November 30, 2015 City Council Holds "Special" Meeting For One Item: To Increase City Administrator Tony Cox's Compensation Package Again

Below is a video of City Council in a "special" called meeting on November 24 voting to increase City Administrator Tony Cox's contract compensation package yet again.


The Council met on November 17 (one week before the special called meeting) and is scheduled to meet in regular session again on December 1 (one week after the special called meeting).


Apparently, someone decided there was an emergency at City Hall that required that council run a newspaper ad so it could meet in special session at 11:00 AM on November 24 for 12 minutes with its attorney present and with no public comments ----to talk about the "urgent situation" involving revisions to Cox's contract. And these revisions won't take effect until January 1, 2016. 


Sort of odd how this urgent situation arose and someone decided consideration of the proposed salary and benefit increase absolutely could NOT wait 7 days for council's next regular meeting day (December 1) and time (5 PM) when the public that foots the bill could be present and when the regular agenda would provide an opportunity for public comments.

June 18,2015 SWB Committee To Recommend Rodefer Moss as New SWB Auditor Replacing Craine-Thompson-Jones

Three Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste Board members (Bob Garrett, Doe Jarvis, and Tom Rush) met this morning and reviewed proposals for auditing services from three CPA firms.


The members rated each proposal and decided to recommend that the full board approve Rodefer Moss as the new SWB auditor--replacing longtime local auditor Craine-Thompson-Jones.


The recommendation will apparently go to the full board for action at its meeting tomorrow at 9 AM at the Health Department.


For a brief history of the SWB saga and theft of over $220,000 by its former director Ronnie Brady, click here, here, and here.

August 20, 2014 City Council Unanimously Approves the Mayor's Appointment of Rod Isaacs to the MUS Board To Replace Gene Jolley

The latest MUS appointment saga/fiasco is over.


Yesterday, Mayor Thomas nominated Rod Isaacs to the MUS Board. Bob Garrett seconded the appointment, and the full council unanimously voted "yes."


Previously, the council rejected the Mayor's nomination of Max Biery and Jack Kennerly from three-person slates sent to the Mayor by MUS.


Then the MUS Board (George McGuffin, Harold Nichols, Gene Jolley, Lynn Elkins, and Bryan Dickerson) sent two slates to the Mayor that included individuals who were not qualified to serve on the MUS Board because they served on other city boards.


Finally, MUS figured out the qualifications for service on the MUS Board and sent the three-person slate of Jolley, Rod Isaacs, and Jay Smith to the Mayor.


On the surface yesterday, the six city councilmembers (LeBel, Garrett, Bivens, Senter, Chesney, and Alvis) had a different attitude and tone toward the Mayor and in regard to the Mayor's nomination of Isaacs.


Just a few weeks ago, these same six rejected the Mayor's nomination of Jack Kennerly.  LeBel then asked all those in favor of Glenn Thompson to raise their hands. Six hands went up. LeBel asked City Administrator Tony Cox to send a letter to MUS telling them that council supports and wants MUS to include Glenn Thompson on its slate of MUS nominees.


MUS ignored LeBel's suggestion--or maybe Thompson didn't want to be involved in the whole MUS mess and declined to let his name be included.

August 15, 2014 Hopefully, MUS Now Understands the Qualifications for MUS Board Membership

The Morristown Utilities Systems (MUS) Board held a special called meeting yesterday (see post below) and nominated Gene Jolley, Rod Isaacs, and Jay Smith for the Board seat currently held by Gene Jolley.


Four members were present (McGuffin, Jolley, Nichols, and Dickerson). Jolley abstained from the vote, and Lynn Elkins was absent.


These names will be sent to Mayor Danny Thomas who will submit one of the names to the full city council for approval or rejection.


The MUS Gang That Can't Shoot Straight thinks it finally has a three-person slate where all three are qualified to serve.


The next hurdle for any nominee is city council which has the ultimate decision on approval or disapproval. 


In a council meeting weeks ago, Councilman Paul LeBel stated that Glenn Thompson was council's choice. LeBel then asked for a "show of hands" of those in favor of Thompson. Six hands went up--LeBel, Senter, Bivens, Alvis, Garrett, and Chesney. 


