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

(upbeat music) (gavel clunks) - Good evening everyone and Happy New Year.

Welcome to our Tuesday, January 10th City Council Business Agenda.

I will now call the meeting to order.

We have no special presentations this evening.

I will accept a motion on the minutes.

- So moved.

- I have a motion to approve the minutes without objections.

They will stand, order of business.

For City Council this evening, ordinances on final reading council office item A, Madam Clerk, please.

- An ordinance passing Ordinance Number 13920 entitled An Ordinance Amending Chattanooga City Code Part two, Chapter 35, Section 35160.

Billing and charges for district work records which is attached here to as amended after 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.

- Motion approved.

- 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 Members] Aye.

- Oppose?

Item carries.

Aye, Madam Clerk, please.

- An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code part two, chapter 38 Zone Ordinance.

So as to rezone properties located at 612 Dotson Avenue and an unaddressed parcel in the 600 block of Dotson Avenue from R2 residential zone to RTZ residential townhouse there lot line zone subject or conditions.

- Is the applicant present?

(clears throat) Is there any opposition present?

Council Manno, I have an applicant and no opposition or no applicant, no opposition.

- I move to approve.

- 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 Members] Aye.

Opposed?

Item carries.

Under planning, item I. Madam Clerk, please.

- A resolution authorizing the director for the Chattanooga Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency to enter into an agreement with RCL Code to prepare a real estate and housing needs market study for the Chattanooga Hamilton County area in the amounts of $83,597 plus a 10% contingency for a total amount not to exceed $84,000.

- We have to approve.

- I have a motion to approve.

I have a second to that motion.

Just a quick verification, Karen, that is coming out of the reserved funds for RPA, correct?

- That is correct.

- Thank you very much.

Questions or comments before we vote?

All those in favor say aye.

- Aye.

- Opposed?

Item carries.

That concludes our resolutions and it says for this evening now move into purchases: Ms. Setterfield, Good evening.

- Good Evening.

We have nine purchases recommended for approval this evening.

First from the Fleet Management Division Public Works.

This is a one-time purchase of two international HX 620 Tri Axle dump truck chassis for the street maintenance division of Public Works.

This purchase is utilizing the Sourcewell contract number 060920-NVS.

The vendor is Lee Smith Inc. And the total cost is $472,604 and 22 cents.

Next, from the Fleet Management Division of Public Works this is a one-time purchase of two International HX 60/A26 triaxial dump truck chassis and two MV 607 single axle dump truck chassis for the water quality division of Public Works.

This purchase is utilizing Sourcewell contract number 6 0 6 0 9 2 0-NVS.

The vendor is Lee Smith Inc. And the total cost is $820,935 and 8 cents.

Next from the Street Maintenance Division of Public Works this is a new blanket agreement for washing heavy duty vehicles.

Six bids were requested.

One bid was received, the solicitation was re-advertised yielding no additional bids.

The award will go to Detail Experts as the best bid for the city of Chattanooga.

This will be a four year agreement not to exceed $80,000 per year.

Next from Public Works this is a purchase to furnish and install synthetic turf on two ball fields located at Warner Park.

This purchase is utilizing Source wheel contract number 0311622 - AST.

The vendor is AstroTurf Corporation and the total cost is $1,149,468.

Next from Technology Services this is a new blanket agreement for the purchase of an immersive intranet platform service.

This will be a four year agreement not to exceed $120,000 per year.

The award will go to Happeo Inc. As a sole source agreement.

Next, from early learning, this is a request for approval to spend up to $500,000 on playground equipment upgrades for headstart centers.

These purchases will utilize Omnia Partners contract number R 2 2 0 2 0 2 to purchase equipment from Play and Park Structures.

Next from the wastewater division of Public Works this is a three month extension request of contract number 55 67 97 for sewer line cleaning services from Sweeping Corp of America Inc. To allow the department time to rebid the contract.

The annual cost of this contract is $600,000 but no money, No money will be added for this extension.

- I have a motion to approve purchases this evening.

I do have a second to that motion.

Any questions or comments... before we vote?

All those in favor say aye.

- Aye.

- Opposed?

Purchases are approved.

- And we have two sole search, sole source purchases to report.

The first is from Chattanooga Fire Department.

This is a sole source purchase from Irwin Marine Sales for the installation of two hydro hoist eDUL-8800 Boat lifts.

The total cost will be $33,563 and 83 cents.

And the second is from the Chattanooga Police Department.

This is a sole interest from Aardvark Tactical for a low key... MK2 UVA robot.

For SWAT operating, the total cost will be $30,110.

- Thank you Ms. Satterfield.

- Thank you.

- That will conclude our purchases for this evening.

We'll now move into committee reports.

