BOMA Meeting 4/21/2022

Notes and Results of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting- City of White House

First, an update, the storage unit facility was denied a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday April 19th. At this time, storage units will NOT be allowed on the property south of Robert F. Woodall Elementary School.

The agenda for Thursday’s meeting can be found here. This article will follow the agenda in order.

There were two public hearings on Thursday. Both were second readings dealing with building and fire codes. Last month was the first reading on these ordinances. The city is updating housing and fire codes from the 2012 version to the 2018 version. No one spoke, and both were passed unanimously later in the meeting when ordinances were voted upon.

The first two resolutions, 22-04, and 22-05 both deal with financing for the new recreation center. As discussion was opened, city administrator Mr. Herman explained the necessity for the new rec center. The current gym is 70 years old. It has been updated and maintained for years. However, the wiring is old, there is asbestos in the walls, and it turns out there are holes under the building. The residents of the city have been asking for a new center for years. The city is ready to start since the Community Center will be ready for use in June. The current plan is to keep the gymnasium intact while the rest of the building is demolished. Once the new rec center is built, the old gym will be torn down to make space for parking (that is my understanding of what will be put in that space, if I am incorrect, please let me know).

HFR Architects were the first to speak about the new center. The new space is roughly 70,000 square feet. They laid out what will be in the building and how it is designed. This is the handout the architects passed out.

The details of the building are in the second photo. The team from HFR will have an estimate of 80% of the cost ready in May, the bidding phase will take 4-6 weeks. They are looking to start construction in September, with 18-20 months to complete the project.

Kevin Whitaker, Parks and Rec Director, spoke next about the project. The board of leisure services has approved it. The current gym is in use constantly, between ball game practices and events. Often practices run until 9:30 because there are so many teams needing to practice. The city contracts with Heritage High School to use their gym for games. The new gym will allow for two games and up to five practices to occur at a time. This more than doubles what the current gym can handle. The gaming room will be set up for e-sports for the kids not involved in physical activities. Both Whitaker and Herman commented on how volleyball tournaments and e-sports tournaments could bring in revenue for the city. Alderman Corbitt asked if citizens would have to pay for a membership. The answer, it has not yet been figured out. Corbitt stated that city residents should not have to pay a membership fee.

Kevin K from T&L Bond stepped up to discuss the financing. T&L is a non profit bond company that only works with cities and counties. They have three loan programs, and currently the city has a loan with them for the new sewer plant upgrades. Overall, the city has taken out five loans with this company. The current loan that this resolution address is a “fixed rate draw” loan. The loan will be for $24 million. It is a 22 year term, fixed for the first ten. In the first two years, the construction phase, there is no interest. After that there are level payments. Six months before the first term of ten years is up, they will revisit the rate of the loan. The current interest rate on this loan is 3.29%. That rate is locked in until June 10th, 2022. In the first three years on the loan, the interest is only figured on the amount that the city draws from the loan. If they project costs less than the original $24 million, the money can be returned without prepayment penalties. The bank that has the best rates currently is First Horizon (there was some discussion about an issue with First Horizon during Covid, but no details were given). The cost of issuance of this loan is 0.5% (roughly $120k) going to legal fees, documents, and approvals. The bond fund fee is 0.15%.

The first resolution 22-04 authorizes the city to go into debt for the rec center, the second resolution 22-05 allows the city to borrow this money from T&L Bond. Both resolutions were approved. At this point, public notice will be given that the city intends to borrow this money. The citizens of White House have 20 days as a protest period. If 10% of the registered voters decide that they do not want this loan for this rec center, then the resolution will be taken to referendum.

Ordinance 22-04 is a budget amendment ordinance. There are three items that needed to be amended for fiscal period ending June 30th, 2022. One of these items was later discussed in the purchasing section of the meeting. All three items were approved.

• Waste Water Expansion Project- The project has gone quicker than expected so funding was needed sooner than previously planned.

• Dental Care Fund- This fund was not expected to exceed $60,500 but it has. The fund is short $2500 for claims.

• Repaving of a Section of the Greenway- With Cope’s Crossing being built across from White House High school, an opportunity has arisen to be able to repave a section of the greeway previously difficult to get to. Funds are being moved from the dog park parking lot, and the engineering funds. The city had budgeted too much for the Hester project.

Ordinance 22-05 finds the development company Elmington back in front of the city. This company previously tried to get 120 town homes (a rental community) approved with the planning board. They are again asking for the property on the corner of Raymond Hirsch and 31W to be rezoned to NCRPUD. (neighborhood center residential planned unit development) Even though the planning board denied them this zoning change, they have the right to bring this in front of BOMA. Alderman Hutson stated that there are 1400 town homes and apartments already approved waiting to be built in White House. When questioned about the status of these other projects, Planning Director, Mr. Clark commented that they are all in the construction planning phase. Alderman Corbitt motioned that this development be denied. It was denied unanimously.

Ordinance 22-06 is an amendment to design development standards. Mr. Clark explained that in the economic downturn of 08-09, the design standards on PUD’s were loosened. These design standards only apply to the PUDs. (planned unit developments) With the increase in developments, the city would like to reinstate the older design standards. This would add variety back to the developments. Larger lot sizes, variations in garage placement, and brick to grade are several of the items added back to the standards in this ordinance. This was approved by the entire board.

Budget items approved-

• $37,500 for the installation of fencing at the Hillcrest Cemetery- approved

• $89,597 for the paving of the greenway (discussed above)-approved

• $1,029,118 for the demolition of the municipal building- approved

• Agreement with Reynolds, Potter, Ragan, and Vandivort, PLC for ethics investigation concerning Former Mayor Michael Arnold-approved

As per the ethics investigation into the former mayor, several firms were contacted for the task. The firm mentioned above was chosen based on their reply, the cost, and distance from White House. This firm is located in Dickson and city attorney Valerie Webb thought that some distance from the city would be a positive. Once this is passed, the next step is to sign an agreement with said firm. They charge hourly, so the board is hoping it won’t take long since the funding is not currently in the city budget.

The final item was to vote on the appointment of the open alderman position. HR Director Amanda Brewton described the process for choosing the alderman. Each board member had a score sheet with a 1-4 ranking. The sheets had to be turned in the Monday following the interview by 5pm. The current board did not place thier names on the score sheets. The scores were totaled by Ms. Brewton. John Corbitt opened the discussion by stating that all candidates did a great job. Based on the interview, he believed that Jana Spicer had a better understanding of city issues, and more extensive involvement with the city. He moved that Spicer be appointed to the position. That motion did not get seconded. Alderman Decker then spoke up and stated that the procedure needed to be followed, and Carlos Payne was chosen 3-1 based on the score sheets. Another motion was made, and Carlos Payne was appointed to the open alderman position. Next month your board will be made up of Mayor Farris Bibb, Aldermen- Clif Hutson, John Decker, John Corbitt, and Carlos Payne.

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