The Council Gang of Six asked City Administrator Tony Cox to send a letter to the MUS Gang of Five letting MUS know of council's preference. Apparently, the Gang of Five didn't get the memo from the Gang of Six or decided to ignore it.


That leads us to another twist to the MUS saga. This is MUS' third submittal of three qualified names to the Mayor. The 2012 (George) McGuffin Law provides that if Council rejects the Mayor's third nominee, then MUS and the Mayor are out of the picture, and Council can make its own nominations.

So, if the Gang of Six really wants Glenn Thompson, the Gang just has to reject the nominee that the Mayor selects, and then the Gang can nominate and appoint Thompson.


[Scroll down for yesterday's post on how the self-nominating MUS Board twice nominated unqualified persons for the Board and had to back up and revise its slate of candidates.]

August 21, 2013 Council Approves Mayor's Nomination of Bryan Dickerson to MUS Board

There is a new member on the five-person MUS Board of Commissioners.

After councilmembers rejected the first two mayoral nominations (Max Biery and Jim Sexton) to the Morristown Utility System Board of Commissioners,  Mayor Thomas made a third pick yesterday, and the full council then approved his appointment of Bryan Dickerson to the MUS Board in a 7-0 vote.

Dickerson will take the seat currently held by Max Biery who was nominated by the Mayor from a list of three persons provided to him by MUS but whose re-appointment to the MUS Board was rejected by a majority of councilmembers (Garrett, LeBel, Alvis, and Bivens) on July 16.

August 19, 2013 MUS Sends Another Slate of Three Names to the Mayor to Replace Max Biery on the MUS Board of Commissioners

The MUS Board of Commissioners met last Friday, August 16, to prepare a third slate of names to submit to Mayor Danny Thomas for his recommendation of one of those individuals to the full council to replace MUS Commissioner Max Biery.  [Biery's re-appointment to the MUS Board by the Mayor was rejected on July 16 by the council.]

 

The five MUS Commissioners recommended that the names of Bryan Dickerson, Steve Isaacs, and Wally Long be submitted to the Mayor.

 

 

BACKGROUND

The Mayor nominated Biery for re-appointment back on July 16, 2013, but four members of the council voted to reject the re-appointment. Those opposed to Biery's nomination were councilmembers Bob Garrett, former head of the MUS Water Department; Paul LeBel; Dennis Alvis; and Chris Bivens. The video and vote is here. 

 

MUS submitted another list of three names, and five councilmembers then rejected the mayor's nomination of Jim Sexton of MAHLE to the MUS Board on August 6, 2013. Voting to reject Sexton's nomination were Bob Garrett, former head of the MUS Water Department; Dennis Alvis; Chris Bivens; Kay Senter; and Gary Chesney. The video and vote is here

 

There is a power struggle for control of the MUS Board of Commissioners--especially with steps being taken ever more rapidly to transfer city sewer operations to MUS.

August 7. 2013 Five Councilmembers Vote To Reject the Appointment of Jim Sexton of MAHLE to the Morristown Utility Systems Board

And the rejection beat goes on...

On July 26, the five-member MUS (Morristown Utility Systems) Board chose a (second) slate of three individuals for appointment to the Board of Commissioners and sent the list to the Mayor. The list was comprised of Bryan Dickerson, Jim Sexton, and Glenn Thompson.

As the law requires, the Mayor presented the name of one of the MUS nominees to the council yesterday--Jim Sexton of MAHLE.

Bob Garrett immediately made a motion to reject Sexton. Garrett is a former longtime employee of MUS and headed the Water Department for many, many years.

The vote to reject was 5-1. Garrett, Kay Senter, Chris Bivens, Dennis Alvis, and Gary Chesney voted to reject Sexton (Paul LeBel was absent).  Mayor Danny Thomas supported Sexton.

No one said anything during the public portion of the meeting as to why he or she opposed Sexton. 

All that is publicly evident at this time is the power struggle to control the MUS Board and that a majority of council do not want Max Biery or Jim Sexton on the Board or maybe they just don't want anyone that the Mayor nominates---even though the Mayor is simply selecting from the list provided to him by the MUS Board of Commissioners.
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Back on July 16 four councilmembers (Garrett, Bivens, Alvis, and LeBel) voted to reject the mayor's nomination of sitting MUS commissioner Max Biery---who was on the previous slate of three individuals recommended to the Mayor by the MUS Board of Commissioners.