We'll start with Councilman Henderson.

- Thank you Mr.

Chair.

I would like to request a public safety committee meeting to discuss the quarterly park report on January the 31st.

- January the 31st.

Madam Clerk, will you please add that to our schedule?

Yes sir.

We'll be happy to do that.

- Thank you sir.

- You're welcome.

- Public works in the parks committee did meet today and we received some excellent notice from Public Works and in Caden that leaves and brush we picked up every, weekly and we're not only just gonna be picking up brush at individual homes, but we're gonna sweep the whole street nowadays.

As opposed when you call and then you just hit one one individual home now they're gonna sweep the whole street and you will be notified by postings along your streets.

Thank you.

- All right.

Thank you sir.

All right.

We're at the time in our meeting where we recognize persons wishing to address counsel this evening.

If you would like to address counsel, please make a line behind the podium and you'll have three minutes to do so.

- Council members, I'm Melody Thompson, owner resident of 3814th Thrushwood Drive, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

And I represent the other owner residents of Thrushwood Townhomes.

Several of the owners could not be here tonight.

81 year-old, Jeanie Camp.

She has Covid and another resident, Steven Caldwell, 67.

He's also sick.

And then I had a couple that were working this evening.

The rest of 'em were sitting over here.

On December 8th, 2022.

Owner residents of Thrushwood Drive received letters there would no longer be garbage service as of December the 19th.

We have had garbage service for 35 years and we were upset with this news.

I did email and call councilwoman Jenny Hill and she did advise that we would have to have a dumpster put in but we do not have an HOA.

Councilwoman Hill also got an extension until the, end of January enabling us to reach a solution.

Ms. Woods's manager of Waste Disposal came up on December 21st and gave us some options.

However we would have to pay for this service and getting dumpsters would not be an option since there is no HOA.

Seven of the fourteen townhome owners have owner residence over 65 years of age and some are disabled and cannot get up and down the hill to the street to dispose of their garbage.

We had discussed the options from sharing seven cans but there's really not a place at the bottom of our hill to put seven cans.

And even if we could we don't know if we could get 'em up and down the hill.

Six of the owners are on fixed incomes if we pay for service.

There are two rental units that have never contributed to the landscaping or garbage and they won't pay.

And two, of the owners refuse to pay anything and those on the fixed incomes cannot afford to pay for a service.

I have checked with private companies about a residential service and they do not want to do our garbage as we either live out of their zone or our hill is too steep.

As our property taxes went up this year, we would like to have a continuation of the garbage services.

Thank you.

- Evening sir.

- Good evening.

Council Board members.

My name's Eric Smith and I'm here to talk about reader, Reading Changes Lives which is a nonprofit interest I started recently.

It's about literacy, but prior, prior to doing that I feel that necessary to let you know who I am.

Not that you really want to know per se but it is warranted, I think.

I was born and raised here in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

I loved it here.

I ended up leaving, joining the US Navy in 1980.

I lived out in San Diego California since 82 till recently.

I am happily back home now.

Purchased a property over in the Hickson area there.

Not sure who my councilman is over in the Hickson area but I will soon find out hopefully.

Oh, oh, so he is absent today, huh?

Some must have told him that I was coming huh.

But at any rate...

I learned late in life that my parents could not read or either write.

And since they died I've been thinking about that a lot for some reason.

And I said I, I have gotta do- So what was life like for them not being able to read and then raising nine kids?

How about that?

And I am the, the eighth child.

I was born and raised right here in this area at the corner of 10th and Mac, Magnolia Street there on the corner.

I own a plot of land, which I decided to turn into a literacy garden in their honor.

To that end, that gave birth to what is now called Reading Changes Lives Literacy Garden.

We are 501C3 nonprofit organization for a public benefit.

I do have some good news to say.

We are scheduled to have a reader's conference.

This is our first fundraiser event and it's going to be held at the Read house.

The Read House says deemed at worthy of them partnering with us if you will.

In addition we have partnered with the Chattanooga Public Library.

So we're looking forward to this event and it's my purpose of being here is to share that information with you and I'm hoping that you all might come or if you can't come, perhaps you can send some staff members and hopefully I'm not out of order by saying that I know there are so many rules and regulations so hopefully I'm not out of order there.

But thank you very much for your time.

Great.

- Mr. Smith, can you first of all, thank you for your service sir.

- Thank you.

- Would you tell us the date and the time and if you we wanna get that on our website so that we can help... - That's important.

Thank you, sir.

I just got so caught up there.

- Oh we appreciate it.

Thank you.

- That yes, thank you for asking.

That date is March the 10th which happens to be a Friday and the door's open at 9:00 AM.

That's at the Reed House Hotel here downtown.

- Is there a website by chance or anything affiliated?

