County Approves Ag Land Rezoning, Discusses Funding New Vocational School
By Misty Green
The Macon County Legislative Body gathered on Monday, September 15, 2025, at the Administration Building. It held a public hearing for two property rezoning requests: the 39 Henry Circle rezoning request to go from industrial land to agricultural land, and Modern Development’s 46-acre property rezoning request located south of Highway 52.
The owners of the Henry Circle made a public comment that they purchased the land nearly 20 years ago, and they said that they were never told the land they purchased was zoned for industrial use. No one chose to speak concerning Modern Development’s request, and the public hearing was closed and went back into the Legislative session.
When voting on the two rezoning resolutions proposed directly above, commissioners unanimously approved the request for the Henry Circle property; however, the Modern Development request, commissioners were not united in its approval. This was the third time the Modern Development rezoning request had been placed on the Macon County Commissioners’ agenda. The Macon County Regional Planning Commission did recommend the rezoning request on February 18, 2025, June 17, 2025, and on August 19, 2025; however, the no’s always led the majority in voting until this September meeting. Voting no: District 5 Commissioner Dan Hill, District 5 Commissioner Barry Marshall, District 7 Commissioner Jeff Hughes, District 8 Commissioner Bobby Ray King, District 1 Commissioner Phillip Snow, District 1 Commissioner Todd Gentry, and District 3 Commissioner Kevin Wooten. Voting yes: District 2 Commissioner Mike Jenkins, District 3 Commissioner Ethan Flippin, District 4 Commissioner Billy Wilmore, District 4 Commissioner Justin DyeWix, District 6 Commissioner Michael Slayton, District 7 Commissioner Barry King, District 8 Commissioner Kyle Petty, District 9 Commissioner Wendell Jones, District 9 Commissioner Jarhea Wilmore, District 10 Commissioner Helen Hesson, and District 10 Commissioner Larry West. Absent: District 2 Commissioner Keith Newberry.
The following names were elected by acclamation in the election of Notaries Public: Holden Davis, Kassidy Hollis, Harley Horn, and McKenzie Jones.
Macon County Mayor Steve Jones selected Debbie Johnson to serve as the newest member of the Planning Committee.
Mayor Jones mentioned that commissioners had already made a commitment to sell the health department building and put the money back into the budget. Macon County Attorney Guy Holliman was granted permission by commissioners to gather information on a long-term lease for the courthouse on the square and to come back with a recommendation to the next meeting. Some commissioners then discussed the possibility that they had been talking about selling the courthouse instead of leasing it. Indeed, Mayor Jones said there was a prior motion to look into selling the courthouse through a real estate agent who is experienced in commercial sales, so it was approved for the county attorney to bring back a recommendation of what should be done with the beloved courthouse.
Moving on through the agenda, it was stated that 75% of the wheel tax revenue is allocated to debt services, and 25% is allocated to the general fund.
Why was the wheel tax mentioned? More revenue will be needed for at least one of the two projects presented to commissioners by the Macon County Board of Education last month, namely a new vocational school and a multi-sport facility.
Vocational School Funding was an item on the agenda.
“I have kind of put some things together,” Mayor Jones began to say. “These are estimates only, just like the school director said. At this point, we can’t tell you exactly how much this will cost, but you are talking about $6.6 million. I did speak to USDA, and the interest rate right now is 5.25% on a 40-year note. I spoke with one of the local banks, and their interest rate on a 20-year note would be in the neighborhood of 7%. So, if you look at something like that, you are estimating an annual payment on a 40-year note at $397,890.00, and to fund that, if you estimate that revenue from 25,600 vehicles, which is what the County Clerk Ms. Connie gave me today, it would take about $16, and that is roughly $409,000 that it would collect. A penny brings in $76,415.00 this year in our 25/26 budget. The operating budget is at 95%, so that’s a way you have a little to play with that 5% or $72,594.00. Estimating an annual payment on a 20-year note at your local bank, you are talking about, at 7%, $622,993.00 roug
“For the sake of our kids,” District 10 Commissioner Larry West said, “I make a motion to look into USDA funding to get the lowest interest rate we can get.” “I’ll second that motion,” District 10 Commissioner Helen Hesson affirmed.
One commissioner then asked, What if the bid came in over the amount?
Mayor Jones replied, “You would have to borrow money, unless the schools could pay more… Shawn, I know you have made a comment that you had $17 million in reserve, and that some was committed, but you had about ten million?”
Macon County Director of Schools Shawn Carter said, “I didn’t say an amount, but that is very close.”
Mayor Jones then asked, “Would the school board consider putting any on that?”
“I can’t answer that. That is a question for the board,” Director Carter replied.
District 7 Commissioner Barry King then commented that he had met with the board and discussed that if the county puts $10 on the wheel tax, the school board could take care of the rest.
“If the wheel tax is going to take $16, and you’re going to do $10, then I don’t know that there’s enough money in that reserve,” Director Carter said. “Last year’s budget, I only rolled $140,000.00 into fund balance, and there’s not a lot more in the fund balance now. The only reason the fund balance was as high as it was in the first year of TISA is that I was being very conservative about where I put the money, because I was afraid that TISA would not fully fund itself, but it did, which was great, but it will not be the same every year. Without sitting down with pen and paper, I don’t know that I could tell you that it would be possible.”
