Signal Mountain council moves to draft transition to town-run MAC, agrees SMEPF should not incur new debt

Signal Mountain's Town Council said May 22 it would pursue a negotiated, early end to the memorandum of agreement (MOA) and lease with the Signal Mountain Preservation Fund (SMEPF) and draft a transition plan to bring MAC operations under town management.

Vice Mayor Krumbliss, who led the discussion, said the Grahams had provided a "points for discussion" packet and that "they said that they would be" open to terminating the lease and MOA early by mutual agreement. The council described a two-step approach: a narrowly scoped transition plan that secures operational continuity, followed by a separate MOA that would limit the SMEPF role to preservation activities rather than day-to-day operations.

The council flagged several items that must be resolved in the transition plan. Those included an inventory of equipment and items on loan, which SMEPF said it would provide; confirmation of what becomes town property at transition; staffing and supervision (a town-hired MAC director reporting to town management); and a short overlap period for training and handoff. Council members emphasized that operational decisions such as hiring and staffing are the town's responsibility once the transition is complete.

Debt and near-term purchases were a particular concern. Council members noted an $8,000 balance on a SMEPF credit card that was described in the packet as payment for a new theater screen; other items discussed included a projector and an additional kiln that SMEPF had identified as potential purchases. "I do not believe that they should take on any more debt whatsoever, moving forward with the assumption that the town will assume the debt of SMEPF," the vice mayor said; the council expressed consensus that SMEPF should not incur new debt from this point forward.

Councilors also discussed governance arrangements. They proposed reinstating a town-appointed MAC board after the transition, with potential cross-membership between the MAC board and SMEPF to provide continuity. SMEPF had requested consideration of mechanisms to guarantee future town support (similar to the library's statutory maintenance-of-effort), and to earmark MAC revenues for building improvements; councilors said such guarantees and earmarks are unlikely and described those ideas as political, not operational, matters for future council action.

Other preservation options were raised but not decided. The council discussed whether to pursue historic-designation options such as listing on the National Register or placing the property into a land trust; members said those are council-level policy decisions separate from the narrow transition plan.

No formal vote on the MOA termination occurred during the meeting. Instead, the council said it had consensus to draft and negotiate a mutual termination and transition agreement, and Vice Mayor Krumbliss said she would meet again with the Grahams and report back at a future meeting.

What happens next: town staff will draft a timeline and a proposed transition agreement for SMEPF's consideration; the council asked staff to provide detail on equipment lists, the $8,000 outstanding charge, and other financial clarifications before any final commitments are made.