Cumberland County Commission Meeting
It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is around the corner, but Happy Thanksgiving a bit early!
The November meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all Commissioners in attendance except Commissioners Chad Norris, Kyle Davis, Jack Davis, and Jim Blalock. The following resolutions were considered, with the sponsor being in parenthesis.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-1 – TO APPROVE LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MILITARY MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF UPPER CUMBERLAND, INC. AND CUMBERLAND COUNTY (THREET) – This resolution, unanimously approved, accepted a new lease agreement with the Military Memorial Museum of Upper Cumberland. This is the museum in the old courthouse between the Chamber of Commerce and the Milo Lemert building. You are missing a great display if you never been. I encourage you to stop by!
RESOLUTION 11-2021-2 – TO APPROVE LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MILITARY MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF UPPER CUMBERLAND, INC. AND CUMBERLAND COUNTY (THREET) – This resolution was also unanimously approved to allow the Military Memorial Museum of Upper Cumberland to use a portion of the old courthouse on the first floor next to the VSO for office space and a small library.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-3 –TO APPOINT MEMBERS TO THE WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES’ COMMITTEE (FOSTER) – Patrick Garrison was reappointed, and Matthew Kirkland was appointed to the Wildlife and Fisheries Committee in a 13-0-1 vote with Commissioner Gibson abstaining.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-4 – AGREEMENT BETWEEN CUMBERLAND COUNTY AND THE RENEGADE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY CLUB CONCERNING DELINQUENT TAX LOTS (FOSTER) – In April of 2021, the county approved entering an agreement with Fairfield Glade concerning lots owned by the county in the Fairfield Glade area. On October 18, the Commission agreed to enter the same agreement with Breckenridge. Tonight, the County Commission agreed to enter the delinquent tax lot agreement with Renegade Mountain Community Club in a 14-0 vote.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-5 – TO PURCHASE NEW PROPERTY TO RELOCATE WOODY CONVENIENCE CENTER (SEIBER) – The Commission decided they would like to discuss options for this relocation and moved to send the issue back to committee.
The following resolutions were approved for the school system. The resolutions were approved 13-0-1 with Commissioner Cooper abstaining.
- RESOLUTION 11-2021-6 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL PURPOSE SCHOOL FUND, SPDG RE-ENGAGEMENT GRANT $9,999.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 11-2021-7 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL PURPOSE SCHOOL FUND, LITERACY TRAINING STIPEND GRANT $51,000.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 11-2021-8 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL PURPOSE SCHOOL FUND, STATE HYBRID-STABILIZATION RETIREMENT RESOLUTION $109,496.82 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 11-2021-9 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL PURPOSE SCHOOL FUND, SAFE SCHOOLS GRANT $133,651.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 11-2021-10 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, 142 SCHOOL FEDERAL PROGRAMS $14,416,392.99 (GIBSON)
RESOLUTION 11-2021-11 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL FUND, SHERIFF $10,000.00 (KYLE DAVIS) – This resolution amended the Sheriff’s budget to accept a $10,000 donation from a private individual to be used at the Sheriff’s discretion and was approved unanimously.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-12 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL FUND, AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, ART CIRCLE PUBLIC LIBRARY $25,661.00 (KYLE DAVIS) – The library has received ARP funds for print and electronic materials, and computers. The funding is an 80/20 split with local matching funds coming from already allocated monies. The resolution was approved 14-0.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-13 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL FUND, JAIL $34,400.00 (KYLE DAVIS) – This resolution, approved unanimously, allocated funds to replace a food steamer at the jail.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-14 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL FUND, COUNTY COMMISSION $35,000.00 (LOWE) – The resolution allocates funds for a new fuel system (gas pumps) at the location known as the Bus Garage on Genesis Road. In addition to BOE employees, many county employees use this location for fueling vehicles. The resolution was approved 14-0.
RESOLUTION 11-2021-15 – TO ADOPT A REDISTRICTING PLAN FOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY (NORRIS) – Each new census brings about redistricting on the local, state, and federal levels. The Cumberland County Redistricting Committee unanimously approved a redistricting plan that keeps nine districts with two commissioners in each district. Each district will also keep one Board of Education representative. The redistricting plan was approved unanimously. The new maps will be online at the county website soon.
Financial Update
EMS collections for the month were $393,351 which is $60,018 above the monthly budgeted amount of $333,333. Year to date we have collected $294,592.
Sales tax collections for the General Purpose School Fund came in at $1,083,881 which is $129,507 above projections. Year to date we have collected $3,358,803 and are $355,866 above budget.
Property tax collections year to date are approximately 15%. Last year we had collected 14.1% of revenue.
Cumulative Hotel/Motel taxes are $348,190 which is 43% of the budget. The budgeted amount was revised up this year to $808,712. Last year, with the smaller budgeted amount, we had collected $233,757, or 34.9% of budget, at this point.
Cumulative Prisoner Boarding collections are $102,921, or 17.09%, of the $602,396 annual budget. Last year we were at $99,645, or 16.54% of the $602,396 annual budget. Payments for prisoner boarding are somewhat sporadic from the state.
COVID-19 Update
According to the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), in Cumberland County there are 174 active cases of COVID-19, which is up. In the past this has occurred when a data correction was made. I do not know if that is the case here, but I will continue watching for a trend. There have been 226 deaths reported as of the date of this newsletter. Datasets for additional information can be found at https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/data/downloadable-datasets.html.
As of Friday, November 12, 2021, Cumberland County Schools Director Dr. Ina Maxwell reported 10 active student cases and 3 positive staff cases of COVID-19.
State Vaccination Dashboard:
https://data.tn.gov/t/Public/views/TennIISCOVID-19VaccineReporting/SUMMARY?:showAppBanner=false&:display_count=n&:showVizHome=n&:origin=viz_share_link&:toolbar=no&:embed=yes
Cumberland County Health Department Update
The Cumberland County Health Department is currently offering the Pfizer COVID 19 Vaccine and Booster. The State of Tennessee has recognized certain Health Departments as Pfizer only. Unfortunately, the Moderna Booster is not available at the Cumberland County Health Department at this time. There are several other local facilities that offer Moderna. A complete list can be found at www.vaccines.gov. If the status changes for the Moderna vaccine and booster, the Health Department will send out an announcement.
COVID-19 Testing Hours Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
COVID-19 Vaccine Drive Thru Monday – Friday, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Walk-In Vaccine available 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
CMC/Covenant Dashboard
A statement from Covenant Health:
“With COVID-19 case numbers decreasing in our area, Covenant Health has determined that daily COVID reports from our health system and member hospitals are no longer necessary.
If case numbers increase in the future, we will relaunch the reports as needed for public information. We encourage our communities to help continue the downward trend in case numbers by getting the COVID-19 vaccine if you have not already done so, and by observing other safe practices such as hand washing, masking, social distancing and staying home if you are ill. In addition, we strongly encourage everyone over the age of 6 months to get a flu shot. Thank you for taking these steps to protect your health and the health of others.”
Thank you for being part of the solution and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your County Mayor. If you are interested in hearing my thoughts and views on news, events, and activities in Cumberland County, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Thank you,
Allen Foster
Cumberland County Mayor
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 