(upbeat music) - [Narrator] You are watching highlights of the Chattanooga City Council meeting.

A production of WTCI PBS.

(upbeat music continues) (gavel pounding) - Good evening everyone.

And welcome to our Tuesday, December 20th City Council business agenda.

I will now call this meeting to order.

Our order of business for tonight, we have ordinances on final reading under finance items A, B, and C. I will take as a package, if no objection from council.

Madam clerk, please, A, B, and C. - [Madam Clerk] Item A: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 14 Section 14-15, and Chapter 19 Section 19-36, and Chapter 22.5 Section 22.5-3, and Chapter 27 Section 27-3, regarding permit fees for electrical, gas, mechanical and plumbing.

An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 26 Sections 26-23, 26-24, 26-25, 26-26, 26-27, 26-28, 26-29, 26-30, 26-31, 26-32, 26-33, 26-34, 26-58 and 26-91.

Establishing fees for events, rentals and usage of Chattanooga parks, community centers and recreational facilities.

Item C: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 10 Section 10-3J, Section 109.2, 109.2.1, 109.2.2, 109.2.3 and 109.2.4 regarding fees, schedules for non-refundable permits, moving, demolition and other fees and Section 10-32 regarding the fee scheduled for engineering plans review.

- Dr. Berz.

- [Dr Berz] Motion of approval.

- Have a motion to approve.

Have a second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

This is for items A, B, and C. All those in favor say, "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Thank you.

Under legal item D please.

- [Madam Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 17, so as to adopt the 2018 edition of International Fire Code.

Insert the appendices revised and amended as the official fire code of the city of Chattanooga and to adopt the 2018 edition of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code for certain specified occupancies.

- Chair will entertain a motion.

- [Council Member] Motion of approval.

- Have a motion to approve.

I have a second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Item carries.

Item E please, Madam Clerk.

- [Madam Clerk] An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 11, Article 20, Section 11-5-19 entitled, "Extended moratorium on the acceptance of short term vacation rental applications for non-owner occupied rental properties which are not the primary residence of the applicant for a period which began on April 5th, 2022 up to and including July 10th, 2023.

- [Council Member] Motion of approval.

- Have a motion to approve.

- [Council Member 2] Second.

- I have second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

- [Council] No.

- One No, Madam Clerk.

Under Planning, without objection from counsel on final reads, items F through J.

If there's no objection.

Madam Clerk, we'll take those as a package.

- [Madam Clerk] Item F: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 38, zoning ordinance.

So it's a rezone on property located at 6559 Sand Switch Road from R1 Residential zone to RTZ residential townhouse, zero lot line.

Zone subject to certain conditions.

Item G: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 38, zoning ordinance.

So it's a rezone on property located at 671 Tremont Place from R2 residential zone to RTZ residence townhouse, zero lot line.

Zone subject to certain conditions.

Item H: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 38, zoning ordinance.

So it's a rezone on property located at 7777 East Brenner Road from R1 residential zone to C2 convenience commercial zone with no conditions for the front part of the property and for UGC urban general commercial zone for the back of the property, subject to certain conditions.

Item I: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 38, zoning ordinance.

So it's a rezone on property located at 4905 and 4907 Patton Town Road from R1 residential zone to R3 residential zone subject to certain conditions.

Item J: an ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 38, zoning ordinance.

So it's to rezone two unaddressed properties located in the 1000 block of Jubilee Drive in the 5900 block of Hancock Road, together with 5709 Lee Highway from R1 residential zone and C2 convenience commercial zone to M1 manufacturing zone, subject to certain conditions.

- [Council Member] Motion of approval.

- [Council Member 2] Second.

- Have a motion to approval and a second to that motion.

For items F through J, questions or comments?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

- Items carry.

Public works, item K. Madam Clerk, please.

- [Madam Clerk] An ordinance closing and abandoning two wastewater easements in the 1800 through 1900 blocks of Southern Street and the 1900 through 2200 blocks of Roanoke Avenue within tax map numbers 136 EA 005, 005.01, and 005.02 for economic development of the former Harriet Tubman home site as detailed on the attached map subject to certain conditions.

- [Council Member] Motion to approve.

- Have motion to approve.

- [Council Member 2] Second.

- Have second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Item carries.

Ordinances on first reading under counsel office.

Item A, Madam Clerk.

- [Madam Clerk] An ordinance passing ordinance number 13920 to untied up.

An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 35 Section 35160.

Billing and charges for district records which is attached here too as amended after its second reading on December 6th, 2022, pursuant to Chattanooga City Charter Section 11.6 following receipt of Mayor Tim Kelly's veto letter dated December 13th, 2022.

- Madam vice chair?

- [Madam Vice Chair] Move to approve as amended.

- [Council Member] Second.

