Approved Meeting Minutes

Megasite Authority of West Tennessee Board of Directors

Meeting Date: August 9, 2022
Time: 10:00-11:30 am
Location: Southwest TN Development, Jackson

Attendees Included:
Clay Bright, CEO
Commissioner Branscom
Commissioner Bryson
Commissioner McWhorter
Chairman Charles Tuggle
Mayor Jeff Huffman
Jim Duke
Evelyn Robertson
Michael Banks
Christy Allen, Legal Counsel
Carolyn Hardy

Meeting Notes:

  • The Meeting was called to order at 10:15 am by Chairman Tuggle
  • Clay Bright performed the roll call
  • The first item of discussion was approving the previous meetings minutes

                    o   A motion was made by Evelyn Robertson

                    o   The motion was seconded by Michael Banks

                    o   Discussion – None

                    o   In a roll call, all but Carolyn Hardy voted to approve (she had stepped away from the meeting)

  • The next item of business was a presentation from Steve Sellers, Blue Oval City Program Manager, TDOT, regarding the proposed road coming in and the SR-194 extensions. The SR-194 project has a dedicated page https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/region-4/sr-194-extension-exit-39.htm.  All Region 4 projects coming up and around the area can be found at https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/region-4.html. 
  • CEO Bright Introduced Mickey Sullivan with Gresham Smith to present an overview of zoning regulations.
  • CEO Bright presented the next item on the agenda,  easements.   Gas, Utilities, SW Electric, TVA, TDOT, DGS, CSX, Verizon, Chickasaw, etc., all need an easement or right of way.  There is a  basic plan that will then be put on a master utility legal document. 
  • CEO Bright reported that the RFP for the third-party operator for the wastewater treatment plant should be ready to go out in August. 
  • CEO Bright asked if there was any other business.
  • Adjournment

                    o A motion was made and seconded. There being no discussion, in a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. Meeting Adjourned at 11:30 am.

 

Presentation Slides

Meeting Date: March 10, 2022
Time: 10:00-12:00
Location: Tennessee Tower  

Attendees Included:    
Clay Bright, CEO    
Commissioner Eley until 10:50am    
Commissioner Branscom    
Charles Tuggle   
 Jeff Huffman   
 Jim Duke   
Evelyn Robertson    
Michael Banks    
Chris Richards       
Carolyn Hardy   
Christy Allen, Legal Counsel 

Meeting Notes:

  • The Meeting was called to order at 9:59 by Chairman Tuggle·       
  • Clay Bright performed the roll call           
  • The first item of discussion was approving the previous meetings minutes            
    • A motion to approve, with clarification from CEO Bright about the CEO contract, was made by Evelyn Robertson
    • Motion was seconded by Carolyn Hardy  
    • Discussion – None  
    • In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously      
  • Commissioner McCord, Carol Puryear (TBR) and Deborah Knoll (Tennessee Dept of Education) gave an update on Education and Workforce Development. They have been working with Ford weekly and an interagency group out of West Tennessee. They are working with schools in West Tennessee and Ford to develop curriculum that will be used in dual enrollment classes and in community colleges. They are working with SK Innovations out of South Korea, and they are very important in this process. 90% of the curriculum has been developed. They plan to have the curriculum finished by the June board meeting. They want to make sure the students have a seamless transfer to Ford. School districts received a letter saying they may be contacted by Ford. Dr. Jean Luna is the number one contact for questions on this.
  • The third item of discussion was to review and approve the site plan – Greg Gertsen gave a recap of the site plan. Clay mentioned that the site plan is ever evolving but today is to see if we are comfortable with it so far. David Flynn showed the plan and explained its location. Christy Allen read an option for a motion which stated: Motion to approve the conceptual site plan for the purposes of Ford commencing construction on the site, and in the event the board adopts general site plan guidelines in the future, for the board to take this site plan into account to the greatest extent possible and move to ratify this site plan at that time.
    • A motion was made to approve the site plan by Jim Duke          
    •  Motion was seconded by Michael Banks           
    • Discussion was held on how the land will be zoned. Zoning will be discussed at future meetings.           
    • In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously       
  • Christy Allen gave a legislative update on a housekeeping bill affecting the Megasite Authority statute.  SB2403 has passed on the Senate side; its companion, HB2150, is scheduled to be heard on the House Floor on March 17.·       Michael Winston, Director of Financial Management for General Services, went over the budget documents. We are currently in Fiscal Year 22 which began on July 1st and goes through June 30th. FY’22 budget became effective on November 1st. FY’23 budget is currently pending. Capital Projects are not part of the budget. Part of the budget includes CEO Bright’s and two other positions (not currently filled) salaries. The second part includes expenses such as operating expenses, travel for board members to meetings, consulting services, legal services, etc.       
  • Clay Bright gave a project update. The pipeline was supposed to start last week. Engineers are finishing design for water and wastewater treatment plants. The last environmental meeting is tonight. Site work is supposed to start this month. There was a question on if there will be a groundbreaking for Ford. No one is sure at this time.      
  •  Evelyn Robertson raised a concern from the public on the role of the Megasite Authority. He suggested we make a PowerPoint that states the role of the Megasite Authority.      
  • Adjournment            
    • A motion was made by Chairman Tuggle to Adjourn           
    • The motion was seconded            
    • Discussion – None            
    • Meeting Adjourned at 11:27

