News
Planning Commission Approves Final Plat for New Liberty Public Safety Telecommuncations Tower Site
June 10, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
A site has been selected for a new state funded public safety telecommunications tower for the Liberty area.
During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission voted to give final subdivision plat approval for the property located on Tater Knob Road (DeKalb Emergency Communications District Division).
The purpose of the new tower is to improve emergency radio communication in that area of the county.
“This is the DeKalb County Emergency Communications District final subdivision plat creating one proposed new lot from property larger than five acres located on Tater Knob Road,” said Tommy Lee, Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District, who serves as UCDD staff planner and advisor to DeKalb County. “The proposed new lot would consist of 0.342 acres and is currently vacant. The proposed new lot would require a 28,675 square foot lot size variance and road frontage variance. Tater Knob Road is a public road not maintained by the county. It will be strictly for establishing a telecommunications tower. That’s the only thing it can be used for. It is not served by water and complies with all other DeKalb County subdivision regulations.
“Its right across the street from another communications tower in Liberty,” said DeKalb ECD 911 Director Brad Mullinax. “The only thing we really need is electrical power to it. It already has electrical power built out. The state of Tennessee is going to be building this tower. I already have a letter of intent from them. Its going to be about a two-million-dollar investment in Liberty. Its an imperative thing for emergency communications,” said Mullinax.
Original plans were to erect a 300-foot tower on the grounds of the Liberty Fire Station, which is jointly owned by both the towns of Liberty and Dowelltown but under a long-term lease with the county for use by the fire department and EMS. However, those plans were changed when in November the Liberty town council voted against erecting a tower on the site.
Jeff Gray, Director of the Tennessee Advanced Communication Network explained last fall that this new tower is needed and would be strictly for public safety. The tower is to be funded and maintained by the Tennessee Advanced Communications (TACN) network intended to provide first responders the ability to better communicate locally and have additional coverage to talk on the radio with surrounding state communication towers during major events and disasters. Last year the county began funding upgrades from its old analogue system to new state of the art portable, mobile and fixed radio transmission technology and it joined the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN) to eventually make the transition complete.
County Zoning. Where does it go from here?
June 10, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
County Zoning. Where does it go from here?
If a plan ever moves forward to establish county zoning outside the unincorporated areas, it’ll have to be enacted by the county commission.
According to Tommy Lee, Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District, who serves as UCDD staff planner and advisor to DeKalb County, the county commission already has a proposed resolution and county zoning map prepared by the DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission and now its up to them.
During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting of the planning commission, member Beth Pafford asked if the planning commission study would continue.
“Are we not going to do any more work on zoning until the commission looks at it,” asked Commissioner Pafford.
“We have gone as far as we can go without guidance from the county commission,” said Lee. “We have established the resolution and gave them a map and now in my opinion the ball is in their court and if they want us to continue, we will and if they don’t, we won’t,” said Lee.
County Mayor Matt Adcock explained that the county commission last month basically tabled the issue.
“At our county commission meeting (In May) we presented the idea (county zoning) and wanted a recommendation about what they felt like needed to be done with zoning and if they liked the map or didn’t like it and any suggestions going forward. The topic got tabled,” said County Mayor Adcock.
In April the planning commission sent a proposed resolution and map establishing zoning to the full county commission for review. The idea was if the county commission still wanted to move forward with zoning, changes could be made and sent back to the planning commission to improve the plan.
During the monthly meeting in May, the county commission made no decision on a review or recommendation. Two separate votes were taken but neither failed to get a majority from the 14-member body.
The first motion was made by Commissioner Larry Green to “send it back to the planning commission for further study”. Commissioner Tony Luna offered a second to the motion. Although the vote was 7 to 4 in favor it failed because 8 votes (of the 14-member commission) were needed to make it official.
Commissioner Tony Luna later in the meeting moved to table the discussion until the next county commission workshop in June and Commissioner Green seconded the motion. But again, the result was 7-4 in favor with 8 votes needed for approval.
The issue may still be revisited by the county commission later. If not, a proposal for county zoning could be on life support
Alexandria Mayor Beth Tripp Sends Two City Hall Employees Home for the day
June 9, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
Sent home for the day!
Alexandria Mayor Beth Tripp earlier today (Monday) ordered two city hall employees to go home for the day.
City recorder Jessica Howard and financial clerk Rhonda Conaster were sent home by Mayor Tripp for the following reasons:
*Saving on the budget
*Not following the charter
*Not following chain of command
The mayor signed and dated the order and had both Howard and Conaster to sign it.
Mayor Tripp contacted WJLE Monday afternoon to say that she had first advised the two city hall employees by phone to work only half a day Monday apparently for budgetary reasons but found them still working when she went to city hall. She asked them again to leave for the day and then put it in writing for the reasons given and had them sign it.
Mayor Tripp herself remains on the hot seat with the Board of Aldermen. During a rare Saturday special called meeting, May 31 the town council, in the absence of Mayor Tripp, cast a “no confidence” vote in her leadership.
The vote was 4-0 with Aldermen Sherry Tubbs, Bobby Simpson, Luke Prichard, and Jeff Ford all voting together. Alderman Jonathan Tripp, Mayor Tripp’s husband was also absent.
The aldermen, with this vote, were hoping Mayor Tripp would get the message and offer her resignation. She has not resigned.
Three days later on Tuesday, June 3 Mayor Tripp and the town’s water and sewer manager Richard Edward Potter turned themselves in at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department after being named in a criminal summons for trying to get the police chief to cancel a ticket on someone.
Both will make an appearance in DeKalb County General Sessions Court on June 26th.
