01Rule 46 - failedLaid over
Amendment to Rules of Procedure, Rule 46 - Council meetings; scheduling
Vote
Deferred — no vote taken.
Metropolitan Council on 2026-05-19 6:30 PM · Tuesday, May 19, 2026 · 2h 23m
The one where the council deferred its no-confidence vote against the power board, then rebuked the utility over trees i
Contents & search
items
127
approved
100
laid over
5
other
4
withdrawn
1
Try
Four months after the winter storm blacked out Davidson County, the council had two ways to punish its utility. The hard one, Joy Styles' resolution declaring no confidence in the Electric Power Board itself, never reached the floor: Transportation & Infrastructure first moved to defer it indefinitely, settled for one meeting, and Rule 8.1 barred debate. The soft one, Burkley Allen's resolution asking NES to revisit the 'very aggressive tree trimming policy' it adopted after the storm, drew fifteen co-sponsors and a queue of members describing clear-cut neighborhoods, and passed on a voice vot
From the room
“It simply asks for an opportunity to relook at the changes that had been made in the trimming policy”
— Burkley Allen
“baristas are being pushed harder than ever before. Workers are dealing with impossible drive through times”
— Lindy
“with the majority of it now leaning towards their home. And now they're afraid that during a windstorm”
— Jacob Kupin
“This is a resolution urging Nashville Electric Service and the Electric Power Board to implement a”
— Angie Henderson
01
The decisions
702RS2026-1926Withdrawn
A resolution accepting the terms of a cooperative purchasing master agreement with For The Record, Ltd. for courtroom audio and visual equipment, service and storage for the State Trial Courts.
Vote
Withdrawn — adopted without a recorded per-member roll-call (coupled calendar or voice vote).
03RS2026-1954Laid over
A resolution expressing a lack of confidence in the performance and leadership of Electric Power Board of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County for its failures during Winter Storm Fern.
Vote
Deferred — no vote taken.
04RS2026-1963Laid over
A resolution approving the Fiscal Year 2027 Central Business Improvement District Budget, and accepting previous Central Business Improvement District Budgets.
Vote
Deferred — no vote taken.
05BL2026-1356Laid over
An ordinance amending Chapter 2.24.225 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws to modify appraisal requirements for certain right-of-way acquisitions made by the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure and for Choose How You Move projects, and to make technical changes..
Vote
Deferred — no vote taken.
06BL2026-1362Laid over
An ordinance requiring an annual review and an annual presentation to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Metropolitan Council from all boards, commissions, departments, and authorities offering tax abatement incentives.
Vote
Deferred — no vote taken.
07BL2026-1364Approved
Parcel No. 12000015500
Vote
30 · 1 · 1
Antoinette Lee·D33Bob NashBrenda Gadd·D24Burkley Allen·DAt-Large 4Clay Capp·D6David Benton·D28Delishia Porterfield·DAt-Large 2Deonte HarrellErin Evans·D12Jacob Kupin·D19Jason Spain·D35Jeff Eslick·D11Jeff Gregg·D15Jeff Preptit·D25Jennifer Gamble·D3Jennifer WebbJohn Rutherford·D31Jordan Huffman·D14Joy Smith KimbroughKyonzte ToombsMike Cortese·D4Olivia Hill·DAt-Large 5Rollin Horton·D20Russ Bradford·D13Sandra Sepulveda·D30Sandy Ewing·D34Sean Parker·D5Tasha Ellis·D29Terry Vo·D17Thom Druffel·D23Tonya Hancock·D9Zulfat Suara·DAt-Large 1
Also in the record
Records not linked to a specific agenda item
Opposition & support
Concerns: A constituent's small bushes were cut down solely because they were within the 15-foot right-of-way, even though they would never have grown anywhere near the wires — crews were told 'everything in the 15 feet' · Trees are being taken down with little or no notice · Field crews (many from out of town) misapply the policy; disconnect between policy authors and crews · Residents left with half-cut trees now leaning toward their homes (raised by Council Member Kupin)
Conditions
- The resolution asks only for a temporary pause/review window — an opportunity to re-examine the trimming-policy changes — and expressly does NOT ask NES to stop or slow down trimming
- Pause the blanket application of the 15-foot clearance rule currently applied to every tree of every species in every neighborhood regardless of whether the tree poses any meaningful risk to the power grid; treat trees as living biological systems and use species-specific standards
Questions & answers
Russ Bradford: Chair Angie Henderson: 'Mister Bradford, do you seek to abstain?' / 'Sir, you don't get to speak on an abstention.'
Angie Henderson (Vice Mayor): Mister Clark, are all committee reports in for the items on the consent agenda?
Angie Henderson (Vice Mayor): I show to defer to the second meeting in June to track with the budget?
Vice Mayor Angie Henderson (presiding): So you would like maybe a motion to approve on first with a re-referral to the Planning Commission?
Citations & precedent
U.S. Constitution, First Amendment · Angie Henderson
Metro Nashville ordinance — board-election vote threshold · Angie Henderson
Tennessee state law requiring that public commenters speaking on agenda items be prioritized · Angie Henderson
Metro Council Rule of Procedure 8.1 (automatic deferral rule) · Angie Henderson
Metro Council Rule 8.1 · Angie Henderson
Federal protections against racial gerrymandering (Voting Rights Act, as narrowed by the U.S. Supreme Court) · Zulfat Suara
Voting Rights Act · Delishia Porterfield
Voting Rights Act (post-gutting) · Delishia Porterfield
First Amendment, United States Constitution · Sandy Ewing
Oath of office to support the Constitution · Sandy Ewing
Metro Council Rule 12.3 · Kyonzté Toombs
Voting Rights Act · Kyonzté Toombs
Title 17, Metropolitan Code of Laws (the Zoning Ordinance) · Angie Henderson
Metropolitan Code of Laws, Chapter 2.25 (chair first misspoke '2.24.1') · Angie Henderson
Metro Council Rules of Procedure, Rule 8.1 · Angie Henderson
Metro Code of Laws Title 17 (zoning ordinance), section 17.37 (Downtown Code / DTC) · Angie Henderson
Procedure
- Meeting opened with a land acknowledgement to the Cherokee, Shawnee and Yuchi people, plus the statement that 'no one is illegal on stolen land that was built by stolen labor.' — Delishia Porterfield
- Chair recognizes Councilmember Emily Benedict to present the evening's first presentation, a proclamation. — Delishia Porterfield
- Chair sequences the proclamation presentation: photo with the honoree, then remarks from the honoree's party. — Delishia Porterfield
- Chair recognizes and welcomes members of Starbucks Workers United as special guests and gives them the floor for a welcome message. — Delishia Porterfield
+51 more procedural steps
02
The people
On the dais · 8
Brandon TaylorCourtney JohnstonEmily BenedictGinny WelschJoy StylesQuin Evans-SegallSheri WeinerTom Cash
Public testimony: 1 in favor
Practitioners & applicants
Leslie Mosier · Lindy · Delishia Porterfield
03
The intelligence
Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.
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Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat.
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