My Comment

There is a lot going on in our little county as well as our nation and the whole world. What a time to be living in.

A couple of things I want to draw your attention to. First is the announcement, at the June 14th Commission meeting, that the Williamson Hospital is in trouble and is sending out an RFP looking for buyers. To keep up with progress on this, go to Williamson Health’s Comprehensive Planning Process Identifies Long-Term Needs and Options. This process could take up to three years to complete and there are other options that are being looked at.

Second, the Purchasing and Insurance Committee voted 3-2 to hire the Drury Group as the consultant for our healthcare plan. I recommend that you listen to the audio of that meeting to hear some very good points as to why both commissioners, Mason and Stresser voted no. Just for the record, the Drury Group is a Franklin based company and have been handling life insurance for our county employees.

There is so much more to talk about including Hillview Lane, the Owens Valley project and Meyes Creek that I hope to cover more completely next week.

this past week the following committees/commissions met:

Monday July 14th

• Williamson County Commission

Thursday July 17th

• Williamson County Purchasing and insurance committe

The AI program I use is pretty accurate, but it does make mistakes from time to time and I don't always catch them. I provide agendas and videos/audios when I have them available and recommend that you watch the video and follow along with the summary to get the most accurate report.

One of the limitations of AI is that if a participant's name is not called out, then they are listed as participant 1, 2, etc. A limitation with audio, as opposed to video, is that one cannot always identify a person by voice alone. As imperfect as these AI summaries are, they still give a pretty good account of a meeting.

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Williamson County School District

Nothing scheduled until August

Williamson County Commission

Williamson County Commission committees

Special Note: Since Williamson County does not record any meetings other than the commission, budget committee and planning commission meetings, I am recording all the meetings that I attend on my iPhone. We are in the process of reviewing a technology upgrade that will allow the county to record more meetings as well as include agendas, minutes and packets on our website. I will keep you up to date when progress is made

Monday July 14th

County Commission Agenda Video

AI Summary

Action Items

• [ ] Connor Scott - Provide fire service update to County Commission Present an update on the fire service to the County Commission at either the September or October meeting, including performance metrics across the system and strategic planning recommendations from the public safety task force report.
• [ ] Judge Guffey - Provide juvenile detention center master plan information Get information for Commissioner Sturgeon based on the master plan that was developed for the new juvenile detention center, specifically regarding whether the sizing calculations included capacity for housing juveniles from other counties.

Overview

• Guy Cardin was appointed as District 3 County Commissioner to fill Jeff Graves' vacant seat
• Williamson Health announced a comprehensive strategic planning process that includes exploring a potential sale through a formal RFP process, with the board preferring to remain independent but considering all options for long-term viability
• County approved $14,135,800 for school capital needs and $300,275 for Thompson Station fire captain cost-sharing
• Four citizens advocated for removing the Confederate flag from the county seal during public comments
• County celebrated state championship lacrosse teams from Nolensville High School and Page High School
• Multiple budget appropriations totaling over $30 million were approved, including $11.6 million in capital projects funded from general fund balance

Confederate flag removal from county seal

• Samantha Ozon from Franklin urged commissioners to approve a resolution submitting a waiver petition to remove the Confederate flag from the county seal
• Corey Martin from OneWilco echoed support for removal, noting institutions like Walmart, Six Flags, and NASCAR have already removed Confederate symbols
• Dustin Kocter referenced the 2020 task force unanimous decision to remove the flag and recent Heritage Protection Act amendments that changed the process
• Emily Paisley spoke about the flag's divisive symbolism and its impact on racial bullying in schools

District 3 commissioner appointment

• Commissioner Mason nominated Guy Cardin to fill Jeff Graves' resigned seat for a term until August 2026
• Mason interviewed 5 candidates: Guy Cardin, Sarah Quinn Cornett, Jim Hageman, Will Pomeroy, and Leah Upton
• Cardin was unanimously approved and sworn in during the meeting
• Mason cited Cardin's 20 years of experience with Brentwood Police Department and his integrity as key factors

