(upbeat background music) - [Narrator] You're watching highlights of the Chattanooga City Council meeting, a production of WTCI PBS.

(upbeat background music) (gavel knocking) - Calling our Tuesday May 9th City Council agenda meeting to order.

We have no special presentations.

Can I get approval on the minutes?

- Approved.

- Second.

- Okay, minutes have been approved will stand without objection.

Madam Clerk the ordinance says final reading, could you read item A?

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City code Part 2, chapter 10, section 10.5 as amended as to exclude certain property located at 481 Sherlock Road to be removed from the Brainerd Road Fire District boundary, subject to certain conditions.

- Approve.

- Second.

- OK, I got a motion and a proper second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes.

On the first reading planning item- (speaker interrupted) Yes.

Enable key, all right.

Alright.

Planning item A, the staff version.

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City code Part 2 chapter 38 zoning ordinance so as to rezone property located at 706 and 17 Manufacturer's Road from RM1 Manufacturing zone to RRV6 Riverview zone, and RRF6 Riverfront zone subject to certain conditions.

- Okay, Councilman Henderson.

- Thank you Madam.

Would you just check and make sure the applicant and if there's any opposition right quick?

- [Raquetta Dotley] Sure, is the applicant available here?

Thank you so much.

Is there any opposition?

- Alright, great.

Thank you, thank you ma'am.

Karen, if you could come forward real quick and we don't need a full presentation but I would like to make I think an amendment to this.

Staff version, just for the record, staff version limits the stories to five correct?

- [Karen] That's correct.

- Okay, I just wanna make sure that's in the record and that's the version that I'll be moving.

And I do have a question for the applicant at the time.

So it's my understanding you'd like to do like a rooftop patio deck area up there and I just wanna make sure, I have no problem with that, but I just wanna make sure that we don't go up there and cover the whole rooftop with a pergola or some kind of structure.

So I guess my question would be, would you be amenable to maybe 30%, or no more than 30% of the roof being covered with some kind of structure?

- Yes, we're amenable to that.

- Okay.

Alright.

Karen, I guess as far as amendment, how would we word that?

Limited to five stories excluding the rooftop, patio structure limited to 30% of the rooftop coverage.

How would we need to word that?

- [Karen] Maximum building height of five stories excluding rooftop patio structure.

Rooftop patio structure should not exceed 30% of building of rooftop footprint.

- Is the applicant- - Yes.

- Agreeable to that?

Mr. Attorney, do you have that wording on that amendment?

- Yes sir.

- All right, so at this time I want to move for approval the staff version conditioned to five stories.

- [Speaker] Second.

- [Raquetta Dotley] The motion properly seconded.

Did you wanna add the amendment?

- Alright, now I move to amend with language.

Well, limited to five stories excluding rooftop patio- - Yeah, no more than 30% of the rooftop to be covered with any structure.

- [Henderson] Okay, is that good?

- [Karen] And that includes the, that the five stories excludes the rooftop patio.

- Yes.

- Yes.

- Okay, that is in the form of a motion.

- Second.

- Alright.

The amendment has been moved and seconded.

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

All right, amendment passes.

- [Henderson] I'd like to move as amended.

- Second.

- Alright.

Has been moved and properly seconded Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

- Thank you.

- Thank you, motion passes.

Madame Clerk, if you can read item B - [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga city code Part 2 chapter 38 zoning ordinance so as to rezone property located at 4980 Lilly Lane from R2 Residential Zone on C2 convenience commercial zone subject to certain conditions.

- Is the applicant present?

I see no applicant, is opposition present.

Okay.

Councilman Ledford.

- [Ledford] Thank you Madam Chair, I've been following this case in District 4 and I see there is no opposition, I have not heard of any.

With that I'd like to move to approve please.

- [Speaker] Second.

- [Raquetta Dotley] Case has been motioned and properly second, any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes.

