JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – Headlining a night of big headlines at Tuesday’s Campbell County Commission meeting, Deputy Mayor Andy Wallace tendered his resignation.  Reports are that Wallace is headed to a government position with Anderson County.  Campbell County Mayor E.L. Morton appointed Johnny Vanover to fill the short-lived vacancy.  Vanover is retired from a career in law enforcement and is currently the pastor at East Jacksboro Baptist Church.  WATCH the meeting on demand here.

The commission and school board will work jointly in an attempt to block a planned rock quarry near Campbell County High School after a lengthy discussion on the problem at Tuesday’s commission meeting.

The commission voted to authorize Mayor E. L. Morton to contact a Nashville attorney about representing the county in the attempt after County Attorney Joe Coker advised that CTAS had recommended Nashville attorney George Dean as someone with experience and expertise in cases related to local government challenging private enterprises in cases related to public safety.

Director of Schools Jennifer Fields also addressed the commission to formally ask their help in opposing the quarry. Last week the commission passed on the issue when Coker advised them that the Board of Education would have more authority to act since CCHS is school property. The next night, school board attorney Dail Cantrell advised the board that they had no power to regulate such activities and only the commission had that power.

“If you’re going to take action you need to talk with someone experienced in the field,” Coker advised, adding that CTAS had recommended Dean as someone with that expertise.

Coker added that since the county commission does not own the property at risk, they would have to act jointly with the school board and Finance Director Jeff Marlow then reminded the commissioners that to enter any contract with an outside attorney, both commission and school board would have to meet on short notice to approve the expenditure.

“The school board can meet with a 72 hour notice but the commission must give a five day notice. I recommend that you recess this meeting in order to expedite any action,” Marlow added.

Marlow reminded commissioners that the school board already was forced to spend money to drive pilings into the rock underlying the high school to stabilize the foundations in the past, while Scott Stanfield pointed out that the quarry operator, Potter Southeast, is moving forward with their permitting process and “ We need to get with this before they begin blasting.”

Scott Kitts then made a motion to authorize the Mayor to contact the Nashville law firm and his motion passed unanimously. The commission recessed at the end of the meeting until next Monday night instead of adjourning in order to take any additional action.

Another lengthy discussion took place at a meeting of the Building & Grounds Committee, which lasted for over an hour and forced the full commission meeting to start a half hour late. That discussion was a follow-up on last week’s workshop over problems with the project to seal the concrete walls and floors at the animal shelter.

Shelter Director Patricia Siwinski and two general contractors had told the commission last week that the entire project to coat the concrete with an epoxy sealant had failed and that the original epoxy coating needed to be completely stripped off and replaced.

Siwinski explained that the epoxy coating would strip off easily with routine washing while tape would remove it as well. Since the epoxy was intended to prevent the porous concrete from harboring germs that spread sickness such as parvovirus she felt the original contractor had failed to meet the terms of the contract.

That contractor, David Goins, was at the committee meeting to argue that he had followed instructions properly and that any problems with the epoxy sealant were restricted to problem areas that might have been damp when the coating was applied. He argued that he had returned and tested most of the wall areas and found most of the epoxy was holding firm even to pressure washing.

Siwinski and the other contractors who had been brought in to inspect the shelter disagreed, but the committee voted to release Goins from the warranty and not hold him liable for any corrective action. Committee chairman Ralph Davis offered a motion at the full commission to release Goins from the warranty and it passed 13-1, with Tyler King voting “no.”

Davis also introduced a long list of motions on other projects that were approved from the Building & Grounds Committee. They included specs for an addition to the EMS building along with new roofs for both that building and the animal shelter, another motion to declare the old scales at the Sanitation Department as surplus property and to invite bids to sell the scales, and a separate motion to invite bids for the roof construction projects and EMS addition as well as new doors for the second floor of the courthouse. All motions were approved unanimously.

Finally, the commission voted unanimously to approve a “Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance” introduced by Stanfield, who explained that the ordinance was a “statement of intent” protecting gun owners’ rights.

“This states that owning any kind of gun is your right,” Stanfield pointed out. The ordinance prohibits Campbell County from enforcing any laws passed by state or federal government that restrict or tax gun ownership beyond laws already in place. Since county government in a “state’s right state” such as Tennessee is considered an extension of state government, the ordinance can only serve as a statement of intent, with little or no real power to regulate.

The meeting started with proclamations honoring two Campbell Countians who have given much of their time to helping the county. Rusty Orick introduced a motion to honor Betty Snodderly for her years of service, both as volunteer and later as an employee of the Chamber of Commerce, proclaiming January 21 as “Betty Snodderly Appreciation Day.” Ms Snodderly accepted the honor and urged everyone to volunteer their time whenever possible to help the county.

Mayor Morton then read a proclamation honoring Jim Robinson, who passed away last year, for his tireless efforts to promote county recycling programs and the Earth Day activities hosted every year at Valley View Elementary School.

Joy Robinson accepted the plaque honoring her late husband that proclaimed January 22 as “Jim Robinson Day in Campbell County.”

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/22/2020-6AM)