Lacrosse championship team proclamations

• Nolensville High School boys lacrosse team won the 2025 Division 1 AA state championship, defeating Franklin High School 10-4 on May 17, 2025
• Team finished with a 14-4 record and had 8 all-state selections and 14 all-region selections
• Page High School Lady Patriots won their first Division 1A state title, defeating Seymour High School 8-6 on May 17, 2025
• Lady Patriots finished 11-7 and earned 4 all-region and 4 all-state selections

Hospital strategic planning and potential sale

• Williamson Health Board Chair Bo Butler announced the board is exploring all options including a potential sale through an RFP process
• Butler emphasized the board unanimously prefers to remain independent but must consider long-term viability due to healthcare industry challenges
• Process could take 12-36 months if a sale moves forward, requiring County Commission and Tennessee Attorney General approval
• Any sale proceeds would first pay debts, with remaining funds going to a new independent foundation for future healthcare initiatives
• CEO Mazuca cited challenges including the recent congressional healthcare bill with $1 trillion Medicaid impact over 10 years

Thompson Station fire captain cost-sharing

• County approved $300,275 for a new fire captain position stationed at Thompson Station
• Thompson Station will pay approximately $60,000 (half of salary and benefits) while county covers equipment costs including a vehicle
• Commissioner Sanford criticized the cost-sharing arrangement as insufficient, arguing Thompson Station should pay more
• Commissioner Webb opposed the funding structure, arguing unincorporated area residents should pay more for public safety services they receive

School capital funding appropriation

• County approved $14,135,800 for Williamson County Board of Education capital needs
• Funding covers maintenance, safety, and general purpose capital requests for the 2025-26 school year
• Education committee and budget committee both approved the appropriation unanimously
• Superintendent Golden noted school starts in approximately 3 weeks from the meeting date

Budget appropriations and grants

• County approved $11,628,593 in capital projects funded from general fund balance
• Commissioner Herbert warned next year the county may need to borrow money for capital requests due to budgeting at 94% instead of 92%
• Multiple privilege tax allocations approved: $5 million for adequate school facilities debt service and $5.5 million for education debt service
• Solid waste received $339,125 state grant covering 50% of two new roll-off trucks
• Sheriff's office received $515,133 federal grant and approved $2,273,511 annual lease for body cameras, tasers, and related equipment

Thursday July 17th

Purchasing and insurance committee met Audio

AI Summary

I have not had enough time to listen to the whole audio as I am out of state. So, where the AI lists participants, I am not sure exactly who each participant is, but I am including the recording so you can listen for yourself. I know for sure who voted for and who voted against. Since I was unable to attend, commissioner Richards kindly recorded the meeting for me.

Overview

• Committee voted 3-2 to recommend Drury Group as benefits consultant to county commission for $50,000 annual fee (plus optional $10,000 software)
• RFP process evaluated 11 firms with 3 committee members scoring on qualifications (35%), methodology (35%), and cost (30%)
• Timing pressure drove decision—benefits enrollment programming starts August 2025 for January 1, 2026 implementation affecting 8,213 employees
• County commission previously approved $60,000 budget for consultant services
• Alternative proposal to have top 3-4 candidates present failed due to timeline constraints and budget approval process

RFP evaluation results and scoring methodology

• Leslie issued RFP on May 20, 2025 with proposals due June 17, 2025
• 11 firms submitted proposals with 3 evaluators completing scoring (2 were unable to participate)
• Scoring criteria: qualifications and experience (35%), work approach and methodology (35%), cost (30%)
• Drury Group ranked first with total score of 278, followed by companies scoring 240-244.2
• Cost proposals ranged from $50,000 (Drury) to $2.4 million, with some firms charging $2 per employee per month
• Participant 3 (Evaluator #1) questioned cost weighting methodology, noting Drury's significant cost advantage could automatically determine winner

