Industrial Park; to sell or not to sell?
Veterans Service Officer Appointed
January 27, 2022
Commissioners discussed and debated several requests to purchase land on Industrial Park, as well as appointed a new Veterans Service Officer. Seventeen commissioners were present for Monday night's County Commission meeting with Commissioner Jim Grinder absent.
Following the tragic and untimely passing of Ritchie Brewer, former Veterans Service Officer, the County Government advertised his position. They received two applications: one from Randy Duncan and one from Jeremy Owen. Owen was not present for the meeting although he had been made aware of the meeting, according to County Mayor Jonah Keltner.
Duncan was then called to speak before the commission. Duncan graduated from Lewis County High School in 1992 and enlisted in the Army that November. There he served 21 years as an infantryman, served two tours in Iraq and earned the rank of Sergeant Major First Class.
"We have the unfortunate task of replacing a truly invaluable asset to the veterans of Lewis County. Mr. Ritchie Brewer served as the VSO for 15 years, assisting veterans, their spouses and children in attaining the benefits that they rightfully deserve through the federal, state and local legislation," said Duncan, "Whoever is appointed to this position will have tremendous shoes to fill. Not only to honor the work that Mr. Brewer has done but also for current and future veterans."
Duncan said he saw the position as an opportunity to give back to the soldiers he missed being in combat with. "[Giving back] is something that we definitely need to do for our veterans, and it's something I'm going to do," he said.
He is currently a student at TCAT Hohenwald. Duncan said he had taken Electromechanical Technology, is currently enrolled in their Welding program and wishes to enroll in their Power Sports program in the future.
Commissioners Allison Tanner and Ronnie Brewer asked Mr. Duncan if he would have the necessary availability to serve Lewis County veterans while being a student. Duncan said, "I'm a student from 7:45 to 2:30 Monday through Friday but other than that I'm pretty much a homebody now... I'm definitely accessible."
When asked by Commissioner Ronnie Brewer, if he was looking for a full time job after taking the programs, "The reason I ask that is this is a very low-paying job and there's a lot asked of you." Duncan said, "I'm not sure what I want to do when I grow up. I'm just taking advantage of the VA sending me to school...I'm disabled myself so I do have income coming in. I'm not going to run off and leave [this position]. The salary's fine with me... I'm going to school now as a job."
After some debate about whether or not to vote on a candidate this month, the commissioners were made aware by Mayor Keltner that the position needs to be filled as soon as possible due to the amount of people who still need help. The commission decided to make a roll call vote and all commissioners voted for Mr. Duncan, making him the new Veterans Service Officer for Lewis County.
Industrial Park Land
The County Commission had several requests from local individuals and businesses to purchase property at Industrial Park for $7,000 per acre. Industrial Park is owned by the County but resides in the City. Some of the individuals wishing to purchase land would be for residential purposes instead of commercial or industrial purposes, which goes against what the land was initially purchased for.
One potential county land buyer is Daniel Jobbitt and Commissioner Doug Jobbitt who wished to purchase Parcel 8 of Industrial Park to build a building and open a business. Since the purchase requests are on a public agenda their prospective buy appears to be a transparent and very public transaction.
Summertown Metals requested to purchase four parcels of land: Parcels One, Two, Seven and Twelve.
Chris Trull requested to purchase Parcels Three, Ten and Eleven.
Lewis County Jr. Pro Football requested to purchase Parcel 6.5.
Other potential buyers were local residents Adam and Deanne Barnes who wished to purchase an acre of Parcel 7, which Summertown Metals had initially agreed to subdivide with the couple pending their approval. The couple wished to purchase the property as a buffer zone between their house and Industrial Park.
Before proceeding with the request of purchases, Mayor Keltner asked the Commission to include a "Section 5" clause to the resolutions at the request of County Attorney Jack Heath. The clause read, "Lewis County Tennessee makes no representations or warranties regarding utility access regarding the properties sold. It further makes no representations that the property is fit for any particular purpose or can be used in any particular manner.
Furthermore, Lewis County makes no representations or warranties regarding the property other than the warranty of title. Buyers should comply with all City and County ordinances and federal laws regarding the use of the property and shall obtain all necessary permits before doing any work on the property or operating any business on the property.”
The clause was added after the County was made aware that the parcels of land in Industrial Park were zoned an M2, which means the parcels can only be used and purchased for industrial purposes only, not residential.
The new information did affect two resolutions. The Barnes’ request to purchase one acre and another request to purchase property made by Brett and Elizabeth Redmon. The Redmons requested to purchase the old Hassell Kelley House and Barn to reside in and eventually run a car reconstruction business out of. The parcel they requested to purchase was approximately three acres of Parcel Twelve, for $50,000. The Redmon family includes Commissioner Wendell Kelley’s daughter and son-in-law.
During the alloted time for Public Input, Caleb Thomas, attorney for Summertown Metals, told the full commission he had been informed that all parcels of Industrial Park were zoned for industry only. “At this point in time it is our position that [the land] would have to be used for industry and... it would not do any good to sell those properties,” said Thomas.
Buyers of Industrial Park land would first have to go before the City Planning Commission to make sure their plans meet all zoning and code requirements.
Planning Commission Secretary and City Vice Mayor Don Barber described what the application process looked like for business owners and builders. Barber said that the County has a right to sell the land to whomever, but it would be up to the Planning Commission to approve the land-buyer’s plans. “We don’t give variances for rezoning unless it had a particular use to go to residential. I don’t forsee that being rezoned,” said Barber, “Land usage is a whole different story. It’s zoned M2. We don’t have any incentive or inclination to rezone that property to any other use than what its been designed for. [The buyers] would have to produce a formidable argument for us to [rezone] that I don’t see.”
The Redmon’s resolution was the first to be voted on. Commissioners Caleb Feichtinger, Kelley and Patrick Halfacre abstained from voting. The resolution passed in a roll call vote.
The Barnes’ resolution was put to a roll call vote where Commissioners Halfacre and T.J. Hinson voted yes; and Commissioners Jerry Ashmore, Larry Pigg, Kyle Bobo, Austin Carroll, Aren Ragsdale, Tanner, Bill Dyer, Jobbitt and Caleb Feichtinger voted no. Commissioners Robert Brewer, Larry Hensley, Timmie Hinson and Ronnie Brewer passed. After all other commissioners finished casting their vote, Commissioners Timmie Hinson and Ronnie Brewer changed their votes to be in favor of the resolution, which amounted to four “yes” votes, nine “no” votes, two “pass” votes and Commissioner Kelley abstained. The resolution failed.
More on the Industrial Park Purchase will be reported in next week’s issue of the Lewis County Herald.
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