Hickman County TN

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

County Commissioners · Meeting · Apr 24, 2023

Mon, Apr 24, 2023

The elected legislative body for Hickman County. Sets county policy, adopts the budget, and represents residents across the county’s districts.

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Outline

This outline was generated by an LLM from a transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. Prefer the original recording when available.

The commission handled mostly routine business but approved one large capital budget item: $353,800 from fund balance for a new ambulance. A proposed budget amendment related to septic installation and water-line repair for Philip Scott and Lucia Royal was not advanced; after being brought to the floor without committee recommendation, it was tabled unanimously. Another contested item was a beer permit for the Dollar General on Highway 7: members raised concerns that nearby Cedar Crest Camp church property might fall within beer-law distance restrictions, so the permit was postponed for further research rather than approved.

Other notable threads included quarterly reports and March financial reports being approved, a county-mayor update on the Pinewood EMS station contract now being in place, county vehicle and phone inventory changes aimed at insurance and monthly savings, and a late-added 9-1-1/fire-service map item that required a two-thirds vote to consider and was then approved.

Call to Order / Opening items 13:51

  • Routine opening prayer and pledge were led by commissioners. No substantive action.
  • 15:05 Agenda approved without controversy by voice vote.
  • 15:22 March 27, 2023 minutes approved without controversy by voice vote.
  • 15:43 No special recognitions or memorial commendations were presented.

Elections, Appointments, and Confirmations 16:00

Notary appointments 16:00

  • 16:06 Two notary applications — Teresa Banks and Laura Bryant — were presented together.
  • 16:14 Motion and second to approve both notaries; approved by voice vote.

Department / Official Reports 16:39

Quarterly reports from county offices 16:39

  • 16:48 Quarterly reports from various county offices were submitted as part of the packet.
  • 16:56 Motion to approve the quarterly reports.
  • 17:07 Roll-call vote approved the reports 13–0 with 1 absent.

County Mayor’s report 17:40

  • 17:49 Update on the Pinewood EMS station: a prior miscommunication delayed the contract from engineers/architects, but the contract had now been received, reviewed, signed, and the project was said to be ready to move forward.
  • 18:06 County vehicle inventory was updated and reported to insurance, with the goal of reducing insurance premiums.
  • 18:13 County-issued Verizon phones were updated, and the mayor said the county would save money on monthly charges.
  • 18:22 No further substantive items were reported from the mayor’s office.

Committee Reports 18:35

Planning Commission 18:35

  • 18:35 Planning Commission did not meet.

Solid Waste Committee 18:35

  • 18:44 Solid Waste Committee reported that it did meet; minutes were included in the packet.
  • 18:44 No questions or additional action were raised on the floor.

Health, Safety, and Properties Committee 18:52

  • 18:59 Minutes were in the packet.
  • No floor discussion or action beyond acknowledging the report.

Finance Committee 19:09

  • 19:18 Motion to approve the March 2023 financial summary reports.
  • 19:34 Roll-call vote approved the financial reports 13–0 with 1 absent.

Budget, Finance, and Human Resources Committee 20:22

  • 20:31 Committee brought forward five budget amendments, with the chair of the committee asking to handle three simple intra-department transfers together.

Aggregate approval of routine amendments 20:38

  • 20:46 Budget amendments 23-54, 23-55, and 23-58 were described as simple transfers within existing departmental budgets.
  • 21:04 Motion and second to approve the three amendments in the aggregate.
  • 21:22 Roll-call vote approved all three 13–0 with 1 absent.

Budget amendment 23-57: ambulance purchase 21:50

  • 21:50 Budget amendment 23-57 sought funding for a new ambulance.
  • 22:00 The amount requested was $353,800, to come from fund balance.
  • 22:18 Motion and second to approve the amendment.
  • 22:44 Roll-call vote approved the ambulance funding 13–0 with 1 absent.
  • 22:54 Amendment 23-57 was declared adopted.

Budget amendment 23-56: septic installation / water-line repair 23:03

  • 23:03 Budget amendment 23-56 concerned septic installation and water-line repair for Philip Scott and Lucia Royal.
  • 23:11 The budget committee sent the matter to the full commission without recommendation.
  • 23:20 The floor was asked whether any commissioner wanted to sponsor and second the item so it could be considered despite the lack of committee recommendation.
  • 23:39 A motion and second were made to bring the amendment forward.
  • 24:08 Instead of proceeding to the merits, a motion was made to table the amendment.
  • 24:19 Roll-call vote to table passed 13–0 with 1 absent.
  • 24:43 The motion to table was declared approved, so no substantive approval or denial of the project occurred at this meeting.

Beer permit request for Dollar General on Highway 7 24:50

  • 24:50 The committee also brought forward a beer permit application, with notice having been published in the newspaper and the application described as complete.
  • 24:58 The applicant was the Dollar General store on Highway 7.
  • 25:06 It was stated the store had been open about three months, the owner already had a business license, the background check was clean, and staff believed the site met school/church distance requirements.
  • 25:32 Motion and second were made to approve the beer license.
  • 25:52 A procedural objection was raised: one commissioner questioned why the full body was acting on the permit rather than the beer board alone, noting that beer-board matters had historically been handled in that capacity. Staff acknowledged the item had been delayed for months because they could not connect with the applicant and wanted to clear it.
  • 26:56 Additional context was given that a prior month’s application had an address problem, contributing to delay.
  • 27:25 A commissioner then raised a substantive legal/compliance concern: church property at Cedar Crest Camp appeared to be directly across the road and possibly well within the usual prohibited distance, even if it was not a traditional sanctuary building.
  • 28:00–30:43 Discussion focused on how beer-law distance rules apply: whether the measure is to a church building, regular meeting place, camp property, or some other religious-use site; the chair and attorney-like discussion suggested there was uncertainty and potential gray area requiring research.
  • 30:51 It was expressly stated no one on the floor claimed to have the answer, and members were urged not to approve until the issue was researched.
  • 31:08 Motion made to postpone the beer permit until the next meeting.
  • 31:50 Roll-call vote to postpone passed 13–0 with 1 absent.
  • 32:24 After the vote, a commissioner reiterated the concern that children and worship activities occur at the camp property, making it important to verify the rule before acting on similar permits in the future.
  • Outcome: the beer permit was deferred/postponed, not approved.

