Dresden votes for floating wetlands as their CDBG project
Story by Shannon Taylor Senior Investigative Reporter
The Dresden board of mayor and alderman voted unanimously to go with the floating wetlands for the Community Development Block Grant Project (CDBG) and adopted Resolution 2023-07 which would authorize matching funds of 17% for the application for the CDBG for up to $400,000.
During citizen input, Brandi George asked if there were any updates to the funding of the municipal complex and Maddox replied that they have asked for proposals to fund the project and some of those have been returned to see which ones they want to do. George then asked if there had been any updates from FEMA and mayor Mark Maddox said that there have been none that he’s aware of.
Stephanie Kemp wanted to thank the city and public works for working on the sewer and doing “such a good job.” Kemp said she would like to keep the “ball rolling” and start thinking about sidewalks. Maddox said that sidewalks were at the “top of the list.”
The attorney invoice from Roy Herron regarding the former mayor Jeff Washburn and board of alderman case was discussed during old business. City Recorder Jennifer Branscum read the response they received from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office which stated that the city was not responsible for the invoice. Alderman Gwin Anderson said that the matter needs to be followed up on after Maddox said he would “consider the matter closed.” Anderson said that Herron would need to invoice individually.
The board passed a revenue sharing resolution which Maddox said, is a resolution that goes back to 2002 when the state encountered fiscal challenges and raised the state sales tax rate from 6% to 7% and chose not to share a portion of that revenue with Tennessee municipalities. As a result, the state broke a 55-year relationship started in 1947. In the 20 years since then, the state has managed their budget and experienced growth and this resolution would make it to where municipalities would once again receive 4.6& of all state general fund sales tax revenue and would allow local governments to receive the local share of sales tax revenues realized by increasing the single article cap in 2002 to collect on items with a purchase price between $1600 and $3200.
The board unanimously passed a resolution to accept gifts and other funds because they received a monetary donation from an anonymous donor in the amount of $150 for the general fund and a monetary donation from an anonymous donor in the amount of $25 to the Dresden Police Department.
The board also passed a budget resolution to amend the budget and reallocate funds and expenses. One item was for insurance reimbursement for repairs to a Dresden PD patrol vehicle. The other item was a Farmer’s Market grant for signage. The last item was for a salary supplement provided by the State for in-service training of Police officers.
The next board meeting will be on Monday, April 3 at 6 pm at City Hall. There will be a condemnation board meeting Thursday March 9 at 6 pm at City Hall.
