Site Selection Committee Meeting — June 15, 2026

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Video recording (YouTube)  —  Meeting began 4:00 p.m., City of Lebanon Administration Building

Attendance

Chair Jeff Baines presided. Committee members present: Jody Vance, Tom Clemmons, Steve Jones (engineer, non-voting), Phil Morehead, Joey Carmack, Camille Burdine, Caleb Thorne, Dave Dixon, Randy Lane, Regina Santana. Minutes from June 2 were reviewed and approved after brief clarifications on the conceptual plant layout maps.

New Sites Added

Site 21 — Back portion of Wilson County Landfill (timestamp 30:36): Steve Jones identified and emailed this site to committee members prior to the meeting. Approximately 66.48 acres on the unused/reserved back section of the county landfill property. No flood plain issues identified. However: approximately 27,000 linear feet of force main would be required; no three-phase power, water, or gas available; the landfill access road is locked at night and a separate road would need to be built; and the property is county-owned, requiring a city-county agreement for acquisition. Environmental site assessment would also be required. Jeff Baines noted the site is a legitimate permitted land use adjacent to the landfill. The committee voted to add Site 21 to the matrix.

Site 7A — Access parcel for Site 7 (timestamp 34:07): A ~24-acre parcel south of Site 6, held in trust in Virginia, was identified as a necessary access property for Site 7. Without it, the only access route would be through an impractical road. Jeff Baines stated: “I won’t believe site seven is worth much without that site.” The committee agreed to evaluate 7A as part of Site 7 going forward.

Site 13 / 13A consolidated (timestamp 1:13:55): Not a new site but a significant matrix reorganization. The committee agreed that Site 13 (Rockwood site) and Site 13A (the adjacent ~44-acre Cedar Farms / Map 45 Parcel 57 parcel, owned by an out-of-state New York entity in bankruptcy proceedings) should be evaluated as a single combined entry. A further ~8-acre Alley Cassidy corner parcel was also identified as part of the combined picture. Total assembled acreage discussed: approximately 120–150 acres. Jeff Baines noted he had asked the city attorney to identify and contact the New York owners. Derek Dodson (public commenter) provided contact information for those owners.

Scoring Matrix — Submission Deadline

The committee finalized the process for individual member scoring. Each member was to complete their matrix independently and return sealed sheets to the city administrative offices (200 Carver Lane) by Wednesday, June 24. Scoring would be anonymous — names not attached to individual rankings. The accounting department would tabulate the scores. An updated Excel version of the matrix (incorporating Site 21 and the revised Site 13 configuration) was to be distributed to members by June 16.

Jeff Baines emphasized: “This matrix is not the tool. It’s not absolute. It’ll give us a guideline.” The goal was to reduce from approximately 21 sites to 8–10 at the June 29 meeting.

Engineer Updates on Key Sites

• Site 7: Force main cost re-estimated at approximately $20–22 million (~22,000 linear feet). The remoteness and access issues make this site among the most expensive to connect.
• Site 13 / 13A (Rockwood): Almost entirely in flood plain; site has been filled over many years, including former gasification operations. Geotechnical work and an environmental site assessment would be required before any construction commitment. Building in flood plain is technically possible: tanks would need to be buried with rock anchors to prevent flotation, and operational buildings would need finished floors above flood elevation. The engineer stated (timestamp 1:21:46): “From my standpoint as an engineer, that large site of 13A…is substantially better from being able to lay everything out and gives the flexibility for the city to be able to choose a process.”
• Site 14 (Permapipe): Below 60 acres; existing manufacturing facility would need to be relocated. A suggestion emerged to explore whether economic development assistance could help relocate Permapipe to a rail-adjacent site in Watertown, freeing Site 14 for the city.
• Site 15 (former TRW / ZF facility, now city-owned): The city recently closed on the remaining portion. Monitoring wells across the site indicate significant subsurface contamination; remediation (Phase 2) has been ongoing for over 20 years. Below 60 usable acres; largely in floodway. Characterized as “probably the most unknown site we’re looking at” due to subsurface conditions. The engineer noted it could potentially serve as a negotiating asset to facilitate another site’s acquisition rather than as the treatment site itself.
• Site 16 (Cracker Barrel corporate campus): “A home run” in terms of location — adjacent to the existing treatment plant, inside city limits, interstate access — but the most expensive acquisition by far. Approximately half of the site is in flood plain/floodway, leaving fewer than 60 usable acres. The new plant would essentially need to be built entirely new on the adjacent parcel; existing treatment infrastructure could not be directly reused with modern technology. (Timestamp 1:37:23)
• Site 18 (Trice Road): Operationally complex due to the site being split by terrain. A smaller-footprint treatment technology would be required; this increases O&M costs and limits future expandability. (Timestamp 1:42:36)
• Site 20 (Corps of Engineers / Barton’s Creek): Briefly discussed (timestamp 1:46:04). A committee member noted the Corps took “eight years plus” to coordinate a boat ramp on the same body of water near his property. General consensus: very difficult to pursue given federal ownership, flood plain issues, and access constraints. No formal action taken.
• Cost benchmarks: Conventional activated sludge plant: approximately $15–$20/gallon, making a 20 MGD plant ~$300–$400 million. MBR comparison: a recent Middle Tennessee project (0.5 MGD to 1 MGD) low-bid at $29 million — significantly higher per-gallon cost, illustrating that smaller footprint equals higher capital cost. (Timestamp 40:00–41:22)