Meeting Date: February 17, 2022
Time: 10:00-12:00
Location: Southwest TN EMC, Brownsville

Attendees Included:    
Clay Bright, CEO    
Commissioner Eley (via WebEx)    
Commissioner Branscom (via WebEx)    
Commissioner Rolfe (via WebEx)   
Charles Tuggle    Jeff Huffman   
 Jim Duke    Evelyn Robertson                                                                                   
Michael Banks    
Chris Richards       
Carolyn Hardy    
Christy Allen, Legal Counsel

Meeting Notes:

  • The Meeting was called to order at 10:05 by Chairman Tuggle
  • Clay Bright performed the roll call.  A physical quorum was present, but three members participated using electronic means
  • The first item of discussion was approving the previous meetings minutes           
    • A motion was made by Evelyn Robertson
    • Motion was seconded by Michael Banks
    • Discussion – None
    • In a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously
  • The second item of discussion was to approve the CEO Contract            
    • A motion was moved to approve the CEO Contract by Jeff Huffman            
    • Motion was seconded by Jim Duke            
    • After discussion about termination of the agreement and a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously
  • The third item of discussion was to approve the site plan – Clay Bright explained the borders of the Megasite and the phases of work. He explained that approval of the site plan is needed before construction of structures can commence. Between now and the next meeting he is to get more details on the plan in hopes to approve the site plan during the March meeting.
  • Chris Bowles from Bradley gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Ford Lease and Pilot agreement and the Resolution for the Board to authorize and approve the lease and the Pilot agreement            
    • A motion to adopt the Resolution was made by Commissioner Rolfe            
    • Motion was seconded by Carolyn Hardy            
    • Discussion – None            
    • In a roll call vote, the resolution passed unanimously
  • Christy Allen gave a legislative update on the two administration bills that have been filed. One is a housekeeping bill and the other is a caption bill that may be used if needed. The housekeeping bill is currently assigned to committee.
  • Clay Bright gave a project update from last night’s Fredonia meeting. They expected around 75 people to attend and had somewhere close to 300 attendees. There was a lot of interest on TDOT and the roads around the Megasite. Clay has upcoming meetings with TDOT set up.
  • Adjournment           
    • A motion was made by Chairman Tuggle to Adjourn            
    • The motion was seconded            
    • Discussion – None            
    • Meeting Adjourned at 11:56.

Memphis RegionalMegaSite Meeting 


Meeting date:  January 12, 2022
Time:  10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location:  TN Tower, Conference Room E, 3rd floor 

Attendees Included:    
Clay Bright, CEO    
Commissioner Eley    
Commissioner Branscom    
Commissioner Rolfe   
 Charles Tuggle   
 Jeff Huffman   
 Jim Duke    
Evelyn Robertson    
Michael Banks    
Christy Allen, Legal Counsel 

Meeting Notes:

  • The meeting was called to order at 10:02 by Charles Tuggle
  • Clay Bright performed the roll call and introduction of staff
  • Christy Allen discussed board organization, proposed conflict of interest policy, staff assistance, Open Meetings Act and Public Records Act.           
    • A motion was made by Chairman Tuggle to adopt the conflict of interest policy            
    • Motion was seconded by Commissioner Eley            
    • Discussion - Clay Bright and Chairman Tuggle on how signing the document aligns with board priority to be transparent          
    • In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously            
    • Everyone was to sign the conflict of interest policy acknowledgment and return it to Clay Bright following the meeting
  • Christy Allen proposed Resolution 01-2022 – The resolution once approved provides that the board assumes active control of the Megasite Authority effective the date written into the form.            
    • A motion was made by Commissioner Rolfe            
    • Motion was seconded by Commissioner Eley            
    • Discussion – No reason not to accept this today. A transition period will still happen as this gets cleaned up. Clay Bright stated that he was comfortable making the resolution effective today.           
    • In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously
  • The next item was to discuss CEO Contract – Chairman Tuggle deferred this item as they were not ready to discuss
  • Clay Bright gave a project status overview
  • Next Meeting Date and Location – The meetings will be split between Nashville and West Tennessee. The floor opened discussion on whether to meet monthly or quarterly. The group decided monthly would be better until they hit a rhythm. A building that has live stream abilities is needed. A schedule will be made through the end of the year.·       Other business – Commissioner Eley inquired about the budget. A new budget is anticipated soon and the board will need to consider its needs. Clay Bright discussed the tenets around the Megasite and what they expect from us.·       Commissioner Rolfe discussed needing to hire a 3rd party law firm              
    • A motion was made by Commissioner Rolfe to authorize the CEO to hire a 3rd party law firm to help with negotiations for future projects            
    • Motion was seconded by Commissioner Branscom            
    • Discussion – None            
    •  In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously
  • Adjournment            
    • A motion was made by Chairman Tuggle to Adjourn            
    • The motion was seconded            
    • Discussion – None           
    • In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. Meeting Adjourned at 11:00