- I have a motion to approve as amended and a second to that motion.

Questions, comments before we vote?

All those in favors say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

- [Council Member] Chair, I'm sorry, I believe we need a roll call vote for that one.

- We do need a roll call vote because of, yes, I do have a special note here, we got a new agenda sent to us.

Madam Clerk, roll call vote on this, please.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilman Henderson?

- [Councilman Henderson] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilwoman Hill?

- [Councilwoman Hill] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilman Smith?

- [Councilman Smith] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilman Hester?

- [Councilman Hester] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilwoman Berz?

- [Councilwoman Berz] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilwoman Noel?

- [Councilwoman Noel] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Councilwoman Coonrod?

- [Councilwoman Coonrod] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Vice Chair Dotley?

- [Vice Chair Dotley] Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] Chairman Ledford?

- Yes.

- [Madam Clerk] It's all Yeses.

- Thank you that for that.

Yes, Mr. Noblett, please.

- Yes sir.

Based upon that amendment, the daytime tow will be established for A class at $225, night, weekend holiday at $250, and there will be an annual increase every January based upon the annual inflation increase from prior months data to be approved each year by the beer and record board.

And this ordinance, because it is on an amended second reading, will take effect immediately from and after its passage on January the 10th, at which time it will go into effect.

- Thanks Mr. Noblett.

Any questions or comments?

Okay, moving into our planning item on first reading.

Item B, Madam Clerk.

- [Madam Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part II, Chapter 38, zoning ordinance.

So that's the rezone on property located at 1109 Fairview Avenue from UIX four, urban industrial mixed use zone to URM three, urban residential multiunit zone.

- Councilwoman Noel?

First of all, is the applicant present?

I do see an applicant.

Is there any opposition present?

Councilwoman Noel, I have an an applicant and I have no opposition.

- [Councilwoman Noel] Mr.

Chair, motion to approve.

- I have a motion to approve and second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

All right, item passes.

Under resolutions.

Madam Clerk, without objection from counsel we will take economic development items A through E as a package.

A through E. - [Madam Clerk] Item A: a resolution authorizing the Mayor and his designee to enter into an office lease with Nurture the Next and substantially the form attached for the use of 180 square feet of office space at the Family Justice Center located at 5705 Uptain Road identified as map number 157 MA 012 with an effective date of January 1, 2023, for the term of five years at the annual rent of $1.

Item B: a resolution authorizing the Mayor and his designee to enter into a Second Amendment to office lease with Hamilton County Mental Health Court and substantially the form attached to revise the lease premises at the Family Justice Center identified as tax map number 157 MA 012 from 108 square feet of office space to 368 square feet of office space.

Item C: a resolution authorizing the Mayor and his designee to enter into a First Amendment to office lease with Legal Aid of East Tennessee Inc, and substantially the form attached to revise the lease premises at the Family Justice Center identified as tax map number 157 M 8012 from 454 square feet of office space to 550 square feet of office space.

Item D: a resolution authorizing the Mayor and his designee to enter into a First Amendment to office lease with Partnership for Families, Children and Adults Inc, and substantially the form attached to revise the lease premises at the Family Justice Center identified as tax map number 157 MA 012 from 107 square feet of office space to 160 square feet of office space.

And item E: a resolution authorizing the Mayor or his designee to enter into a donation agreement with Building and Construction Workforce Center and substantially the form attached, for the donation of a narrow sliver of land, approximately .94 acres between the Harding Street extension and the Construction Workforce Center, and to authorize the execution of all documents for completion of the transaction.

- Dr. Berz followed by Councilman Henderson.

- [Councilwoman Berz] Motion of approval.

- Have the motion to approve.

- [Councilman Henderson] I will second that motion.

- Second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Items A through E carry.

Under Family Justice Center, Madam Clerk, item F please.

- [Madam Clerk] A resolution authorizing the administrator for the Office of Community Health, Family Justice Center to accept and if awarded a reimbursable grant from the Tennessee Department of Health, Maternal Violent Death Domestic Violence Assessment Training Project for 43 months for $30,000 per year in the amount of $120,000.

- Dr. Berz - [Councilwoman Berz] Motion of approval.

- I have a motion to approve.

I have a second to that motion.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Item F carries.

Parks and outdoors.

Madam Clerk, item G please.

- [Madam Clerk] A resolution authorizing the administrative for the Department of Parks and Outdoors to accept a donation from AstroTurf Corporation for the Jim Frost Stadium conversion of a natural grass field to synthetic turf as detailed on the attached donation agreement for the city payment of $82,500 for other materials and project requirement fees for the donated value amount of $465,106.

- Councilman Henderson - [Councilman Henderson] Mr.

