What's coming up: the Aug. 10 Board meeting
Posted September 12, 2026 by Daniel Berry
The short version
Monday's agenda has a first vote on an ordinance setting sex-based eligibility rules for city rec leagues, a second vote on locking in equal funding for the Sports Council, South Jackson and the Chamber, and about $233,000 in Public Works equipment paid for entirely with ARPA grant money. There's also a public hearing on rezoning 707 E Lincoln St.
The Board meets Monday, Aug. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building. Here's what I think you'd actually want to know.
The big ones
Item 9 — Ordinance 1696, athletic eligibility in city rec leagues
Sponsored by Alderman Glick, this would add a new chapter to Title 11 requiring athletes in single-sex, city-sanctioned leagues to compete according to the sex on their original birth certificate. It also lets Parks and Rec ask for a certified birth certificate, requires outside leagues renting city fields to submit certified rosters with a signed compliance affidavit, allows random audits (48 hours to respond), and revokes facility use for at least a year if an organization doesn't comply. This is first reading (the first of two required votes), and it's also on the study session agenda the same night. What I want to understand first: how this gets administered at sign-up, what it costs staff, and what our attorney says about the liability and indemnification language.
Item 4 — Ordinance 1693, equal funding for three nonprofits
This one would require that the Sports Council and South Jackson Civic Center each get a General Fund appropriation exactly equal to the hotel/motel tax money the Chamber of Commerce gets — and if the Chamber's number moves, theirs move automatically. It passed first reading 5–2. Monday is the second of three readings. My question is the practical one: what does that formula actually cost the General Fund next budget year, and what gives if revenue drops? Related: the study session that night is on hotel/motel tax and outside agency funding.
Items 12, 13 and 14 — Public Works equipment, all ARPA-funded
Three purchases, all paid 100% with ARPA funds (one-time federal pandemic-relief money) from the stormwater portion: a 2026 CAT 420 backhoe for $134,832.44 (Item 26-88), a forklift for $33,500.00 (Item 26-89), and a 2026 F-250 4x4 for $65,270.00 (Item 26-90). All three are state or Sourcewell contract pricing. The backhoe replaces a 2000 John Deere; the truck replaces a 2005 F-150 with 116,633 miles.
Item 11 — Resolution 2051, C.D. Stamps playground and splash pad
This directs staff to do preliminary design work, check ADA and utility needs, hunt for grants (TDEC, federal, private), and report back to the Board within 90 days. No construction dollars yet — this is the step before that.
Item 7 — Ordinance 1694, rezoning 707 E Lincoln St
A public hearing opens the meeting on this. The owner wants to go from General Commercial (C-2) to High Density Residential (R-3) on a 0.344-acre lot, tear down a dilapidated structure and build a single-family home. Planning Commission sent a favorable recommendation. First reading follows.
Also on the agenda
Ordinance 1690 (city administrator personnel rules and a grievance process) on second and final reading; Ordinance 1692, the FY26 budget cleanup, on second of three readings; Ordinance 1687 standardizing who can serve codes notices; Ordinance 1695 shortening public meeting notice from seven days to five; Resolution 2050 requiring study sessions be recorded and posted; and Item 26-91, up to $33,000 for office software licenses already budgeted in FY27. Consent agenda (routine items approved in one vote) is just the July 27 minutes, plus Beer Board minutes.
How to weigh in
Citizens get three minutes at the start — just state your name and address. You can also ask that an item be pulled off the consent agenda for discussion. Or call or email me before Monday; I'd rather hear from you first than read about it after.
Draft — positions are mine and still under review.