If you'll give that... - Yes, I can give you that now if you like.

- Please.

- Okay.

It's ReadingChangesLivesInc.org readingchangeslivesinc.org - Thank You.

- Thank you sir.

- Yes.

- Hello.

I'm Trina Coco and I work sweep, I used to be in garbage and it is a lot of problem in garbage where they can't keep peoples turnover.

You got your leads, you got three leads in the office why not get at the back end of the garbage truck and help cause on your job resume when you did it from the city that you supposed to help.

So help them workers get that garbage up.

So people from other departments they got their own stuff to do.

We gotta leave our department to go help them.

And then my thing, everybody should be on that list.

Not certain people.

Everybody.

If you CDL driver, you need to go on that list.

You can't pick certain ones that want to go all the time.

Put everybody on there.

If you holding that lead as a CDL driver and my thing, get them leads out that office.

Looking at ADLs spinning around in a chair put 'em in a truck at least four hours to help the workers.

You get no help when you over there.

That's why you have a big turnaround.

You can't speak to some of them.

You know it, they, they reaching out but you can't talk to him.

So I had to leave other drivers leaving because there's no speaking.

You got people over the garbage who's never drove a CDL truck.

So how can you tell me how to operate this department if you never operated the truck?

You see, until they come together it's still gonna be a problem.

But first you gotta search your supervisors and leads, them leads need to help they workers.

They tell you what's going on.

Listen, all they ask is for somebody to listen to them.

They don't want to listen.

You know?

And I say how to make it better.

Get your fastest drivers, put 'em on the end.

Get your, you got you somebody who going to help pick up that trash or floater they call it.

Put that floater at the end of that route on the best drivers.

You got boom, you got two float, you got two drivers you got another one, you got another driver.

You see what I'm saying?

Put somebody at the end so these folks can get out get home, they got families, they wanna be at home.

And then you pulling us from department, department I don't know where I'm go.

I go in, I might be in the back room I might be the sweeper, I might be garbage.

You don't know where you going and you done put in your time.

I should be able to stay in my department and not move out.

No department.

I done put my time in garbage.

I shouldn't even have to be going back there.

I should be able to just go to my department that I'm in and stay there.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

- Good afternoon.

Been a while since I've been here.

I try not to come down because I have a lot to say and try to keep it to myself.

But the people that have just spoken, they, they they're telling you the truth.

It need to be some kind of revamping of citywide services cause it's just the way they treat us and the way we try to talk to them.

And they put people in these jobs that don't know nothing about these jobs.

So, you know, as they're saying about garbage.

Yes.

And I was coming down there if y'all saw it coming in late some of the garbage drivers just now get in.

That's, that's ridiculous.

When it used to be back in the day when me and Mr. Alonzo first started here every truck was in by no later than four o'clock.

You know, that's still an hour of overtime.

Cause they get off at three because now you got...

I'm gonna say the good old boy system and I'm not talking about white or black.

It's just a good old boy system.

It all depends on which side of that fence you want to be on.

They need to change it.

And it starts from the top and work its way down.

And I know our, our interim right now he's just now getting in there, getting his feet wet.

So can't blame him.

But nobody knows who he is but me, Mr. Strickland because nobody, nobody comes around.

Anytime we've got three different supervisors nobody know who they is because they don't come around to let them know who they are.

You know, if you going to be a leader at least show your people that you care.

That's all they wanna do.

Just show you, show me that you care and then you wouldn't mind coming to work, coming there going to help somebody in garbage or helping somebody on the leaf machine or helping in the sweeper, whatever.

But they don't get no gratitude cause none of the supervisors just say, "thank you, you did a good job today."

They don't get those.

Only thing they say is, "pop in the whip, let's go, let's get out here and get this stuff up".

Then, so, if your neck can't stay, as Mr. Strickland said, they wanna write you up you got me from another department.

I get my schedule is from this time from 7:30 to 4.

I should be able to get off at four o'clock if that's what I choose to do.

Not have to stay because you are short and you don't know how to talk to your your driver or talk to the people that comes over there.

So we are asking you.

And we would've had more city workers here.

But like I said, some of 'em were just now getting off.

Some of 'em have second jobs that they telling us now you got a second job, you just have to quit.

This is your main priority if you're not making that kinda money.

But if I made 80 and $90,000 a year I wouldn't need a second job.

I wish I had more time to talk to y'all, but my time is up.

Y'all have a nice one and happy New Year to all of y'all and it's nice to see all y'all again.

- Thank you.

- Hey Ryan, what's the what's the process when people make complaints?

I know it's, it's SEIU, there's a memo.

What, what's the process?

- There's a process through the union, there's a process through the supervisor.

There's a process through HR.

