On September 2, the Knox County Commission met for a special session. The purpose of the meeting was the reorganization of the Knox County Commission. While the session was open to the public and is available online by clicking here, the minutes of the meeting will not be made available until 60 days after the date of the meeting.
We, at KCCRTN, believe that the public should be aware of what goes on in these meetings. We understand many people do not have the time to attend or listen to these meetings in their entirety and would prefer to skim over the meeting minutes.
We believe that 60 days is an inordinately long time to wait to be able to read what happened at the meeting, so we have chosen to post a short synopsis of this meeting.
General Information
We are purposefully avoiding posting any comments about what happened. This synopsis is for the use of our reader in determining what was done at this meeting. Approximate time stamps are included, and readers are encouraged to make use of those time stamps to listen to sections of the meeting that interest them. You can listen to this meeting by clicking here and then choosing the “Co Com R267 250825 Reorganization”.
When notating the results of votes, only the commissioners’ last names are included. This is not meant in any way as disrespectful – it is simply a means of saving time. In addition, the meeting is divided into sections determined by KCCRTN to make it easier to read. Not every word spoken or every action taken by the commission is included. Those decisions were made by the editorial board at KCCRTN.
While every attempt was made to ensure the accuracy of this synopsis, we are human and there may be mistakes. If you see one, please contact us at info@kccrtn.org anytime, and we will correct it.
Here is the synopsis:
Knox County Commission Special Session – September 2
Knox County Clerk Sherry Witt called the meeting to order. The purpose of the meeting is for reorganization of the Knox County Commission. No one was there for public comment.
Nomination of Chair and Vice Chair
01:18 First order of business was nomination of chair. Damon Rawls nominated Gina Oster – the rest of commissioners passed on the opportunity to nominate anyone else. Roll call for Gina Oster was unanimous.
Gina Oster began presiding over the meeting
0:500 – Nomination for vice chair – 4 commissioners passed before Commissioner Hill nominated Commissioner Frazier – Commissioner Lee nominated Angela Russell
06:35 – Voting for vice chair
Oster – Frazier
Jackson – Frazier
Russell – pass
Hill – Frazier
Lee – Russell
Thompson – Frazier
Fox — Russell
Jay – Frazier
Frazier – Frazier
Rawls — Frazier
Durrett – Frazier
07:28 – Frazier announced as vice chair
Appointment to Standing Committees
These are the committees not composed of the entire membership of the commission. All members are on the Telecom and Finance Committees.
09:57 Beer Board – 7 spots open – 7 people wanted these positions – Commissioners Jackson, Durrett, Oster, Hil, Thompson, Jay and Frazier
Insolvency – 4 spots open Commissioners Russell, Jackson, Hill and Lee
Legislative Affairs – Commissioners Rawls, Durrett, Russell, Lee, Thompson, Jay, and Frazier – only 5 are needed –
Durrett, Rawls, and Jay said they would remove themselves. This resulted in a vacancy. Andy Fox said he would be happy to serve on this committee but preferred to be on the Rules Committee. If needed he would serve on Legislative Affairs but did not want it to mean he could not serve on Rules Committee.
Commissioner Durrett said she would remain on the committee, so Commissioner Fox took his name off. Commissioner Fox did mention he had a rule that is pending from the previous year and felt he should be on the Rules Committee.
Those serving on the Legislative Affairs Committee are Commissioners Durrett, Russell, Lee, Thompson and Frazier
Rules Committee Vote
13:50 – Rules – Commissioners Rawls, Durrett, Russell, Hill, Lee, Thompson, Fox, and Frazier submitted their names to be on the Rules Committee– There are only 5 members needed on this committee. No one was willing to remove their name, so they did a ballot vote.
Commissioner Oster instructed the commissioners that they must include their name and district because this is part of the public record. The top five names will be chosen.
While they were tallying up the votes, Commissioner Hill brought up the fact that the insolvency board was only required to meet if there was an insolvency issue brought before them. She said she had checked with the trustee and procurement and this past year nothing was brought that required them to meet.