Click here to go to the post with video of the rejection of Biery by council.

August 3, 2013 Max Biery Nominates Three for His MUS Commission Position

Max Biery, former head of JTEKT, has served as a Morristown Utility Commissioner for about 12 years.

His current term on the MUS Board expires this year. In June, the MUS Board prepared a slate of three nominees, including Biery, for the Mayor's selection and council's confirmation or rejection in July. That slate consisted of Biery, Steve Isaacs, and Terry Brimer.

On July 16, 2013, the Mayor nominated Biery from that slate, but the Morristown City Council in a 4-3 vote rejected Biery's nomination for another term as a utility commissioner. The votes to reject Biery's nomination came from Dennis Alvis, Bob Garrett, Paul LeBel, and Chris Bivens.

 

On July 26, 2013, the MUS Board met and Biery, leaving off the names of Isaacs and Brimer, proposed a completely new slate of three nominees to send to the Mayor: Bryan Dickerson, Jim Sexton, and Glenn Thompson.

That video is here:

Earlier in the same meeting, Biery alluded to the fact that this meeting could be his last when he asked Clark Rucker for one "last" explanation of a degree day.

The Mayor's nomination of an individual to take Biery's place followed by a "yes" or "no" vote by the full council will likely take place at the Council's August 6, 2013, meeting.

July 17, 2013 In 4-3 Vote, Council Rejects Max Biery's Re-Appointment to MUS Board

There is a power struggle going on.  It involves several boards appointed by city council. Many of these boards have control over city infrastructure and/or make recommendations to council regarding city development, tax increment financing awards, and other important issues.

At yesterday's city council meeting, an appointment to one of the most powerful boards in Morristown--the Morristown Utility Commission--was on the agenda.

The Morristown Utility Commission voted on June 27 on three names to send to the Mayor (current MUC member Max Biery, Steve Isaacs, and Terry Brimer). The Mayor then  recommends one name for a full council vote. The MUS video is here:

Yesterday, Mayor Thomas recommended that Max Biery be re-appointed to the Morristown Utility Commission.

Bob Garrett, a 40+ year former employee and former head of the Water Department at MUS, immediately moved to reject Biery's nomination. He was then joined by three other councilmembers who rejected Biery by a 4-3 vote. Those voting to reject Biery were Garett, Paul LeBel, Chris Bivens, and Dennis Alvis. Voting for Biery were Mayor Thomas, Gary Chesney, and Kay Senter.

None of the four stated why they were opposed to Biery or who they have in mind for the position. Biery has served as a Morristown Utility Board Commissioner since 2001 when the Board was expanded to five-members. Biery is a retired head of J-TEKT and his initial appointment was seen as placing a representative of industrial interests on the MUS Board.

May 23, 2013 LeBel Questions James Craine on East End Food City TIF and Masengill Springs Food City TIF

On May 21, the Morristown City Council approved a $2.5 TIF (tax incremental financing) for the Masengill Springs Food City by a 4-3 vote. In favor were Alvis, Bivens, Chesney, and Thomas and opposed were Garrett, LeBel, and Senter.

These videos show what took place before the vote on the Masengill Springs TIF.

James Craine, vice-chairman of the IDB, stated that he performed the Masengill Springs economic impact study that is the basis for the IDB's recommendation of a TIF. Craine said that he was requested to perform the study by the IDB of which he is a member. He added that he was paid approximately $5,000.00 for his work. [Apologies for the poor video but the audio is clear]



LeBel then grilled Craine about the IDB's handling of the only currently active TIF--the east end Barton Springs Food City TIF.



LeBel also questioned Craine about the Masengill Springs TIF that was on the council's agenda and that was later approved by a 4-3 vote.

 

May 8, 2013 And The Ones Who Got The Most Votes Are...

May 1, 2013 City Election

Alvis, Chesney, Senter, and Garrett

May 7, 2013 Election Day in the City of Morristown

The polls are open from 8 am - 8 pm.

If you are unsure where your voting precinct is located, the Election Commission (586-7169) can help.

