Chattanooga City Council Regular Meeting - August 25, 2026
Chattanooga City Council Meeting – August 25, 2026
This regular meeting of the Chattanooga City Council began at approximately 7:22 p.m. UTC and combined an agenda‑session discussion of future agenda items with a voting session on ordinances, resolutions, purchases, and other business. The council also heard public comments at the end of the meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from the previous meeting were approved by unanimous consent.
- Purchases (8 items) were approved in a single vote: a ham soil compactor ($150,000, Power Equipment Company); sewer line chemical root control services (4‑year agreement, $230,000 annual, Duke’s Root Control); Smart Grid/Charging Optimization Services (sole source, $133,000 annual, Colorado School of Mines); daily metering and mail processing (4‑year agreement, $794,000 annual including postage, Mailroom Pros); litter capture devices and maintenance ($357,680, Osprey Initiative/Sustainable Solutions); ERP subscription and licensing (5‑year agreement, $1,286,138.26 annual, Oracle America Inc.); ground maintenance at Birchwood/Summit Landfills (4‑year agreement, $75,000 annual, Loven Contract & Co.); and a $20,000 increase for employee parking at CARTA South Garage (new total $84,380).
- RFP authorization was granted for a pavement management system (DTS/Public Works) using sensors, cameras, and AI to evaluate road conditions.
- Sole source purchase for police department: Apex Raman Spectrometer ($29,950) for field narcotics identification.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Everly Mahomes (East Chattanooga resident) criticized the changed meeting time (from 5–6 p.m. to later), citing parking costs and reduced public access. She stated East Chattanooga has been underserved and that the “River to Ridge” plan developed with community input has not been implemented. She urged the council to reconsider the meeting time so that more citizens can attend in person.
- John Schmeckley (currently homeless, formerly of District Five) described an aggravated assault in July 2025 where he was struck by a car. He alleged the police report contained false statements and that Internal Affairs initially dismissed his complaint; only after speaking with Deputy Chief Hewitt did Internal Affairs contact him. He requested that the department re‑examine the case.
Discussion Items
- Defibrillator of Resolution 9B (Plan Chattanooga Comprehensive Plan Update): Councilman Henderson requested a 30‑day deferral to consult neighborhood associations. After discussion, the council voted to defer the resolution to September 22, 2026. Vice Chair Elliott opposed the delay; Councilwoman Hill supported a one‑time deferral but cautioned against further delays, noting the plan had been in development for four years.
- Stormwater Ordinance Amendment (Item 8A): The city attorney presented a minor amendment to City Code § 31‑362 to align with federal NPDES permit requirements, adding due‑process provisions for hearings. The ordinance passed on first reading after brief discussion.
- Parks Advisory Committee Update: Councilwoman Hill requested information on the committee’s current work, noting an open seat. Deputy Chief of Staff Darren Lever agreed to provide an update via email.
- Audit Findings Hearing: Councilman Elliott requested a committee hearing (not a public hearing) to discuss recent audit findings involving fleet management and procurement, to clarify what went wrong and corrective actions. The chair indicated the hearing would be assigned to the appropriate committee.
- Agenda Session Discussion: Councilman Henderson expressed a need to defer Resolution 9B (Plan Chattanooga). Councilwoman Hill noted that Resolution Item B had been revised (one word change in caption, full text replaced) and that she would vote for it. Councilwoman Hill also suggested that future similar items be grouped into a consent agenda to avoid individual readings.
Key Outcomes
- Deferral: Resolution 9B (special acceptance permit for a planned unit development at 1547 Mercer Street and adjacent property) was deferred to September 22, 2026 by a vote of all in favor (motion by Henderson, seconded; no opposition).
- Ordinance Adoption: Ordinance 8A (stormwater board authority) was adopted on final reading (voice vote, all ayes).
- Alley Closing: Ordinance 7A (closing/unopened alley in the 2800 block of 8th Street) passed on final reading (voice vote, all ayes).
- Purchases and RFPs: All eight purchases and the RFP authorization were approved unanimously.