Madam Clerk item C. - [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City code Part 2 chapter 38, zoning ordinance so as to rezone properties located at 1204, 1208 and unaddressed parcel in the 1200 block of East 35th Street Place, 1214 and 1216 East 35th Street Place from R2 residential zone and R5 residential zone to N1 Manufacturing zone subject to certain conditions.

- Okay, is the applicant present?

Okay, any opposition present?

Alright, Councilwoman Noel?

- [Noel] Madam Chair Dotley, I move to approve.

- Second.

- Okay.

It's been motioned and properly seconded.

Any comments or questions?

Right, all in favor.

- Aye - All opposed?

Motion passes.

Item D, Madam Clerk.

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City code Part 2 chapter 38 zoning ordinance so as to rezone unaddressed property in the 1700 block on Mulberry Street from R2 residential zone to UGC Urban General Commercial zone subject to certain conditions.

- Okay, is the applicant present?

Alright, is the opposition present?

Okay, I see no opposition.

Councilwoman Noel.

- [Noel] Madam Chair Dotley I'll move to approve.

- [Speaker] Second.

- Right it's been motioned and properly second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Alright, motion passes.

Madame Clerk item E. - [Clerk] Which version would you like for me to read Madam Chair?

- I'm sorry.

Would you read the alternate version.

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part 2 chapter 38 zoning ordinance so as the rezone property located at 2001 Riverside Drive from M1 Manufacturing zone to C2 Convenience Commercial Zone subject to certain conditions.

- Alright, is the applicant present?

Alright, any opposition present?

Alright, Councilwoman Noel.

- [Noel] Madam Chair Dotley I'll move to approve.

- Second.

- Okay, it's been motioned and properly second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes.

Item L, Madam Clerk.

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part 2 chapter 38 zoning ordinance so it's rezone property located at 850 Oak Street from R3 residential zone to R4 Special zone subject to certain conditions.

- Alright, is the applicant Present?

I see an applicant, any opposition present?

Okay, Councilwoman Noel.

- [Noel] Madam Chair Dotley I move to approve.

- Second.

- Yes.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Alright, motion passes.

Madam Clerk could you read item G. - [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City code Part 2 chapter 38 zoning ordinance so as to rezone property located at 2701 Benton Avenue from M1 Manufacturing zone to R3 Residential Zone.

- Alright, is the applicant present?

Okay, thank you.

Any opposition present?

Okay, Councilwoman Noel?

- [Noel] Madam Chair Dotley I am asking that we defer this for one week until I had a conversation with Ms. Ford and so she's going to decide exactly what she wants to do as far as that property is concerned.

So I ask that we defer until May the 16th.

- All right.

- Second.

- Okay, I have a motion and proper second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

All right, motion passes.

- Thank you Madam Chair.

- Thank you.

Read item H please Madam Clerk.

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code Part 2 chapter 38, zoning ordinance so as to rezone property located at 1013 South Greenwood Avenue from R1 Residential zone to UGC Urban General Commercial Zone subject to certain conditions.

- All right, is the applicant present?

- Yes.

- Okay, thank you.

Any opposition present?

All right, Councilwoman Noel?

- [Noel] Madame Chair Dotley I once again would like to defer until 5/16, one week, to have a conversation with Mr. George in reference to an alternative situation to be placed.

- May 16th?

- Second.

- On May 16th, yes.

All right, so we have motion and properly second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

All right, motion passes.

Madam Clerk, if you could read item I, the alternate version.

- [Clerk] An ordinance amending Chattanooga City Code Part 2, chapter 11 article 20, short term vacation rental certificate and creating a new chapter 38 zoning division 27 uses requiring short-term vacation rental certificates.

- All right, Councilman Smith.

- [Smith] Thank you ma'am.

Move approval of the alternate version.

- [Speaker] Second.

- Okay, all right it's been motioned and properly second.

Comments or questions, I have councilwoman Noel and then Councilwoman Hill.

- [Noel] I was going to second, but that's okay, we're good, thank you.

- All right.

Several seconds for that one.

