City Council Regular Meeting — July 21, 2026

Lebanon WWTP Site Selection — Public Record Archive  |  Return to main page

Video recording (YouTube)  —  Transcript (YouTube auto-generated)  —  Meeting began 6:00 p.m., City of Lebanon Administration Building

Public comment on sewer siting

Charles Smith (Cleveland Lane) addressed the council directly on the sewer plant siting question (32:00–32:09):

“Regarding the sewers, keep Lebanon’s bad choices inside of Lebanon. Don’t try and subject the people in the county to that. They don’t want it. That’s been made more than obvious.”

City-County Relations (Context)

A substantial portion of the meeting was devoted to Ordinance 267445, which would have terminated the city’s annual $100,000 contribution to the Wilson County Expo Center. During council discussion, multiple councilors referenced the Wilson County Commission’s resolution opposing potential sewer plant sites in the county as relevant background to the city-county financial relationship, and one councilor stated a concern about entering a “tit for tat” dynamic with the county. The ordinance failed by a 3–2–1 roll-call vote: yes — Carmack, Brian, Morehead; no — Ashley, Crowell (rendered “Cra” in the auto-generated transcript); abstain — Burdine (reconstructed from the auto-generated transcript’s roll call; see the transcript for the exact exchange).

Note: This item is not part of the WWTP site selection process itself. It is included here as context for the broader city-county tension that has surrounded the siting debate since the county commission’s resolution.

Legislative Action — WWTP Items

Ordinance 267442 (second reading) — Budget amendment for the wastewater treatment plant, by Regina Santana, utilities director. First read at the July 7 meeting; approved unanimously on consent agenda.

Resolution 26-2883 — Settlement agreement with Aries entities relative to “the gasification facility matter,” presented by Regina Santana (utilities director) and Steven Chambers (assistant city attorney). Approved. This concerns the existing plant’s on-site biosolids gasification system referenced in Appendix I of the Public Record Statement; the substance of the settlement was not detailed on the record.

Resolution 26-2884 — Rental agreement for a centrifuge skid system for the wastewater treatment plant, presented by Regina Santana (utilities director) and Jeremiah Exom (WWTP plant manager). Approved.

These notes were prepared by Todd Roark from the YouTube auto-generated transcript of the July 21, 2026 City Council meeting and represent a summary, not a verbatim record. The official minutes, once approved by the council, are the authoritative record. These notes cover WWTP-related and contextually relevant content; the meeting also included extended public comment on automated license plate reader (Flock) cameras and city spending questions that are outside the scope of this archive and are not summarized here.