For May 7, 2026.

I want to remind everyone that the application of the sunshine law is in effect.

We have minutes that's been distributed to the board members from the April meeting.

Do we have a motion to approve the minutes from last meeting?

I'd like to make a motion to approve the mo um the minutes from the last meeting.

Do we have a second?

I'll second it.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Motion carries.

All right, inspector.

Yeah, Inspector Mosier's uh out this week, but I'll be standing in for him.

Um there were not any uh new driver permits issued.

Um our request for drivers uh renewals are uh Mr.

Vernon Owens of Mercury, a Nathaniel Rochelle of Mercury, and a Rashid Patel Nuga Taxi.

All those fees and paperwork have been paid and completed.

All right, all in favor of approving the request for driver permits.

Uh excuse me, do we have a motion to approve the driver permits for renewals?

I'll make that motion.

We have a second second.

All in favor say aye.

Opposed motion carries uh we have an update on inspections for Mercury Cab 267.

Yeah, that's the latest one that we have completed and all fees and paperwork were paid and completed on that one as well.

Okay.

Then I'm also looking at old business.

Uh do we have a motion to approve the uh inspection taxi inspection for 267 Mercury CAD?

I'll make the motion.

We have a second.

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Motion carries.

All right, and we have old business.

Um I'm seeing there is no update on the Mercury Taxi versus Mercury Transportation.

Uh Attorney Trunnell, do you have any further information that you want to pass along to the board on that?

Um I'm not sure that anything has occurred with their um with their lawsuit.

Uh Mercury Transportation has filed a lawsuit against the city.

Um and that is still pending.

All right, thank you.

Um, I see that excuse me.

The taxi rate is still be work still being worked out by uh city council.

And there hasn't been any further contact from Uptown Taxi.

The paperwork wasn't received as the date of this gender was printed.

Are you from Uptown Taxi, sir?

I am sir.

All right.

Would you mind stepping up here, please?

And stating your name.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Uh my name is Norman Freeman.

All right, Mr.

Freeman, the board will recognize Mr.

Freeman.

Thank you.

I do.

Thank you, sir.

Um, I have been trying to get in touch with uh Inspector Moser uh for the past several days and I see why I haven't been able to get in touch with him.

He's been out, but uh I have uh completed pretty much everything that he gave me the list to do.

Um background inspection, uh background check, uh DOT, uh physical, uh I've filled out all the paperwork that uh was given to me the application for driver's permits.

Um background inspection, uh background check, uh DOT, uh physical, uh I've filled out all the paperwork that uh was given to me, the application for driver's permit, uh the uh regulatory bureau um passenger for vehicle hire certificate, and uh also have petitions that uh I went out through uh the community in the city and getting uh signatures for those who probably stayed in agreement with another taxi company uh being brought forth.

So I have the paperwork that uh that I was required to do.

Okay, so you you have completed you just need to turn it in to Inspector Moser.

Yes.

Okay.

As soon as uh Inspector Mosier is back to duty, um, we'll get it.

He can you can give it to him, and then the board will have to put it in the uh newspaper, is that correct?

Uh yes, we'll we'll have to hold a public hearing um and get notice for that.

Um if if everything is approved by uh the regulatory committee.

All right.

Just wanted to make sure that you were aware of what would happen next once the paperwork is uh passed on to Inspector Moser.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, all right.

Thank you, sir.

Right.

Uh just for a point of order.

If if you're prepared to turn that in today, I can take that.

He's actually he works for me.

I can go ahead and prepare for him.

He will be out next week as well.

Okay, but at least it'll be on his desk prepared for whenever he comes back in.

All right.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, sir.

He'll be in contact with you.

All right.

So it is funny.

Do we have anyone here for a public comment?

Jonathan Easter, Nuga Taxi.

Uh pleased to update the board that we did get some movement in City Council.

I went to the meeting two weeks ago.

Ron Elliott assumed somebody was moving along with it as far as like getting it the ordinance wording redone.

But nobody was, but Mr.

Ron Elliott uh took it up and is working actively on that.

So we're hoping for some news for movement soon.

Uh the second thing I wanted to follow up with the last meeting wasn't in the agenda today, but you guys voted on addressing some of the inconsistencies or violations of Mercury transportation.