Chair, earlier today there was a request by the administration, I think, to just withdraw this but I would like to ask a follow up question.

Maybe I should have done that at 3:30, but chief, and I know that- - Councillor, do you mind if we get a motion on the floor and a second and we can get open up discussion?

- [Councilman Henderson] Well, we can- - Or would you rather hold?

- [Councilman Henderson] Well, go ahead.

- [Council Member] Move to withdrawal.

- [Chairman Ledford] We'll have a motion to withdraw.

- [Council Member 2] Second.

- [Chairman Ledford] Have a second to that motion.

Questions or comments?

- I've got a comment.

- [Chairman Ledford] Please.

- Or question.

- [Chairman Ledford] That's all you, sir.

- Chief, I know we had talked last week about, of course, this being a donation and there looks like there is a contribution on the city's part on some other materials and required fees, but in order to get the field ready for spring sports and try to attract tournaments, I'm concerned that withdrawing this is gonna lead to a delay in that happening.

Why are we requesting a withdrawal instead of a deferral?

- [Representative] So we will get this back on the agenda as soon as we hammer out a few details.

We wanted to address some specific concerns with council that council members have raised, but the way in which this is brought to council may be adjusted based on the information that we gather as we work to resolve those council members' concerns, and we just wanna make sure that we have the opportunity to bring forth a clean resolution and that's why we asked for the withdrawal.

- So when would you anticipate this coming back onto the agenda, given we're getting a two week adjournment?

- [Representative] I think there's some information that we... My hope is that we are able to bring it back quickly after the break, but I don't have a specific date for you because we do have some concerns that got brought up this morning and we haven't had a chance to run down that information yet, but I share your sense of urgency and we'll do our very best to get it back in front of you as soon as possible.

- Okay, thank you.

- [Chairman Ledford] Councilman Smith, I see your light, sir.

- [Councilman Smith] I'm good sir.

- All right.

We do have a motion to withdraw and a second on the floor.

Any further questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Item is withdrawn.

Public works.

Madam Clerk, item H please.

- [Madam Clerk] A resolution authorizing the administrator for the Department of Public Works to transfer the city share of the Wilcox Boulevard Bridge project expenses to the Tennessee Department of Transportation in the amount of $12,822,583 plus a 10% contingency amount of $1,282,258.30 for a total amount of $14,104,841.30.

- [Council Member] Motion of approval.

- [Council Member 2] Second.

- Have motion to approve with several seconds.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say "aye."

- [Council] Aye.

- Opposed?

Item carries.

We're now ready for persons wishing to address counsel this evening.

If you would like to address counsel please come down to the podium and while you're coming, Mr. Noblett will read our public speaking rules.

- [Mr. Noblett] The rules are: at the end of each council business meeting, the chair will recognize members of the public that wish to address them.

Here's your rules: each speaker wishing to address the council can only be recognized upfront at the microphone that's provided for that purpose.

Can't have more than three minutes to speak.

And you can address the council only upon matters within their legislative and quasi judicial authority and not upon matters that are under the authority of other governmental bodies or agencies.

You can't use vulgar, obscene language nor use the floor to personally attack or personally denigrate others.

Address your comments to the council as a whole and not make comments directed towards individual council members.

You can only do so one time a day, but this is the time.

And you cannot engage in disorderly conduct or disrupting a public meeting which is prohibited under Tennessee law.

And a person commits an offense like that if a person substantially obstructs or interferes with the meeting by physical action or verbal utterance with the intent to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting or gathering.

Having stated all our rules, go right ahead sir.

- Thank you.

Hello, my name is Joshua Capellish.

Merry Christmas.

I'm an advocate for our American citizens who remain unsheltered in Chattanooga.

Life is a gift, a precious gift.

It's the most precious gift.

Last week I quoted some scripture.

It was not to make anyone feel bad.

I want to share what I learn and what I try to practice.

The Bible is a repair manual and a roadmap for our lives.

You don't have to believe any of it but there's some good stuff in there.

I use it to learn and improve myself as we all should.

Sometimes it is all I have.

It's what brings me here tonight.

I want to serve others.

My friends outside tonight and over Christmas can't be here tonight, so I am.

And thank you all for taking the consideration to approve some important things.

You know, as far as hiring consultants and things like that.

It's basically what we need.

So, thank you.

And let us not forget what Christmas means, why Jesus came.

It was to give us eternal life, a life after life on earth.

Jesus loves all of us, even the worst of us, even me and even the homeless.

His life was a gift, and our best gift of thanks is to serve God in the way Jesus did.

It means that when we read the Bible we need to try and do what it says.

And I know what it...

Excuse me, and I know that it is so difficult.

We all sin in different ways and I think we need to try a little bit each day to do a little less of it.

So with that, if we can't give life we should at least not take it.

