Transcript: Growing pains exploring the challenges in a thriving sumner county the truth about growth in small cities with mayor mike callis

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[00:00:22.03 --> 00:00:25.87] Welcome to Growing Pains, a podcast of the Sumner County Republican Freedom Caucus.
[00:00:25.87 --> 00:00:31.07] I'm your host, Deanne DeWitt. Today, we are joined by someone who has been a long-time
[00:00:31.07 --> 00:00:36.43] resident of Portland, Tennessee, has served his community extraordinarily well building
[00:00:36.43 --> 00:00:41.07] community pride and regional presence, Portland Mayor Mike Callas.
[00:00:41.07 --> 00:00:41.95] Good to be with you.
[00:00:41.95 --> 00:00:48.83] Oh, well, I am thrilled that we have you today. We've intersected in a lot of places
[00:00:48.83 --> 00:00:53.95] and times, but to have a good sit down with you for another half an hour or so, I'm really
[00:00:53.95 --> 00:00:54.67] looking forward to this.
[00:00:54.67 --> 00:00:56.51] Looking forward to it myself. Thank you.
[00:00:56.51 --> 00:01:00.35] Well, you have been Portland Mayor, you're now in your eighth year, I believe, right?
[00:01:00.35 --> 00:01:00.43] Yeah.
[00:01:00.43 --> 00:01:06.11] Yeah. Navigating a lot of growth and infrastructure investments and some challenges,
[00:01:06.11 --> 00:01:10.27] of course, along the way, making big decisions that are going to impact the next generation
[00:01:10.83 --> 00:01:15.55] as well as ours. But Portland's really at an interesting inflection point,
[00:01:15.55 --> 00:01:22.91] so I'm looking forward to this conversation. I think all of that, you know, it is a bit daunting
[00:01:22.91 --> 00:01:27.79] when you just consider all that's at stake for the future of Portland.
[00:01:27.79 --> 00:01:34.19] So let's get into that, what drives your mindset and maybe as a starting point,
[00:01:35.07 --> 00:01:41.95] let's talk about sort of the common denominator for you as you've served in this public office
[00:01:41.95 --> 00:01:47.63] as a pastor, as a husband, what is the guiding principle for how you lead?
[00:01:48.27 --> 00:01:54.75] You know, just from my point of view there, it's everything matters. Everything should matter.
[00:01:55.47 --> 00:02:00.35] People matter. The future matters. When you're looking to make a decision, when you're working
[00:02:00.35 --> 00:02:04.35] through the facts and the things that needs to be done, whether you're leading from a
[00:02:04.35 --> 00:02:09.15] pulpit or whether you're in your home with your spouse or whether you're in the community
[00:02:09.15 --> 00:02:16.03] making decisions, everything matters. I'm a planner. I want to plan everything. Sometimes,
[00:02:16.03 --> 00:02:21.07] maybe my wife don't always appreciate that because I need to know everything in every
[00:02:21.07 --> 00:02:26.11] detail and line it out. And sometimes she's like, hey, let's just relax. We're just going
[00:02:26.11 --> 00:02:31.79] to dinner, right? But I like to plan. I like to think. I like to work through scenarios,
[00:02:31.79 --> 00:02:35.47] the what ifs, the ensure that when we get to that point, we make that decision. Is that
[00:02:35.47 --> 00:02:39.07] the best possible decision that we can make? Because whether you're making a decision for
[00:02:39.07 --> 00:02:44.03] your own home or you're making a decision that really affects a broader network of people,
[00:02:44.99 --> 00:02:49.87] ensuring that we're doing it correctly, not just for today, before tomorrow, that matters
[00:02:49.87 --> 00:02:55.23] to me. And I take that serious and whatever role that is. Well, and I can relate to a lot
[00:02:55.23 --> 00:03:00.59] of that. I'm a planner and I like to play through those details and think about how these
[00:03:00.59 --> 00:03:05.23] are going to land with the people I care about, about my stakeholders or whoever it is.
[00:03:05.71 --> 00:03:09.55] But that does take a lot of intentionality and a lot of time.
[00:03:09.55 --> 00:03:16.51] It does. I think being purposeful in every area of life should be important to us.
