County Planning Commission Holds Public Hearing

June 12, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

What type of surety instrument, if any, should a developer secure to ensure infrastructure installation on a site before obtaining final plat approval by the county for a subdivision?

The DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission Monday night held a public hearing during its regular monthly meeting regarding the types of surety instruments the county should accept going forward in lieu of installed public improvements. No one showed up for the public hearing to express any comment. Following the public hearing the planning commission took no action but may revisit the issue again possibly next month.

During Monday night’s meeting, Tommy Lee, Deputy Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District, who serves as UCDD staff planner and advisor to DeKalb County, explained what the county currently accepts regarding surety instruments and the options available should the planning commission decide to amend the regulations.

“At the beginning of the year we had talked about reviewing the types of surety instruments that we accept in lieu of improvements or if we want to continue to accept surety instruments in lieu of improvements. We can leave it the way it is or we can decide to change it,” said Lee. “Currently we do allow for final plat approval without infrastructure being fully installed if a surety is submitted to guarantee its installation. Currently we accept three types of surety instruments and those are as follows: We do accept the establishment of an escrow account in the full amount of the estimated cost of the required improvements plus 10%. We also currently accept a certified check in the full amount of the estimated cost of the required improvements plus 10%. Finally, we do accept an irrevocable letter of credit for the full amount of the estimated cost of the required improvements plus 10% from an approved bank. We also have forms that need to be filled out when we accept those surety instruments,” Lee explained.

“The City of Smithville recently eliminated surety instruments. They don’t accept surety instruments anymore,” said Lee. “They (City of Smithville) ran into an issue where a gentleman sold a development before it was completely installed and then it slipped through the cracks somehow. It ended up getting built out the right way, but it could have ended up in disaster. That’s what led them (City of Smithville) to do this,” said Lee.

“White County where I am also the planner for, went down to only irrevocable letters of credit from a bank within 50 miles of the courthouse with an automatic renewal date. They went down to a letter of credit, but it renews every year unless they release it,” Lee continued.

“No matter what we do, we should put it in our regulations that sureties cannot have an expiration date and if they (developers) can’t get a surety without an expiration date we don’t need (can’t accept) their surety,” said Lee.

“I’ll bring you a copy of what White County has passed. You can see that and if you don’t like that you can go from there, Lee concluded.

The surety instrument issue stems from action taken by the planning commission in April to amend the county’s subdivision regulations with new provisions for developers. The aim is to better ensure that adequate road access for emergency vehicles and sufficient water supply for fire suppression are provided in new county residential developments with five or more lots prior to final plat approval by the planning commission.

The new regulations, as amended, were primarily prompted as the result of a plat already approved for a subdivision called Silver Point Shores on Aunt Helen Road in DeKalb County near Silver Point which has been in development for at least two years. Concerns are that this subdivision has poor (narrow) road access into and through it especially for emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances and that there is no water source (wells) or fire suppression system in place for the 31 lots in the subdivision which have already been sold by the developer collectively for more than $3.5 million. Members of the planning commission also had concerns about whether the surety instrument of the developer in this case, a cashier’s check (good for up to 180 days but reportedly now expired) in the amount of $40,000 was sufficient.

County Fire Chief Donny Green first addressed both the planning commission and the county commission last fall with concerns. According to Chief Green, DeKalb County has grown in recent years with new residential developments, especially around the lake but with it has come rising worries about adequate infrastructure access to these subdivisions. Among the issues is fire truck and ambulance access to developments in the event of a fire or some other emergency because of many narrow and steep county roads leading to them. Water line infrastructure is also an issue in some places causing concerns about sufficient water pressure to fight a fire. Chief Green said his intention in raising this matter was not to point fingers at anyone, any developer, or any public official but to merely bring awareness to what appears to be a growing public service and public safety concern and to find ways to mitigate it going forward working with the planning commission and county commission.

While the amended regulations, adopted in April, now apply to any new developments going forward prior to final subdivision plat approval, Lee said no new development over the last five years that has already received at least preliminary plat approval by the planning commission can be held to the new standards.

The new regulations as adopted in April state as follows:

“The following conditions shall apply to developments containing five (5) lots or more:

1.All lots must be served by a public water source.

2. All lots must be located within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant installed on at least a 6″ water line, or a credited alternate water supply site (per ISO standards)

3.All roads public, private, or county owned must provide access to the proposed development from the nearest state route with a surface of at least double surface (chip and shoot) paving. These access roads shall have a surface width of at least nineteen (19) feet, and none shall have a grade of more than ten (10) percent. Any access road that does not meet these requirements shall be brought up to these standards at the cost of the developer. Plat shall not be approved until these standards have been achieved and the DeKalb County Road Supervisor has inspected and approved access roads and the roads of the development.

4. The DeKalb County Fire Chief shall give a recommendation for each plat by signatory line on the final plat, before Planning Commission approval, acknowledging proper access for emergency vehicles and adequate water supply is available for fire suppression for each new development.

5. A common mailbox area must be approved by the United States Postal services for all proposed roads within the development”.

Members of the Planning Commission are Rick Cantrell (citizen member), Danny Pirtle (citizen member), Harold Bain (citizen member), Alan Webb (citizen member), Jack Barton (citizen member), Beth Pafford (County Commissioner), Greg Matthews (County Commissioner), Andy Pack (County Commissioner), and Jeff Barnes (County Commissioner).

June 11, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Two men have been arrested in the recent theft of a tractor.

