Memphis City Council Regular Meeting - October 24, 2023

The Memphis City Council held its regular meeting on October 24, 2023, at 9:30 AM. The meeting included resolutions, special use permits, consent agendas, and public comments focusing on MLGW operations and rates. Several items were approved with unanimous or majority votes, while one special use permit faced divided council.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes Approval: The minutes from the October 10, 2023 meeting were approved unanimously.
• Item 1 – Breast Cancer Awareness Month: A resolution designating October 2023 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month was adopted by acclamation, with council members wearing pink in support. Marissa Lima from the American Cancer Society thanked the council.
• Consent Agenda (Items 5-12): Passed unanimously, including an ordinance on smart city fiber access (first reading), second readings of multiple ordinances, a zoning ordinance, and resolutions for engineering plans and bonds.
• Fiscal Consent Agenda (Items 13-15): Passed unanimously, accepting grant funds from the State of Tennessee ($12,433 for library services), a police service equipment donation ($200), and Shelby County grant ($33,544.77 for police services).
• MLG&W Fiscal Consent Agenda (Items 16-20, 23-24): Approved as a block after items 21 and 22 were pulled for discussion. These included software contracts, server procurement, a fleet safety solution, utility bill envelopes, power transformers, a building reroof, and fire extinguisher services.
• Items 27-33: Passed unanimously or with clear majorities, covering a $250,000 appropriation for the convention center, a $887,116.34 housing program amendment, federal CDBG and HOME program acceptance, an IT project fund transfer ($200,300), a $1 million transfer for the Leicester Community Center, a $78,625.93 botanic garden amendment, and a $5,903,194 wastewater treatment plant expansion.
• Item 34 – Mill Avenue Drainage Project: Passed unanimously, approving a $308,10 additive change order for drainage replacement due to scope change.
• Same Night Minutes: Approved with Councilwoman Easter Thomas recused on item 35 due to financial interest.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Glenda Hicks (3090 Wood Thrust Drive) expressed concern over MLGW’s proposed $229.3 million improvement budget for 2024. She cited $31 million spent on distribution automation since 2020 yet persistent outages, and urged the council to prevent further mismanagement before approving rate increases.
• John Schompert (2356 Hawkhurst Street, 21st Century Memphis or Bust) called for accountability on the $800 million “way forward” plan and a separate review of rate increases, noting that many residents cannot understand their bills.
• Andrew Woods (7283 Abercrombie Lane, 21st Century or Bust) advocated for an independent audit of MLGW instead of a self-commissioned study, pointing to a 40% reduction in customer-facing positions that exacerbated service problems. He urged no rate increase approval without a comprehensive contract audit.
• Yolanda Cooper Sutton (4072 Shirley Tribe) thanked council members for their service and noted this would be her last appearance as a constituent before possibly representing the people.
• Joe Kent (511 Flamingo) criticized MLGW’s budget as “excessively padded” and benchmarked tree trimming costs ($33K per mile vs. Knoxville’s $12K and Nashville’s $16.5K), a $5 million customer service contract, and a $16 million paving contract. He alleged that Doug McGowan’s leadership led to wasted public money on the cobblestones project and called for a forensic audit of external contracts while rejecting the proposed 12% rate increase.
• Walter Brody (4256 Lebbellicole) offered a prayer and blessing for council members, police, and leaders, asking for divine guidance.

Discussion Items

• Special Use Permit – 2206 East Shelby Drive (Item 2): Sponsored by Planning and Development, held from October 10. Councilwoman Johnson reported a favorable committee recommendation and moved approval. The permit passed unanimously.
• Special Use Permit – North of 1184 Covington Pike (Item 3): Previously held from September 12, came without committee recommendation. Councilwoman Logan expressed concerns about ongoing issues in the area and voted no. The permit passed on a divided vote (8-4: Canale, Carlisle, Colvette, Easter Thomas, Ford, Johnson, Robinson, Warren in favor; Logan, Smiley, Swearing Washington, Jones opposed).
• Item 21 – MLGW Utility Bill Envelopes: Pulled from consent by Councilwoman Logan. MLGW representatives explained the $346,335 blanket purchase order covers two years of envelopes for approximately 9.6 million mailed bills annually at ~3 cents per envelope. Council members questioned the cost, the vendor’s local status, and the blanket purchase order process. The vendor, Mac Papers LLC, is not local, but four local suppliers chose not to bid. Item passed unanimously after discussion.
• Item 22 – Power Transformers: Pulled by Councilwoman Johnson. MLGW explained the $25 million purchase order for substation transformers (stepping down from 161,000V to 23,000V or 12,000V) as part of the grid modernization plan. Each transformer costs between $850,000 and $3.4 million. The order covers multiple units from either ProLeg GE Wakisha or Delta Star. This was a continuing effort under the “way forward” plan. Item passed unanimously.
• Item 35 – Cobblestone Landing Funding Transfer: A resolution to transfer $2,348,276.45 from existing projects for cobblestone restoration. Public commenter Joe Kent criticized the riverfront steering committee and former lead Doug McGowan, alleging botched work and lack of transparency. Councilwoman Easter Thomas recused herself due to financial interest. The item passed with all other members voting yes.

Key Outcomes

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Declared by acclamation for October 2023.
• Special Use Permit (SUP 23-19 at 2206 East Shelby Drive): Approved unanimously.
• Special Use Permit (SUP 23-16 north of 1184 Covington Pike): Approved 8-4 (Canale, Carlisle, Colvette, Easter Thomas, Ford, Johnson, Robinson, Warren yes; Logan, Smiley, Swearing Washington, Jones no).
• MLGW Envelope Contract (Item 21): Approved unanimously ($346,335 for two years).
• MLGW Transformer Contract (Item 22): Approved unanimously (up to $25 million blanket purchase order).
• Cobblestone Landing Funding (Item 35): Approved with all voting yes except recused Councilwoman Easter Thomas.
• All other consent items and resolutions: Passed as listed under Consent Calendar, with votes overwhelmingly in favor, except where noted.