Columbia City Council Meeting and Public Hearings – February 12, 2026

The Columbia City Council met on February 12, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included public hearings, recognitions for first responders and army recruits, a quarterly economic development update, and the approval of several ordinances and resolutions. Items 10.3 and 10.4 (Foster Lane land use and zoning) were removed from the agenda at the applicant's request.

Public Hearings

• Public Hearing 1 (Ordinance 4578): To amend the Commercial Downtown Historic District Overlay to include 810 Woodland Street (Ward 3). No one spoke, and the hearing was closed.
• Public Hearing 2 (Ordinance 4582): To approve the Morning Pointe Preliminary Planned Unit Development (PUD) Master Plan (Ward 1). No one spoke, and the hearing was closed.

Presentations & Recognitions

• Response to Winter Storm (Item 5.3): The Council recognized the City of Columbia First Responders, Columbia Power and Water Systems (CPWS), and Public Works for their efforts during the recent ice and snowstorm.
  • Jeff DeWire (Public Works): reported using 400 tons of salt on 480 lane miles over 12-hour shifts.
  • Ryan Massie (CPWS): detailed restoring the system from 25% to 5% outage, managing numerous water main breaks, and thanked retiring employees Jeff Parks and Kyle Patrick (95 combined years of service) for their leadership.
• Army Recruits (Item 5.4): The Council honored six new Army recruits. SFC Ryan Spiller noted the Columbia office enlisted 68 soldiers last fiscal year and 11 so far this fiscal year. The recruits recognized were Ethan Bilo, Danny Brady, Austin Spires, Duncan Gabbett, Corbin McGardy, and Gabriel Merlin.
• Economic Impact Award (Item 5.1): Sports Destination Management presented the "Champions of Economic Impact" award to the Parks and Recreation Department. Staff reported that the PGF (girls fastpitch) tournaments generated an estimated $3.2 million per tournament, totaling roughly $19 million across six tournaments. Overall, major events at Ridley generated about $22 million in economic impact.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Ordinance 10.1 (Darks Mill De-annexation): Justin Batt addressed the Council, speaking on behalf of the Batt, Crouch, and Drain field families. He expressed gratitude for the Council's transparency and collaboration, specifically thanking Councilmember Brian McKelvy for his work as the point person on the de-annexation request.

Discussion Items

• Economic Development Update (Item 5.2): Wil Evans (Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance) presented.
  • Addressed the 5.7% unemployment rate (highest in Tennessee for Dec 2025), attributing it to a full GM shutdown for retooling during the survey period. He urged patience for January numbers.
  • Highlighted the capital campaign (22% budget increase), the 20 active project pipelines, and the 2026 strategy focused on high-wage, low-infrastructure-impact projects under the "Enhance Maury" vision.
• Spring Hill Wastewater Agreements (Items 7.15 & 7.16): Pulled from the consent agenda. Spring Hill Mayor Fitterer explained the agreements were solely to allow Columbia to evaluate its system at Spring Hill's expense to explore accepting up to 1.5 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater. Council approved both items.

Consent Calendar

The following items were approved unanimously:

• Financial approvals (Dec 2025 disbursements $13.1M, Animal Services funding $121k, Insurance renewal $578k)
• 2026 season permits for Muletown Baseball, Columbia Soccer, Columbia Girls Fastpitch, Excel Aquatics, and Columbia American Little League.
• Contract amendment for Aquatics and Recreation Center renovations with Lose Design ($50k).
• First Due software add-on for responder health monitoring ($615).
• Surety release for Greystone Subdivision ($16,650).
• Strategic planning consulting agreement ($14,500).
• Retirement plan annual reports acceptance.
• Dell computer equipment purchase ($227,935.43).
• Bid award to Steelhead Building Group for Pickleball Complex and Tennis Court renovations ($1,463,805).

Key Outcomes

• Approved Ordinances (2nd Reading):
  • 10.1: De-annexation of properties off Darks Mill Road.
  • 10.2: Abandonment of right-of-way on Columbia Rock Products Road.
• Approved Ordinances (1st Reading):
  • 10.5: Inclusion of 810 Woodland Street into Commercial Downtown Historic Overlay (Mayor Molder recused).
  • 10.6: FY 2025-2026 Budget Amendment (Ordinance 4581). Increases total budget to $184,470,940. Includes funding for Police, Development Services conference room, Fire Dept. donation, and grants. Public hearing set for March 12, 2026.
  • 10.7: Morning Pointe Preliminary PUD Master Plan.
• Approved Resolutions:
  • Tax corrections (26-05), Special assessment corrections (26-07), Donation acceptance (26-08), Financial Excellence Award application (26-09), Rescue Squad Grant application (26-10, $41,050, no local match).
  • Acceptance of streets and drainage for Polk Place Subdivision (26-06) and Greystone Subdivision (26-11).