40-year-old Jason James McKeon of Rock Island and 51-year-old Uncas Singer of Allen, Tennessee are each charged with burglary, vandalism, and theft of property. Both men are each under a $30,500 bond

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on May 11, McKeon and Singer removed and destroyed a fence resulting in damage of under $1,000, entered a barn on McMinnville Highway, and then stole a 1970s model International 574 tractor, valued at $8,000.

A DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department detective investigating the case got some help from the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.

“We were notified by Warren County that someone there (Warren County) had reported a tractor stolen. We found out where that tractor belonged and who it belonged to. The detectives then went and talked to McKeon and Singer and they admitted to stealing it,” said Sheriff Ray.

26-year-old Dalton Wayne Mayo and 29-year-old Amanda Nicole Mayo of Floyd Drive, Smithville, are charged with child abuse or neglect. Each is under a $5,000 bond.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 17, the Mayo’s knowingly neglected a child under the age of eight by having conditions at their home which adversely affected the child’s health and welfare. The case was investigated by a sheriff’s department detective.

55-year-old Alphonso Dewayne Maynard of Lebanon is charged with three counts of simple possession of a schedule II drug and two counts of possession of a schedule V drug. Maynard’s bond is $17,500.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 20 a deputy pulled over a spray-painted black Mazda on West Broad Street in Smithville, for having a broken taillight. The deputy spoke with a passenger of the vehicle, Maynard, and asked if he had anything on him. Maynard replied “no” but then when he reached into his pocket, a piece of aluminum foil fell out. Inside the aluminum foil was a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine that weighed 0 .17 grams. Found during a subsequent search of Maynard was a pill bottle which held 3.5 white pills believed to be oxycodone, along with two white pills suspected to be hydrocodone, and one white pill thought to be pregablin. On Maynard’s keychain was a metal container with one white pill believed to be gabapentin.

49-year-old Randall Mitchell Tittle of South Mill Street, Dowelltown, is charged with simple possession of a schedule II drug. Bond for Tittle is $5,000 and his court date is June 13.

According to Sheriff Ray, a deputy pulled over Tittle May 24 for operating a lawnmower on a county roadway. After the officer requested and received consent to search, Tittle produced from his pocket a cigarette pack which held a baggie with 0.35 grams of a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine.

35-year-old Bryan Allen Cunningham of East Bryant Street, Smithville, is charged with two counts of violation of the sex offender registry. His bond was set at $6,000.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 13, Cunningham was found to be in violation of the sex offender registry for staying at a different residence for more than 48 hours from where he had been living without reporting his change of address to the sheriff’s department. Cunningham was further found in violation of the sex offender registry after informing officers that he was living on West Bryant Street in Smithville, which is within 1,000 feet of a public athletic field known as Bill Page Ballpark.

69-year-old Larry Dale Lepley of Kendra Drive, Smithville, is charged with violation of the sex offender registry. He is under a $1,500 bond.

According to Sheriff Ray, on May 8, Lepley failed to comply with his scheduled report date in compliance with the sex offender registry law. Lepley was supposed to report in March but failed to do so within the required seven-day period before or after the scheduled date.

32-year-old Sonny Roman Smith of Rest View Avenue, Smithville, is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $2,000.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 22 while conducting a warrant check at Crest Lawn Avenue, a deputy found and spoke with Smith who was sitting on the ground. According to the officer Smith’s speech was slurred and he could not focus on simple questions. For his safety and that of the public Smith was placed under arrest.

32-year-old Dylan Chase Myers of McMinnville is charged with a DUI, 3rd offense. His bond is $6,000 and he will be in court on June 13.

Sheriff Ray said that on May 25 while traveling west on East Broad Street in Smithville, a deputy spotted a white Chevrolet Impala leave its lane of travel. The officer then pulled over the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Myers, who smelled of alcohol and his eyes were red and watery. According to the officer Myers admitted to having consumed three to four alcoholic beverages prior to driving. He subsequently submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. Myers had prior DUI convictions on July 10, 2014, and December 22, 2016, in DeKalb County.

June 11, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Representatives of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, Tennessee Farmers Co-op and Farm Credit Mid America/ Rural 1st recently donated a total of $2,700 to God’s Food Pantry & the DeKalb Board of Education/Backpack Program to provide meals for hungry kids in DeKalb County. Funds were raised through Shooting for Hunger sporting clays shoots. Since 2015, Shooting for Hunger events have provided more than two million meals to hungry Tennesseans. For more information visit www.shootinghunger.com.

(FIRST PHOTO): Pictured from left are Ryan Magness-DeKalb Farm Bureau Agent, Chris Griffith- DeKalb Farm Bureau Agent, Jimmy Womack- DeKalb Farm Bureau Board member, Luke Magness- DeKalb Farmers Co-op member, Elise Driver- DeKalb County Board of Education School Health Coordinator, Cathy Officer- DeKalb Farm Bureau Board member, Clark Adcock- DeKalb Farm Bureau Board member, and Bradley Locke- DeKalb Farm Bureau Agency Manager.

(SECOND PHOTO): Pictured from left are Ryan Magness, DeKalb Farm Bureau Agent Chris Griffith, DeKalb Farm Bureau Board member Jimmy Womack, DeKalb Farmers Co-op Luke Magness, Clark Adcock, DeKalb Farm Bureau Board member Cathy Officer, Mary Hooper, Hilda Oakley, Patty Zornow, John Hummer (God’s Food Pantry), and DeKalb Farm Bureau Agency Manger Bradley Locke.

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