- Committee Schedule: Budget & Finance Committee (chaired by Henderson) will meet September 15 (12:30–1:30 p.m.) and September 29 (2:00–3:00 p.m.) in the council conference room.
- Town Halls Announced: District 6 town hall (August 27, 5:30 p.m., Tyner Community Center, dinner provided); District 9 town hall (September 14, 6:00 p.m., Second Missionary Baptist Church); District 3 town hall (September 13, 2:00 p.m., North River Civic Center).
- No Meeting September 8: Council will not meet the Tuesday after Labor Day.
- Moment of Silence: Council observed a moment of silence for Dolly Parton, described as a Tennessee matriarch and literacy advocate (reported as having passed away).
- Meeting Adjourned after public comments.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. I'll call to order our Tuesday, August twenty-fifth meeting of the Chattanooga City Council. If you would please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Um, so we don't have any unnecessary distractions to our meeting. So you'll know what to expect. The first half of our meeting is what's called our agenda session, and so council will go through this week's docket, next week stock it. Um, or agenda. Um sorry, I'm a lawyer. I'm used to saying dock it. So our agendas for this week and next week, um, and also for three weeks or more out, and we'll discuss as needed any questions or concerns that council members have about those items so that we'll be prepared to vote on them when the time comes. Um, and council will have an opportunity to ask questions or raise any concerns about those. And so we'll also do that during our agenda session. Um, and once we've done that, we'll take a recess as we normally do. Um, and normally during that recess, we'll have an attorney client meeting with our city attorney, and I understand we need a brief one today. Um, and so when the time comes for that, I'll announce the time that we'll be reconvening after our recess, and then when we come back, um that's the point in time where we'll be voting on all the items on our agenda for this week. And at the end of all that, um, there will be a time as there always is for members of the public to address council um on any topic that they wish, and the podium down front will be available for that at that time, and our attorney um when the time comes for that, we'll read some rules for that public comment period. So with that, um council, could I get a motion on our minutes from our previous meeting, please? I'll move. Okay, all right. We do have a motion properly seconded on our minutes from last week, and those minutes will stand as published. Council, look with me if you will at this week's agenda. Starting with our ordinances on final reading and first reading. And if you have any questions about those ordinances, please hit your lights. Councilman Henderson, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um 9C, the resolution to well, actually, that's not the resolutions. I'm I'm a little ahead of you. For some reason, I thought that was under um ordinances, but I'll I'll wait unless you will. Yeah, I'll come back to you. Okay. Any questions on ordinances, council? Okay, you can hit your light again, councilman. Um thank you. Um I've had quite a bit of um back and forth conversation with uh Karen about about the plan Chattanooga, and um just to be real honest, I ran out of time trying to get around to all of my neighborhoods, making sure that we were good with this. Um it would be my desire to maybe defer this for 30 days just so that I can make sure that all of my neighborhood associations are aware of what we're doing and that they're fully aware of this. Like I said, I just I just ran out of time trying to get around to all of them. Um so I don't know how the rest of the council feels, but everybody else may be ready to move forward. I don't know, but uh it would be my desire to maybe defer this for 30 days. And Karen, I don't want to I don't do anything that to the detriment of this, but you know, if we can maybe pause for 30 30 days, there is um no rush on our part. We would want um people to understand that this is um coming up and that there is intention to move forward, but there is no deadline. We have a um requirement under state law to um have the public hearing and to advertise that's been done, and so we would just want to make sure that we've um if we need to advertise again, we get that done and know the date, but there is no rush on our part. Okay, thank you. So Karen, if I could just ask, I guess a clarifying question there, would we have to have another public hearing? I don't believe we would. I think that just one is required, and I believe the notification is for the first time it becomes before you on the agenda and that it just takes it's happening, and then some we could follow along the um the natural process, but we'll double check that. But if it's 30 days, we would just go ahead and check it and advertise it if we needed to. Okay, but it is a resolution and would only require one reading. So yes, yes, sir. Yes, okay.
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