire department F550 brush trucks. This

1:54:21soul source purchase from Liquid Spring

1:54:23LLC is in the amount of $56,452.50.

1:54:29Item number five is with wastewater.

1:54:31This is a one-time purchase to cover

1:54:32past two invoices for sewer line

1:54:34chemical root control services. This

1:54:36purchase from Duke's Root Control will

1:54:38be in the amount of $139,169.

1:54:44Item number six is with public works.

1:54:46This is a one-time purchase for the

1:54:48easement acquisition with the stream

1:54:50assessment and storm water division for

1:54:53the amount limit of $226,000.

1:54:55The award will go to RK and K is the

1:54:58best proposal. Item number seven is with

1:55:00public works. This is a one-time

1:55:02purchase for a Peterbuilt split body

1:55:04garbage truck to be used by solid waste.

1:55:07This purchase from Environmental

1:55:08Products Group will be in the amount of

1:55:10$458,810.80

1:55:13utilizing the Sourcewell contract.

1:55:15Finally, item number eight with Parks

1:55:16and Outdoors is a new agreement for

1:55:18security services at multiple locations

1:55:20across the city. This will be a 4-year

1:55:22agreement with an with an amount limit

1:55:24not to exceed $2 million annually. The

1:55:27award will go to Walden Security and SEI

1:55:29Inc. as the best bids.

1:55:32>> Vice Chair Elliot, you're recognized.

1:55:35>> Yes, Mr. Chair, I would like to make a

1:55:36motion to defer the parks and outdoor

1:55:40security contract entire contract uh

1:55:43till September 22nd.

1:55:49>> 22.

1:55:59>> All right, council. We have a motion

1:56:01properly seconded to defer that last

1:56:04purchasing item until our September 22nd

1:56:07agenda. Are there any questions or

1:56:10comments before we vote on the motion?

1:56:14>> Let me look at

1:56:23>> All right. Um All right. Seeing

1:56:26>> Mr.

1:56:27>> Oh, I do see.

1:56:29>> Sorry, my little machine. Looks like

1:56:31he's got some numbers in queue.

1:56:33>> Okay. Yeah. So, I have um Councilman

1:56:35Harvey. You're recognized.

1:56:37>> Yeah. I just wanted to ask Councilman

1:56:39Elliot if you consider the 15th.

1:56:41>> I may not be here. It depends on when my

1:56:44flight reads and how long the meeting

1:56:46last.

1:56:47>> Should you get your answers between now

1:56:49and then? Can we vote affirmative?

1:56:51>> It depends on how long our meeting

1:56:52lasts.

1:56:54Like if [snorts] we have a long meeting

1:56:57um

1:56:57>> I mean even if you're not here

1:56:59>> say again

1:56:59>> even if you're not here do you feel like

1:57:01you could get your answers between now

1:57:03and then?

1:57:03>> I hope so. We can see [laughter]

1:57:08>> just a question.

1:57:09>> Okay.

1:57:09>> The what gives me a piece of mind is

1:57:11that they did describe a stop gap they

1:57:14have in place until this [clears throat]

1:57:16contract is finalized. So we're not

1:57:18leaving our

1:57:19>> that was my facilities unsecured.

1:57:21>> Yeah. That was my concern.

1:57:22>> Yep. Yep. [snorts] general council.

1:57:26Okay.

1:57:27>> Uh, Councilman Clark, you're recognized.

1:57:29>> Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. That was going

1:57:30to be my question because I'm I'm a

1:57:32little sketchy about the 22nd being too

1:57:34long. Um, also I want to note just for

1:57:38the record that, you know, our issues

1:57:40were with SEI and not with Walden.

1:57:43Um, and to

1:57:47I don't know the nature of your

1:57:48questions and I'm sure between now and

1:57:50the 15th I'm I'm I'm assuming you all

1:57:53have worked out a time to meet. Is that

1:57:57>> we will [clears throat]

1:57:58>> if you would like I can send you my

1:57:59questions if you want clarification on

1:58:02all the things I'm inquiring about. But

1:58:04my questions go beyond just SEI.

1:58:07>> Gotcha. Um,

1:58:11I guess my question would be if we were

1:58:13to So, do you do you have subsequent

1:58:15questions with Walden Security?

1:58:18>> Like I just said, yes.