If you missed getting by to see the sign with Kay Senter's "accomplishments" on City Council during the past 20 years, it has been moved now, but it can still be seen here.

Moving Morristown Forward (MMF)--which lists John Stroud and George Haggard as members--has been pushing hard for the team of Senter, Garrett, and Chesney.

Stroud is listed as secretary to the Industrial Board of the City of Morristown.  The first time I saw him was at a city council meeting in 2011 where he worked himself into a frenzy as he accused the Mayor of being a "dictator." 

Haggard, in addition to being the main contributor to Moving Morristown Forward, doubles as Chesney's campaign treasurer.

Chesney has VERY carefully avoided dealing with the fact that he was just elected to the School Board nine months ago and now he has decided he wants ANOTHER ELECTED OFFICE as a City Councilman.

Chesney wasn't the first choice of Tim and David Wild, but he was willing to step in and run when the Wilds' first pick--Dr. Sid Boyd--backed out.

Garrett worked with the water department at Morristown Utilities for four decades before his election to council in 2009.  In 2011 and 2012, Garrett voted against 21 people nominated to the MUC Board by the Mayor and then supported the "McGuffin Law" that changed the MUC appointment process without letting the people vote on the changes.

For $250, Garrett, Senter, LeBel, Bivens, and Jinks could have let the people have a voice and a vote in 2012 on the controversial MUC issue, but they all said "NO." 

January 16, 2013 Massengill Springs Rezoning Approved on First Reading; Buffalo Trail Rezoning Rejected on Second Reading

MASSENGILL SPRINGS REZONING

The rezoning of the "Massengill Springs" acreage behind Bojangles on the West A.J. Highway was approved on first reading at the Morristown City Council meeting yesterday despite continued opposition from several residents of the area.  A new Food City will be the major focus of the development by BB&J.

Second reading with a public hearing will take place in February.

The vote was 4-2 in favor of the rezoning. Councilmembers Dennis Alvis, Chris Bivens, Gene Brooks, and Mayor Danny Thomas voted "yes" while Councilmembers Kay Senter and Bob Garrett voted "no." Paul LeBel was absent but had abstained from voting on Massengill Springs in September due to a conflict of interest.

The rezoning of a similar tract was rejected by council in September when the tract to be rezoned touched property of residents on Collins Street who objected and presented a petition to council that then required a 4/5 vote for approval (6 of 7 council votes).

In December, 13+ acres were sold by Luke Massengill to Dwight Frazier who then sold it to Don Bunch. Bunch then apparently combined the 13 acres with property he already owned and sold the new tract of 26+ acres to BB&J.  Since, the new tract for the proposed development no longer touches the residents of Collins Street, the residents were not able to present a petition to force a 4/5 vote for approval.

Several residents spoke out against the rezoning yesterday. As the rezoning came back to Planning Commission and to council, legal action has been threatened concerning the December deeds, plats, and other issues.

Click here for a previous post with videos of the September meeting and vote.

BUFFALO TRAIL

The rezoning of the property of Jimmy Sisson at 1848 Buffalo Trail was rejected on second reading yesterday. The measure to rezone the property to Intermediate Business had passed on first reading at council's December 18th meeting. The property also adjoins Medlin Street. Prior to yesterday's vote, residents along Medlin Street presented a petition to council with the required number of signatures to force a 4/5 vote for approval.

The Buffalo Trail/Medlin Street rezoning failed by a 4-2 vote. Mayor Danny Thomas and Councilmembers Gene Brooks, Chris Bivens, and Kay Senter  voted "no." Councilmembers Bob Garrett and Dennis Alvis voted "yes." Paul LeBel was absent.

January 15, 2013 Council's Deliberations in Hurley Hearing

After 3-1/2 days of testimony and introduction of numerous emails in connection with the development of the Eddie Hurley property at the intersection of Panther Creek Road and West A.J. Hwy, council voted 6-1 to waive all fines levied against Mr. Hurley by the City.

Mayor Thomas, Gene Brooks, Dennis Alvis, Chris Bivens, Paul LeBel, and Kay Senter voted to waive the fines. Bob Garrett voted "no."

