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Record of Proceedings

Germantown Planning Commission Meeting - January 7, 2025: Election of Officers, Strategic Plan Adoption, and Annual Training

Board of Mayor and Aldermen & City Boards — Tuesday, January 7, 2025
BodyGermantown, Tennessee
SessionBoard of Mayor and Aldermen & City Boards
DateTuesday, January 7, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

Good evening, folks.

0:07

I'm going to go ahead and call this meeting to order.

0:11

This is the January 7th regular scheduled meeting of German Towns Planning Commission.

0:17

And I welcome those that are here in attendance and uh staff and council and uh in addition to our commissioners as well.

0:28

Uh for the sake of uh establishing a quorum, please call the roll this evening.

0:33

Mr.

0:33

Bacon?

0:34

Here.

0:35

Mr.

0:35

Clark?

0:37

Mr.

0:37

Jacobs?

0:38

Here.

0:39

Mr.

0:39

Levy?

0:40

Here.

0:41

Mr.

0:41

McCreary.

0:42

Here.

0:43

Ms.

0:43

Sisson?

0:44

Here.

0:45

Mr.

0:45

Sloan.

0:46

Present.

0:47

Alderman Salvaggio.

0:48

Here.

0:49

Mayor Palazzolo.

0:50

Here.

0:51

Thank you.

0:51

We have a quorum and we have all members here as well.

0:56

This is the one time of year that I get to be chairman of the planning commission.

1:01

So we we need to go ahead and do some business and get some things approved and all those type things.

1:06

I guess my only duty this evening is to preside over the elections this evening.

1:12

And as such, I will go ahead and uh well first of all I'll go ahead and announce that we do have a citizen's comment period and citizen comments are welcomed at this format in any public hearing that's held this evening.

1:28

And if there's anyone in attendance this evening that would like to speak at this time, I would recognize those people to come forward.

1:36

The chambers are empty with the exclusion of the planning commission and staff as well.

1:42

So I will conclude uh citizen comments for this evening.

1:46

And at this time I would move to item four on the agenda, the election of officers.

1:52

We will elect this evening our chair, our vice chair, and our secretary.

1:58

Planning commission chooses its own leadership, and it's on an annual basis.

2:04

With that said, at this time I will declare the floor open for nominations for chair of the 2025 planning commission.

2:12

Mayor, I would like to nominate John McCreary.

2:16

It has been moved by uh Alderman Salvaggio to nominate John McCreary for the role of chair.

2:23

Is there a second?

2:25

Second.

2:26

Second uh by uh Chairman Bacon.

2:29

Um is there any discussion on the item?

2:32

Uh well I'm sorry, uh well there can be discussion on the item as well.

2:36

Is there any discussion on this particular nomination?

2:39

Are there any other nominations?

2:41

See no other nominations come forward.

2:44

The nomination period is closed.

2:46

Further discussion on the item?

2:48

Please call the roll.

2:50

Mr.

2:51

Bacon?

2:51

Yes.

2:53

Mr.

2:53

Clark?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Ethics████████████████████████24%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Economic Development█████████9%
Zoning█████████9%
Environmental Protection████████8%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Pending Litigation████4%
Election███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Germantown Planning Commission Meeting - January 7, 2025

The Germantown Planning Commission held its regular meeting on January 7, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting included the election of officers for 2025, approval of minutes, appointment of commission liaisons, annual adoption of the Germantown Forward 2035 Strategic Plan, and required annual training led by the commission attorney. All nine members were present.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of December 3, 2024 Minutes: Unanimously approved (9-0, with one abstention by the chair who did not vote? Actually McCreary voted yes, so 9-0). The minutes from the December 3, 2024 meeting were approved by a unanimous roll call vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the citizen comment period.

Election of Officers

  • Chair: John McCreary was nominated by Alderman Salvaggio and seconded by outgoing Chair Bacon. McCreary abstained; all other members voted yes. Elected unanimously (8-0-1).
  • Vice Chair: Dyke Bacon was nominated and seconded. Bacon abstained; all others voted yes. Elected unanimously (8-0-1).
  • Secretary: Jennifer Sisson was nominated and seconded. All members voted yes, including Sisson. Elected unanimously (9-0).

