Bring Back Old Timers Day

I was invited to join a group of citizens here in Manchester in their efforts to bring back Old Timers Day. This is a great movement and one that I think we can all agree NEEDS TO COME BACK! The meeting from my understanding is at 11am this coming Saturday at "The Brew" on the square.

For more info visit the Facebook page the group has set up...

http://www.facebook.com/groups/228728573830989/


Thanks,

Ryan P. French
Alderman; City of Manchester, TN
(931) 368-VOTE

Packaged Beer distance regulations

ORDINANCE NO.         

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND MANCHESTER MUNICIPAL CODE 8-206 RELATIVE TO THE MEASUREMENT OF DISTANCES

    WHEREAS Manchester Municipal Code 8-206(6)currently specifies that distances imposed by that section be measured from "main entrance" to "main entrance" of the respective premises; and

WHEREAS the location of the "entrance" might, in certain circumstances, be uncertain; and

WHEREAS the Board of Mayor and Alderman of the City of Manchester, Tennessee believes the term "main entrance door" provides a more definite point from which measurements should be made.

BE IT THEREFORE ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE that both references to "main entrance" contained in Manchester Municipal Code 8-206(6) be changed to "main entrance door."

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE that there be added to Manchester Municipal Code 8-206 the following sentence:

"Whenever the distance between the permitee and either a church or school is calculated to be within 50 feet of the minimum distancesimposed by this section, the Police Chief or his designee shall measure the distance with a tape measure or such other instruments as may give an accurate measurement or, if in the opinion of the Chief of Police, compliance or non-compliance with the distance requirements can be determined only by a licensed surveyor; then the Chief of Police shall employ a licensed surveyor to perform the measurement."

    BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE that this Ordinance shall take effect on and after its publication and passage, the public welfare of the City of Manchester, Tennessee requiring it.

PASSED FIRST READING:                            , 2011

PASSED SECOND READING:                        , 2011

PASSED THIRD AND FINAL READING:                    , 2011

                                                

                            Betty Superstein, Mayor

                    

Esther Greene, Finance Director

Ryan P. French

Alderman; City of Manchester,TN

RyansReasons.com

(931) 368-VOTE

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BOMA Meeting Mins 8-2-2011

CITY OF MANCHESTER

Board of Mayor and Aldermen

August 2, 2011

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen met in regular session August 2, 2011 at 6:31 p.m. in the Boardroom of the Manchester City Hall.  Mayor Superstein presided over the meeting.  Present wereAlderman Norman, Alderman Holmes, Alderman Patton, Alderman French, and Alderman Thomas. Alderman Parsley was absent.  Also present were Program Coordinator Burnette, Chief Financial Officer Greene, City Attorney Gerald Ewell, Utilities DirectorPennington, Asst. Chief Bellamy, Health & Codes Director Gray,Chaplain Benjamin, Information Systems Director Smotherman,Public Works Director Carter, Executive Administrative Assistant Loyd and others.

Minutes

Alderman Thomas made a motion to approve the minutes of July19, 2011.  Alderman French seconded the motion.  The minutes were approved by a vote of five to zero.

Correspondence

Mayor Superstein read a thank you note from Mrs. Judy Worthington.  The City recently honored Mayor Worthington by naming the Interstate 24 Bridge at Exit 114 the Roy L. Worthington Memorial Bridge.

Comments from Citizens

None.

Communications from the Mayor

Mayor Superstein stated there had recently been an internal audit done regarding the stimulus funds being used for the Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion.  She said there was much work and time put in to the gathering of records for the audit.  She stated there no findings identified during the review.

Committee Reports

Safety Committee –

Alderman Holmes stated there was nothing to report to the Board.

Finance Committee –

Alderman Thomas stated there was nothing to report to the Board. Chief Financial Officer Greene stated there would be a meeting the following Monday.

Street Committee –

Alderman Norman stated there would be a meeting the following Tuesday at 5 p.m.  

Street Lighting –

Mayor Superstein stated Alderman Parsley was on his way to the meeting.

