John Coffelt, Editor

The hearing planned  for the Nov. 14 meeting of the Coffee County Commission that will seek to remove five members of the seven-member Coffee County Planning Commission was pulled from the agenda moments into the meeting. 

A motion to amend the meeting agenda to remove the hearing was made my commissioner Terry Hershman, District 6 (Hillsboro) and seconded by Tina Reed, District 7 (Tullahoma). The amendment passed 11 to 4 with Commissioners Jimmy Hollandsworth, Joseph Hodge, Missy DeFord and Tim Stubblefield offering no votes. Commissioner Lynn Sebourn  Rose Ann Smith were absent and Commissioner Claude Morse recently passed away.  

While several members of the public spoke at the meeting and the Matheny called a representative from the state comptroller’s office to address a state statute, a full deliberation by the county commission was not held.      

The County Mayor Judd Matheny had sought the removal of Carole Willis, Randy Harrel, Dennis Hunt, Paul Elam and Chairman Steve Cunningham for allegedly failing to satisfy the state’s required training.    

  According to a redacted certified letter dated Oct. 26, the county will provide proof of deficiency in the commissioners failing to satisfy the requirements for continued service on that commission.      

That letter is part of a collection of electronic messages concerning the Coffee County Planning Commission  that was shared via a bulk email to the entire Coffee County Commission, county department heads and to the Manchester Times that, according to the sender, Commissioner Hunt, was necessary for transparency. Those texts plus those shared to the commissioners as part of the November agenda packet show a conversation between Hunt and County Mayor Judd Matheny about their concerns about the missing training records that date back to Sept. 7. 

Matheny told the Times,  “I am only sticking to the facts and making public previously privileged communications on this legal matter that show the dereliction of duty in improperly documenting Planning Commission training. 

“I have not made a single decision in this process without the explicit advice of Tennessee State law, the State attorney General or the Comptroller of the State of Tennessee on how to handle this matter.”

These texts reference an audio recording that will be played at the commission meeting. 

Matheny added, “I’m just going to continue to do what’s right and some may vote to cook the books and recreate training records if they want, which is the advice of one of their attorneys.  I won’t allow that to happen in my administration anywhere, much less one of the most important entities involved with shepherding growth.  I DO NOT (emphasis his) want our county to be like Murfreesboro, which came from a lack of proper planning and preparation.”

Also addressed in the text thread is Matheny’s concern that the county cannot go into developing the I-24 Industrial Complex  (the Megasite) with a board not in compliance. 

Matheny writes that “every individual member will be liable as well as the county…. As you know zoning and zoning resolutions and property issues are the most important and need to be beyond reproach.”

 In the texts, Hunt warns the mayor that over a year ago he had informed Matheny that some “monumental decisions were made in the past with “members voting that NEVER had the required training.”

 According to the texts, Matheny has informed the State Attorney General and the Comptroller.  

In the texts, Hunt shares concerns over removing the only Black non-elected member serving on a committee (Paul Elam). Another political vulnerability for the mayor could be that Planning Chairman Steve Cunningham’s wife, Margaret, challenged Matheny for his office in the 2022 election.   

Chairman Cunningham  declined to comment now on the mayor’s motives to remove the members  from the Planning commission. 

“In our appearance Tuesday night our evidence will clearly show that the mayor’s charges are baseless and his actions will have a negative impact on his administration,” Cunningham said. 

“We have a good set of folks on the Commission and I trust they will make the right decision,” he added. 

 A rumor that has been circulating on a fringe media site involves claims that the move is connected to the development of a landfill. 

 This allegation as Matheny says, “is a false narrative created by some of those in non compliance to discredit me.  There has been absolutely NO talk (to me or anyone I know) of anything of the such or anything even resembling it.”  

 The Coffee County Planning Commission is  appointed by the County Mayor and confirmed by the legislative body. It is composed of Rodney Duncan,Carole Willis, Randy Harrell, Dennis Hunt, Paul Elam,  Steve Cunningham and  Sammy Anderson on staggered terms.  

 The most recent appointments Anderson and Duncan are not named in the hearing proceedings. 

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.