Joseph L. Sherrill Appointed to vacant 6th District County Commission Seat

Report provided by Cumberland Co. Mayor Allen Foster

The August 19^th meeting of the full County Commission was held with all the current 17 Commissioners in attendance.
 
The first item of business was filling the Sixth District Commission seat.  Cody Christopher, Gary Goldberg, Clifford H. Segar, Joseph L. Sherrill, and Charles E. Wilson Jr. submitted their names for consideration for the vacant seat.  No additional names were added to the list during the meeting.  Candidate names were then randomly drawn to choose the order each would address the Commission.  Charles E. Wilson Jr went first, then Clifford H. Segar, Joseph L. Sherrill, and Cody Christopher.  Gary Goldberg did not attend the meeting.  Each candidate was allowed up to 10 minutes to address the Commission to discuss the appointment.

Cumberland Co. Courthouse tower by Jim Young

 
After each candidate spoke, Commissioners nominated individuals from the list of candidates.  Nominations did not require a second.  Only candidates nominated moved forward in voting.  Commissioner Wilson nominated Joseph L. Sherrill and Commissioner MacLeod nominated Clifford H. Segar.  After nominations ceased, the vote was held and Joseph L. Sherrill was appointed to the vacant Sixth District County Commission seat.  The vote was 14-3 with Commissioners Baldwin, MacLeod, and Patterson voting for Segar.  I immediately administered the Oath of Office; all official documents were signed and Commissioner Sherrill was seated at the meeting.

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Next, the commissioners unanimously agreed assigned Commissioner Sherrill to the vacant committees held by the previous commissioner.  Then, Carl MacLeod was unanimously appointed to the Budget Committee as John Patterson resigned from the committee a few weeks ago.  The final action before the resolutions were addressed was approving a bond for Cumberland County Director of Schools Janet C. Graham.  This is a standard approval that many county officials must have.  The bond was approved 18-0.
 
Resolutions
The following resolutions were approved (resolution sponsor in parenthesis):
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-1 – A resolution to transfer the department overseeing Judicial Commissioners (Foster).  This resolution moves oversight of the Judicial Commissioners from the Judicial Commissioners Supervision Committee to the General Sessions Judge.  The resolution was approved unanimously via voice vote.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-2 – A resolution amending resolution 1205-6 changing the current Hearing Board to a Standards Board with investigative power and empowering the Environmental Committee to serve as Hearing Board (Hyder).  The resolution was approved via voice vote unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-3 – A resolution to appoint Amanda Houston and Vicki Baucum to a three-year term from August 16, 2019 to August 15, 2021 as members to the Audit Committee (Foster).  The resolution was approved 18-0.
         
RESOLUTION 08-2019-4 – A resolution to reappoint Russell Smith and appoint Linda Clark to the Cumberland County Regional Planning commission for a term of four (4) years to expire August 31, 2023 (Foster).  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-5 – A resolution to reappoint Valerie Cox and appoint Christy Dolinich for three-year terms to expire August 31, 2022 as members to Crossville-Cumberland County Convention and Visitors Bureau (Foster).  The resolution was approved 18-0.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-6 – A resolution to appoint Joyce Rorabaugh for a four-year term from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2023 as Cumberland County Archivist (Lowe).  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-7 – A resolution to accept offers from Steve A. Martin to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (Threet).  The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $339.90 for the purchase of one parcel.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-8 – A resolution to accept offers from William Salazar and Marie L. Perez to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (Threet).  The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $824.60 for the purchase of two parcels.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved 18-0.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-9 – A resolution to accept offers from Steven Anthony Martin to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (J. Davis).  The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $306.70 for the purchase of one parcel.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved unanimously.
         
RESOLUTION 08-2019-10 – A resolution to accept offers from Steven Anthony Martin to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (J. Davis).  The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $305.50 for the purchase of one parcel.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved 18-0.
 
RESOLUTION 08-2019-11 – A resolution to accept offers from Colleen Land to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (Hyder).  The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $271.00 for the purchase of one parcel.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
Financial Report
The year-end unaudited financials are as follows.  Sales tax for the BOE was $9,686,000 which is approximately $319,000 above projections.  Property tax came in at 102.6 percent of budget.  Hotel/Motel taxes were below both projections and last years totals at approximately $834,000.  That is $51,000 below this year’s budget.  Ambulance collections came in above projections at $4,043,000.  Prisoner boarding came in $33,500 short of the amended budget amount of $743,000 but above the original budgeted figure of $620,000.

August Crossville City Council Meeting discussion includes Holiday Lake water levels,

Most of Crossville City Council's agenda for the August regular meeting will be handled under the consent agenda with a discussion planned on Holiday Lake water levels and maintenance procedures. 

Crossville City Council members at the June meeting

L-R J.H. Graham, Rob Harrison, Mayor James

Mayberry, Art Gernt and Scot Shanks

Photo by Jim Young

The council will meet as the Audit Committee at 5:15 PM in the conference room and will move to the council chamber to meet as the Beer Board at 5:45 PM and as the Solicitation Board at 5:55 PM.

Council has discussed a drop in the water level at Holiday Lake to allow property owners to be able to do repairs and maintenance on their docks and sea walls similar to how Lake Tanis handles the matter.  Recently the ownership of the property under the lake has changed hands and council members hoped to get some input from the new owners on the actions proposed. 