[00:03:17.71 --> 00:03:22.99] Sometimes we live in a society where there's not a lot of thought going into step number two,
[00:03:23.71 --> 00:03:31.07] let alone step 15 and 20. Spending that time to kind of work our way through a situation
[00:03:31.07 --> 00:03:36.19] is helpful. I think it's helpful to us and our personal dynamics, but it's helpful,
[00:03:36.19 --> 00:03:41.07] especially when you get into public service. Because especially when you're an elected office,
[00:03:41.63 --> 00:03:46.67] sometimes we get so focused on the here and now and that immediate thing that's catching
[00:03:46.67 --> 00:03:51.47] our attention and taking the air out of the room. We forget that whether that resolution,
[00:03:51.47 --> 00:03:57.23] that ordinance, that bond that we went out to go get for debt service, it's affecting people
[00:03:57.23 --> 00:04:02.19] beyond us today. We need to be able to have that mindset. It's affecting me beyond my life.
[00:04:02.99 --> 00:04:07.39] I tell folks, whether it's on staff at the city or others that I deal with, I say,
[00:04:07.39 --> 00:04:14.11] listen, my callous is not getting younger. I'm getting older and my time on this earth will
[00:04:14.11 --> 00:04:22.59] soon come to an end. What I should be focused on is what we're doing today. Does it matter?
[00:04:22.59 --> 00:04:28.35] Is it important? And what effect will the decision we make today have in the future?
[00:04:29.07 --> 00:04:36.27] And however we're working that out, sometimes I think we just get so myopic on that thing,
[00:04:36.27 --> 00:04:42.03] and we forget the effect that it has. And so working our way through that I think is
[00:04:42.03 --> 00:04:50.03] important. And I try to carry that in my home, in the community, and in the office as well.
[00:04:50.51 --> 00:04:56.83] Well, that's great. When you think about these decisions and the things that you are thinking
[00:04:56.83 --> 00:05:05.55] about, thinking through for Portland, is there a certain area or just a part of governing
[00:05:05.55 --> 00:05:08.51] in Portland that you feel you really need to get right?
[00:05:08.51 --> 00:05:12.59] Infrastructure. Infrastructure has to be at the core of it. Listen, there's a lot of things,
[00:05:12.59 --> 00:05:18.27] a lot of amenities that we all enjoy. I love our park system. We have a beautiful park
[00:05:18.27 --> 00:05:23.79] system, hundreds of acres. We have a lot going on, and people enjoy that. So I love the fact that
[00:05:23.79 --> 00:05:30.43] whether it's a skate park or ball fields or our historic gym, all those things are wonderful,
[00:05:30.43 --> 00:05:36.27] but they're amenities. I have to break things down to essentials. And I have to be
[00:05:36.27 --> 00:05:42.67] able to prioritize the things that are more important than others. And sometimes we say,
[00:05:43.23 --> 00:05:49.87] I hate to say and say, well, that's not essential, but some things are not essential. What is essential?
[00:05:49.87 --> 00:05:54.19] How do I break that down? Infrastructure, without a doubt. And we were kind of joking the other day
[00:05:54.19 --> 00:05:58.67] and the rotary asked me to come speak. And I said, I think I thought y'all had banned me
[00:05:58.67 --> 00:06:02.67] because every time I'd come and speak at the rotary, I always talked about sewer, wastewater.
[00:06:02.67 --> 00:06:05.63] And they said, quit talking about wastewater next time you come. And I said, well, I thought
[00:06:05.71 --> 00:06:08.67] I got banned from the rotary because I always talked about those things. But
[00:06:09.55 --> 00:06:18.03] sewer, water, natural gas, roads, stormwater, flooding, these things are important. That
[00:06:18.03 --> 00:06:25.39] should grasp the majority of our time. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. So while
[00:06:25.39 --> 00:06:30.67] we're talking about wastewater, we can also be talking about a new walking track at the park.
[00:06:31.23 --> 00:06:35.63] Right. We can do both, but I have to prioritize that. I have to look at that.
[00:06:35.63 --> 00:06:39.07] So infrastructure is important. Number two, that's public safety.
[00:06:41.15 --> 00:06:45.47] If we're going to have good communities that people want to be a part of, want to invest in,
[00:06:45.47 --> 00:06:48.75] you have to have a safe community. And that has to play on both parts. I have to have
[00:06:48.75 --> 00:06:54.35] proactive safety to ensure I have a presence of police and all that going on. But then I
[00:06:54.35 --> 00:06:58.27] have to have that reactive safety that's coming in with fire protection and all that that's
[00:06:58.27 --> 00:07:04.59] taking place. We're getting ready to take possession of our newest ladder truck. When
[00:07:04.59 --> 00:07:10.83] I tell folks the cost of these things, their eyes get really big. And so we've got a ladder
[00:07:10.83 --> 00:07:14.83] truck with a hundred foot ladder fix and take possession probably in a couple of weeks. It's
[00:07:14.83 --> 00:07:21.31] been on order for over two years. $1.8 million for that one ladder truck. I think if I order
[00:07:21.31 --> 00:07:27.31] it today, it's $2.6 million. That's how quick the costs are changing. And one of the things
[00:07:27.31 --> 00:07:31.79] I don't think people always realize is that whether it's a community like the city of Portland
[00:07:31.79 --> 00:07:37.47] or the city of Westmoreland, we don't get a small town break on the price of a fire engine.