During the hearings, Hurley's attorney Link Gibbons introduced several emails between City Administrator Tony Cox and Councilman Paul LeBel regarding the Hurley property. Hurley's attorney alleged that LeBel, a broker with strong ties to other developers, had a conflict of interest because LeBel was pushing for action against developer Hurley while LeBel was not pushing for action on City violations against the Berkline property where LeBel was the broker.

Because of LeBel's emails and "many" meetings with City Administrator Tony Cox regarding the Hurley property, LeBel was asked several times to recuse himself from the deliberations. He repeatedly refused. Videos of LeBel's testimony will follow, but for now here are videos of the January 10th deliberations and vote.

Brooks and LeBel:

Alvis and Bivens:

LeBel and Senter and Thomas:

Mayor Thomas:

Mayor Thomas and the Vote:

January 2, 2013 Mayor Forced to Cancel Scheduled Council Meeting When Four Councilmembers Don't Show Up

 

Four Morristown City Councilmembers didn't show up at yesterday morning's scheduled meeting of the Council, forcing Mayor Danny Thomas to cancel the meeting for lack of a quorum (majority) to conduct business.

City Administrator Tony Cox had apparently been told in advance that these four councilmembers  would not come to the meeting.

However, no one mentioned whether all four were suddenly sick, out-of-town, or just not in the mood.

Missing: Councilmembers Bob Garrett, Paul LeBel, Chris Bivens, and the newest councilmember Dennis Alvis.

Present at yesterday's meeting: Mayor Danny Thomas and Councilmembers Gene Brooks and Kay Senter.

Also present were at least six members of the public who got up early for the 9AM meeting and watched and waited for just one more member to show up so the meeting could go on.

Some of these citizens were there to speak to the full council during the public comments forum that never occurred.

Betsy Stibler ended up passing out an information packet, and then she and two other citizens talked briefly about their concerns with the City Administrator and the officials who were present.

November 27, 2012 Morristown City Council

Pictured above is the Morristown City Council.  Dennis Alvis was recently appointed to temporarily fill the 4th ward seat of longtime councilmember Claude Jinks. Alvis will hold the seat until May 2013 when the two years remaining on Jinks' term will be filled during the regular city council election.

[Most observers expect Alvis to be a candidate for the seat in the May 2013 election.]

From left-to-right are Bob Garrett, Gene Brooks, Dennis Alvis, Kay Senter, Paul LeBel, Mayor Danny Thomas, and Chris Bivens.

October 18, 2012 Another Millennium Mulligan: Project Bids To Be Rejected (Third Time) With More Do-over Designs and Bids To Come

At Tuesday's council meeting, City Administrator Tony Cox informed council that the Millennium Square project bids of October 3rd were high and that "it's going to be our recommendation" (third time) that we reject all bids and consider another re-design.

Cox did not say who made the recommendation for rejection nor to whom the recommendation goes for approval.

He didn't ask council to vote to recommend rejection, nor did he ask for comments from council.

For the Millennium group and the City, it's three mulligans and counting with a plan for yet another round of do-over designs and do-over bids.

Later in the meeting during council comments, Councilmember Gene Brooks pointed out that during the third Millennium bid opening on October 3, an unsealed bid had been opened.

Brooks said that a bid protest involving the opening of the unsealed bid was filed right after the bid opening but never reported to council and never reported by the "news"paper.

City Attorney Dick Jessee confirmed for Brooks that he had been informed about an unsealed bid being opened and that it would be his opinion that the unsealed bid would have to be disqualified. 

Councilmember Bob Garrett commented that it is the responsibility of the bidder to see that his bid is submitted in a sealed envelope--which is true but which ignores the responsibility of the person or entity handling the bid opening to ensure that all bid requirements are followed.

Councilmember Brooks added that Morristown didn't need to get a reputation for being unfair in the conduct of bidding.

Councilmember Chris Bivens said that the opening of an unsealed bid didn't matter since after the bid opening, it was decided by someone to reject all bids.

Tony Cox was at the bid opening but made no comments during this discussion. Todd Morgan is the City's designated representative for oversight of the Millennium project and was also at the bid opening. 

 

The bid that was allegedly unsealed was that of the low bidder Jenkins and Stiles,  the second bid opened on October 3. The bid opening video is here. 