Water & Sewer Commission –

Alderman Norman stated there would be a meeting Thursday at 3 p.m.  

Recreation Commission –

Alderman Patton stated there was nothing to present to the Board.  She stated there would be a meeting next Thursday at Noon.

Mayor Superstein stated Recreation Director Gamble was not attending the meeting to spend time with her newborn twin grandsons.

Tourism & Economic Development –

Alderman Holmes stated there would be a meeting on the last Monday of the month.

Planning Commission –

Alderman Holmes stated there was nothing to report to the Board.

Ordinances

1.

2nd reading of an ordinance to amend the Manchester Municipal Code Sections 9-403, 9-408 and 9-409 relative to taxicabs.  Sponsored by Alderman Holmes.

Alderman Thomas made a motion to approve the ordinance.  Alderman Holmes seconded the motion.  The ordinance was passed with a vote of five to zero.

2.

1st reading of an ordinance  authorizing contracting with the State of Tennessee for reimbursement of the cost of maintenance of state routes which pass over City streets for the Fiscal Year 2011-2012.  Sponsored by Alderman Norman.

Alderman Norman made a motion to approve the ordinance.  Alderman Patton seconded the motion.  The ordinance was passed with a vote of five to zero.

Old Business

None.

New Business

None.

Items from Board of Mayor and Aldermen

None.

 

 

 

 

 

Adjournment

The Board recessed at 6:36 p.m.​

 

Following the Beer Board meeting, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting was reconvened at 6:38 p.m.  Alderman French made a motion to adjourn the Beer Board and to reopen the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting.  Alderman Patton seconded the motion.  The motion was approved with a vote of six to zero.

Alderman French made a motion to amend the City OrdinanceChapter 8 section 206 regarding when beer permits should not be issued.  He stated he would like to change the language in the ordinance from "main entrance" to "door to door" and said doors to be the primary entrance door of the facility.  City Attorney clarified the request.  Alderman French also wished to add to the ordinance that all permits within a distance of 50 ft be measured by Manchester Police Department or bids placed for a surveyor to measure the distance if the distance is in question.  Alderman Norman seconded the motion.  City Attorney Ewell asked for a minute to write up the ordinance.

City Attorney Ewell stated he would write the ordinance as an ordinance to amend Manchester Municipal Code 8-206 relative to measurement of distance.  He said the ordinance will substitute the word "main entrance door" for "main entrance" both times it appears in the ordinance.  He stated it will also provide that when it appears the distance is within 50 ft. of distances prescribed that the Manchester Police Department will measure the distance with a tape measure or the City may employ a surveyor to measure the distance.

City Attorney Ewell stated he could write the ordinance out if the Board prefers or could proceed if the Board is satisfied with the summary.

Alderman Patton asked if the language should include measuring with a tape measure "when possible" as it may not always be possible to measure with tape measure.  Alderman French stated he included both options for that reason.

City Attorney Ewell asked if the Board would like the ordinance written out in its entirety or if the summary was sufficient.  The Board agreed the summary was sufficient.

Mayor Superstein asked if there was any discussion.  There was no discussion.

The ordinance failed with a vote of three to two.  Alderman Thomas and Alderman Holmes voted no.  Alderman French, Alderman Norman, and Alderman Patton voted yes.

 

 

 

 

Adjournment

The Board adjourned at 6:44 p.m.​______________________________________

​Mayor Betty Superstein

Attest:

___________________________________________

Amy Loyd, Exec. Administrative Assistant

 

Ryan P. French

Alderman; City of Manchester,TN

RyansReasons.com

(931) 368-VOTE

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TSINEWS: New Cop Shop cant be funded

Plans to build a new Manchester Police station are on indefinite hold until the economy improves, Mayor Betty Superstein said. The city had budgeted $1.4 million for the construction of a new headquarters for the Manchester Police Department, planned for location on Interstate Drive. It received two bids, both of which were over $2 million, too expensive for the city at the moment, she said. The lowest bidder, Sain Construction, was asked to see if changes could be made to make the project come within the $1.4 million target.