Health Foundation 32:49

  • 32:57 No report of substance.

Agriculture Extension / Library / Public Records Committee 32:57

  • 33:08 Reported as not meeting.

Economic and Community Development 33:08

  • 33:08 No substantive discussion captured beyond moving through committee reports.

Board of Zoning Appeals 33:17

  • 33:17 Board of Zoning Appeals reported it had met, and minutes were included in the packet.
  • 33:25 No questions were raised from the floor.

Industrial Board 33:25

  • 33:33 No substantive discussion captured.

New Business / Agenda Items 33:45

Approval of committee minutes into the record 33:45

  • 33:45 Motion and second to promulgate/accept committee materials into the minutes.
  • No controversy noted.

Meeting schedule update 33:54

  • 33:54 Updated meeting schedule was presented.
  • No changes or disputes were raised at that point.

Late-added 9-1-1 / fire-service map approval 34:12

  • 34:19 A staff member asked to address the body because an item had been omitted from the packet.
  • 34:32 The omitted item was described as a final approval needed for fire-department/9-1-1 mapping so the service area lines could be drawn correctly on the map.
  • 34:47 It was explained that 9-1-1 staff had trouble getting the changes placed on the actual map and needed board approval first.
  • 35:03 Because the item was not on the published agenda/packet, the chair noted it required a two-thirds vote to be taken up that night.
  • 35:10 Motion and second were made to suspend the normal order and consider the late item.
  • 35:39 Roll-call vote to take up the matter passed 13–0 with 1 absent, exceeding the two-thirds threshold.
  • 36:04 The body was then presented with the redrawn service-area lines.
  • 36:12 It was stated the item itself would require only a simple majority once before the body.
  • 36:19 Motion and second to approve the revised lines.
  • 36:34 Roll-call vote approved the redrawn lines 13–0 with 1 absent.
  • Outcome: revised fire/9-1-1 service-area map lines were formally approved.

Announcements 37:02

  • 37:11 Members were warned to watch the upcoming meeting schedule carefully because the budget cycle would make it “bumpy” and include extra meetings.

Adjournment 37:27

  • 37:27 Motion and second to adjourn; meeting adjourned.

Key figures and statistics

Figure Type Context / topic Timestamp
13–0 Vote Approval of quarterly county office reports 17:07
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result noted with quarterly reports 17:07
March 2023 Reporting period Financial summary reports approved 19:18
13–0 Vote Approval of March financial summary reports 19:34
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result noted with March financial reports 19:34
5 Count Total budget amendments before the commission from committee 20:31
23-54 Budget amendment Routine internal departmental transfer 20:46
23-55 Budget amendment Routine internal departmental transfer 20:46
23-58 Budget amendment Routine internal departmental transfer 20:46
13–0 Vote Approval of amendments 23-54, 23-55, and 23-58 21:22
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result for aggregate budget amendments 21:22
23-57 Budget amendment New ambulance funding 21:50
$353,800 Expense Fund-balance appropriation for ambulance purchase 22:00
13–0 Vote Approval of budget amendment 23-57 22:44
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result for ambulance purchase amendment 22:44
23-56 Budget amendment Septic installation and water-line repair for Philip Scott and Lucia Royal 23:03
13–0 Vote Motion to table budget amendment 23-56 24:19
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result for tabling amendment 23-56 24:19
3 months Time period How long the Dollar General on Highway 7 had reportedly been open 25:06
75 yards Distance estimate Informal floor estimate of distance from camp entrance/back entrance area to the store vicinity 29:19
13–0 Vote Motion to postpone Dollar General beer permit 31:50
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result for beer-permit postponement 31:50
9-1-1 System identifier Mapping/service-area approval tied to emergency dispatch/fire coverage 34:47
two-thirds Voting threshold Required to take up omitted map item that night 35:03
13–0 Vote Vote to consider late-added map item 35:39
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result for taking up late item 35:39
simple majority Voting threshold Required for final approval of the redrawn service-area lines 36:12
13–0 Vote Approval of redrawn fire/9-1-1 service-area lines 36:34
1 absent Attendance Roll-call result for service-area map approval 36:34

External vendors, brands, and software

Name Type Context / topic Timestamp
Verizon Company County phone updates said to reduce monthly charges 18:13
Dollar General Company Beer permit application for store on Highway 7 24:58

Personnel changes

Name Role / office Change Context / topic Timestamp
Teresa Banks Notary applicant Appointed Notary appointment approved by voice vote 16:06
Laura Bryant Notary applicant Appointed Notary appointment approved by voice vote 16:06

Laws and policies

Citation / name Level Type Context / topic Timestamp
beer law distance requirements County Rule Debate over whether Dollar General site was too close to church or camp religious property 25:06
business license County Rule Beer permit review noted that the applicant already had a business license 25:06
background check requirement County Policy Beer permit review noted owner’s background check was clean 25:06
two-thirds vote requirement for late agenda item County Rule Required to take up omitted 9-1-1/fire-map item 35:03