25:27 Initial vote for rules
District 1 – Damon Rawls – Rawls, Durrett, Hill, Thompson, and Frazier
District 2 – Courtney Durrett -Rawls, Durrett, Hill, Lee, and Frazier
District 3 – Gina Oster – Rawls, Durrett, Hill, Fox, and Frazier
District 4 – Shane Jackson – Rawls, Durrett, Fox, Thompson, & Hill
District 5 – Angela Russell – Russell, Lee, Thompson, Fox, Frazier
District 6 – Terry Hill – Rawls, Durrett, Hill ,Thompson, Frazier
District 7 – Rhonda Lee – Russell, Lee, Fox, Thompson, Hill
District 8 – Adam Thompson – Fox, Frasier, Hill, Durrett, Thompson
District 9 – Andy Fox – Fox, Frazier, Lee, Russell, Thompson
Seat 10 – Larsen Jay – Rawls, Durrett, Hill, Thompson, Frazier
Seat 11 – Kim Frasier – Rawls, Durrett, Hill, Fox, Frazier
@ 27:10 – Commissioner Hill and Frazier got 9
Commissioner Thompson and Durrett got 8
Commissioner Rawls and Fox got 7
Director Moyers said the 2 lowest vote getters are dropped out and a vote between Rawls and Fox – out loud must be taken
@27:42 – Vote between Rawls and Fox
Commissioner’s name is listed first – their vote is listed second
Rawls – Rawls
Durrett – Rawls
Oster – Rawls
Jackson – Fox
Russell – Fox
Hill – Rawls
Lee – Fox
Thompson – Fox
Fox – Fox
Jay – Rawls
Frazier – Pass
Commissioner Oster gave Commissioner Frazier the opportunity to change her vote, but Commissioner Frazier declined that opportunity saying, “I don’t wish to change my vote”. This resulted in the necessity of another vote.
@ 31:00 – 2nd Vote between Rawls and Fox
Durrett- Rawls
Oster – Rawls
Jackson – Rawls
Russell – Fox
Hill – Rawls
Lee -Fox
Thompson – Fox
Fox – Fox
Jay – Rawls
Frazier – Fox
Rawls – Rawls
Those voted onto the Rules Committee are Commissioners Frazier, Hill, Thompson, Durrett, Rawls
Individual Committees Elect Their Chairman and Vice Chair
Commissioner Oster put the full commission into recess and called each individual committee. (You can watch at each time stamp to see who nominated who)
@ 35:00 Beer Board – Chair – Commissioner Frazier
Vice-chair – Larsen Jay
@35:19 Insolvency – Commissisoner Hill
Vice-chair – Commissioner Lee
37:22 Legislative affairs – Commissioner Lee
Vice Chair – Commissioner Thompson –
39:29 – Chair of Rules –Commissioner Frazier
Vice chair –Commissioner Durrett
@ 40:54 Telecom – full commission –Commissioner Thompson
Vice chair –Commissioner Rawls
Finance Committee – chair –Commissioner Jay
Vice Chair – Commissioner Russell
Joint Education Committee
@43:52 – This requires 4 commissioners. Chairman Oster said that county commission could make a motion to disband it because of lack of activity. Commissioner Fox was the only one who wanted to serve on this committee.
Commissioner Thompson wanted to know what the committee did. Commissioner Frazier explained that it was to encourage communication between Knox County schools and the commission. They met three times in three years. She said that she was in support of discontinuing the committee because commissioners can have the same conversation with the school board.
Commissioner Jay gave a brief history of the committee.
@ 48:06 – Commissioner Russell made the motion to dissolve, and Commissioner Durrett seconded the motion. Commissioner Fox said he had some issues he wanted to pursue with the school board and asked the county commission to indulge him for one more year and then decide if it needs to be dissolved. Commissioner Frazier said she was the only commissioner who was present last year…school board had more members present during the meetings than commission.
Commissioner Durrett suggested that Commissioner Fox could obtain the same information from the report given to them by Ron McPhearson in the Finance Committee and suggested that he reach out to school board members individually.
@ 50:49 – Commissioner Fox argued in vain for its continuation, but it was dissolved with only Commissioners Fox and Jackson voting no, and Commissioner Jay passing.
@52:42 – Commissioner Jackson requested that the Rules Committee consider the possibility of the Commission adding positions on committees where there are more commissioners willing to serve than positions. Commissioner Hill related that she was able to attend Rules Committee last year even though she was not on the committee.
The remainder of the meeting was announcements.