Agenda Items & Discussion

• Councilman Henderson asked to defer the resolution adopting "Plan Chattanooga" as the city's comprehensive plan so he could brief neighborhood associations he hadn't yet reached; after discussion the council agreed to defer it 30 days, to September 22, with Councilwoman Hill noting she would support one deferral but not a second given the plan has been in development for about four years.
• The council read and passed on first reading a storm water ordinance amendment (Chattanooga City Code 31-362) adding due-process provisions required under the federal Clean Water Act's NPDES permit program, requested by the Storm Water Regulations Board.
• Vice Chair Elliott asked to convene a council committee hearing on recent audit findings involving the city's fleet management office and procurement practices, so the public can understand what went wrong and what corrective steps are underway; the item will be referred to a committee (likely budget and finance) once assignments are finalized.
• Councilwoman Hill raised concerns about the current function of the Parks Advisory Committee, which has an open seat, and asked staff for an update on what the committee is actually doing.
• During public comment, a longtime resident criticized the council's meeting schedule and paid downtown parking as barriers to participation for underserved communities, particularly East Chattanooga, and referenced an unimplemented "River to Ridge" community plan. A homeless resident repeated concerns first raised at an earlier meeting about an allegedly falsified police report following a car-versus-pedestrian collision and said an internal affairs review had not resolved the discrepancy, suggesting state investigators may need to get involved. Councilman Harvey also led a moment of silence honoring Dolly Parton following her passing.

Key Decisions & Votes

• Previous meeting minutes: approved.
• Ordinance 7A (alley closure, 2800 block of 8th Street): passed final reading.
• Ordinance 8A (storm water code amendment, Section 31-362): passed first reading.
• Resolution 9A (confirming Weston Porter's appointment to the CARTA board): adopted.
• Resolution 9B (Mercer Street PUD amendment): adopted.
• Resolution 9C (adopting Plan Chattanooga as the comprehensive plan): deferred to September 22.
• Eight purchasing items, including a soil compactor, a sewer line root-control services agreement, a smart grid/EV charging study, a mail metering and processing agreement, litter-capture devices for waterways, a five-year ERP software agreement with Oracle (about $1.29 million/year), landfill ground maintenance, and a parking agreement increase: approved unanimously.
• A request to issue an RFP (not award a contract) for pavement management technology evaluation: approved.
• A sole-source purchase of a portable narcotics-testing device (Apex Raman Spectrometer, $29,950) for the police department: reported, not voted.