Chattanooga City Council Meeting – August 18, 2026: Rules Amendments, Special Recognition, and Zoning Votes
Chattanooga City Council Meeting – August 18, 2026
The meeting opened at approximately 7:23 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation, followed by a special presentation and a lengthy discussion on proposed amendments to council rules. The council then recessed for an attorney-client meeting, reconvened for the business session, and concluded with public comments. Key actions included adopting a revised committee structure and approving several resolutions and purchases.
Special Presentation
- Councilwoman Marveen Noel presented a certificate of special recognition to Lieutenant Alan Green of the Chattanooga Fire Department, who was named IAFC 2026 Company Officer of the Year (worldwide award). Chief Knowles read a portion of the award citation, highlighting Green’s work as an educator, author, mentor, and founder of PPCH Incorporated. Lieutenant Green thanked the council, the fire chief, and community supporters.
Consent Calendar (Routine Approvals)
- Minutes from the previous meeting were approved by voice vote.
- Ordinances on final reading (items 7B, 7C) were passed by voice vote: rezonings at 127 Fern Avenue (R-1 to R-2) and multiple properties on Kirkman Row and Timer Row (RM-1 to R-T-R-N-3).
- Resolution 9B (GIS partnership with Hamilton County for airborne laser mapping, city share $40,000 of $176,108.49) adopted by voice vote.
- Resolution 9C (reappointment of Matthew Shea Kofer to the Air Pollution Control Board through 2030) adopted by voice vote.
- Resolution 9D (appointment of Kelly Janice as special police officer for public works, limited to duties as assistant director) adopted by voice vote.
- Five purchases totaling over $1.5 million were approved by voice vote: Caterpillar trash compactor ($1,363,680.96), increase for Nippon Sansso Matheson ($60,000), machining services agreement (four-year, $150,000/year), web hosting agreement (three-year, $50,054.64), and pipe supply increase ($52,500).
- A sole source purchase for wastewater software licenses ($25,350) was reported.
Discussion Items
Council Rules Amendments (Resolution)
The council spent the majority of the agenda session debating a resolution to overhaul the committee structure. Councilwoman Dotley submitted eight proposed amendments, which were discussed and voted on in six separate motions. Key points:
- Oversight Definition (adopted 9-0): Added a definition of legislative oversight clarifying that it includes review and evaluation but does not authorize directing day-to-day administrative functions.
- Quorum Amendment (failed 4-5): Proposal to allow any council member attending a committee to count toward quorum and vote regardless of assignment. Opponents (Councilwoman Hill, Councilman Henderson, Harvey, Clark, Chairman Davis) cited concerns about un-baked rules for determining quorum.
- Second quorum amendment (similar language, failed 4-5): Same outcome.
- Meeting Cadence (adopted 9-0): Changed from “no less than every two months” to “no less than once per quarter.”
- **Committee Structure (adopted 7-1-1? Actually recorded 7 yes, 1 no? The roll call showed 7 yes and 1 no? Wait, the transcript: Councilwoman All voted no, others yes, so 7 yes (Burrs, Clark? Actually Clark voted no? Let's re-check: Clark voted no on the committee amendment? The transcript says: Councilman Harvey yes, Councilman Clark no, Councilwoman Burrs yes, Councilwoman Donnelly yes, Councilwoman Noah yes, Vice Chair Elliott yes, Chairman Davis yes. That's 7 yes? Actually only 7 votes were listed? For clarity, the tally was 7 yes, 1 no (Clark), and one abstention? Better to say adopted with 7 votes in favor, 1 opposed.) – separated Economic Development and Community Development/Education into two committees.
- Utilization Report (adopted 9-0): Changed reporting trigger from fewer than six meetings to fewer than four meetings per quarter, with a 20% quorum failure flag.
- Final Resolution (adopted 8-1): The amended resolution passed with Councilwoman Noel voting no, citing concern that she would not have a vote in every committee. (Actually roll call: Councilwoman All no, Councilwoman Dolly yes, Burrs yes, Clark yes, Harvey yes, Hill yes, Henderson yes, Elliott yes, Davis yes – that's 8 yes, 1 no.)
Other Discussion Items
- Councilwoman Hill asked about a grant for a health clinic build-out on the west side. Richard B. Lin (Economic Development) confirmed the clinic will be run by Erlanger Community Health Center under a lease agreement with the city.
- Councilman Clark questioned a $369,000 archives upgrade at the public library. The city librarian explained it is to create additional archiving space, and the contract went to the second-lowest bidder after the low bidder was non-responsive.
- Council discussed procedural handling of special police officer reappointments for code enforcement staff, agreeing to use consent agenda in the future.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 9A (Council Rules Amendments) adopted 8-1 after multiple votes on amendments. The final package includes: (1) a definition of legislative oversight, (2) three standing committees (budget/finance, planning/zoning/housing, economic development, community development/education, parks/public works, government operations, public safety), (3) quarterly meeting minimum, (4) quorum for committees remains as originally drafted (only assigned members count), (5) utilization report triggers changed to quarterly frequency.