1:58:19>> Okay.

1:58:21[clears throat]

1:58:24>> Okay. Is that all, Councilman Clark?

1:58:26>> Mhm.

1:58:26>> Okay. Council, are there any other

1:58:29questions or comments before we vote on

1:58:32the motion to defer?

1:58:35>> All in favor?

1:58:36>> I. Any opposed?

1:58:39And the motion carries. And so that

1:58:42particular item,

1:58:44which is number eight on our list for

1:58:46tonight, will be deferred until

1:58:47September 22nd.

1:58:51>> So then, council, I'll need a motion on

1:58:53the remaining

1:58:54>> seven. So move.

1:58:58>> Have a motion properly seconded to

1:58:59approve the remaining seven purchases on

1:59:01our list for this evening. Are there any

1:59:03questions or comments on any of those

1:59:04items before we vote?

1:59:07All in favor? I. Any opposed?

1:59:10>> And the purchases are approved. Thank

1:59:12you, Wesley.

1:59:18>> We'll go around the dis now for

1:59:19committee reports. We'll start with

1:59:21Councilman Henderson.

1:59:23>> Uh thank you, Mr. Chair.

1:59:26Remind

1:59:27>> we will have our

1:59:29budget

1:59:34>> uh conference room.

1:59:36Thank you, Councilwoman Hill.

1:59:39>> Uh, can I let me let me back up just a

1:59:41minute. Sure.

1:59:42>> Uh, Councilman Elliot, would you get me

1:59:43the list of questions that you have

1:59:47uh for the uh committee hearing that you

1:59:51requested so that I know kind of who to

1:59:53line up and what to line up.

1:59:54>> Yes.

1:59:55>> Okay. Thank you.

1:59:57>> Okay. That all council

1:59:59>> That's all. Okay. Thank you,

2:00:00>> Councilwoman Hill.

2:00:02[clears throat] Councilman Harvey.

2:00:05>> Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh no

2:00:06committee report, but I want to uh

2:00:08announce and invite uh the public to the

2:00:11grand opening for the harvesting uh

2:00:13inclusive playground uh that will be

2:00:15opening officially finally this Saturday

2:00:18at Heritage Park at 10:00 a.m. So,

2:00:21please come join us. U this is one of

2:00:23our brave firefighters, Skylar

2:00:25Phillips's vision. Um council uh has

2:00:28also thank you council for uh helping

2:00:30fund this project. U but we're very

2:00:33excited to see this uh come through and

2:00:34I want to thank former councilman Darren

2:00:36Leadford um for his uh his help as well

2:00:40uh when he was on council uh to get this

2:00:42done. Um we've been talking about this

2:00:44project a long time since uh 2018 and

2:00:46now we finally get to see it uh come to

2:00:48fruition. So, we're very excited um for

2:00:51a new playground that is not only open

2:00:53to um children um all to all children,

2:00:57including those with disabilities uh who

2:00:59will be able to access this um thus the

2:01:02name uh the inclusive playground. So, uh

2:01:05we're excited to see that uh in District

2:01:074. So, come out and see us on uh

2:01:09Saturday, September 12th at 10 a.m. at

2:01:11Jack Benson Heritage Park.

2:01:14>> That's all right. Councilman Clark,

2:01:16>> no report.

2:01:20Councilwoman Null.

2:01:22>> Councilwoman Dotley.

2:01:25>> Councilwoman Burs.

2:01:26>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Have a we had a

2:01:29planning, zoning, and housing committee

2:01:31meeting today. And I want to thank Karen

2:01:34and Brian for their presentation. It's

2:01:36always good [clears throat] to get a

2:01:37little education session in every once

2:01:39in a while. And then uh one thing that I

2:01:41failed to mention dur during our

2:01:42committee report is the next planning

2:01:44commission meeting will be September

2:01:4614th. again at the new location at the

2:01:49development resource center at one

2:01:50o'clock.

2:01:51>> Okay,

2:01:52>> that's all, Mr. Chair.

2:01:53>> Thank you. And vice chair Elliot.

2:01:56>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, two

2:01:58[clears throat] things. Uh, reminding

2:02:00everybody of the District 9 town hall on

2:02:03September 14th.

