Board of Mayor and Aldermen

July 18th 2024

All members of the board were present for this meeting. The agenda was adopted. The minutes from June were approved pending one correction. Alderman Silver noted that Mayor Corbitt and she were in attendance at the June meeting, not absent. The correction was noted and the minutes were accepted. Visitors were welcomed. There were roughly 15 people in attendance. A proclamation was made for the White House Heritage Baseball Team. The team had a record season and had a showing at the state tournament. (did not have a copy of the proclamation at the time of writing this article

Only a few members of the team were in attendance for the meeting.

9. Public Comment Dolly Peay was signed up to speak. Peay is also a member of the Planning Commission, and wanted to make sure her statements were on the public record. Honey Run Creek is an issue and the city is aware of it. However, when you call different departments, you receive different answers. TDEC is involved with the issues. She knows the city has been made aware of Honey Run Creek, but again, wanted to make sure it was in the public record.

10. Public Hearings- No one signed up to speak.

a. Ordinance 24-07: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 3 Sewer Rates, Fees, and Charges, Section 18-301.

b. Ordinance 24-08: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 8, Chapter 2 Beer Sections 8- 207 and 8-214.

11. Communication from Mayor, Aldermen, City Attorney, and City Administrator Alderman Wall started by acknowledging that the city is working steadily on the storm water issues. There were roughly 150 complaints and the city is looking at them all. They will need to prioritize projects and it will take time and man power. Silver stated that she had received a grant notice in the mail from Blue Cross for recreation. The grant is for governments and non profits. She thinks the city should apply for it. Alderman Matthews thanked the CPA firm that sent the city a memo regarding the yearly audit. They notified the city that it would be starting. Alderman Spicer also stated that storm water is an issue and needs to be the number one priority. The city is following up with employees to make sure everyone is on the same page. Mayor Corbitt added that he too was getting phone calls about water. The city is identifying the issues and putting together a plan. Some people have water in their yards, others in their houses. They will need to prioritize those with damage to homes, and hammer them out in the next year or two. City Administrator Herman also stated that the list of water issues is long. The highest priority is for those getting water in their homes. The city is also looking for grants to help fund some of the projects. The city is considering buying property where necessary to expand drainage. There is some money in the budget. On another note, the state comptroller has set the tax rates. That will be on next month’s agenda since the rates came out Wednesday. Robertson County is at$.83 and Sumner was $1.32 but is dropping by fifty cents. (I thing the 1.32 is the number I heard, but don’t quote me) The city will only see a six cent increase. That will be in the August or September meeting.

Reports were acknowledged and there were no resolutions.

14. Consideration of the Following Ordinances:

a. Ordinance 24-07: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 3 Sewer Rates, Fees, and Charges, Section 18-301. Second Reading. This is the second reading of this ordinance. It was discussed at last month’s meeting. This is the state required annual sewer increase. Approved

b. Ordinance 24-08: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 8, Chapter 2 Beer Sections 8- 207 and 8-214. Second Reading. This was also discussed last month at the BOMA meeting. One of the fees had to be paid by cashier’s check. That requirement was removed and the tax payment date was clarified. Approved

c. Ordinance 24-09: An ordinance amending Article IV and Article V of the Zoning Ordinance concerning permitted uses and special exception uses. First Reading This ordinance puts tobacco and vape shops into a special exception category. Currently they are allowed to go into an existing commercial space. There have been many requests for vape shops and the planning director thinks that they should go in front of the board of zoning appeals before being allowed into a space. The planning departments would like to see them at least 1000ft from a school or daycare. This is not a ban, they would be treated like storage units, needing special exceptions from the board of zoning appeals. Planning Director Clark added used car dealers to this as well. Matthews asked if gas stations could be included especially if they are wanting to build in high traffic areas. Clark said they had thought about it and discussed it with other planners. It could be met with legal challenges. Wall asked about adult entertainment options in the zoning and if it could be eliminated altogether. Herman stated that it could not be eliminated, and Clark added that it has to be in an industrial area. Approved.