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Previously council approved a motion that included language stating, “On an annual basis during the month of April, the City Council will review the policy to drop lake level no more than 4 ft. for property maintenance during the months of October, November and December (ending no later than February) assuring there is no conflict with Lake Tansi lake level procedures.”

Items under the consent agenda expected to gain approval with little or no further discussion include the purchase of a dura patcher trailer for patching potholes and other road damage, approval of the 2019-20 Airport maintenance grant, Second reading of the 2018-19 year-end budget adjustment ordinance, and several road closing for upcoming events.

Cumberland County Commission approves 2019-2020 Budget in Special Called meeting

Press Release from County Mayor Allen Foster

All commissioners were in attendance for the special called meeting for the adoption of the County’s new budget for the 2019 – 2020 fiscal year except Deborah Holbrook.  The evening began at 5:30 PM with a public hearing to provide an opportunity for comment on the proposed budget.  The budget, as prepared by the Budget Committee, was presented by Budget Committee Chairman Rebecca Stone and Finance Director Nathan Brock.  Comments from the public were then heard with two people speaking in favor of the budget.

Cumberland County Courthouse

Photo by Jim Young

The current Budget Committee members are Sue York, Nancy Hyder, Rebecca Stone (Chairman), Charles Seiber, Terry Lowe, Wendell Wilson, Jerry Cooper, Jim Blalock, and John Patterson.  The budget process began with an all-day session of budget hearings on May 5^th and continued with several more meetings through July.

The property tax rate will remain the same, $1.5653, for this budget year.  The $110.3 million budget highlights include:

• $59.2 for the Board of Education
• Two percent raise for all employees, full and part-time
• Funding for an updated wage study
• Three new Sheriff department deputies with all associated expenses, including vehicles
• Two additional EMTs for the Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance, allowing it to go to 16-hour shifts, seven days a week.
• A new employee for the County Clerk’s office
• Part-time help at the Animal Shelter and Library
• $1.4 million spent in capital expenditures
  • Five replacement vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department
  • 82 SCBA air tanks for the Fire Department
  • Windows and gutters for the courthouse, as well as cleaning
  • Election Poll Pads for the Election Commission
  • HVAC Units
  • EMS parking lot repair
  • Maintenance and repairs at the Community Complex

 
The Special Called Session of the full County Commission was called to order at 6:00 PM.  There were three resolutions on the agenda.  I began the meeting with a moment of silence for the passing of former Commissioner Harry Sabine as well as for Sally Mayberry, the mother of Crossville Mayor James Mayberry.
 
Resolutions
Resolution 08-05-2019-1, fixing the tax levy in Cumberland County for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, was the first item on the agenda for the special called meeting.  The distribution of the proposed rate of $1.5653 was as follows:
 

Fund	Pennies Allocated
General Fund	$0.6411
General Purpose School Fund	$0.5410
Solid Waste/Sanitation Fund	$0.1407
General Debt Service Fund	$0.2425
Total	$1.5653

The resolution passed 16-0.

The next resolution, 08-05-2019-2, was to make the actual appropriations to the various funds, departments, institutions, offices, and agencies of Cumberland County.  In other words, the resolution was to approve the budget document that has been worked on since May.  An amendment was made by Commissioner Blalock and seconded by Commissioner Patterson requesting an additional $100,000 be given to the Sheriff’s Department for overtime (OT). The budget already contained $40,000 for deputy OT and $20,000 for jail OT.  Sheriff Cox had originally asked for the three deputies plus $60,000 in OT for deputies and $40,000 for OT for the jail.  The amendment would have resulted in the total for OT being $160,000.  The amendment to the resolution failed 6-8-2, with commissioners Threet, Jack Davis, Blalock, MacLeod, Patterson, and Kyle Davis voting to approve, and with Commissioners Norris and Gibson declaring a conflict and abstaining as they work in the Sheriff’s Department. That turned the vote back to the original motion that passed 14-2 with Blalock and Patterson voting against.

The third resolution was to approve appropriations to the non-profit charitable organizations for Cumberland County.  Items like the senior citizens center, Rescue Squad, Chamber of Commerce, Veterans Honor Guard, and the Young Marines are included in this portion of the budget.  These funds are budgeted via contract and require a separate vote.  The resolution passed 16-0.

The budget will soon be posted on the county website, www.cumberlandcountytn.gov, if you are interested in viewing the entire document.

Crossville CIty Council Meets Tuesday Evening in Work Session & Special Called meeting

The Crossville City Council will meet in work session followed by a special called meeting on Tuesday night August 6 at Crossville city hall.

Crossville City Hall (File photo by Jim Young)

Items on the work session agenda include a reorganization of the city's marketing strategies and a new advertising contract with Flynn sign Company.

Other items for discussion items on the agenda include the purchase of a Durapatcher trailer for high tech pothole repairs, the retirement of K9-Arko, and several road closings for Veteran's Day, Taste of Crossville and the Scarecrow Festival.

Durapatcher in action

A new Shelter for Meadow Park Lake and an engineering contract for relocation of utilities on Phase 2 of the Northwest Connector.

Following the work session, the called meeting will handle several routine ordinance readings along with the main reason for the called meeting to deal with bids for the Brookhaven/Highland Lane water line project. The project was originally designed to utilize grant funds left over from the downtown waterline replacement project. When the city discovered that easements would be necessary the decision was made that the easements could not be acquired and the project completed in the grant time frame.

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The plans and specifications for the project require adjustment for competitive bidding. All bids will be rejected and a new engineering of the project will be rebid in the near future.