2:02:05And secondly, I would like to take a

2:02:07minute to pause and recognize the loss

2:02:10of a true giant

2:02:14of Chattanooga. um a good friend of

2:02:17mine, a brother, and a mentor.

2:02:21[clears throat]

2:02:22We unfortunately lost uh Shane Marorrow,

2:02:26um co-founder [snorts and clears throat]

2:02:28and um

2:02:30executive director of Rise Chattanooga

2:02:33unexpectedly last week.

2:02:36And to know Shane is to understand his

2:02:39um

2:02:41his um deep impact and love for people

2:02:45in this community.

2:02:47Um so if you could join me in a brief

2:02:50moment of silence.

2:02:59>> Thank you.

2:03:01>> Thank you, vice chair.

2:03:03And I would just note again um for

2:03:06council and everybody, we will not be

2:03:08meeting next Tuesday due to the Labor

2:03:10Day holiday. And so our next meeting

2:03:11will be September 15th.

2:03:13>> Um and with that, we're now to the

2:03:16portion of our meeting where we're happy

2:03:17to hear from members of the public who

2:03:18are here to address council. And so if

2:03:21you're here for that purpose, if you

2:03:22would just line up at the podium down

2:03:24front and listen while our attorney

2:03:26reads the rules. And we just ask that

2:03:27everyone abides by the rules.

2:03:31>> Yes, sir. And at the end of each council

2:03:33business meeting, the chair will

2:03:35recognize members of the public who wish

2:03:37to address the council. And here's your

2:03:39rules. Uh each speaker wishing to

2:03:41address the council can only be

2:03:43recognized at the microphone up front

2:03:45for that purpose. Uh you can't have more

2:03:48than three minutes to speak and you can

2:03:50address the council only upon matters

2:03:52within their legislative and qua

2:03:54judicial authority and not on matters

2:03:56which are not under their authority or

2:03:58regulated by other governmental bodies

2:03:59or agencies. Do not engage in any vulgar

2:04:02or obscene language, nor use the floor

2:04:05to personally attack or personally

2:04:06denigrate others, and address your

2:04:08comments to the council as a whole, and

2:04:10not make comments directed towards

2:04:12individual council members. And lastly,

2:04:15do not engage in disorderly conduct or

2:04:17disrupting a public meeting, which is

2:04:19prohibited by Tennessee law, and someone

2:04:21commits that offense if a person

2:04:24substantially obstructs

2:04:26obstructs the meeting or goes to a

2:04:30discussion here that is prohibited by

2:04:32Tennessee law. So, go right ahead,

2:04:34ma'am. Right up front, if you'll give us

2:04:35your name and your uh district, it would

2:04:38help.

2:04:39>> Okay.

2:04:39>> Yes, ma'am.

2:04:40>> Can you hear me? Okay. Like this. Okay.

2:04:42Hi, my name is Karen Angland. with dis

2:04:44district 3 and I want to express first

2:04:47of all my appreciation for receiving

2:04:49some notification last week about uh the

2:04:52town hall meeting for plan shoot

2:04:54Chattanooga coming up and my comments

2:04:56today um are in relationship to my

2:04:59neighborhood big ridge and uh how it

2:05:02fits into the bigger picture of plan

2:05:04Chattanooga. So, [snorts] um, the main

2:05:06point I'd like to address today is the

2:05:09issue, um, that part that public

2:05:12participation during the development of

2:05:14our neighborhoods should be treated as a

2:05:16necessity, not something that's

2:05:17optional. Residents who live in a

2:05:19neighborhood know things about it that

2:05:21won't show up on a map or on a planning

2:05:23document. [snorts] Most of us don't

2:05:25understand city speak. We're busy

2:05:28working, raising families, and trying to

2:05:30make ends meet. So, we often rely on

2:05:32neighborhood leader of some kind to help

2:05:35us understand what's happening. [snorts]

2:05:37Until about three weeks ago, our

2:05:39neighborhood didn't have anyone filling

2:05:41that role.

2:05:42Recently, we learned about a major

2:05:44subdivision planned for our neighborhood

2:05:46in kind of an odd way. Actually, on a

2:05:48Sunday evening, my neighbor texted me a

2:05:51snapshot of the plans for the

2:05:53development and said, "Have you seen

2:05:55this?" I hadn't seen it. I didn't have a

2:05:58clue about it. None of my neighbors knew

2:06:00about it. not even those of us who had

2:06:02been actively monitoring that property.