Commission Liaison Appointments

  • Members volunteered for liaison roles to other city boards/commissions without a formal vote:
    • Greg Jacobs: Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)
    • Dyke Bacon (assumed): Parks and Recreation Commission
    • Unnamed member: Tree Board
    • Mr. Clark: Transportation Commission
  • The assignments were accepted by consensus.

Annual Adoption of Germantown Forward 2035 Strategic Plan

  • Director of Economic and Community Development, Mr. Ross, presented the annual adoption of the strategic plan. He reviewed the vision statement, values, and how the plan guides commission and staff decisions.
  • Commissioner Jacobs asked about city-subsidized fiber optics; Mr. Ross deferred to the Technology Commission. Mayor Palazzolo and Alderman Salvaggio encouraged all commissioners to read the document and noted how it provides a roadmap for commission work.
  • A motion to adopt the plan was made by Commissioner Sisson, seconded by Vice Chair Bacon. Unanimously approved (9-0).

Annual Training (Planning Commission Attorney Josh Whitehead)

  • Attorney Whitehead provided the required one-hour training covering:
    • Open Meetings Act: Avoid discussing pending cases outside meetings with two or more members; site visits are an exception.
    • Ex parte communications: Not prohibited but should be disclosed; avoid bias by being open to both sides.
    • Powers of the Planning Commission: Review of findings required for subdivisions, zoning amendments, planned developments, and site plans.
    • Code of Ethics and recusal: Members must recuse for direct or indirect personal financial interest; abstention can substitute to maintain a quorum. Over-recusal should be avoided; over-disclosure is recommended.
    • Conditions of approval must be proportional; vested rights after site plan approval are valid for three years.
    • Importance of the upcoming General Plan update; decisions must be consistent with the adopted general plan.
  • Commissioners asked questions on floodplain standards, erosion control, and reopening public hearings. Whitehead clarified that a simple majority vote is needed to reopen a public hearing.

Key Outcomes

  • Elected Officers for 2025: John McCreary (Chair), Dyke Bacon (Vice Chair), Jennifer Sisson (Secretary).
  • Adopted Germantown Forward 2035 Strategic Plan: Unanimous vote.
  • Liaison Assignments Approved: BZA (Jacobs), Parks and Rec (Bacon), Tree Board (unnamed), Transportation (Clark).
  • Training Completed: Satisfies state annual training requirement.
  • Deadline: Ethics and disclosure of interest forms must be filed by January 31, 2025.
  • Procedural Note: Chairman McCreary will add opening remarks at future meetings to explain commission procedures to the public.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, folks. I'm going to go ahead and call this meeting to order. This is the January 7th regular scheduled meeting of German Towns Planning Commission. And I welcome those that are here in attendance and uh staff and council and uh in addition to our commissioners as well. Uh for the sake of uh establishing a quorum, please call the roll this evening. Mr. Bacon? Here. Mr. Clark? Mr. Jacobs? Here. Mr. Levy? Here. Mr. McCreary. Here. Ms. Sisson? Here. Mr. Sloan. Present. Alderman Salvaggio. Here. Mayor Palazzolo. Here. Thank you. We have a quorum and we have all members here as well. This is the one time of year that I get to be chairman of the planning commission. So we we need to go ahead and do some business and get some things approved and all those type things. I guess my only duty this evening is to preside over the elections this evening. And as such, I will go ahead and uh well first of all I'll go ahead and announce that we do have a citizen's comment period and citizen comments are welcomed at this format in any public hearing that's held this evening. And if there's anyone in attendance this evening that would like to speak at this time, I would recognize those people to come forward. The chambers are empty with the exclusion of the planning commission and staff as well. So I will conclude uh citizen comments for this evening. And at this time I would move to item four on the agenda, the election of officers. We will elect this evening our chair, our vice chair, and our secretary. Planning commission chooses its own leadership, and it's on an annual basis. With that said, at this time I will declare the floor open for nominations for chair of the 2025 planning commission. Mayor, I would like to nominate John McCreary. It has been moved by uh Alderman Salvaggio to nominate John McCreary for the role of chair. Is there a second? Second. Second uh by uh Chairman Bacon. Um is there any discussion on the item? Uh well I'm sorry, uh well there can be discussion on the item as well. Is there any discussion on this particular nomination?

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