[00:07:37.47 --> 00:07:43.79] And so whatever it costs, Metro Nashville cost us as well. And these costs are huge and
[00:07:43.79 --> 00:07:48.35] expensive. And we've got to be preparing for that like we do anything else. So infrastructure
[00:07:48.35 --> 00:07:53.71] and public safety probably eat up a lot of my fault looking forward into the future.
[00:07:53.71 --> 00:07:56.19] And they're not the most fun things, but they are the most important.
[00:07:56.19 --> 00:08:00.03] They're not, but they are. You know, I find it so intriguing of how those departments
[00:08:00.03 --> 00:08:06.03] operate and how they run. I try to be as educated as I can in every single department
[00:08:06.03 --> 00:08:14.19] of the city. How could I best supervise that department if I'm unaware of how that
[00:08:14.19 --> 00:08:18.51] department works, right? So I think it's important for you as any leader to be involved
[00:08:18.51 --> 00:08:22.75] and understand how it works. But working through all of that to ensure that that
[00:08:22.75 --> 00:08:26.27] infrastructure, these are things that will outlive us. These are things that are going
[00:08:26.27 --> 00:08:30.99] beyond our lifespan in our time of service. And are we putting the effort and energy and
[00:08:30.99 --> 00:08:35.39] money where it's needed because it's going to cost money to prepare this for the way
[00:08:35.39 --> 00:08:40.59] going forward? Or do we just sit back and hope it works out? Well, that plan don't usually
[00:08:40.59 --> 00:08:44.11] work well in your personal life, just throwing your hands up. Well, I hope it all works.
[00:08:44.11 --> 00:08:47.15] It don't work well in planning of a community either.
[00:08:47.71 --> 00:08:55.23] Sure, absolutely. Might not be the most fun, but it is exciting to be part of making these
[00:08:55.23 --> 00:09:01.23] improvements. All right, so let's talk a little bit about the title of our podcast,
[00:09:01.23 --> 00:09:06.67] Growing Pains. What would you say, you know, a lot of people tend to fall in these
[00:09:06.67 --> 00:09:14.19] categories that growth is either bad or it's good. But in reality, what are the biggest
[00:09:14.19 --> 00:09:19.47] growing pains in Portland right now? I think just ensuring that we're doing measured growth
[00:09:19.47 --> 00:09:24.19] and we're putting the we're doing the hard work and we're putting in the type of regulations
[00:09:24.19 --> 00:09:28.67] ahead of a lot of the massive growth to ensure that we're doing it right. But one of
[00:09:28.67 --> 00:09:32.67] the things that I've been working towards since I was on this council member to ensure that all
[00:09:32.67 --> 00:09:37.15] these developments were planned unit developments, putting those PUD ordinances and regulations
[00:09:37.15 --> 00:09:42.19] in place has been kind of difficult. We've got some things now put in place the way
[00:09:42.19 --> 00:09:46.11] they need to be. We're working our way through that. That allows no matter the developer,
[00:09:46.11 --> 00:09:50.51] no matter the development, when they come in and they present it, if it gets passed,
[00:09:50.51 --> 00:09:56.43] that's adopted. They can sell that project off and people still have to follow that plan.
[00:09:56.43 --> 00:10:00.59] That is so important to me. We do impact fees in the city of Portland.
[00:10:00.59 --> 00:10:05.39] We've been able to change that and increase that along the way. We do it on residential,
[00:10:05.39 --> 00:10:10.51] commercial and industrial. I've seen a lot change in the city of Portland since I was a
[00:10:10.51 --> 00:10:15.71] little kid riding my bicycle through Portland to where it was more rural and a farming community
[00:10:15.71 --> 00:10:21.79] to now where it's really become an industrial hub in the state of Tennessee, not just in Portland.
[00:10:22.91 --> 00:10:26.83] We have thousands of jobs. People travel into our community to work.
[00:10:28.51 --> 00:10:32.59] Because of that, there's certain strains and things that go along with that.