2:06:06[clears throat]

2:06:08We also learned that night that those

2:06:09plans were we also learned that night

2:06:12that those plans were scheduled for

2:06:14preliminary approval the very next day.

2:06:17Since then, we've had we've been

2:06:18catapulted into a process we don't

2:06:20understand, sometimes with only a day or

2:06:22two to prepare.

2:06:24Big Ridge is not like the flatter parks

2:06:26of Hixon. Uh we live on a mountaintop

2:06:29with steep roads, hairpin turns and

2:06:32blind hills. We have one entrance, one

2:06:35thoroughfare that sits at the top of one

2:06:37route that goes down into Hixon proper.

2:06:40These proposed 51 homes would be built

2:06:43right on the thoroughfare at our

2:06:44neighborhood's single entrance. Our

2:06:47concerns about traffic, drainage, road

2:06:50safety, emergency access, and wildlife

2:06:53corridors aren't abstract. They come

2:06:55from living there. I live at Moss Lake

2:06:58Drive on a blind hilltop. Before turning

2:07:01on to Big Ridge Road, I stop and I count

2:07:03for several seconds because approaching

2:07:06vehicles can be completely hidden from

2:07:08my view and I don't want to get hit.

2:07:10That's just a part of everyday life up

2:07:12there. We know that change is inevitable

2:07:15and we're not opposed to it. What we're

2:07:17asking is to be informed early enough to

2:07:19understand it, to meaningfully

2:07:21participate, and most importantly to

2:07:24help it get it right before decisions

2:07:26are made so that taxpayers aren't left

2:07:28footing the bill afterward for problems

2:07:30that we could have avoided.

2:07:33>> And that's all she wrote.

2:07:35>> Thank you.

2:07:36>> Thank you.

2:07:45My name is John Schmeckley. My um most

2:07:49recent residence was in District 5.

2:07:53Today I'm going to talk about drugs in

2:07:57Chattanooga's homeless shelter, the

2:07:59rescue mission.

2:08:01close to a year ago.

2:08:12I told the chaplain there that I had

2:08:15said to the police, I suspect that drugs

2:08:18are moving through the rescue mission.

2:08:21The police said to me, we know drugs are

2:08:24moving through the rescue mission.

2:08:27I said the drugs are moving from black

2:08:31hands into white hands.

2:08:34The police asked for names and I gave

2:08:36two names.

2:08:39Then after saying all this to the

2:08:41chaplain at the rescue mission, I told

2:08:44him that I could have given the police

2:08:47the name of the assistant director of

2:08:50the rescue mission, but I didn't.

2:08:53Two weeks later, the chaplain kicked me

2:08:56out permanently from the rescue mission

2:08:59because a man who was high on drugs

2:09:02inside the rescue mission blew up at me.

2:09:07This past May, I was back in the rescue

2:09:10mission and I didn't notice any

2:09:13drugrelated activity. It it it just

2:09:15wasn't um nobody puking in the middle of

2:09:18the night because he can't handle what

2:09:20he did. just um no funny people walking

2:09:23around the the hallways at 2:00.

2:09:27I always my my back is bad so I get up

2:09:31in the middle of the night to take a

2:09:32shower and and the mattresses are really

2:09:34bad and so I relax myself and so I

2:09:38should notice what's going on. I see

2:09:39more than most people do anyway or or

2:09:42did. Um anyway, I didn't notice any

2:09:46drugrelated activity or suspicious until

2:09:50um this past July when the same two

2:09:53people whom I had named last year

2:09:56behaved suspiciously.

2:09:58Shortly afterward, I was banned once

2:10:00again from the rescue mission.

2:10:03I hope that as the city of Chattanooga

2:10:06combats drugs in the streets, the proper

2:10:09authorities will take a look at the

2:10:11management of the rescue mission. Thank

2:10:14you for listening to me.

2:10:15>> Thank you.

2:10:19>> My name is Brad Harwell and I'm uh in

2:10:22District 1. Um,

2:10:25I came here tonight to ask about

2:10:27installing trash cans uh at the

2:10:32Riverwalk trail head to Virginia Avenue.