d. Ordinance 24-10: An ordinance amending the Zoning Map from Robertson County R-20, Low Density Residential, to C-2, General Commercial, at 2813 Hwy 31W. First Reading. This was discussed at the July planning meeting. This property is currently zoned R-20 and they would like it zoned C-2. There are no plans for this property as of yet, but the neighboring properties are already commercial and commercial use benefits the city. Approved

15. Purchasing: The first six of the purchases here deal with the road projects that the city has outlined in previous meetings and special study sessions. This money has all been accounted for in the budgets for the projects. Many of these items have already been discussed in budget meetings. Once they are ready to make a purchase, the purchase has to come before the board to be approved even though it has been discussed and budgeted.

a. To approve or reject City Administrator Gerald Herman to acquire by purchase or condemnation of rights-of-way on a portion of land owned by several property owners for the Pleasant Grove Intersection Improvements project in the amount of $189,597.23. The City Administrator recommends approval. This is the intersection of Pleasant Grove and 76. This is the amount need to obtain right of ways to start the project. Silver asked if appraisals were done. Herman stated that the amounts were based on current prices, comps, and realtors. They negotiated with the land owners. Appraisals can be expensive. Approved

b. To approve or reject for City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign an agreement for CSR Engineering for construction administration services for the North Palmers Chapel Road widening project in the amount of $24,594.00. The City Administrator recommends approval. Jason Reynolds, city engineer has been working on these projects. This one is almost ready to go. Matthews asked if all six of the road projects were on the agenda tonight. The answer was five of the six. He also asked if the firm could handle all of these projects. Herman said they have been successful handling our projects in the past so they will be fine. Matthews then asked if all of this money was up front. Herman answered that it’s mostly pay as we go. Approved

c. To approve or reject for City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign an agreement for CSR Engineering for engineering services for the Sage Road widening project in the amount of $39,894.00. The City Administrator recommends approval. This project is almost complete with the design. They will be widening it without the sidwalk. The sidewalks can be added later if funds are available. It is almost ready which is why it’s on this list. Corbitt asked if they have the right of ways for the sidewalks. Yes is the answer. Matthews asked if the storm water upgrades were included. Yes was the answer to that as well. Approved.

d. To approve or reject for City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign an agreement for CSR Engineering for construction administration services for the Pleasant Grove Intersection Improvements project in the amount of $44,220.00. The City Administrator recommends approval. The design portion of this project is also almost complete and this is another step that will allow the city to move forward with this project. Approved.

e. To approve or reject for City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign an agreement for CSR Engineering for engineering services for the Calista Road Widening and Sidewalks project in the amount of $192,210.00. The City Administrator recommends approval. This is a more challenging project. There are utilities that might need to be moved, and right of ways will need to be purchased. The first year of this will be the design phase. It will be 2-3 years before the work is done, and this price is for the full services.Matthews asked if they will be introducing any traffic calming on that road since speeds will increase as it is widened. That will be looked at. Approved.

f. To approve or reject for City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign an agreement for CSR Engineering for engineering services for the US31W and Marlin Road Intersection project in the amount of $128,350.00. The City Administrator recommends approval. This project is similar to the Pleasant Grove project. The design will be completed over current fiscal year, and construction set to begin in year two. Approved.

g. To approve or reject City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct a full Special Census in the amount of $581,267.00. The Administrative Services Director recommends approval. Derek Watson, administrative assistant, has been working on this project. The budget was based on the initial quote from the census company. The housing units in the city are higher than what was in the original quote. The budget was for $500k, the quote came in higher.

