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Interim Planning Director Charles Rush was recently approved by the Board of Mayor and Alderman to be the official Director of Planning and Codes.

The approval came after the recommendation from City Administrator Jason Quick, who also joined the codes department with planning once again after an extended amount of time. Quick gave his reasons for the recommendation in his memo to BoMA.

“As has been witnessed over the past two years, the City of Tullahoma has become a focal point of residential and commercial growth based on many factors,” Quick said. “Newly awarded contracts at Arnold Air Force Base will create over one thousand new jobs for the area, the Middle Tennessee I-24 Industrial Site expects to bring an additional job growth of five thousand to six thousand new jobs, the continual population increase in the mid-state has a population seeking residency further south, and the need for new affordable housing options remains a need for our city.”

Quick said similarly, over the past two years, the codes department for the city has been under the purview of Public Works during an interim organizational effort. He praised Public Works Director Butch Taylor for the outstanding job he has done in overseeing this additional area while maintaining focus on his original department.

“As the needs of our city and its necessary public services also continue to grow, it is important for the codes department to separate from Public Works and return to a more suitable organizational placement,” he said. “To encourage and enhance collaboration, and since both Planning and Codes departments are interrelated and reside within the Annex Building, I recently combined both into one department now named Planning and Codes. As the above-mentioned growth is expected, it is important both leadership and proper alignment in the Planning and Codes Department occurs.”

Quick noted in the memo that the position of Planning Director was vacated by Mary Samaniego in August and the Planning Department has been led by Senior Planner Charles Rush.

He has done an outstanding job over the past several months serving in his role and in the absence of a Planning Director,” Quick said. “He has built strong relationships within the city to include city colleagues, members of the Planning Commission, Board of Mayor and Alderman, current citizens, and potential developers in our area. His knowledge of best-inpractice planning and zoning methods and extreme attention to detail are just two of the characteristics attributed to Charles displayed during my observation of his abilities and value. Charles is considered by many to place the best interests of Tullahoma and its citizens at the forefront of his work and when making decisions.”

Alderman Daniel Berry made the motion to approve and Alderman Derick Mann seconded. The approval passed unanimously.

Rush said “I just want to thank God, first of all. Nothing’s possible without Him. I want to thank the Mayor and the Board, we’ve had a wonderful time together. That last study session, we got to know each other. I want to thank our City Administrator, Jason Quick, he’s been amazing. You guys did a wonderful job choosing him. I also want to thank two directors–Butch Taylor (Director of Public Works) and Kenneth Pearson (Fire Chief), those guys have been amazing, they’ve got a wealth of knowledge. I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the residents, and I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

In a later interview, Rush added “As the middle Tennessee region grows, Tullahoma will naturally grow with it. We already see this with the proposed mega site, the growth of Arnold Airforce Base, and the natural growth of the beauty and safety of Tullahoma. We are going to grow smart! We are going to make sure that we have the infrastructure to support the proposed growth of the developers and the amenities that the residents of Tullahoma want and need. With the leadership of our new City Administrator, Jason Quick, we will be able to accomplish that goal as well as other goals that will focus on the beautification of our wonderful city. Tullahoma has a bright future ahead of it and I am proud to be a part of it.”

He gave a summary of his new job and what it entails so that residents of the city can be informed.

“The position of Director of Planning and Codes differs from my position as interim planning director. Previously, the Planning Department provided services for all planning and zoning activity within the City of Tullahoma. Services provided include administration of zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations. The department is also responsible for current and long-range planning, geographic information systems (GIS), and Floodplain Management programs. Planning review includes looking at both how land is used and how buildings are built.

In addition, the Building Codes Division, which oversees all residential and commercial construction, beginning with the review of plans through on-site inspections, will be added to the Planning Department.  The City of Tullahoma has adopted the 2015 International Building Code and is about to move to the ICC 2018 codes. The Building Code sets the standard for structures within the community for construction, maintenance, and occupancy. Codes apply to all structures, including homes, multi-family buildings, commercial, industrial, and most institutional buildings ensuring safety and technical-related requirements such as fire safety requirements, structural loads, and maximum occupancy loads, along with mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and other requirements.

Both departments are crucial to the city and the health and safety of all the residents. Since arriving in Tullahoma, I have worked daily with the codes department. There is a lot of talent in both these departments and the city as well as the residents are well served because of this. These departments are closely related, and it makes sense for them to be combined into one department.

Something that I hope to achieve with my new position is streamlining the processes required by the city/state to make it easier to understand what we need to get from you to complete whatever you want to accomplish with your land/house. A big focus is on customer service to make sure that we are serving the residents of Tullahoma correctly. I want the Tullahoma Planning & Codes Department to be the gold standard of customer service that is used by other local cities and towns as well as regionally.”

Rush also gave some background about himself.

“I feel right at home in Tullahoma. I grew up in the Tennessee Valley in Guntersville, Alabama. I visited Tullahoma when I was a kid when my father would come back to class reunions in Sewanee. He always spoke with his fellow classmates about the good memories that they had in Tullahoma.

I have two brothers. My oldest brother has a successful plumbing company in Panama City, Florida, and my youngest brother is a planner for the Southeastern Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission in Dothan, Alabama. My dad went to school in Sewanee, Tennessee at the Sewanee Military Academy (now the University of the South). My mother also graduated from Auburn in May with a master’s degree in planning and public administration and a graduate certificate in economic development.

I was excited when I found out that Tullahoma was hiring a Senior Planner. I wanted a place to call home that has a small-town feel, beautiful and safe to raise a family. Kiersten and I are currently expecting our first child in February and we both could not wish for a better city to raise our kids.”