September 19, 2012 Masengill Springs Rezoning Fails: Morristown's Charter Zoning Provision Applies

Opponents of the Masengill Springs development on West Andrew Johnson Highway won at least a temporary victory yesterday when the Masengill Springs rezoning failed with 3 YES votes (Danny Thomas, Chris Bivens, and Gene Brooks), 2 NO votes (Kay Senter and Bob Garrett), and 1 ABSTENTION (Paul LeBel).

Residents have repeatedly cited flooding, traffic, and quality of life issues in opposition to the rezoning. The bombshell, however, was their discovery in recent weeks that there is a provision in the Morristown City Charter that requires the City to provide three public notices of a proposed rezoning and allows certain nearby residents to sign a petition protesting the rezoning and thus require a 4/5 council vote for approval instead of a simply majority.

[The City admitted that it has ignored the Charter provision requiring three public notices and apparently citizens and council have previously been unaware of the petition process provided for residents.]

Initially, it appeared that the entire matter would be delayed two weeks at the request of the developer--a move which is normally accomplished by a simple motion and majority vote of council.

Kay Senter, however, made a move for postponement to October 2 as a "special order."  The "special order" terminology surprised many members of council and the city attorney. Kay had her Robert's Rules with her and pointed out that the "special order" term meant that her motion to postpone required a 2/3 vote of council for the postponement.

Amidst the confusion and discussion, the motion to postpone by "special order" failed to get the required 2/3 majority.

Kay then quickly made a motion to approve the rezoning.  At that point, City Attorney Dick Jessee stated that he had received an opinion on Monday (the day before yesterday's vote) from MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) that upheld the City Charter zoning provision requiring a 4/5 vote to approve a rezoning when the required number of residents have protested the rezoning by petition.

More discussion and controversy. When the vote was taken on Kay's motion to approve the rezoning, a majority voted YES, but not the required 4/5.  Voting YES were Gene Brooks, Chris Bivens, and Danny Thomas. Voting NO were Kay Senter (who had made the motion to approve the rezoning) and Bob Garrett. Abstaining was Paul LeBel.

September 6, 2012 Morristown City Council Appoints 5-Member Airport Commission

 

Morristown City Council appointed a 5-person Airport Commission at its September 4 meeting.

 

Prior to the meeting, each councilmember had nominated one person. [Mayor Danny Thomas and Councilmember Gene Brooks nominated the same person--Clifford Jinks.]

 

The discussion suddenly became heated when councilmember Gene Brooks explained that his and the Mayor's nominee (Clifford Jinks) was a pilot, and Brooks asked Councilmember Chris Bivens about the qualifications of Bivens' nominee (Hamblen County Commissioner Doe Jarvis).

 

For some reason, Bivens was very upset by the question and refused to discuss the qualifications of Jarvis. Bivens did, however, discuss the qualifications of his first choice Larry Mullins who apparently declined to serve due to potential conflicts of interest.

 

After procedural discussions about the method of voting, the five-member commission that was eventually appointed includes Clifford Jinks, Hamblen County Commissioner Doe Jarvis, Denise Terry Stapleton, Charles Hurt, and Steve Henrikson.

 

Click here to see previous post where Bivens voted "yes" to establish an Airport Commission despite a promise to the late councilmember Claude Jinks to vote "no."

September 2, 2012 City Finance Committee Discusses Whitesburg Sewer Contract One-Hour Before Scheduled Vote

City Council Finance Committee: There is nothing like looking at a contract one hour before the main meeting where you have it on the agenda for a vote--- and being told about five minutes before the main meeting that there is one "little" problem with a paragraph in the contract that might just be "unconstitutional."

That is just part of the discussion on August 21 at a City Finance Committee meeting where the city-county Whitesburg Sewer Project Agreement was discussed.

Paul LeBel, who is sitting between County Mayor Bill Brittain and City Councilperson Kay Senter, gets to vote twice on the contract. He voted for the contract as a county commissioner on August 23

and will get to vote on the contract as a city councilperson.

Although Tony Cox and Bill Brittain wanted the city council to go ahead and vote on the Agreement on August 21, the council unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the contract to its September 4 meeting.