Um, and that y'all voted on uh addressing those violations this meeting and didn't know if that was going to be done or not.

Mr.

Easter, I wasn't uh in attendance last meeting.

Um let me just take a second to look over what violations or was the violations previously submitted.

It's the violations that were put on hold based on this lawsuit, which the lawsuit is based on money owed, not ownership of company, which was established in the Tennessee Times Repress that the attorney commented on.

And uh Mercury Transportation did not in time appeal the decision to approve Mercury Taxi as a business in the side of Chattanooga City, so therefore making it to where there is a valid company already standing with that name, therefore the Mercury Transportation name based on ordinance code cannot have anything similar or similar in color, insignia names or anything like that.

Well, travels up too, because then you don't have you have the issue with it being transportation.

There's three, four different locations in the definitions where it says that a taxi cannot be transportation or limo or shuttle, shuttles, taxi, uh shuttles, transport or lemos can't be taxis.

So therefore, Mercury Transportation initially really shouldn't have even been considered up for a vote.

Well, that went on for a year, and we finally had the public hearing a year after their approval and a like kind of a slingshot meeting approval.

And when they did have the public hearing, he didn't show up for his own hearing, right?

And the board uh tabled it based on this lawsuit that came up, which doesn't have anything to do with business ownership.

This has to do with money owed.

Okay, I think the lawsuit, if I'm correct, from what we were um from what we were advised, was that it was also part of ownership as well.

Well, and we I thought the same until the Tennessee Prime Times Free Press made the article, and it was clear that it had nothing to do with business ownership.

Because I I know that previously for previous for new board members that we had discussed um the colors uh by uh the ordinance, the colors cannot be similar.

The insignia the name cannot be similar to uh already a taxi company in existence, uh which would uh in turn violate um Mercury taxis uh existence as it as it is as it is am I understanding that correctly?

So Mercury transportation would have to change their name, their colors.

Uh I mean that those would be things for the board to decide.

Well, I'm just saying by by by definition of the uh statute.

I'm sorry, I should have been clear.

Actually, what you voted on was something that he suggested, and it was voting on revisiting the uh the details of the company based on their uh renewal because we were coming at renewal.

That was actually a question that the um inspector's office supposed to return this meeting to find out who's been paid and whose renewals have been uh turned in, and if I'm not mistaken, this is the month to turn them in as well for renewals.

I think that was the vote that you guys had was to revisit his approval of company based on the renewal.

Yeah, because I don't remember I don't I do remember none of us are uh had any memory of voting for his renewal.

I I think um what the discussion was was obviously this has been a controversy that's gone on for a long time, but the question was is there a pending violation that the board is not taking up because of this lawsuit?

And I just I don't know the answer to that because that predated my time on the board.

And it would, I think I'm sorry, go ahead.

But and so I think what Inspector Mosier was gonna do is just take a look and see if if there was an actual pending violation, like they had been cited for some violation of the city ordinance.

Um I think he was also going to look and see where was he even does he even have a permit?

Yeah, it also was there a pending permit application, and uh and I I don't know that we ever got an answer to that.

So no, everything was just put on hold for the time of the uh lawsuit, but I know that also that's when we looked at the statute of an existing, excuse me, a new taxi company cannot have any the same colors or insignias or name of an existing taxi company, which would put them in direct violation, um, because the transportation takes money from a third party instead of directly from its um uh I guess patron.

Sure.

So that would also be something for us to look discuss and look at.

Well, I I mean the company would have to be first like cited, or I mean it's equivalent with a ticket.

Right.

Um, and I don't know that it's happened.

Right.

And I think that was the question that Inspector Mosier is going to take a look and make sure if there was something pending, we could address it.

And if not, then didn't really need to be on our agenda until there was that's my recollection at least.

That's why they've never showed that the reason why we haven't discussed it, and I've brought it up to the board many times that these should be on old business agenda notes so that we don't forget because this has been going on for a year and a half to two years.

So yeah, things change, things happen, but there should still be a coherent uh agenda of what's previously been going on or what's on hold because there's several things that are going on here.

Things that uh uh Miss Christie was even a part of when he you know verbally assaulted Miss Tanisa Fletcher in the lobby.

Right, and I think with that we needed uh I think that with that there was uh Inspector Mosier, and no, it wasn't Inspector Mosier at the time, it was Inspector Few, was waiting on a police report to be made on that.