2:10:36Um, there are no trash cans present in

2:10:39that area

2:10:41and there tends to be an excessive

2:10:42amount of litter in those areas. Um, and

2:10:46then the next thing I wanted to inquire

2:10:48about was access to that feeder stream

2:10:52right there by the riverfront trail head

2:10:55that that runs into the the river.

2:10:59Uh, that there appears to be large

2:11:04amounts of litter there. And I know

2:11:06there's a a litter boom that you can

2:11:08view from the bridge. Uh, but it doesn't

2:11:12appear that it gets cleaned. Uh, and so

2:11:15that litter is going to sit there until

2:11:17it disintegrates enough to sink. Um, and

2:11:21that's still harming the waterhed. If we

2:11:24could get some points in between where

2:11:26the utility pipes or or sewer pipes

2:11:30cross that, um, I'm happy to go down and

2:11:34clean it myself.

2:11:36Uh but um you know it is something that

2:11:39that I'm passionate about and uh would

2:11:42would be willing to help install the

2:11:45access points. Um but uh just wanted to

2:11:49bring it up to y'all's attention in case

2:11:51you weren't aware. Thank you for your

2:11:52time.

2:11:53>> Thank you.

2:11:59>> Hello. Good evening. Um my name is Kyla

2:12:03Cwley. I am the president of the

2:12:06National Federation of the Blind Scenic

2:12:08City Chapter. Um I'm actually here today

2:12:12to bring a concern from not just the

2:12:15blind community but the disability

2:12:17community

2:12:19um to our city. And that concern that we

2:12:21have currently is transportation.

2:12:24Um, we cannot rely upon city

2:12:28transportation to get persons with

2:12:32disabilities to and from work, to and

2:12:35from school events, or even to and from

2:12:37the grocery stores. And we find that

2:12:41living in the city or even outside the

2:12:44city is getting harder and harder. in

2:12:46this here in Hamilton County and

2:12:50Chattanooga as a community of people

2:12:53with disabilities.

2:12:55And so I wanted to bring it to the

2:12:59awareness of the city that we are trying

2:13:03to work alongside to help find solutions

2:13:06for these transportation issues

2:13:10as [snorts]

2:13:12we cannot

2:13:14get gainful transportation anywhere. Um,

2:13:18I work downtown Chattanooga and I live

2:13:22in the East Briner area and if I need to

2:13:27take an Uber to work, it costs me almost

2:13:29a quarter of my paycheck weekly.

2:13:32Um, just to go to work via Uber. um

2:13:36Carter Caravan right now which is

2:13:38paratransit services for the city of

2:13:40Chattanooga for people who cannot

2:13:43readily access the fixed bus routes due

2:13:47to having a disability.

2:13:50um

2:13:51they are very limited in their services

2:13:55and they are at capacity

2:13:58and that means that people that live in

2:14:01zones 2 and three for Carter services

2:14:05are no longer receiving rides. Um I have

2:14:07members in my chapter that cannot get

2:14:10back and forth to work any longer. Um or

2:14:14if they do get back and forth to work,

2:14:16they're either late or they're picked up

2:14:18late. Um, and so I just wanted to bring

2:14:22this issue to our city council to make

2:14:26you guys aware that transportation is a

2:14:29major barrier for people in the city of

2:14:32Chattanooga as residents. Thank you.

2:14:35>> Thank you.

2:14:41>> My name is Nells Thompson and I'd like

2:14:44to speak to you about the homeless

2:14:46crisis that we have. Um, I'm so

2:14:49concerned that we have hundreds of

2:14:52people that do not have a house to live

2:14:54in, do not have a bedroom to go to

2:14:56tonight, are going to sleep outside on

2:14:59the ground or wherever they can. And uh,

2:15:03I know there's a proposal to build a

2:15:05barrierfree

2:15:07shelter that would have 500 beds, and I

2:15:10just urge you to get on that program and

2:15:14and do it. I'm a retired prison

2:15:17psychologist.

2:15:19I have experience in people

2:15:22reconstituting their life

2:15:25that have had hard times. And I believe

2:15:29that there are hundreds of now homeless

2:15:32people that if we gave them a start like

2:15:36these beds, they would quickly find

2:15:40themselves

2:15:42using electrical devices, finding work,

2:15:45finding transportation, getting GEDs.