Committee Member Positions (Informally Expressed)

No formal scores were announced. However, several members expressed directional preferences:

• Randy Lane: “I’ve thought this from the day I was asked to be on this committee. I’m gonna have a hard time scoring any site any higher than anything that’s around the plan over there [the existing plant].” (Timestamp 49:39)
• Joey Carmack: Moved to make a motion to eliminate Site 1 outright; chair redirected to the matrix process. Expressed clear preference for in-city sites near the existing facility.
• Caleb Thorne (implied): Similar preference for in-city / near-plant sites.

A public commenter (Kenny Salis) explicitly thanked “the three of you who are on our side so much” — suggesting at least three committee members had visibly expressed a preference for city-adjacent sites.

Formal Votes and Actions

• June 2 minutes approved (motion, second, no opposition).
• Site 21 added to the matrix by consensus.
• Site 7 / 7A merged for evaluation by consensus.
• Sites 13 + 13A + Alley Cassidy corner consolidated as a single Site 13 entry by consensus.
• No sites formally eliminated at this meeting.

Public Comment Highlights

• Derek Dodson — Described visiting the 44-acre Cedar Farms parcel (400 Carver Lane / Madrid Drive access, adjacent to Rockwood) and concluded: “Once you’re on it, you know there’s going to be a sewer plant there.” Advocated assembling approximately 136 acres across five parcels. Provided Jeff with contact information for the New York owners of the 44-acre parcel. Endorsed the combined 13/13A site.
• Curry Dudley, “Dudley family farms on Coles Ferry Pike” (Site 6 area) — Represented himself, his family, and his nearly 95-year-old mother who has lived there her entire life. “Site 6 would completely destroy our farm.”
• Brenda Vicente, 1120 Berea Church Road — Argued that Sites 3, 4, 5, and 6 all sit within one mile of Friendship Christian School, a federally recognized sensitive receptor. Cited Title VI civil rights concerns and EPA school siting guidelines; raised the risk of federal funding delays if the selected site triggers an environmental justice challenge. Also raised Berea Church Road traffic: dump trucks and construction vehicles during school hours would be severely disruptive.
• Todd Roark, Mann Road — Submitted Revision C of the Public Record Statement (with new appendices on gas pipeline asymmetry and biosolids traffic), additional petition endorsements, a dissertation on matrix scoring methodology (developed with Anthony Murphy), and 35 formal public records requests — all submitted both through the city website and in person at the meeting.
• Charles Smith, Leo Lane — Offered a philosophical critique of land use authority and zoning, tracing it to a 1926 Supreme Court decision. Acknowledged some improvement in the meeting’s direction but expressed frustration that lawful power is sometimes exercised without moral consideration.
• Joe Vicente, 1120 Berea Church Road — Encouraged genuine due diligence on the TRW site. Noted Tekk (the environmental remediation firm) has been on site for over 20 years and is now in Phase 2; suggested the committee obtain the project files and speak directly to the Tekk project manager. Also questioned whether the city’s stated plans to use TRW for a public works garage and café remodeling were consistent with the narrative of severe environmental constraints.
• Toby Wood Payne, Berea Church Road — Cited the Murfreesboro wastewater plant as a model: “a modern enclosed resource recovery facility on appropriate city land” that produces reusable water and generates zero odor impact. Urged the committee to consider newer MBR and biofilm reactor technologies rather than “stir the poo technology from 100 years ago.” Note: Steve Jones clarified for the record that the Murfreesboro plant uses the same basic basin technology as what the committee was reviewing. (Timestamp 2:10:53)
• Teresa Rogers, 311 North Denny Road — Requested no site scoring until all information on all available sites is in hand. Called for a transparent technology cost comparison (MBR vs. conventional activated sludge) covering 20- and 30-year horizons, land acquisition, infrastructure, and future regulatory compliance costs.