- Yes.

- All right, it's been motioned and properly second.

Any comments or questions?

Oh, Councilman Henderson.

- Thank you, Madam Chair.

Yeah, I had a conversation with Dan Router just a few minutes ago, and he reminded me that it was a year ago that short-term vacation rental committee started working on this legislation.

And it sort of took a while but it's come full circle back to the floor now.

And while it doesn't include all zones at this time, this legislation does open the door to take short-term vacation units citywide.

And I appreciate the work that this committee did on this legislation, along with the valuable input from Mr. Chris Akef, he was a valuable source of information.

And I just wanna thank all the committee members for their diligence and for their work on this.

- Okay, thank you so much Councilman Henderson.

Councilman Ledford.

- Thank you, Madame Chair.

Let me also clarify that when we say take it citywide, that's in commercial zones.

Thank you very much.

- Thank you for the clarity.

- [Ledford] Before District 4 residents start to crowd my inbox.

- Alright, so we had comment.

Any other comments or questions?

All right, all in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

All right, motion passes, woo alright.

Under resolutions of if counsel has no objections, I would like to take items A and B as a group.

Alright, Madam Clerk.

- [Clerk] Item A, a resolution authorized in city of Chattanooga to allocate $15,000 from the American Rescue Plan and Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to the East Brainerd Youth Athletic Association for the renovation and upgrading of publicly accessible facilities and amenities located at the Batters Place Road Sports Complex.

- And item B.

- And item B, a resolution authorized administrative for the Department of Parks and Outdoors to accept an award of $40,000 from the American Rescue Plan and Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to enter into an agreement with Hamilton County's Department of Parks and Recreation for the purposes of making improvements and upgrades to Ben Miller Park.

- Alright, council it's your pleasure.

- [Speaker] Second.

- All right, it's been motioned and properly second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes.

Madam Clerk item C. - [Clerk] A resolution confirming the appointment of Samantha Lund to the Animal Control Board for District 3 with the term beginning May 10, 2023 and ending May 9, 2026.

- Approved.

- Second.

- Okay, it's been motioned and properly second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes.

Under economic development, I would like to take items D and E as a group if there are no objections from council.

I'm sorry, go ahead Councilman Smith.

- No, go ahead.

- Okay.

Items D and E, Madam Clerk.

- [Clerk] Item D, a resolution to make certain findings relating to the Kordsa Inc. Project to delegate certain authority to the Industrial Development Board of The City of Chattanooga and to authorize the Mayor to enter into and execute an agreement for payments in lieu of ad valorum taxes.

Item E, resolution approving the acceptance and distribution of fiscal year 2023, 2024 Community Development Block Grant CDBG and Home Investment Partnership Act, Home Funds, from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, and program income all total in approximately $3,191,716 as shown fully here and below.

- Alright, Councilwoman Coonrod?

- [Coonrod] Move to approve - Councilman Smith?

- Thank you Madam Chair.

I am going to also second but if you don't mind, may I ask commissioner if you'd mind coming up to the mic, please?

- [Commissioner] Good afternoon.

- Good afternoon, Commissioner.

Thank you for being here this evening.

- [Commissioner] Thank you.

- This is in reference to item D on the Kordsa Project.

I just, I didn't have any further questions, we've been over this many times over a good duration.

This is really the last step and I just wanted to say thank you again for your dedication and commitment to our city, to our county, and to the growth of this particular area that is in my district and the number of jobs.

And not only that, but the willingness and actually excitement around mentorship programs that you are willing to do to continue to offer opportunity to citizens of this area that may not be suited for a position right away and may not be suited to even attend certain types of education that allows that opportunity, but you are opening the door for them, Sir and that is incredibly admirable and remarkable to get from our local businesses.

And I hope this is a first step of other organizations following suit and doing the same thing for a lot of our citizens that just don't have the resources and opportunities to improve themselves, yet they just need a little extra help and a little opportunity and you're providing that.