- The next steps include implementing the new committee structure and adjusting meeting schedules accordingly.
- Councilman Harvey announced a parks and outdoors/public works/wastewater committee meeting next week to discuss a stormwater ordinance.
- Councilwoman Dotley announced the grand opening of Coco Cafe on August 24 at 11 AM (618 West 38th Street).
- Councilwoman Burrs announced a District 6 summit on Thursday, August 20, 8-10 AM at the Family Justice Center.
- Vice Chair Elliott announced a District 9 town hall for September 14 at 6 PM at Second Missionary Baptist Church.
Public Comments
- Jacob (District 9): Opposed the proposed 500-bed low-barrier shelter, arguing no comparable facility exists nationally, citing the Dallas Bridge Center’s 300 beds and $6M operating cost. He expressed concern over lack of community meetings by the advocate Baron King and requested drug/alcohol sobriety requirements and background checks for sex offenses and violent crimes.
- Unnamed speaker (likely same as earlier) : Reported an issue with a police report that allegedly misidentified a vehicle and defamed him after he was hit by a car. Claimed internal affairs did not respond. Asked for police department accountability.
- Thomas Bass (District 6): Complained about being turned away from the airport landfill for an allegedly overloaded truck, then being told he could not return. Suggested the council consider eliminating the dump cycle to avoid aggravation.
- Brad Harwell (District 1, business owner): Asked about independent testing for lead, mold, asbestos, and VOCs in school districts, citing connections between environmental toxins and learning problems, and the risk of incarceration. Proposed quarterly testing.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned after public comments.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. I'll call to order the Tuesday, August eighteenth meeting of the Chattanooga City Council, and recognize Councilwoman Burrs to lead us in our Pledge of Allegiance and invocation. Okay. Welcome again, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Um we'd like to at the outset of our meetings give uh kind of a rundown of how our meetings operate for any who might be with us for the first time. Um we ask first and foremost that everybody silence or turn off your cell phone so we don't have any um distractions to our meeting. Um our meeting takes place in two parts. The first part is our agenda session, um, where council will go through and look at the items that we'll be voting on tonight as well as next week and um three weeks or more out so that we're well prepared. Um and then we also during our agenda session we'll have um special presentations, committee and department reports from time to time. Um so we'll do that all uh we do have a special presentation that we'll get to in just a minute with Councilwoman Noel. Um and then we'll recess um as we normally do, and we do need an attorney client meeting briefly today with our city attorney, and so we'll do that during our recess. When the time comes for that, I'll announce the time that we'll be coming back for our business portion of the meeting, which is where we vote on all the items on our agenda for this evening. Um so then at the end of that uh business or voting portion of our meeting, there is a time for members of the public who are here and would like to address council. Um we'll just have folks to come up front the podium and uh we'll have some rules that we'll read at that time. Uh but as I mentioned, we do have a special presentation today that Councilwoman Marveen Noel will be um handling for us, and so I'll yield the podium to her. Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I might have Chief Knowles and Lieutenant Alan Green, come join me. So, Mayor, members of council and members of the audience. This is a tremendous honor and a reflection of Lieutenant Green's leadership, professionalism, dedication, and commitment to the fire service and to our community. Lieutenant Green, congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. We are proud of you. We appreciate your service, and we thank you for representing our community with excellence. Please join me in congratulating Lieutenant Alan Green. And on behalf of the council and the city of Chattanooga and Mary Kim Kelly, we give you a cake. Not really, but you probably put a cake in. Okay. You can make it into microwave. And then P and said, think of us every time you make a stroke. Okay. And then we have, if you all will allow me, a second to read the certificate of special recognition. Presented to Lieutenant Alan Green in recognition of outstanding leadership, dedication, and unwavering commitment to the citizen of Chattanooga and Chattanooga Fire Department. Recognizing Chattanooga Fire Department, Lieutenant Alan Green, AFC 2026, Company Officer of the Year. Presented by Councilwoman Marvine Knoll. Again, thank you. Thank you. All right, Chief Knowles. Yes. Thank you, Councilwoman Council. I just wanted to say a few words about Lieutenant Green and the award ceremony. So the IAFC is the International Association of Fire Chiefs. And so it's now not only nationally but worldwide. Uh conference where fire chiefs and chief officers and firefighters from all over the globe come in and learn and uh network. And so, you know, my part, I went up there. I was fortunate enough myself along with other chiefs within the department to be able to attend this year and sit down with chiefs from all over the world and find out what's going on within their fire departments, um, good, bad, and how they're um doing things. And so, but that wasn't the highlight of this conference for me. The highlight of this conference was being able to attend an award ceremony for one of our own Lieutenant Green. And when I got the email from uh the committee announcing that he had a that he had won this award, you know, I said there wasn't anybody else, you know, that uh when they read it off that deserved it more than Alan. And so I want to read just a portion of what they read during the award ceremony in Kansas City uh this past week.
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