Um we and he did, but then it was pace on hold based on the advice of the attorney to say that hey, they're under this lawsuit because of the business ownership, but now that we found out six months to a year later that it has nothing to do with business ownership, then where are we at?

And the question was my question to this was Mercury transportation immune to any violation uh accountability, and if he's under that because of the lawsuit, is Mercury Taxi under that same if they commit any violations, are they immune to any accountability?

So what if they could come?

So what if they could come so who are the two cab companies that are hold being held if in violation were to be held accountable would just be me and Ave Taxi because the other two on under a lawsuit skirting any type of accountability for violation, not that Mercury Taxi's done any violations, right?

I'm not saying what you're saying, but I don't think but Mercury Transportation has.

But I don't think that it's excurting responsibility.

I think what you're saying is that what have they been cited for?

Because I know that previously we've also brought up the fact of um the uh uh set fee that was also an issue.

Flat rate the flat rate.

Uh so that was also an issue previously.

Actively promoting defrauding the general public between the two different names on social media.

Right.

We have all of that.

So if once the thing cited that day that we even brought up the the footage and Inspector Few came back and verified that because there was a claim that the screenshots and videos that were shared was AI generated.

That was uh I can't remember uh the lady's name over here.

So you guys asked Inspector Few to go and see if you could verify whether there were legitimate medias, which he did.

Well, she did come back the next meeting and said, hey, this is legitimate, it's not AI generated, but again, shut down because of the lawsuit that has nothing to do with business ownership.

Is that sounds like so no, it was they were taken up as the point sorry.

Uh I'm sorry, you wanted to say something.

Yeah, just for a point of clarity.

To my knowledge, there's not a pending violation uh that I'm aware of uh as far as a permit for Mercury transportation, unless one has come in during the time that inspector has been off.

I'm not aware of any new paperwork.

So uh the last time I looked into this, their permit had expired and there was not anything in for renewal.

So I don't I don't have anything of record.

Thank you, Sergeant.

Thank you.

So he's operating without a permit?

That's what I took from that.

Yeah, that's shouldn't be happening.

Are you able to reach out to uh Mercury Transportations Attorney?

Uh yeah, I can um I would like to put them on the agenda for uh June.

Um and during that time we can get with the inspector uh Moser about following up Inspector Fuse's investigation on the uh flat rate on the um uh assault case and the violation of the taxi insignia and colors as well, please.

It would be on Inspector Fu to make, I mean, he would he would be the one issuing a citation.

The with the board would be inspector fuse retired.

Yeah, he's not right.

That's why I said follow up with Inspector Fhew's investigation, though, and for him to make the proper citation at that point.

Yeah, can I make a suggestion point of clarity for past precedents because I've been coming to these for about 15 years?

Usually when there's a violation or is there some speculation or the inspector is uh notify the board of anything, you to what they call is a show cause.

It's not really a citation because it's that's there, you're basically show causing the owner to come in and speak about the allegation or the citation to further your information and context to make a decision whether you guys hand down a punishment based on the guidelines of the ordinance.

Thank you.

All right, while we're getting that together, do we have any further new business?

All right, just so I'm clear.

Do we want to wait and see what um Inspector Mosier says?

No, I would like to see Mr.

Boston, his attorney to come show calls on why he's operating without a license.

Okay, yeah, that was gonna be the other part of that question.

Or are we gonna do a show cause?

Because I think we would have to have a motion and vote.

All right.

Do we have a motion to uh invite Mr.

Boston and his attorney for Mercury Testation to the June board meeting?

I'll make that motion.

Do we have a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Sorry, who's second then?

Thank you.

Motion carries.

Do we need to make sure before we bring them in here?

Is I mean, do we need to make sure we have or do we still have the information that was presented to us in those uh from the um social media occasionally?

I have that email.

I don't think I can pass it along to everyone.

Well, I think that probably got to be Bertha.

I don't did you did it came from you though, right?

Yes, ma'am.

So I think she would have to pass it alone to us.

I can do that.

Okay, thank you.

All right, with no new no further public comment.

Do we have a motion to adjourn?

I make that motion to adjourn.

We have a second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Meeting is adjourned.

Uh we will have a training as here in a second, as soon as I can figure out other