- Well I've heard all three referred to and I'm not sure...

I'm really asking, this isn't the first We've heard this.

This isn't a critical asking.

This is how can these people get the help?

Where's their forum besides us?

Cuz it's not us.

- That's right.

- Huh?

- That's right.

- So they, where is there forum?

- It's, those are the three paths.

That's through the union path, through... their supervisor and through HR.

Those are the three paths.

- As Councilwoman else stated, this wasn't the first time.

And we've heard from, whether they're in SAIU or not, we've heard from multiple individuals in public works.

But we are hearing the same thing, It seems like there's a trend, Seems like there are issues.

Seems like there are issues with leads and I know we're not administrators and we don't go over and do that work but at the end of the day, they work like I work.

And so I think they should be treated fairly.

So we, I mean at the end of the day, if they're coming here that means that all these other three avenues aren't working.

Something ain't working and whatever's not working they're bringing them here and then they bring them here, That's our problem.

You know, to hear it from one person or two people maybe somebody, you know, whatever the situation is.

But to hear it from 15, 20, 30, since I've been on this council since last year, I've heard multiple and I know you haven't been here the whole time, I know that.

But we've heard from multiple people the exact same things over and over and over.

Our goal isn't to come here and hear people complain about the same thing over and over and over.

But there is a pressing issue and the more I hear it, I wrote down all of the, all of them said something different but they all said the same thing.

It's a leadership problem.

They don't wanna be in that department.

And the fact that some of them said "I like my job, I like working here"- Y'all know it's hard to get workers right now.

It's, "I like my job, I like working here, but I don't wanna deal with this type of leadership."

At some point accountability goes to the administration, at some point it goes to leadership there.

And this is just, it made me frustrated listening to them because these are everyday people and they shouldn't be treated this way especially when they serving our citizens.

So I would like to either see a report or something.

I would like to see a list of complaints.

Not- Yeah, a list of complaints or something compiled that shows us what is actually going on.

The trends that are going on.

- Yeah.

Well and happy to share with you.

We had back in, in August an engagement survey with all of our employees that really went deep in terms of our work environment and we can go deeper into garbage and solid waste.

And the reality is, you know, if we back up a little bit, specifically, we have had challenges, if we back up a year and a half we didn't have enough drivers, we had a big shortage.

We had to stop recycling because we didn't have enough drivers.

Right?

So we adjusted the day plan we were able to hire a lot more drivers but we haven't been able to keep enough.

We haven't been able to fill enough.

And so ever since then we've been able to, we've been having to pull from all corners in order to staff that essential service.

And that's been a challenge.

And so as we've had to do that, right, it's not been easy.

And so, we had feedback from our team around how we were pulling from all different corners.

Wasn't fair and consistent.

So we pulled our team together over the past few months and created a fair and consistent way to do that.

As we've started that fair and consistent way we've gotten feedback from the team around not liking our fair and consistent and transparent way of pulling people to do that essential service.

We're just not gonna make everybody happy with that.

And that's unfortunate.

We'll keep taking the feedback and keep trying to find the best process we can, but unfortunately we're just not gonna make everybody happy with it.

- Okay, well I do a follow up email to you but I would like to see that fair and consistent policy that y'all have for the fair consistent way you doing that.

- Absolutely.

- And also, at the end of the day they gotta go to work tomorrow and going to work tomorrow knowing that you gonna be treated unfairly make you not even wanna go to work.

I mean, I want y'all to go to work cause I want y'all to go to police, please go to work.

But it makes you not want to go and it makes you not wanna do your best.

Even if you wanna do it, you just don't wanna do it cuz you know you're not being treated right.

So it'd be nice to see some immediate steps that could be taken.

I understand that that was, y'all remember the training.

Everybody's getting, you know training for all these different things.

Even down to you know, equity and community engagement.

You know, get Tamara in there let her do some equity training help them understand what is going on and then the follow up.

Cuz it's one thing to be trained it's another thing to actually do it.

And I think that's the application is not, it sounds like, "I don't work in that department.

I'm not there y'all", but it sounds like the application of whatever training has happened is not taking place or whatever the case is.

But we have heard, at this point, and I only been here since last April, heard almost hundreds of people from that department coming down here telling us these exact same problems.

And I know again, you ain't been here you haven't been at here that long.

But those are some things I wanna see.

But I will send you a follow up email too, so we can keep... - Okay.

- ...Continue the discussion.

Okay.

Thank you Ryan.

- Thank you.

- Okay, madam vice chair.

Thank you.

I'm sensing a departmental report in Public Works.

- It sounds like it, yes.

- Okay.

Thank you very much.

I see no one else wishes to speak to counsel tonight we'll entertain a motion to adjourn Ajour.

We are adjourned.

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