And I just wanted to say thank you again Sir and I am so happy and proud to move approval.

- Thank you very much.

We're excited to be here.

We're excited to call Chattanooga our home and this is where we wanted to be all along.

And I really wanna say thank you to each of you for the job that you do.

Thank you to Jermaine Freeman for the the tenacity that he's had all the way through this entire process.

Jermaine has done a wonderful job as well as Mr. Steve Hyatt and Charles Wood with our local chamber.

So thank you very much.

Kordsa is excited to break ground.

- [Smith] Thank you, Sir.

Thank you Madam Chair.

- Right, thank you.

It's been motioned and properly seconded.

Thank you so much.

Any other comments or questions?

All right, all in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes.

Madam Clerk you read item F. - [Clerk] A resolution authorizing the City of Chattanooga to apply for and if awarded to accept a Land and Water Conservation Fund, LWCF.

Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, ORLP grant for the completion of phase three of the Alton Park connector in the amount of $4,729,252.44 with a match not to exceed 4 million dollars.

- All right, Councilman Ledford.

- [Ledford] I move to approve Madam Chair.

- Alright.

- Second.

- I heard a second.

Several motions to approve as with motion properly second.

Any comments or questions?

Okay, all in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Right, motion passes.

Madam Clerk, Item G. - [Clerk] A resolution authorized the appointment of Doug Pell as a special police officer unarmed for the Department of Public Works Transportation Division to do special duty as prescribed herein in his position as Transportation Inspector subject to certain conditions.

- Okay, Council?

- Motion approved.

- [Speaker] Second.

- All right it's been motioned, properly second.

Any comments or questions?

All in favor?

- Aye.

- All opposed?

Motion passes now.

- But George Bernard Shaw said "Progress is impossible without change, "and those who cannot change their minds "cannot change anything".

I'm proud to be back from Palo Alto, California.

Marquez Thompson, my mentee, has committed to Stanford on scholarship and after 1.4 million dollars in scholarships he is one of four valedictorians at Brainerd High School, one of four, that's amazing.

I think that the young people at Brainerd deserve a clap, four valedictorians.

(crowd clapping) I think that's historical.

I wanted to speak to something very important this evening because I'm currently going through a program at Harvard Business School with Dr. Linda Hill who wrote an excellent book I encourage you to read called "Collective Genius" that talks about the future of leadership requires you to be able to shape culture and capabilities.

That we must move from just strategy and vision alone.

But we must go from saying that we're going to lead people into the future into creating that future with them.

I've been so blessed to be able to create a future with Marquez and every time I talk to him, I don't call him Q, I call him a federal judge 'cause that's what he wants to be.

The part of the crime problem is because we're not going to the beginning of a spectrum.

Our young people, I talk to them all the time, they tell me face-to-face they are without hope.

We know that many of them are in poverty.

Q is a first generation college graduate, in 2023 there are still so many barriers that exist.

For us to be able to solve the longstanding social problems in Chattanooga, is going to require us to do something different.

Mentorship can't just be about entertainment for these young people, it has to be how are we gonna prep them to go to college?

Do they have the skills to participate in a Kordsa program?

To be able to take those jobs?

We know that innovation and technology is developing rapidly.

So AI, robotics, if they're not taking part in this innovative sweep that is happening they are already left behind.

I encourage you, leaders of our dear city, be different, be bold, think outside the box 'cause that's where everything in the future exists.

Stupidity or insanity, as my daddy says, is doing the same things over and over and expecting the results to be different.

If we keep doing what we've been doing, don't expect a change.

But if we want something different we're gonna have to stretch our minds and our capacity.

We're gonna have to dream again.

We're gonna have to envision not only a new future but ask people, will they build it with us?

To me, I don't think the young people who are making it out of this city are doing that without somebody encouraging them to be different and to be a catalyst for change.

Thank you.

(timer beeping) - Hello, good evening.

Hi, I'm Nikki Keck, I'm one of the co-founders of Help Right Here the nonprofit that manages the city's sanctioned encampment.