Drury Group recommendation and motion

• Participant 2 motioned to recommend Drury Group to county commission
• Drury Group proposal: $50,000 annual fee plus optional $10,000 software program
• Mayor supported recommendation, noting county commission approved $60,000 resolution and Drury Group's existing positive vendor relationship
• Final vote passed 3-2 in favor of Drury Group recommendation

Alternative evaluation approach and scoring concerns

• Participant 3 proposed alternative cost analysis comparing RFP costs to total county budget rather than relative scoring
• Drury Group represents 0.0000665 of county budget vs. Gallagher's 0.000249
• Participant 3 ranked Gallagher Group second based on extensive local Tennessee experience with Rutherford County Schools, Wilson County Schools, Monroe County Government
• Gallagher demonstrated specific savings results including $9.7 million and $12.4 million for large school districts
• Participant 3 questioned Drury's expertise depth compared to larger firms with subject matter experts

Timing constraints for benefits enrollment

• Gina stressed critical timeline: programming starts August 2025, literature preparation for mid-October open enrollment, November-December auditing for January 2026 payroll
• Deadline for consultant recommendations is end of August 2025 at latest
• Any consultant selection over $60,000 requires county commission approval in September 2025, creating timing conflict
• Gina confirmed she can proceed with enrollment process recommendations without consultant, allowing consultant to review and tweak plans afterward

Contract timeline and consultant implementation

• Cigna contract already approved for January 1, 2026 start date with no specific signing deadline
• Tim clarified consultant hired in September 2025 would have couple months to review contract before implementation
• Gina explained consultant could still provide value reviewing contracts and helping optimize pricing even with compressed timeline
• Discussion confirmed consultant wouldn't waste money if hired mid-September, though impact on 2026 enrollment would be limited

Presentation proposal debate

• Participant 3 proposed bringing top 3 candidates for presentations to full committee
• Participant 1 suggested top 4 candidates (those scoring 240+) should present
• Concerns raised about 60% of committee (3 of 5 members) making decision without other members seeing detailed proposals
• Proposal failed due to timing constraints and budget approval requirements for amounts over $60,000

Final vote on consultant selection

• Motion to recommend Drury Group passed 3-2
• Commissioners Tom Tunnicliffe, Paul Webb and Mayor Anderson voted for; Commissioners Stresser and Mason voted against
• Participant 2 stated preference to move forward now rather than delay 45-60 days for presentations
• Committee acknowledged future P\&I committee could conduct new RFP process for 2027 benefits year if desired

Next week

Wednesday July 23rd

Storm Water Appeals Board will meet at 8:30 am in the Williamson County Administrative Complex 1320 West Main Street, main auditorium, Franklin. Agenda

Thursday July 24th

The Board of Zoning appeals will meet in the Williamson County Administrative Complex 1320 West Main Street, executive conference room, Franklin. Agenda

These are all public meetings and anyone can attend.

Williamson County Commission Committees

Board of Mayor and Aldermen

BOMA didn't meet this week, but will next week. To see the other city meetings this week and all meetings for next week, go here

Election Commission

No meetings this week and none scheduled for next week

If not me, who?

If not now, when?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1)

“We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer gently.” (1^st Corinthians 4:12-13)

Blessings,

Bill

pettyandassociates@gmail.com

Community resources

If you like Friday Recap, check out these other grassroots conservative projects!

• Williamson County Citizens Provides free tools and information to help grassroots conservatives exercise their citizenship here in Williamson County.
• Tennessee Voters for Election Integrity is helping restore confidence in Tennessee Elections.
• TruthWire Local news and commentary.
• Williamson County Republican Party is one of the most active parties in the state and captures the conservative heart of Tennessee.
• Mom's For Liberty Williamson County is dedicated to fighting for the American family by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.
• Tennessee Stands produces video media, podcasts, and live events, and provides social commentary on relevant issues in our state.
• M4LU is a new site developed by the national Mom's for Liberty but generated right here in Williamson County. The mission of M4LU is to to inform, equip, and empower parents with knowledge, understanding and practical tools.
• WCSB Substack. This site reports on the Williamson County School Board meetings. It provides accurate summaries of all WCSB meetings.

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