DUANE SHERRILLEditor

After much back-and-forth between the mayor and board of aldermen regarding lapsed terms on the planning commission, Mayor Lynn Sebourn has appointed Brett Gregory to fill one of the openings.

Gregory was introduced at the recent meeting of Tullahoma Planning Commission with Sebourn pointed out that as a builder, Gregory will be an asset to the commission.

“His experience is very helpful for us,” the mayor said, noting they had been talking for the past couple of weeks about him taking the appointment.

Gregory is a licensed general contractor in the state of Tennessee in Residential, Commercial, and Industrial and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2013. He grew up working with his father and grandfather in the homebuilding business and then worked several years in both Chattanooga and Nashville for large commercial construction firms before moving back home and starting Brett Gregory Construction LLC in 2019.

The announcement came after the mayor had been criticized by members of the aldermanic council for not making timely replacements for two open spots on the commission. A third spot on the commission that was held by Alderman Sernobia McGee was also questioned by members of the city council since her one-year term had also expired. However, that issue was addressed at the last board of mayor and aldermen meeting when McGee was reappointed to the planning commission.

City code makes it the job of the mayor to appoint members of the planning commission. Aldermen had asked that applicants conduct interviews with the entire BoMA but the mayor pointed out that nothing in the charter gave the aldermanic council the right to interview his appointments before they were made.

Along with a new member of the commission, a new chairman was named. The former chairman, Paul Schwer, who was reelected as planning chair just a couple of months ago, had to relinquish his duties after he met his term limit and could not be reappointment to the commission.

Vice Chair Alex Rice was elected chairman while Andy Hall was elected vice-chair. They were both unanimously elected.

With the moves, there remains just one seat on the planning commission awaiting mayoral appointment.