Board of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting
June 20th, 2024
The meeting was called to order, and all members of the board were in attendance. The minutes of the previous meeting and special sessions were approved. Visitors were welcomed and a proclamation was made for Mandy Christenson of the White House Area Chamber of Commerce. She was recognized for 10 years of service to the city.
9. Public Comment One citizen had signed up to speak. Vanessa Baker of Covington Heights spoke to the water issues in her neighborhood. Baker states that they moved into their home in 2010. One month later they had two feet of water in their home. Since they had not completely unpacked, they lost all of their books, baby items, and a Harley. The home had obviously been flooded before, and was not disclosed. Five years later, they were flooded again. Gas cans in the garage were tipped over, and ultimately they lost their car. This was caused from storm water. A sinkhole opened in their neighborhood. No compensation was offered for their losses. On June 8th, they were flooded twice. They lost another car, their appliances, and some carpet. Seven other neighbors also had damage. They have sent in two requests to the city to fix the problem. They have now been flooded five times in 14 years. This now has a negative impact on their resale value since they will need to disclose the issues. They want it fixed. They have never been offered compensation for their losses. Baker feels their looses are a result of lack of planning or construction, or both.
No one was signed up to speak to these items.
11. Communication from Mayor, Aldermen, City Attorney, and City Administrator Alderman Wall thanked Mandy Christenson for her work with the city. He also acknowledged Ms. Baker and added that he had been out to her home that day. He promised that the city is on it and will fix it. Alderman Matthews thanked the White House Librarian for the Fandom Fair. He said there was a great turn out. Mayor Corbitt seconded both of the statements by the aldermen. City Administrator Herman added that the splash pad reopened. The new recirculating tank should take care of the issue. The soccer complex is almost there. The materials for the pavilion are on site. The final concrete won’t happen until after the Americana Festival. There is also a large soccer tournament this summer that the contractor has agreed to work around. The city is finally catching up from all of the storm water and is putting together a project list.
13. Consideration of the Following Resolutions:
a. Resolution 24-04: Whereas, T.C.A. 6-51-102 as amended requires that a Plan of Service be adopted by the governing body of the city prior to passage of an ordinance annexing any area. Approved
b. Resolution 24-05: A resolution to annex certain territories and incorporate same within the corporate boundaries of the City of White House, Tennessee. Second Reading. Approved Resolution 24-04 and 24-05 were discussed last month and are in reference to this property on 31W. A plan of service needs to be done any time property is annexed. For more information click this link.
c. Resolution 24-06: A resolution authorizing appropriations for financial aid of non-profit organizations. These are the funds that were discussed at the budget meeting.
Approved
d. Resolution 24-07: An initial resolution authorizing a loan agreement with The Public Building Authority of Sevier County, Tennessee in a principal amount not to exceed $11,000,000 to finance the construction and improvement of roads, streets, bridges and highways and payment of the costs incident to the financing. This is the money needed for the six road projects that are being added into the next budget year. This is the resolution required to start the process. This is a $10.78 million dollar loan with a 12 year term. The rate has not yet been set. That cannot be done until the resolution is completed and they have taken bids. The estimated rate is 3.63%. Alderman Silver asked if the projects are tagged for this and will not change. The answer is that this money is for six projects and will not change. Wall added that many of these are safety issues and should have been handled. Corbitt asked Finance director Barnes if there was a tax rate yet. There are no tax rates set as of right now. Each county goes through reappraisal in different years, and then it has to go through the state. Corbitt asked about the rough calculations that were done and if it amounted to $10/month. Barnes said, roughly. They decided on approach four to handle the projects which would amount to $129/year on a $300k home. Alderman Spicer added that the taxes are on assessed values not market values. Matthews asked when payments would begin. Barnes stated that they would begin in June of 2025 with the interest being due semi annually starting in December of 2024. Corbitt continued with the fact that no one is giddy about raising taxes. However, this board can continue to wring their hands or solve problems. These projects need to get done before someone gets killed. Herman added that with the growth, the impact fees are going toward new employees and inflation. Wall asked how many tax increase have been done in the city. The answer is two in the last 20 years. Matthews added that there are safety issues with these projects that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Silver agreed that it needs to be done since the city is so jam packed. She reiterated that these will be done in three years, and was assured yes. Corbitt also added that the rate should be reduced after the 12 years are up. It will be up to that board to do so, but it is written in the resolution. Approved.
