10 19 21 Minutes

Machine-read OCR text; verify every number, name, and layout against the original page.

Page 1 of 3

ATHENS CITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING
October 19, 2021

The Athens City Council met in regular session on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor
Perkinson presiding. The invocation was given by Mayor Perkinson; and upon roll call, the following
members were present:

Curtis, Pelley, Witt-McMahan, Lockmiller, Perkinson
The following decisions were made and ordered made a part of the records of the Athens City Council.

Mike Keith, Finance Director, asked to make a brief statement in light of all of the activity that has gone
on over the past few months and the Mayor and Council approved his request. Mr. Keith was joined by
fellow department heads. Some could not be present, but still provided support of his comments. Mr.
Keith stated that they all agreed it was a sad event for everyone involved in relation to the dismissal of
Cliff Couch as the police chief for the City of Athens, Tennessee, and did not wish harm to come to any
individual. It was a decision they felt was necessary to allow our city to move forward for the better. They
simply wanted the council to understand that they support the dismissal of Cliff Couch as the police chief
for the City and look forward to working with Fred Schultz and the rest of the department as they were
unable to do during Cliff Couch’s tenure.

-1-
APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The Minutes of the September 22, 2021 regularly scheduled meeting were submitted and approved by
unanimous consent.

-2-
COMMUNICATIONS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

WESTSIDE SCHOOL UPDATE

Tracy Lee, Principal at Westside School, submitted a letter to the Athens City Council expressing their
appreciation for having Officer Hensley as their SRO and for the Athens Fire Department’s participation in
Fire Prevention Day. The City Council was also invited to attend the 50" year reception on October 24"
in Westside’s library.

EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER

James Gallup, Interim City Manager, presented the “Employee of the Quarter” award for the fourth
quarter of 2021 to Megan Chandler, Patrol Officer.

-4-
PRESENTATION OF VIVID AWARD

Council Member Curtis presented the Very Important Volunteer Individual (VIVID) Award for the month
of October 2021 to Erica Allen Peden in recognition of her volunteer work to help the furry members of
our community.

-5-
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING

Mayor Perkinson announced the Government Finance Officers Association had awarded the City of
Athens the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2020. This marks the City’s 29" consecutive year receiving this award. Mayor Perkinson thanked
Finance Director Mike Keith. Mr. Keith noted that in 1990, Jackie Jenkins, the City’s Finance Director at
the time, spoke with him about her desire to apply for this award. At that time, Mr. Keith was the Senior
on the audit working for G.R. Rush & Company. The firm decided to work with Ms. Jenkins on this project
and they were able to apply for the award for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992, which was the first
year they received the award. The City would not be in the financial position it is today without giving