[00:10:32.59 --> 00:10:36.35] One of the things I find interesting in the whole growth discussion,
[00:10:36.91 --> 00:10:40.83] is that people want what growth brings without growth.
[00:10:44.11 --> 00:10:50.51] I want all of those amenities and restaurants and shopping that growth brings, but I don't
[00:10:50.51 --> 00:10:57.15] want the people, I don't want the traffic, I don't want the crime, whatever that may be.
[00:10:59.79 --> 00:11:04.83] Those don't really go together. Let's pretend we're not in Sumner County. I use this example
[00:11:04.91 --> 00:11:08.75] on a regular basis. Let's pretend we're not in Sumner County. Portland is located
[00:11:08.75 --> 00:11:12.19] in a wonderful county, Sumner County, and in a portion of Robeson County.
[00:11:13.23 --> 00:11:18.11] Robeson's more rural. They've probably got about 78,000 people in it. Sumner County is
[00:11:18.91 --> 00:11:23.79] passing 200,000 right now, probably, if we used to really do the real count, the last census.
[00:11:23.79 --> 00:11:27.79] I don't think none of us agree that it was probably the best. It went through COVID and all
[00:11:27.79 --> 00:11:32.75] those things are going along with that. If we were to remove Portland and put it in a more
[00:11:32.75 --> 00:11:38.91] rural county in Tennessee, we would be the top city in that county. The city of Portland
[00:11:38.91 --> 00:11:44.03] owns and operates water, sewer, natural gas, and a lot of other things that are going on there.
[00:11:44.03 --> 00:11:48.27] Just our little economy that's taking place, if I was to take us out, put it in another county,
[00:11:48.27 --> 00:11:53.95] we'd be the city that had a lot of stuff going on. But inside the area that we are,
[00:11:53.95 --> 00:11:58.99] and in the location, we have Metro Nashville, Bowling Green. We see what's going on in Wilson
[00:11:58.99 --> 00:12:04.67] County and just the cities that we have within our area. We see a lot of pressures coming upon
[00:12:04.67 --> 00:12:09.87] the city of Portland. Some of those pressures is somebody drives to Gallatin and downtown
[00:12:09.87 --> 00:12:13.79] Gallatin, it's beautiful, and see a lot of amenities and all the restaurants. Why don't we
[00:12:13.79 --> 00:12:22.19] have that? I get asked that a lot. Why don't we have the 10 outdoor pickleball courts that
[00:12:23.23 --> 00:12:28.75] this city has? Well, when you start looking at tax structure and the revenue comes off
[00:12:28.75 --> 00:12:34.19] retail, things begin to look a little different. So for like Gallatin, Hendersonville, their property
[00:12:34.19 --> 00:12:40.83] tax and local option sales tax is pretty well even on their revenue. In Portland,
[00:12:41.71 --> 00:12:49.23] our property tax is almost double, not quite, almost double that of local option sales tax.
[00:12:49.23 --> 00:12:54.51] This is because we don't have the commercial that other communities have. But people are
[00:12:54.59 --> 00:12:59.63] still wanting the amenities that that revenue brings in. And I think one of the things that's
[00:12:59.63 --> 00:13:04.67] really difficult, and I get it because it's confusing. So we have a general fund, special
[00:13:04.67 --> 00:13:09.07] revenue fund, and enterprise funds. Enterprise funds cover all your utilities. Your special
[00:13:09.07 --> 00:13:14.03] revenue funds would be things like you would think maybe a golf course or sanitation because
[00:13:14.03 --> 00:13:18.59] they have fees that are associated to operate that. And then general fund, there's all those
[00:13:18.59 --> 00:13:23.55] departments that are funding with property tax, sales tax, some fees and usage on those things.
