Metropolitan Council Meeting Summary – February 18, 2025

The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County met at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, in the Historic Metro Courthouse. The meeting included confirmations, public comment, council rule changes, a large consent agenda, several resolutions, and first- and second-reading ordinances. The meeting adjourned early on a 24–13 vote before completing the second-reading agenda, with remaining items moved to the March 4, 2025 meeting.

Call to Order, Roll Call, and Minutes

• The invocation was offered by Council Member Nash, and the Pledge of Allegiance followed.
• 39 members were present and 2 were absent (Suara, Bradford).
• The minutes of the February 4, 2025 meeting were approved.

Appointments, Confirmations, and Nominations

• Arts Commission appointee Brittany Cole and Health and Educational Facilities Board nominee Matt Wiltshire were re-referred to the Rules, Confirmations, and Public Elections Committee for further interviews; no council vote was taken. (Note: the agenda listed Cole’s term as expiring February 2, 2025, while the minutes list it as February 2, 2029.)
• Dr. Chike M. Nzerue’s appointment to the Hospital Authority was deferred one meeting by voice vote.
• Confirmations approved by unanimous voice votes: Frank Stevenson to the Metro Development and Housing Agency Board; Katy Varney to the Public Library Board; Catherine Armwood to the Sustainability Advisory Committee; Christina Karpynec to the Zoning Appeals Board.
• For the Advisory Committee on Transportation, 13 nominations were made for five vacancies; the election was set for March 18, 2025.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Several speakers opposed BL2025-690 (community safety camera network, FUSES), including Trina Huell, Luis Mata of Turk Votes, Michelle Flynn, and others. They argued surveillance harms marginalized communities, is not effective prevention, and lacks true guardrails.
• Chrissy Bubis and Chase Mitchelleck supported the camera network, citing neighborhood crime, a December 29, 2024 car theft, and police resource limits. Bubis noted 24 car break-ins in one month in her district and said Tennessee’s violent crime rate is 68% higher than the U.S. average.
• Matthew Bond, Rebecca Freeman, and Ellen Hurd (president of Historic Nashville Inc.) opposed BL2025-742 (historic commission reorganization), saying it was rushed and threatened historic preservation. Freeman cited 35 historic districts and over 11,000 households in them.
• Carl Meyer spoke about affordable housing, urging public-private partnerships and citing decades of corporate subsidies as a cause of Nashville’s housing shortage.

Rules of Procedure

• Rule 12 amendment (moving honorary/memorializing resolutions to proclamations) failed: 14 yes, 23 no, 1 abstention (Spain), short of the required 27 votes.
• Rule 53.2 amendment (mandatory one-meeting deferral of rule changes) passed by voice vote.
• Rule 40.1 amendment (eliminating committee reports for consent-agenda items) passed 33–5, with Kimbrough, Gamble, Harrell, Styles, and Lee voting no. The rule changes take effect 30 days after passage.

Consent Calendar

• The consolidated consent agenda passed 37–0. It included resolutions RS2025-1037, 1038, 1040–1053, 1055, and 1056; second-reading ordinances BL2025-694 and 707–711; and third-reading ordinances BL2024-681–686 and BL2025-691–693, 695–702. RS2025-1057 was removed by Council Member Kupin before the vote.

Resolutions

• RS2025-992 (T-Mobile location agreement amendment) was deferred one meeting.
• RS2025-1015 (My Goat robotic mowers contract) was adopted 32–3, with Parker, Capp, and Benedict voting no.
• RS2025-1039 (HIDTA drug investigation grant) was adopted, with Council Member Kimbrough abstaining.
• RS2025-1054 (MNPD evaluation of school safety plans) was adopted 27–8–2. No votes: Porterfield, Evans-Segall, Kimbrough, Parker, Welsch, Vo, Sepulveda, Lee; abstentions: Toombs and Gamble. Debate included concerns about framing MNPS as unprepared and support for gathering MNPD recommendations.
• RS2025-1057 (supporting a WNBA franchise in Nashville) was adopted 36–0, with all affirmative voters added as co-sponsors under Rule 12.3.

Bills on Introduction and First Reading

• BL2025-742 (Metro Historical Commission / Historic Zoning Commission reorganization) was pulled from the first-reading block. A motion to defer it to April 1 with a public hearing was tabled 28–8–1; a previous-question motion passed 37–1; the bill then passed first reading 34–4 (Capp, Hancock, Gadd, and Lee voting no) and was referred to the Planning and Zoning Committee.
• BL2025-743 (drag racing), BL2025-744 (Habitat for Humanity greenway easement), and BL2025-745 (code readoption) each passed first reading and were referred to committees.

Bills on Second Reading

• BL2025-688 (Nashville Music, Entertainment, and Film Commission changes) was deferred one meeting to March 4, 2025.
• BL2025-690 (community safety camera network) was under debate. Amendment 4, requiring audit trails and prohibiting machine learning and automated lip-reading, was adopted by voice vote. While Amendment 2 was being debated, the council voted 24–13–1 (Kupin abstaining) to adjourn. The bill, along with BL2025-706, BL2024-687, and BL2025-689, will be taken up at the March 4, 2025 meeting.

Key Outcomes

• Confirmations of four appointees; one deferral.
• Two of three rule amendments passed.
• All consent items approved 37–0.
• Resolutions adopted include school safety evaluation and WNBA support.
• The council adjourned early, leaving BL2025-690 and three other items for March 4.