• Terry Monahan, 511 Barton Shore Court — Discussed biofilm reactor technologies (moving bed, fixed bed, membrane, aerated hybrid variants); argued conventional activated sludge emits greenhouse gases and nitrates subject to tightening EPA regulation; submitted a paper on the technology. Later spoke again at the June 29 meeting with the same core argument.
• Jeff Barnes, 1413 Alhambra Drive (Site 13A area) — His wife’s family has owned their property since the late 1980s. Noted that if the plant is built on the Rockwood parcel without acquiring his land, his property would directly border the new facility. Challenged the committee’s apparently inconsistent treatment of flood plain: “When talking about Rockwood it seemed like the flood plane was easily overcome but every time you come up with a flood plane for any other site for some reason it’s a massive issue. I would like you to look at it through the same light.” (Timestamp 2:20:02)
• Rand Wilson, Wilson County Mayor — Announced he would be addressing a resolution at the Wilson County Commission that same evening asking the City of Lebanon to keep the wastewater plant inside the city limits. Stated that several committee members had signaled a preference for city-adjacent sites, and encouraged them to “cut these people loose and let them go home and sleep at night.” (Timestamp 2:22:26)
• Kenny Salis, 1016 Berea Church Road — Emotional statement about children’s fears. Explicitly thanked the three committee members who had most visibly supported in-city siting. Ended: “Please don’t city our country. We chose to live out there. That’s what we want.” (Timestamp 2:25:54)
• Ted Gashesky, 1215 Balon Trace — Lives near Site 1; mentioned a bald eagle’s nest in the vicinity. Criticized the timeline: the capacity problem has been known for over a decade. Raised Resolution 26-2841 (which removed the Canaster family property from consideration before the committee formed, on the basis that they were not willing sellers) and Resolution 45 (the authorizing resolution) — arguing the same willing-seller standard should apply consistently to all properties.
• Jason Denton, 5051 Coles Ferry Pike; attorney, farmer, Berea Church of Christ attendee — Urged the committee to weight community impact and environmental impact heavily. Noted Clay Estates and Carly Estates (>200 homes) lie within 800 feet of Site 5. Referenced the smell of the existing plant during solids turnover as a real-world reference point for scoring community impact.
• Philip Donnell — Identified Site 8 as his family farm. A 311-house development (Maple Hill / Tatum / Ham farms) has already been approved by city council on adjacent land. Father was a TDOT civil engineer specializing in environmental planning. A family graveyard with burials from the late 1700s is on the farm. Also noted limestone and sinkholes that cannot be assessed from maps. Called for “willing seller” to be the top matrix criterion, as it was applied to the Canaster property.
• Glenn Edwards, 888 Mann Road — Multi-generational Possum Town family; great-grandfather arrived in 1909. Son currently milking Jersey cows; three granddaughters in line as the sixth generation. Farm now bordered by two subdivisions.
• Patrick Ritter, 1273 Trice Road — Noted Rockwood has been a willing seller throughout the process. Raised potential legal jeopardy if the city pursues eminent domain on other properties while a willing seller exists. Asked whether the prior corporate owner of TRW carries any indemnification obligation for remediation costs.

Next Steps

• Matrix scoring deadline: Wednesday, June 24, returned sealed to 200 Carver Lane.
• Updated Excel matrix (with Site 21 and revised Site 13) to be distributed June 16 by city staff.
• City attorney to follow up on New York owners of the 44-acre Cedar Farms parcel (Map 45, Parcel 57).
• Next meeting: June 29, 2026, 4:00 p.m. — tabulated scores to be presented; committee to begin formal site eliminations.
• Wilson County Commission: County Mayor Rand Wilson announced a resolution that same evening asking Lebanon to keep the plant inside city limits.