Watson found other places to cut the budget to make up for the last $80k. The results will come in fall of 2025. Spicer asked if this will have a significant impact on funds the city receives. In the 2020 census, the city had 13k residents. The city receives $175/resident from the federal government and the state. According to MTAS, if the city is found to have more residents before the 2030 census, they will get the extra funding. Matthews stated that according to the contract, the city has to provide them with laptops. Watson said that they could use the training space upstairs in the city hall. Herman added that they will recruit locals to work for them. Watson added that the city will have to purchase scanners and printers. Herman said that they company uses the money to pay census workers and compile data. Watson said that they will advertise locally when they are ready to start. Wall asked if this money is being spent to get more federal and state money. Watson added that the return on the funds should be seen in the first year. Approved 4-1-Silver voted no

h. To approve or reject single source request for EnviroScience for toxicity identification and reduction evaluation (TIE/TRE) testing. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. This is another sole source vendor request for the wastewater department. All other vendors have either gone out of business, or don’t provide this service any longer. All cities are using the same vendor at this point. Approved.

i. To approve or reject the purchase of a Kubota U17VR1 compact mini-excavator from RJV Kubota off the Sourcewell Contract# 031121-KBA in the amount of $29,499.43. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. This is in the capital budget for the wastewater department. Approved

j. To approve or reject for City Administrator Gerald Herman to sign an agreement in the amount of $81,500.00 for CSR Engineering to design the replacement for the Wilkinson Lane Lift-Station. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. This is the design phase for the Wilkinson Lane project. It is in the budget. Approved.

k. To approve or reject the purchase of two (2) 2024 Ford F-350XL chassis-cab trucks from National Auto Fleet Group off the Sourcewell Contract# 091521-NAF in the amount of $165,444.48. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. These are listed in the budget. Approved

l. To approve or reject the sole source purchase of two (2) Busch RC0630 vacuum sewer pumps from AirVac in the total amount of $55,473.00. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. These are the the spare pumps from the capital budget. They came in over budget. The out right purchase of these was higher than expected. However, the savings they have had on other projects will cover the higher cost on these. Approved.

m. To approve or reject the change order from Norris Bros. Excavating, LLC for installation of Phase 5 of the new Southern Force Main Project in the amount $1,243,380.00. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. Norris Bros. was responsible for phase four of this project. Phase five will continue from CedarBrook to McCurdy. They will continue phase five with the same contractor. Norris will honor the prices from phase four. Herman added that TDEC has allowed the city to use the same contractor and just continue with them without having to start over. There is a possibility of some funding from the American Recovery Act if the county commission from Sumner County appropriates it to White House. Approved.

16. Other Business:

a. To approve or reject appointments to various Boards and Commissions. Approved

b. TEFRA Approval Certificate of the Mayor for Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc. This item did not need board approval. Mayor Corbitt brought it before the board before he decided to sign this certificate. He wanted to make sure it was discussed in front of the board before he went ahead with it. This was an unusal request for the city of White House. Wendy White representing Goodwill Industries was present to explain. Essentially what this is is a way for non profits to use a tax exempt bond to finance a build. Pinnacle will be the bank financing the Goodwill in White House, and can give them a lower rate with this bond. The city signs a bond, it’s on the financial notes, but the city is not responsible in any way at all. Even if Goodwill were to default, the city would not be liable in any way financially. The certificate is just to tell the IRS that the city is aware and approves of the loan. Matthews asked if it would interfere with the city borrowing money. It would not. Wall asked what happens if the city does not sign it. The interest rate would be higher and would cost Goodwill roughly $400k a year. City attorney Valerie Webb reviewed this. Webb stated that this is common in larger cities. Non profits and private schools uttilize this program. It’s not unusual, just new to White House. The Industrial Development Board will need to approve the document. Normally this does not come before the BOMA, but the mayor requested that it did. The bond is only for the length of the loan, which is 15 years. This will be a footnote in the financials of the city. Goodwill will bring in 22-27 jobs, and roughly $125k in tax dollars annually. While used clothing and shoes are not taxed, used furniture, household goods, and books are. Goodwill will be paying for Webb’s time to look into the documents and prepare anything necessary. While a vote was not necessary, the board voted to have Corbitt sign the certificate.

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