Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cumberland County Commission appoints archivist, approves school and highway budget amendments
Summary
At its Nov. 17 meeting in Crossville, the Cumberland County Commission unanimously approved the appointment of Lori Bowers as county archivist and passed a series of budget amendments for schools, a $1,100 fire department donation and pursuit of a USDOT Safe Streets for All grant for highway planning.
Cumberland County Mayor and Commission Chairman Allen Foster called the Nov. 17, 2025 meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. at the Art Circle Public Library in Crossville. The commission approved the meeting agenda and the Oct. 20 minutes before hearing two public comments on state sovereignty and emergency services at a local speedway.
The commission unanimously adopted Resolution 11-2025-1 to appoint Lori Bowers as Cumberland County Archivist to complete the term of Joyce Rorabaugh, with the term expiring Sept. 30, 2027. Commissioners then reappointed Everett Bolin and Barry Field to the Cumberland County Solid Waste Regional Planning Board under Resolution 11-2025-2.
In bundled action, the board approved a $1,100 donation to the Fire Department (Resolution 11-2025-3) and authorized staff to pursue participation eligibility in the U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets for All grant program for the Highway Department (Resolution 11-2025-4). Commissioner Joseph Sherrill described the grant pursuit as an initial step toward directing road-improvement work. County Attorney Philip Burnett said the grant effort "will help determine where the most liability is and things that need to be fixed first," and said it "should be completed within a 12-month period." Mayor Foster noted the pursuit had been budgeted as a one-time amount in the Highway Department budget when asked by Commissioner Wiley Potter where the cost had been allocated.
The commission approved several school-fund budget amendments. Resolution 11-2025-5 revised the ISM State Grant by $35,329.22; Resolution 11-2025-6 revised the New State Special Education Preschool Grant by $13,764.00. The board also approved a $110,000 allocation to resurface the tennis courts at Stone Memorial High School (Resolution 11-2025-7) and a $104,172.89 amendment for TISA (Resolution 11-2025-8). All budget motions passed by unanimous roll call votes.
Finance Director Jennifer Turner presented updated county collection figures for EMS, sales tax, property tax, hotel/motel tax and prisoner boarding. County Attorney Philip Burnett provided a litigation update, saying two state-level cases are active (one nearing resolution in about 45 days) and the office will defend two of three new local cases; he also said a previously noted property-owner case had largely been dismissed and that a mineral-rights matter and a Board of Education issue will not require county involvement.
The commission elected a slate of notaries public for the state of Tennessee and adjourned at 6:19 P.M.
Votes at a glance: all listed resolutions (11-2025-1 through 11-2025-8) carried (minutes record either unanimous voice vote or unanimous roll call vote); specific numeric tallies were not specified in the meeting minutes.