“A lot of it also depends on how much would get pulled out of the fund balance for the other project,” Carter added.
“What I am concerned about this is that we already put this out to the voters and they voted it down,” one commissioner declared.
“I was going to ask the same question,” Director Carter stated. “But my understanding is if ya’ll approve to put it on the wheel tax, that it could still be voted down at the next election, and then we will be back to where we are right now,” he added.
“The commission would have to vote on it twice with a 2/3 majority, and then the citizens will have 30 days to file a petition,” Mayor Jones said. “It would have to contain at least 491 legally registered voters that can be verified through the election office, and they would have to have those to get it put on the election ballot.”
“It can’t be a special election, but at the next election,” Carter asked.
“A special election would cost you a lot of money,” Mayor Jones added.
“Realistically,” Carter replied, “It will probably turn out very similar to the last one, and I don’t mean to be acting like I am pushing the gift horse in the mouth… I’m not… I’m grateful for anything, but I don’t want to be four or five months down the road and still haven’t gotten anything decided… I mean, everything is on hold until we find out about this.”
“If we put it out there, it is going to do the same thing,” District 4 Commissioner Billy Wilmore stated.
“I will tell you, and I have told Shawn and the school board in a meeting one night,” Mayor Jones said, “The problem of the whole thing, part of the problem, I think, is that the people have lost trust in us… because the school hadn’t been built yet, and they had voted how many years ago, what, six years ago.”
“It was before I came in,” Carter declared.
“It was about six years ago that they voted, and it hasn’t even been started,” Jones stated, “And I think they would feel much better about it if the school was completed and kids were going into the school, but this school is not going to be the end, because down the road, your going to have to have another school to be built if the growth continues because the schools that are her are deteriorating. The newer buildings don’t hold up as well as the older buildings,” he added.
District 7 Commissioner Barry King asked Mr. Carter if the board would be willing to put any money into the vocational school project.
“I’ll take anything back to the board, it’s just that I don’t know if the board can give you an answer until,” Director Carter replied, “I don’t know, I don’t know if they can give you an answer because if your answer on whether to build this or not, is contingent on whether they could help or not, then they are liable to have to get into the fund balance money to do that… Then there are the other projects that have to be done, so I don’t know if they can give you… I, I, I will absolutely take it back and put it to pen and paper, and I will try to come up with some numbers… I absolutely will do that, but I don’t know if they can give you an answer without knowing themselves, how much it’s going to be, and how much the other project is going to be… And if ya’ll are going to do it… I don’t mean to bringing it back two years ago, but we thought we were doing it a few years ago.”
“For me, it’s just hard to sign a check and just say, here,” Commissioner Barry King replied. “Bring back the numbers,” he added.
“Would you be open to… Because I would feel better about taking what I am fixing to say back to them, would you be open to saying, Yes, we will fund up to that amount,” Director Carter asked.
“The $10 amount,” was asked.
“No, the amount that I gave you of what the estimate is, and anything over, then the board has to take care of,” Carter replied, “I think that’s an easier sell.”
“How about we meet with the school board?” District 6 Commissioner Michael Slayton advised.
“I think they would be very open to that,” Carter replied.
Mayor Steve Jones confirmed after the meeting that the meeting between the School Board and County Commissioners is tentatively set for October 20, 2025, at 5 p.m. in the Administration Building.
During the period for public statements, former Director of Schools, Mike Prock, stood and said, “We have got a $65 wheel tax,” asking, “How much of the wheel tax money goes to the loan department?”
“None that I know of,” Mayor Jones replied, “75% of the wheel tax revenue goes to debt services, and 25% goes to the 101 general fund.”
“Well, you know, I think we started, like 25, no, it’s been longer than that, 30 years ago, and we built the first high school, which is the junior high school right now, and correct me if I am wrong, but it’s either $25 or $30 that they appropriated to build that school… Correct… Okay, and when I came on as director of schools in 2001 or 2002, I think we, or you all, raised it about $15 for additions at the junior high and additions at Red Boiling Springs, so that put it somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 or $40, and so I know you have raised it $20 or $25, and that’s why I don’t understand, why you can’t take part of this money right here, and instead of talking about increasing the wheel tax again, and take part of that money and build this vocational school. I mean, that’s what our kids need, and not everyone is going to college, ya’ll know that as well as I do, and they have been needing that vocational school for 20 years. Just keep bussing them back and forth, back and forth, and the numbers have gone up out there at the high school. It’s a proven fact, and I don’t know of anybody else that’s not got their vocational school on campus, except for Trousdale County, but they only have to bus them what, two miles to that one down there in Hartsville. You know, I don’t understand why you can’t take $15 of that wheel tax money. I mean, I knew it was going into fund balance or debt service, let me rephrase that, debt service, and probably other things, but you can take $15 or $16 and build this vocational school. And, I’m like Mr. Carter too, I believe if you will take a calculator and get it out, instead of a 40-year note, only do a 20-year note, and I believe you will save money… I believe you will… 7% is high, I know it is on everything, but I believe if you do it on a 20-year note, I mean that’s ridiculous talking about 40 years, and
Reminders: The Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Administration Building on Nature Trail Way, in Lafayette, Tennessee. The Macon County School Board and Macon County Commissioners’ collaboration meeting is tentatively set for October 20, 2025, at 5 p.m., which is before the Legislative Body meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m.
