Gallatin News Examiner public service entry

NEWS

GALLATIN NEWS EXAMINER

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 •

Gallatin gets Lack of budget stalls city’s planning, codes director search grant to widen By Josh Cross Gallatin News Examiner

The lack of an approved budget for the fiscal year has stalled the Gallatin City Council’s progress on filling two vacant department head positions. The council was scheduled to decide how it wanted to move forward with filling the positions of building official and city planning director during a meeting Tuesday, but the item was deferred one week after questions were raised about funding for the two salaries. “Right now our structure is one person over both departments,” said Mayor Jo Ann Graves. “We will now need to pay somebody to be the building official and we will need to pay somebody to be the (planning director). We don’t have that money in their current budget.” In May, the council decided to conduct an open

job search for a building official and planning director instead of a single director for each following the departure of former Codes and Planning Director Tony Allers in April. Because city leaders have yet to pass a spending plan, Gallatin has been operating under a continuance budget since the start of the fiscal year July 1. A continuance budget means city departments only get funding for the operating expenses they received in the previous year. At the beginning of discussion about the planning director position, District 1 Councilor Anne Kemp nominated William “Bill” McCord, principal transportation planner for Port Orange, Fla., but later withdrew the nomination after the funding problem was raised.

Money problem

The council is fighting over funding for a $2 mil-

lion addition to the Gallatin Civic Center that would add a heated therapeutic pool and children’s splash activity center to the facility. On June 18, Graves vetoed a version of the budget passed by the council 4-3 that included money for the project. Finance Director Rachel Nichols said that if the city hired an individual for both positions before it passed a budget, the planning and codes department would run out of money sooner than projected, though not likely in 2013. “All of the offices will probably run out of money around April if they don’t pass a budget,” she said. The salaries for both positions range from $53,145 to $84,960. Last week the council interviewed the eight total candidates for building official and planning director. The candidates for building official are: J. Lynn Hicks, building offi-

cial for Conway, Ark.; Charles (Chuck) Stuart, building official for Washington Parish, La.; Russell Steinike, building official for North Bend, Wash.; and M. Dewayne Hicks, chief building/fire code official for Mt. Juliet. The candidates for city planning director are: Jonathan Mendel, planning and zoning administrator for Riverside, Ohio; William (Bill) McCord, principal planner-transportation for Port Orange, Fla.; Charles Foote, planning director for Mt. Juliet; and Joe James, director of planning and zoning for Plainfield, Ind. Further discussion on the positions was deferred one week until the Tuesday, Sept. 3, council meeting, when city leaders are also scheduled to vote on a new human resources director. Reporter Josh Cross can be reached at 575-7115 or jcross@mtcngroup.com.

Airport Road

The city was awarded a state industrial access grant last week to widen about 1.1 miles of Airport Road. Because the section of road includes a railroad crossing, Gallatin will be responsible for 50 percent of the cost of moving the crossing signals. The project will expand Airport road from Coles Ferry Road through the intersection at Steam Plant Road, then connect with the realignment of Airport Road in front of the airport – a project also being funded 100 percent by a state and federal grant. The result will affect a 2.3 mile stretch of Airport

Road. “This will help with some of the traffic concerns along that stretch,” said Gallatin Economic Development Agency Director James Fenton. “We have had companies change their shift hours to alleviate the traffic, so we moved forward with this application to help them.” TDOT will be in charge of surveying, designing and constructing the road at no cost to the city. No cost estimates have been provided for the project that is slated to begin sometime in the summer of 2014. —For the Gallatin News Examiner

Bone: England ‘never met a stranger’ »ENGLAND FROM 1A

Public servant

the principles I learned while working in the office with him, we still use today.” A proud veteran, England served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. “He was just a Southern gentleman involved in making a difference in his community, and he will be missed,” Holt said. England remained active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, where he served as Post 6197 commander, and held both district and state commander positions. Commissioner Frank Freels worked alongside England for 12 years. “He loved his family and the Democratic Party, and he ran a good office when he was county clerk,” Freels said. “Jimmy was always willing to give his time and was glad to pay that price to help his community.”

England was a member of Gallatin First Baptist Church and was also a member of the Hendersonville Noon Sertoma Club, King Solomon Lodge 94 and the Al Menah Shrine Temple. He was past president of the Gallatin Kiwanis Club and past chairman of the Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency. He owned England’s Gulf Service in Gallatin and later worked as an auctioneer and real estate agent. Close friend Charles Bone said England put Sumner County on the map when it came to customer service. “He was a man who never met a stranger and helped everybody that walked in the door,” Bone said. “He established a tradition of service in the courthouse that was well known all across the county and the state.” Bone met England when he was a young boy,

playing on the first Little League baseball team in the county — England’s Little League, sponsored by England’s Gulf Service Station. “He loved politics, but he loved people more,” Bone said. “He was one of the greatest of the great generation and was loved by so many. I think he would want to be remembered as a veteran, a great public servant and a Christian.” Funeral services for Jimmy England were held Wednesday at Gallatin First Baptist Church. Friends and co-workers say they will always remember his generosity and willingness to put others first. “Mr. England was a dedicated public servant who gave of his time unselfishly and he will be greatly missed,” County Commission Chairman Merrol Hyde said.

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resolve this without going through the court system.” They deferred that issue to the next meeting, and still did not approve the February minutes. The next board meeting is Sept. 23.

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TE T IN TY VO ESICIAN OUN B C YS ER PH MN SU

contract with Sudbury to handle airport business for $3,750 a month. Sudbury had been doing the job for $2,500 a month. But the former board never approved the minutes from the February meeting. The new board, likewise, has not approved the minutes of the meeting, raising questions for some board members about whether the contract stands. The new board also raised concerns about the wording of the contract and whether Sudbury is an employee or an independent contractor. Sudbury said he pays his own taxes and receives no insurance or benefits. Board members expressed serious concerns over future problems with the IRS or state Department of Labor. “The nut of the subject is that either those words need to be eliminated and

an independent contractor phrase installed,” Don Drayton said, “or we are personally liable for his matching Social Security,” FICA, FUTA and Workers’ Compensation. Board member Dan Downs urged the board “to see if there is a way to

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Contact Sherry Mitchell at 575-7117 or shmitchell@ mtcngroup.com.

Downs urges board to avoid lawsuit »AIRPORT FROM 1A

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