And if life exists, shouldn't we work together to make life better for those we can help?

There's no better feeling than to give.

It does not matter what or how much we give, but that we give with our hearts.

And I want to see continued emphasis on giving our homeless citizens a place to live and survive in or near Chattanooga to reduce human suffering and overwhelming anxiety so that we may form a more perfect union in our city.

And I think that we've got one of the best police departments and fire departments and bodies of people that come together here in a civic union that we can agree to disagree and find, you know, things that we can agree on.

The overlapping circles that we call Chattanooga.

There's some lines out there that say that the city stops here or there.

There's different districts and things, but, you know, people move around quite a bit, and I think equality is an important thing that we have to embrace and support as Americans.

And you know, I think that we need to practice that for our generation.

You know, our lives here or our time here, our time on Earth and for those who come behind us.

And that we try to find different ways to work together and to never quit.

Failure is basically quitting.

And you know, even if we come up here and make a fool of ourselves, that we try to do what we can.

So I wanna pick up my change here that I left from last week, and thank you all and wish y'all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year if I don't see you.

Thank you.

- [Chairman Ledford] Thanks, Josh.

- Marie Mont, district eight.

I'm here to ask a question as to why the Unity Group, an organization that has existed, that made sure Johnny Franklin was the first African American that was elected to the City Commission, has to get a petition to have the MLK March, which they have been doing for 53 years?

We have never had to have a petition to be able to march on behalf of ML King.

And I want to to say it here, that his legacy has nothing to do with a day of service.

Dr. King was very much against capitalism, militarism, white supremacy, and his teachings very much so are about us having not only a united perspective but a world perspective on how we can end the suffering of poverty in this nation.

Case dismissed last week was very interesting.

Case dismissed against the protestors.

(laughs) And very next day I woke up, the city council got sued because of the very same things that we came up earlier this year about redistricting to talk to you all about, to have you hear what we were saying, to slow down the process so that you could just start over.

And it's a shame that these are the things that have to be done to people in power because of arrogance.

Arrogance allows you not to hear people at the podium because you think because you sit at a dais that you are above what they have to say.

And I'm proud that nobody black had to sue you.

(laughs) We didn't even have to do it.

I'm going to end in particular with Martin Luther King Jr. with a passage from, "Where do we go from here?

Chaos or community."

The average white person has a responsibility.

He has to resist the impulse to seize upon the rioter as an exclusive villain.

He has to rise up against the indignation, against his own municipal, state and national governments to demand that the necessary reforms be instituted which alone will protect him.

If he reserves his resentment only for the Negro, he will be the victim by allowing those who have the greatest culpability to evade responsibility.

Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.

There is no other answer.

Constructive social change will bring certain tranquility.

Evasions will merely encourage consistent turmoil.

Negroes hold only one key to the double lock of peaceful change.

The other key is in the hands of the white community.

- Hey, I am Mackenzie Kelly, district three.

I am the director of Community Engagement for the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition, and I am here tonight on behalf of the Coalition to thank Council for their support to our response to the budget health shutdown.

Currently, we have 106 households in hotel rooms and that's including 90 kids.

Through the hard work of the city's office of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and the Chattanooga Housing Authority, we have housed eight households, 14 kids, and all of those kids actually have a brand new bed, thanks to Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

So that's very exciting.

So, I just wanted to give you guys a report and thank y'all for your support and commission support.

We cannot be doing this work without the help of community partners who are working tirelessly to make sure that these folks are well taken care of throughout the holidays while also working to find permanent housing solutions for them.

So thank y'all.

- [Chairman Ledford] Thank you.

- Good evening to the panel and everyone else.

My name is Albert Shoemaker.

I work with the public works as a truck driver, CDL commercial driver.

And Chattanooga, as we pretty much know, it's a wonderful place to be.

It is flourishing with jobs and for the most part you don't hear a lot of the good things about Chattanooga, but a lot of people travel from all over the world just to get to Choo-Choo land, Chattanooga.

But I wanna bring up to today's point of public works as a driver, and I like to be safe.

I believe that we should as public works, public safety is the most important thing.

And being a driver... And I don't work in a garbage department, but what's going on is that right now, they're having to pull drivers from all departments to help out in the garbage department, pick up trash cans because there's a lack of drivers in that particular area when I believe we should work as a team.

But the safety part that smacks into that is that night driving.

So we drive, I'm from water quality, a different department, but we all have to get pulled at some point and in the evening, not being familiar with a machine, driving at night in residential area trying to get a garbage can is to me considered as unsafe.

That being said, I actually did notify my supervisor that I felt very unsafe driving the big truck in neighborhoods at nighttime and upon, you know, letting the supervisor know that, I was terminated on that.

I do have a notice of appeal in.

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