First Meeting in the New Building

BOMA 6-16-22

Last night was a historic evening for the city of White House. First the ribbon cutting was held, and then the Board of Mayor and Aldermen met in their new meeting room. After the agenda was approved, the previous meeting’s minutes were approved, and the visitors were welcomed, a proclamation was made.

In 1982 Ronnie Matthews Sr. began coaching baseball in the city of White House. He coached his son, his oldest grandson, his youngest grandson, and over 600 other players. He coached for 39 years and was honored with the first pitch of the season in 2021. Mr. Matthews is no longer with us, but his family stood for him as the city announced that field 7 would be named after Mr. Matthews. His wife and family were in attendance pictured here with the board.

The next three items were public hearings. Second readings of an ordinance are open to the public to speak if they choose. Of the roughly 30 people in attendance, no one signed up to speak.

a. Ordinance 22-08: An ordinance to adopt the annual budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The budget can be found in the agenda packet for last month. The link to that page is above in the agenda link. Approved

b. Ordinance 22-09: An ordinance establishing the tax rate for the tax year 2022. Again, this can be found in the packet. The tax rate will stay the same. Approved

c. Ordinance 22-10: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 3 Sewer Rates, Fees and Charges, Sections 18-301 and 18-302. This ordinance was addressed in a previous article. The sewer rates will increase as per state law. Approved

Communication from the Mayor- None of the board had updates. The city attorney stated that she received a report on the ethics investigation into former mayor Michael Arnold. She handed that report to all board members and Mr. Sam Matthews (who asked for the investigation). The attorneys found no ethics violations. Mr. Herman, city administrator, had updates on several projects. Work was stopped on the water project by Advanced Auto. There was a fuel smell. The TDEC was contacted and it’s being fixed now. The Sage/31W intersection is still under construction. The contractor is still having staffing issues and one of the subcontractors has picked up some of the slack. The sewer line on Hwy76 near Love’s needs the state’s permission to continue. They have come across a natural gas line and need permission to follow that line under 76.

Acknowledge Reports- Approved

a. Resolution 22-06: A resolution authorizing appropriations for financial aid of non-profit organizations. The city does not hand out money to all non-profits that ask. They are very specific as to whom they give money to according to Alderman Decker. Approved

b. Resolution 22-07: A resolution declaring the intent to consider the adoption of a commercial property assessed clean energy and resilience (C-PACER) program. Herman began discussing this resolution. It’s a new program to help businesses meet energy efficiency criteria. There is an assisted living facility that would like to build on Sage Road and the developers want to use this program. Both the developer and their attorney were in attendance. The state has adopted the C-PACER program already, and needs cities to do the same in order for it to be utilized within the city. According to the attorney, this program is an incentive to be more energy efficient. How it works- It is a voluntary low interest long term loan. There is an assessment on the property where the loan is serviced. The payments are collected like a tax. This gives increased security to the lender. The tax enables companies to build more energy efficiently and or “green.” The designs must meet specific requirements, and the lenders will release funds as the project is built to the standards. The program is administered and overseen by the city administrator. City attorney Webb stated that the if the applicants meet the requirements, the city must then approve it. Alderman Corbitt asked why this wasn’t available to single family homes. The attorney stated that at this time, this particular program was for larger projects that would see more benefits from energy efficiency. The projects included are all commercial and multifamily units with a minimum of five units to qualify. The question was posed as to why use this program. The developer explained that assisted living buildings already have to meet specific infrastructure requirements. This program will help them to keep costs down for their renters. It is a flexible way to finance. Corbitt asked what happens if the company goes bankrupt. If the company goes out of business, the loan stays with the physical property. Since this is assessed as a tax, the city taxpayers would be responsible for making the loan payments until the property is sold. At that point Corbitt stated that he was not comfortable voting on this without more information. Alderman Hutson chimed in that the town center is looking at using this. The developer then said that the extra burden on the city’s finance department would be offset with the service fee the company is charged. Hutson asked if the city was in charge of the loan. The city would only have to handle the process. They would receive a fee up front for the assessment. This is designed to be revenue neutral for the city. However, if the company goes bankrupt, the first lender cannot foreclose on the C-PACER loan. In the 10 years C-PACER has been available, there has not yet been a foreclosure. Herman again stated that the city needs an assisted living center and the property is under sale agreement. This program came from the TN legislature after they had seen it in other states. This is the Bill. There was a vote to approve. All board members were silent. When asked who opposed, all members opposed. Denied pending study session. This resolution was denied, so the public hearing was cancelled.

d. Ordinance 22-11: An ordinance amending the Municipal Code Title 16, Chapter 2 Street, Sidewalk, and Drainage Design Standards, Sections 16-234 and 16-235. First Reading. Ten years or so ago, a couple of boys lit fireworks and some sort of accelerant in one of the city’s culverts. They did more than $10k in damages. It took the city years to recoup the money. After the event, the city changed its codes to no longer use HTP or RCP under the roads. Currently codes specify that only concrete can be used. This is causing an increase in cost to the city while completing the water treatment upgrades. The city doesn’t own the equipment needed to install the large concrete pieces and has to rent the machine. If they are allowed to go back to HTP or RCP it will decrease costs and time to complete projects. Kyle Hanson of Advanced Drainage assured the city they could put in animal blocks on each side of the pipe so that incidents with fireworks could not happen again. Approved

a. 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. The library signs this agreement every year. The state provides money for books and training via this agreement. Approved.

b. To approve or reject a variance of Resolution 20-22 to allow Safe Harbor Development to submit Phase 1 Final Plat for approval by the Planning Commission and begin construction of homes but allow no occupancy of completed homes until the traffic control signal is operational at Tyree Springs and South Palmers Chapel Road as indicated in Resolution 20-22. Safe Harbor and Lennar homes are having supply chain and TDOT issues. The developer is behind on the intersection because of the supply chain delays. Lennar homes ran into issues with TDOT. TDOT won’ t give them permits until they complete a turn lane. That lane was not included in the initial agreements with the city. Safe Harbor is stalled waiting on design plans from Lennar’s engineers. Payne asked if allowing the construction of the homes to go forward would create more traffic issues without the signal. Herman stated it would not be an issue. Payne then asked if a temporary signal could be installed. Herman answered, no. Ceagus Clark, planning director, explained that the turn lane Lennar needs to install prevents a temporary light. Lennar has to complete the north bound turn lane before the signal can be installed. Herman said that they can build, but cannot sell until the signal is functioning. Payne asked when the homes would be ready. The answer was February 2023. The signal should be completed before then. Approved.

c. Board Appointments- Alderman Payne was appointed to the leisure services board. Approved

Meeting was adjourned.

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