The Hamblen County Commission on May 22 approved several regular-calendar items, including a construction contract with Construction Partners LLC and a budget amendment of $183,060 for Drug Court expansion, while debate surfaced over confidentiality language in an equipment rental agreement with Diverse Computing.

During the regular calendar, the commission voted to approve a construction contract described as work for the health department and an equipment rental agreement with Diverse Computing. Commissioners discussed an indemnification clause that had been removed from one agreement and noted updated contract language on others. The items were placed on the consent and regular calendars and approved after motions and seconds recorded on the floor.

Budget amendment number 4 on the regular calendar — Fund 101, Drug Court Expansion — was included on the passed items. The motion to amend the budget added $183,060 in public-safety grant funding for drug-court expansion; the commission later recorded a roll-call vote on a related grant item that was approved.

Commissioner Edna Green raised concerns about a confidentiality clause and a provision that appeared in the contract under definitions and Article 8, and asked whether the clause could conflict with Tennessee open‑records obligations. Green said training she attended indicated the county cannot contract away open‑records responsibilities. County staff and the mayor responded that certain data may be protected by federal law or otherwise exempt from disclosure and that redactions, where appropriate, would be handled according to law. Commissioners asked the county attorney to review the confidentiality language; the mayor and staff indicated they would seek clarification and, where necessary, adjust contract language.

Other items approved during the meeting included updated equipment agreements with indemnification language changes and funding appropriations tied to public-safety and construction projects. Several commissioners asked staff to specify which county department would manage individual contracts when materials were not explicit in the packet.

No contract signatures were announced at the meeting time; commissioners approved the calendar items and directed staff to follow up on legal and administrative clarifications where requested.