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Kingsport board approves budget, contracts, grants and purchases in unanimous vote package
Summary
At its Sept. 16 meeting the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a broad package of ordinances, resolutions and purchases — including school budget amendments, a $2.2M HVAC award, a $2.7M loan application for a sewer lift station, TDOT bridge funds and several procurement actions — all by unanimous votes.
Kingsport’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen used its Sept. 16 meeting to approve a wide-ranging set of budget, contract and procurement items, voting unanimously on each measure.
Key approvals included:
- School and budget ordinances: The board passed an amendment to the FY26 school general purpose fund to appropriate $369,884 from Ballad Health, the Niswonger Foundation and Medicaid reimbursements (first reading passed 5–0). It also approved multiple budget-adjustment ordinances for FY25 and FY26 projects on first and second readings.
- Washington Elementary HVAC: The board awarded the HVAC replacement contract for Washington Elementary School to SB White Company for a total amount a little over $2.2 million; staff said that amount is lower than earlier estimates and that bond issuance later this year will allow final refinements to borrowing needs.
- TDOT pedestrian bridge funding: The board entered an agreement to accept an additional $500,000 from the Tennessee Department of Transportation toward a downtown pedestrian bridge; staff said the project remains in the design phase and will proceed under TDOT’s review process.
- Utilities and infrastructure: The board authorized application for a $2.7 million Clean Water Revolving Loan from the state for the Pendragon Sewer Lift Station replacement and approved LED high-mast lighting purchases at the I-26/Westone Drive interchange to be reimbursed by an energy-efficiency block grant.
- Justice Center renovation purchases: The board authorized roughly $300,000 for furnishings (Workspace Interiors) and a $916,000 purchase order to Patterson Pope for high-density storage and evidence lockers as part of the Justice Center addition.
- Contracts and cooperative procurement: The board approved using cooperative contracts for emergency fire-vehicle repair (Siddons Martin Emergency Group via City of Oak Ridge contract), maintenance/operation supplies (Omnia Partners/HD Supply), and the Aspen student information system renewal (Follett Software; ~$62,000), among other items.
- Grants and cybersecurity: The board authorized acceptance of Department of Homeland Security State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program awards including 600 CrowdStrike licenses and $69,000 in federal funds to support city IT security.
All items taken from the meeting packet and read on the floor were approved without recorded opposition (typical roll calls showed five aye votes and no nays). Mayor Paul Montgomery thanked staff and aldermen for handling a long agenda.
What did not change: No public opposition was recorded during public hearings on the annexation and zoning items, and no contested items required further study or referral. Items in the consent agenda — including agreements with the 2nd Judicial District Drug Task Force, a Ballad Health reset-room agreement at Andrew Jackson Elementary, and temporary staffing extensions — were approved as presented.
The board closed the meeting after brief member communications highlighting school events, conservation camp attendance and local business openings.