2:15:48I'm [clears throat] certain of it. We

2:15:51have a very dedicated group of uh

2:15:54volunteer

2:15:56uh organizations that want to help these

2:15:58people, but we can hardly find them and

2:16:00we can't keep track and we can't have

2:16:02consistent programming because they're

2:16:05all over the place and every place they

2:16:07are is illegal for them to be there and

2:16:09illegal for us to go there and help

2:16:12them. So, we need a center where we can

2:16:16meaningfully [clears throat]

2:16:17help these people. So, I urge you to

2:16:20find the funds and the will to make that

2:16:23a reality. Thank you.

2:16:26>> Thank you.

2:16:34>> Can I have their extra time? They didn't

2:16:37use. Um, good evening. Um, I'm Laura

2:16:40Reeve. I'm here as a concerned citizen

2:16:43and I live in District 9. Um,

2:16:46[clears throat] I recently read the uh,

2:16:48August 2026 audit report pertaining to

2:16:51the um, fleet [clears throat] garage

2:16:53parts contract and there were some very

2:16:57alarming findings in this report um,

2:17:00that indicate

2:17:02possible criminal violations.

2:17:05Since I only have three minutes, let me

2:17:07just quickly go over just a highlight

2:17:10area of what my concerns are. And let's

2:17:12start with the contract first. [snorts]

2:17:15The bids on this the biders on this

2:17:17contract were not informed that this

2:17:19would be awarded as a split contract.

2:17:22They didn't know uh the contract did not

2:17:25go to the lowest bidder. And after the

2:17:28bids were received, Fleet decided to

2:17:32split the award. The procurement was

2:17:35split arbitrarily with different total

2:17:37dollar amounts for each vendor. Um and

2:17:41[clears throat] this contract award was

2:17:43inconsistent with the city's best value

2:17:46vendor policy. So I ask yourself

2:17:50why was this done in this manner? The

2:17:53second um [clears throat]

2:17:56fleet eliminated the established

2:17:59internal controls failed to follow

2:18:01already established policy and

2:18:03procedures for the purchasing when they

2:18:06use the purchase cards.

2:18:08fleet utilized all purchases via the

2:18:11purchase card which bypassed the um

2:18:15entire control mechanism which was in

2:18:18place for the contract.

2:18:20Um

2:18:22it was prohibited to use purchase cards

2:18:25for purchasing repetitive items and

2:18:28prohibits buying items and services from

2:18:31a contract.

2:18:33>> [clears throat]

2:18:33>> um fleet also violated internal controls

2:18:36by using the purchase card. The I think

2:18:40it's called the Oracle system which is a

2:18:44procurement method for the contract um

2:18:47has internal controls built in and if

2:18:51used through this contract would have

2:18:53caught these issues before they ever

2:18:56occurred. The system Oracle system was

2:18:58designed as a three-way match between

2:19:02purchase orders, invoices, and receipts.

2:19:06Also uh fleet failed to pay established

2:19:10contract prices for the auto parts.

2:19:12Failed to enforce contract requirements

2:19:14that the vendor supply original source

2:19:17documents to verify. Failed to

2:19:20periodically spot check vendor source

2:19:22documentation. Failed to pay agreed upon

2:19:26rates

2:19:27um by allowing freight markups which

2:19:30caused increase in cost overages

2:19:33overcharges. also failed to properly

2:19:36verify the part and I got to ask you. So

2:19:39why was this done?

2:19:42Ah she was that my three minutes. Okay.

2:19:44He has one one extra. Can I have that

2:19:46one real fast?

2:19:47>> No ma'am. I'm sorry. Okay.

2:19:49>> We have our rules.

2:19:51>> I can All I'm asking is if you consider

2:19:54sending this audit report to a crim

2:19:56criminal investigative unit.

2:19:58>> That's all. Yeah. Thank you.

2:20:00>> Okay.

