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Marshall Place resident urges Lewisburg to fix annexation, voter-registration and builder moratorium issues
Summary
Michelle Head, a Marshall Place Apartments resident, told the Lewisburg City Council that her apartment complex is in the city limits and urged officials to ensure voter registration; she also criticized a moratorium that she said limits small local builders' access to water taps and questioned local law enforcement cooperation with immigration authorities.
Michelle Head, a resident of Marshall Place Apartments who identified herself as vice chair of the Democratic Party, told the Lewisburg City Council that her complex is inside the city limits and asked the city to help residents with voter registration.
“We are indeed in city limits,” Head said, adding that she has been trying for months to confirm the status and secure new voter registrations for roughly 18 affected residents. She told the council that the neighborhood is adjacent to a new subdivision that was annexed and that the status has consequences for upcoming city elections.
Head also criticized a current moratorium she said restricts small, local builders from obtaining more than "3 taps or 5 taps," while permitting larger corporations to take many more. She said the policy penalizes small local builders who rely on local banks and provide housing and jobs in the community.
When the topic turned to enforcement and immigration, Head said she would not comply with federal immigration enforcement on the square if her daughter, who she said is a U.S. citizen, were present: “My answer to you is no,” she said, later adding she feared excessive force in enforcement encounters.
Council members and staff responded by outlining next steps. Councilman Burns told the audience, “They need to go to the election office,” and staff said they would try to clarify the boundary records. Gina (city staff) said the Tennessee comptroller’s office maintains annexation maps and suggested the city could provide a shapefile to the election commission to clarify which addresses fall inside Lewisburg. Richard Donovan, the city’s newly hired director of planning and zoning, said the comptroller’s record-keeping change was recent and that staff could coordinate with elections officials to help resolve questions.
The council did not take formal action on Head’s requests during the meeting, but members and staff said they would follow up with the election commission and provide maps or data to help residents determine voting eligibility.