First of all, I wanna thank you for keeping the camp open another year.

And I also really wanna thank the City of Chattanooga and the Kelly administration for giving us the opportunity to manage the sanctioned encampment this past year.

Since opening the camp on May 21st of 2022, we've had 117 people come into the camp and we've had nearly 30 of those people housed.

We like to think of 12th And People's Camp not as a destination, but as a layover, a very necessary step in their ladder to housing, so to speak.

The camp allows the residents to be in a safe and stable environment, in which in turn allows them to heal and work towards housing.

Residents are given the tools not only that they need to survive but also thrive while they're living in the camp.

It's not an easy task managing the residents, it's a 24/7 job, but we give our love and support each and every day and our interpersonal relationships with these people that we've worked really hard for over the past year, I know has aided in their success.

We also require, I think one of the big parts that has made a success is that we require each resident to have a case worker at the Homeless Healthcare Center.

And so they have really helped us get the residents forward and moving.

We really appreciate the city and the necessary funding that you gave us to open the camp, it was absolutely amazing.

But you know, we definitely had to leverage that funding with donations and writing grants in order to make the camp more of a temporary home and not just tents and porta-potties.

In addition to the sanctioned camp, we have also opened up a camp on our own private property to help with the numbers of the homeless.

Ann-Marie, do you wanna talk?

- I'm Ann-Marie Fitzsimmons and I'm the other half of Help Right Here.

I left my job at CSAS in May to help run the camp full-time.

As we all know, it's now a felony in the state of Tennessee to camp on public property.

So we have this encampment and then we've opened up a second encampment down the hill, it's called Camp Down There 'cause it's at 11th and People's.

So we're currently caring for about 65 people.

And coming from education, we were both beat into us about Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

And in a high school you see it.

You have kids come in that can't do what they need to do because they don't get fed, they're not at home, they're somewhere else.

And it's the same thing with homelessness.

People have to have their basic needs met and they have to feel safe in order to move upwards.

And that's what these camps do and that's why they're necessary.

I forgot my notes, but I can remember anything.

I can't tell you how important and how wonderful- (timer beeping) Can I have a little more time?

- [Raquetta Dotley] Ma'am thank you.

- Running the camp has been the hardest most beautiful time- - [Raquetta Dotley] Excuse me, I'm so sorry, no ma'am.

Were y'all sharing time?

- No, she just finished hers, so sorry.

- Okay, I'll just be quiet.

- I have never done this before, so.

- [Raquetta Dotley] Oh, okay.

- We just wanted to be up here together.

And thank you for your time.

- [Raquetta Dotley] Yes, go ahead.

Yes.

- She should have two minutes.

- Have two minutes?

- [Speaker] I'm sorry (speaker drowned by coughing) - Thank you.

- [Speaker] So I'll reset, so I appreciate it if she can have the rest of her time.

- All right.

- Thank you so much.

- I just want to express how wonderful the camp is.

I mean it, and I may cry.

We started out in a parking lot in 150 degree weather with our kids, and my boyfriend, and her husband setting up tents and that's all it was.

And now we have a giant community room, and we have a thrift store, and we have a beautiful garden that UTC has helped us build and we really wanna continue it.

We wanna continue to help because these people need help.

If you're homeless or have been homeless, raise your hand.

These are people, they're not numbers.

And I really think that we need to start looking at homelessness as the humanitarian crisis that it is.

Because if we don't house people, that is the biggest thing you can do, and we don't have housing.

So Help Right Here is also working on housing.

We're working on something to start building housing.

So that's all.

Come please, we're gonna have an open house this summer, but if anybody wants a tour of the camp all you gotta do is an email.

Jenny's seen it.

So anybody else who wants to come see it, please come down.

- It's a welcoming place.

- It is, it's a home.

It's not just a bunch of tents, it's a family.

So thanks.

- Thank you.

- [Raquetta Dotley] Thank you.

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