2:20:09Hi,

2:20:10my name is Jan Perie. Um, I'm a District

2:20:143 resident and um, I've been a little

2:20:18bit complacent over the years. I've

2:20:20loved living here and you all have done

2:20:22such a good job of keeping the citizens

2:20:25informed of things that I made some

2:20:28rather lazy assumptions and I felt

2:20:31protected by the process. What I would

2:20:34really like to alert you to is the fact

2:20:36that there are some things I've noticed

2:20:38since I'm taking I'm bringing this up

2:20:41late. Um, but I looked through the plan

2:20:45Chattanooga and my concern has to do uh

2:20:48with something that grew out of my um

2:20:52surprise that a neigh u a development

2:20:55was coming right beside our

2:20:57neighborhood. We are on Bigridge. There

2:21:00are cliffs, slopes that are very

2:21:03dramatic and this um I'm not asking you

2:21:06to consider it because it's going to the

2:21:08RPA and that will be their decision. But

2:21:12I think if plan p plan Chattanooga puts

2:21:15templates as appear in plan Chattanooga

2:21:18and the language says that you will rely

2:21:21on the maps, big is not given any kind

2:21:24of customized um treatment options for

2:21:29dealing with a development that has

2:21:32risks uh related to the terrain and the

2:21:36cliffs. Ironically, it's meas it's

2:21:38mentioned in the plan Chattanooga in

2:21:42several places that terrain is an issue,

2:21:44but it's an issue more like can you

2:21:46actually build on it? And that's on page

2:21:4822 of the citywide uh citywide plan. Um

2:21:53the idea that somebody could customize I

2:21:56don't know whether they're talking

2:21:57they're saying some neighborhoods could

2:21:59be customized. That's page 32. Um there

2:22:02um are barriers however to the citizens

2:22:06participating because this plat was

2:22:08already and um the gentleman from RPA

2:22:11was just super helpful in helping us

2:22:12know what legislation is involved. But

2:22:15think about this with the people who um

2:22:19since our our purpose is to do

2:22:21development in a way that causes no

2:22:23harm. It seems to me that letting

2:22:25residents be moved back into that

2:22:29process of identifying uh risks to the

2:22:33neighborhood needs to be implic uh

2:22:35included. So the plan I'm sorry I don't

2:22:38do this. [laughter]

2:22:40Um the the um the grids that you put

2:22:44over the plan are going to dictate a

2:22:46lot. So I've asked for you to delay and

2:22:49consider making some adjustments. And I

2:22:51think the adjustments that would be

2:22:52helpful would be those that would allow

2:22:54for notice even if a plat and this may

2:22:57involve some kind of change to some

2:23:00legislation um and uh transparency in

2:23:04the process and um just safety which

2:23:08ironically is missing in page six where

2:23:10you list the um concerns for the city.

2:23:13Safety is not one of them.

2:23:15>> Thank you.

2:23:17>> Thank you.

2:23:20Good job.

2:23:27>> Hi, I'm Blake Wright. I am in district 9

2:23:31and I'm just here to and I'm sure we

2:23:35have talked um but I want to invite each

2:23:38of you out to Farm Park. Um I'm going to

2:23:42be on it because the land that we are

2:23:44working to expand to is on the market

2:23:47right now. So, I will be bothering

2:23:49everyone until we ensure that this land

2:23:52is protected. Obviously, as we've heard

2:23:55from other public comments, you know,

2:23:58the land that's on steep slopes that

2:24:00contains trees that are 100 plus years

2:24:04old, that is on aquafer springs, um, is

2:24:08really valuable, especially that it's in

2:24:10the city. So, it's really important to

2:24:13us to look at the food security. I'm

2:24:15sure each of you have heard about all

2:24:17the recalls that are happening and you

2:24:20know looking at resiliency for

2:24:22Chattanooga and that's what we're

2:24:24working on addressing now on the two

2:24:26acres we already own and that's what

2:24:28we're working on addressing in a bigger

2:24:30way with the 17 acre expansion. So again

2:24:34just inviting each of you um to come out

2:24:38to Farm Park. Some of you have, some of

2:24:40you live next door. And I know that we

2:24:43have a huge supporter and Ron who is,

2:24:46you know, inviting everyone out to see

2:24:49it, but I just wanted to personally

2:24:51invite you, um, you know, via this

2:24:54presentation to come out and check it

2:24:57out. I can talk forever about it. Um,

2:25:00but it's just one of those things that

2:25:01you have to see in person to see how

2:25:03special it is. So again, thank you so

2:25:06much for your time.

2:25:12Council, it appears we've completed the

2:25:14business in front of us this evening.

2:25:18>> All in favor? All right. All right.

2:25:20We're ajourned. [clears throat]

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