e. Resolution 24-08: A loan resolution authorizing a loan agreement with The Public Building Authority of Sevier County, Tennessee in a principal amount not to exceed $11,000,000 to finance the construction and improvement of roads, streets, bridges and highways and payment of the costs incident to the financing. This is the same as above. Approved
f. Resolution 24-09: A resolution approving certain amendments and revisions to the Personnel Manual. Changes have been made to the organizational chart separating waste water and public works. These two departments are already separated, they had not been changed in the flow chart. Also, overtime for police officers is changing from 84 to 80 hours in 14 days. This is a recruiting tool brought to HR by Chief Brady. Also, the hourly rate was increased when the officers are working on grant funded duty. This money comes from a grant and not the city. The last item to be changed was a personal action form. A couple of lines were added so that post it notes are no longer necessary. Approved
14. Consideration of the Following Ordinances:
a. Ordinance 24-04: An ordinance to amend the Zoning Map from Sumner County Residential, to General Commercial, C-2, at 170 Old Highway 31W. Second Reading. This is the property on 31W discussed last month. Approved.
b. Ordinance 24-05: An ordinance to de-annex certain territories within the corporate boundaries of the City of White House, Tennessee. Second Reading. Same property as above. Approved.
c. Ordinance 24-06: An ordinance adopting the annual budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025. Second Reading. Budget was discussed at length in this special session. Roll call vote. Matthews/Silver- No, Corbitt/Spicer/Wall- Yes Approved
d. Ordinance 24-07: An ordinance amending the Municicipal Code Title 18, Chapter 3 Sewer Rates, Fees, and Charges, Section 18-301. First Reading. The sewer rates go up by 3% every year. This is for aging infrastructure, adding people, and inflation. Corbitt added that this is state requirement. The state requires that they maintain 30% of their budget and cannot deplete their fund balance because a project gets expensive. If they do, they are at risk for the state taking over their waste water department. Matthews asked if the new plant has yet been depreciated. Barnes answered that it is not completely in service. There are still some critical function items left to be completed. Approved
e. Ordinance 24-08: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 8, Chapter 2 Beer Sections 8- 207 and 8-214. First Reading. There are two changes to this ordinance. They are getting rid of the cashier’s check requirement. Businesses can now pay with card if need be. Also the tax due date has been made more clear in the language. Approved.
15. Purchasing: a. To approve or reject the bid from Key Heating and Cooling in the amount of $27,900 annually and allow City Administrator Gerald Herman to execute a three (3) year agreement for HVAC preventative maintenance for all city-owned facilities. The Administrative Services Director recommends approval. Each year the city puts out a bid for HVAC maintenance. The committee has reviewed the bids and a couple of them were tossed out for lack of information. Key and Lee were the two companies that made the cut, and it came down to price. The city has used Lee in the past, but Key came in cheaper. The city is going to use Key this year. This bid does not include the new rec center and an addendum will need to be done to add it. Matthews asked if the city has a form that the company needs to follow. Administrative Services Director Derek Watson answered that Lee had an inspection with a video laying out what they had done. He is waiting to see what Key has and if necessary they will create a form. Corbitt asked if the price was locked for three years. It is. Wall asked how many units this is for. Watson said that off hand he wasn’t sure, but it is a large amount. Approved.
b. To approve or reject single source requests for FY 2024-2025. The Wastewater Director recommends approval. Many of the products that are used in the wastewater department are vendor specific. Later in the year a couple more vendors may need to be added. Approved.
16. Other Business:
a. To approve or reject subdivision infrastructures and street acceptance for Concord Springs Phase 2. The Planning and Codes Director recommends approval. Codes director Ceagus Clark assured the city that phase 2 has been inspected and ready for approval. Approved.
b. To approve or reject the Library Board Chair to enter into the Tennessee State Library and Public Library Service Agreement. The Library Director recommends approval. This is the annual agreement that the library enters into with the state. Approved.
c. To approve or reject appointments to various Boards and Commissions. Approved
.The meeting was adjourned. If you want to look at the reports and the resolutions, the link to those items is here. All agendas and packets are on the city website.
If you find these useful, consider a paid subscription