March Commission Work Session 2026

Commissioner Zane Vanover, Sullivan County mayoral candidate, presided over the work session and will preside next week as Chair Gardner will be out of town. Commissioners Akard, Hayes, Horne, and Leonard were absent. While I have not kept an attendance sheet, Commissioner Hayes has been absent at least as much as he has been present in the time I've been observing, but is not running this year.

Kris Davis, purchasing agent, provided an update on the RFQ for Tourism Services, which generated significant discussion when it was proposed. She said they received 12 responses to their RFQ (request for qualifications), had narrowed it down to the top three, and would present the top candidate to the commission next month.

Public Comment

Public comment was opened with Mike Gilley, who had also spoken at the previous two meetings concerning the need for a full-time juvenile court in Sullivan County. He effectively walked back his previous call and praised the current court, stating that there were things he had not been aware of in motion to improve the situation.

Jay Baldauf reassured the commissioners that the volunteer firefighters had adequate equipment despite a recent comment by a mayoral candidate at an event that had sparked some controversy.

Billy Cowan and Jenna Wingo spoke against the 287(g) ICE agreement the county entered into during the last commission meeting. Mr. Cowan brought up many salient points, such as the cost of detainees that might not be reimbursed, and the possibility of civil suits and the county's liability. Ms. Wingo promoted another local organization, Tri-Cities Solidarity Project. Unfortunately, you could see the commissioners tune out, no doubt remembering the disruption of the previous meeting.

Billy Davis from the American Legion spoke emotionally about their Be The One program to prevent suicide.

Business

The motion to buy a property to house the Sullivan County Women's Recovery Home was withdrawn as that property has been sold. 

Item 2 is to bring the pay for the county's delinquent tax attorney up to the state maximum of 10% of sales, from 8% on this entirely commission-based position. Four items deal with money for programs in the schools (preparing students to be workers) (do we have feelings that schools are now tasked with preparing a corporate workforce instead of educating the citizenry?), requiring no matching funds. One item is Hurricane Helene money to be used to prepare for a future catastrophic event. Item 8 is to apply for a grant to revitalize the courts at Sullivan Heights Middle School. All these items are to be on the consent calendar.


Commissioner Means brought a resolution to dedicate a bridge to a veteran. Commissioner Jones pointed out that they'd never dedicated something like that to anyone who had not been killed in action. Commissioner Glover brought a resolution for the continuation and maintenance of software that serves the volunteer fire departments and rescue squads. Both of these will be on waiver of rules.

The last item is to repair and replace the HVAC at the Kingsport Health Department, which hasn't been working since the extreme cold event in January. There was some question as to why there was no insurance or maintenance agreement, or liability for the generator not starting when it was supposed to, but as this is an emergency, it will be placed on waiver of rules.

Announcements

The ability to pre-pay property taxes is proving extremely popular, Commissioner Glover said. Commissioner Cross, who is a high school government teacher, reported that Sullivan County has again achieved a 100% voter registration for its eligible students. Commissioner Jones said that there would be a state constitutional amendment on the November ballot to prohibit the state from ever imposing a property tax.