“The architects and others met with Sain to discuss the options, and found they could only reduce it by $170,000,” Superstein said. “That wasn’t enough to move forward. It’s still too much over our budget.” The project was to be paid for in part by a USDA Rural Development grant, and $200,000 in federal stimulus funding. Those funding sources required that the project be done with American made products and materials, adding to the cost, she said.

In a memo to department heads explaining the hold on the project, Superstein wrote that “Our budget it too tight, the economy is still too sluggish, and therefore all bids have been rejected,” she said. “We will wait and hopefully the economy will continue to get better,” she said. “When the economy is better we will work again on financing a police station. I hate it, but this just is not the time to be going and borrowing more money. We can wait a while on a new police station. Everybody is stuffed into city hall, but we’ll be okay.”

TSINEWS: County taxes to remain same for Manchester and Tullahoma, increase for rural areas

Property taxes paid to Coffee County will remain the same for residents in Manchester and Tullahoma in the coming year, but rural residents will pay 11 cents more, and Coffee County Schools will have to find a way to deal with a $481,000 cut in revenue, as a result of votes taken Tuesday night by the Coffee County Commission.

The commission, at the end of a three and a half hour meeting, approved a 2011-12 fiscal year budget after approving a motion to keep funding for Coffee County Schools at 2009-10 levels. Rural residents, who did not have a tax increase last year, will have one in the coming year, as the commission voted to replace 11 cents of the rural rate devoted to rural debt service which was removed from the tax rate last year.

Coffee County Schools had requested some $481,000 in additional funding to pay for new and used busses to replace busses which have reached the end of their legal lifetime, under state law. Schools Director Kenny Casteel said that the system may have to look at cuts in bus transportation to make up the shortfall.

Is the risk worth the reward?

By now Im sure most of you have heard about the Kohl's and TJ Maxx site proposal that has passed through the Manchester planning commission. This is a exciting time for Manchester, and a opportunity we are blessed to have.

On Wednesday Manchester officials met to discuss a request put forward by representatives of the Kohl's real estate group. After cuts to the future developments of Kohl's the Manchester project found a $300,000 gab from the initial anticipated expansion budget.

Kohl's is requesting that the City of Manchester help out with the short fall. In the near future the City will be required to hold a public hearing on the matter to garner feedback from the Community.

However I'm not waiting on the hearing, I want to know what you think NOW.

Today I supported a plan to fund some $300,000 in construction cost mainly targeted to the paving of the parking lot (a $275k estimate).

The money would come from the City's general fund and would pay up front for the cost through a plan allowed by the state to use tax funding from a specific area to upgrade that area. The difference in the property tax rate before construction and post construction would go directly to paying back the debt accrued.

It is my estimate that our general fund would be completely reimbursed in a 4 year period.

The positives are obvious, jobs RIGHT AWAY, SALES TAX RIGHT AWAY, and a face for our community to be proud of.

I personally feel this is the first domino to fall, and we need to do whatever we can in a responsible since to make this happen.

On Tuesday night the Mayor announced that all bids for the Police Department have been rejected due to the fact each of them were some $600k over the initial budget $1.4 Million. With that project on the shelf we now have the capital to make a INVESTMENT into our community that will show return on investment RIGHT AWAY.

In 2010 I personally voted NO on the Police Department project ($2 Million + with project completion) and the Parks expansion ($4 Million + with project completion) and stated not only is the city not in the position to fund these projects but they offer no to very little return on investment.

This project is much different. We will see return of our investment with the jobs created, sales tax paid in, and increased property value.

What do you think Manchester?

Join the conversation on RyansReasons.com

Ryan P. French
Alderman; City of Manchester, TN
www.RyansReasons.com
(931) 273-6639

Join the "No Wheel Tax" movement!

For now change your Facebook picture to the no wheel tax logo.

On Saturday July 9th check back for more information about our petition to stop the wheel tax resolution, and how you can help.

Ryan P. French
Alderman; City of Manchester,TN
RyansReasons.com
(931) 368-VOTE

Sent from my iPhone