[00:13:23.55 --> 00:13:28.27] Well, that's all your public safety. That's your parks, that's your streets and some of those
[00:13:28.27 --> 00:13:31.95] things. So when you divvy that out and you look at a budget and you see how much revenue
[00:13:31.95 --> 00:13:36.43] you've got coming to a particular area, and somebody says, well, I want all of this
[00:13:37.15 --> 00:13:42.67] that that city has. And then when you tell them, so, well, that city has that because they
[00:13:42.67 --> 00:13:49.23] have five times our revenue. They have five times our people. And then I said, do you want
[00:13:49.23 --> 00:13:54.19] five times the people that we have now? Well, no, I don't want that because I don't want the
[00:13:54.19 --> 00:13:58.43] traffic. I don't want the headache of it. I said, but you're going to those cities
[00:13:58.43 --> 00:14:02.91] because you're spending money there. And then for a smaller city to have the restaurant,
[00:14:02.91 --> 00:14:06.67] we all want our favorite restaurant. Is that right? And we all have different choices. We
[00:14:06.67 --> 00:14:09.95] all have different choices and we want our favorite one. And one thing I ask folks on
[00:14:09.95 --> 00:14:14.75] regular basis, tell me your favorite restaurant. Just tell me what your favorite is and they'll
[00:14:14.75 --> 00:14:18.59] name it. And I'll say, how many times have you been to that favorite restaurant in the last
[00:14:18.59 --> 00:14:23.15] six months? And they usually stop and go, well, I don't know. We've, we've probably been there
[00:14:23.15 --> 00:14:27.23] three times. So I said, that's your favorite restaurant. And you've been there three times
[00:14:27.23 --> 00:14:32.91] in six months. You bring that restaurant into a smaller demographic with less numbers of people
[00:14:32.91 --> 00:14:37.63] available to go eat there. I said, you would have to eat at that restaurant five or six
[00:14:37.63 --> 00:14:43.55] times a week, you and plus everybody else to make up the numbers that would be needed. If you
[00:14:43.55 --> 00:14:48.83] go to a Henderson bill, it's got 60,000 people, right? See? So we had to think our way through it
[00:14:48.83 --> 00:14:54.03] and what we're looking for. So growth, we want all of the things, all the good things we think
[00:14:54.03 --> 00:14:59.15] goes with it, but we don't want what it takes to get there. Yeah. Well, and that's,
[00:15:00.67 --> 00:15:04.75] it is, it's kind of, it's simple when you spend five minutes to break it down.
[00:15:04.75 --> 00:15:08.99] It's not that anybody can't understand that, but most people just don't come to the
[00:15:09.07 --> 00:15:14.27] conversation with that mindset or with that knowledge. I think so. And we just had these
[00:15:14.27 --> 00:15:19.79] open conversations and this podcast can help along with that. The other problem is, is it's often
[00:15:19.79 --> 00:15:25.87] said, well, we're eating up all of our farm land. And I understand that. Now I think what a
[00:15:25.87 --> 00:15:29.47] lot of folks don't realize, a lot of those, that land that's being developed was not being
[00:15:29.47 --> 00:15:34.19] farmed. Now there was land that was capable maybe of being farmed, but it was no longer being
[00:15:34.19 --> 00:15:38.43] farmed. And then the folks who are wanting to sell the land are the people who own it.
[00:15:38.43 --> 00:15:43.23] And I think we miss that sometimes. I mean, the land was for sale because somebody wanted to sell
[00:15:43.23 --> 00:15:47.79] it. And then maybe somebody farmed it traditionally for a long amount of time, and then maybe they
[00:15:47.79 --> 00:15:52.59] pass on. Well, the kids don't want to farm it. So they're looking to auction it off to get
[00:15:52.59 --> 00:15:56.03] the most money that they can get. They want to segment it off. So they want to be able to
[00:15:56.03 --> 00:16:00.91] develop the land along the way. And then one thing that kind of always comes into play here
[00:16:00.91 --> 00:16:06.51] is that people say, well, I lived here and you're going to take my view away. The problem is
[00:16:06.51 --> 00:16:12.59] you didn't own the view. So you own your property, they own their property, but you don't own the view
[00:16:12.59 --> 00:16:19.07] of it. And that becomes difficult for us, and change becomes difficult. A quick example of that,
[00:16:19.07 --> 00:16:25.63] my wife and I have lived in the same home. So this is 2026, so 33 years.
[00:16:26.99 --> 00:16:32.83] And when we moved in our home, there was nothing in front of us but farmland as far as you can see.
[00:16:33.63 --> 00:16:40.75] And depending on the time of year, we'd have wheat, corn, soybeans. And I often say, so I missed
[00:16:40.75 --> 00:16:44.59] the corn because, you know, I think there's an unwritten rule that the first two rows of corn
[00:16:44.59 --> 00:16:49.55] are community corn, right? You go across the road and get an ear of corn. And I always loved field
[00:16:49.55 --> 00:16:55.31] corn, and you can only get about two weeks during the season. Now I have houses as far as I can see.
[00:16:55.31 --> 00:17:03.07] And that owner of that property made a decision from his family, what needed to be done,
[00:17:03.63 --> 00:17:10.19] instead of farming that, he was going to develop that. And while I don't have the
[00:17:10.19 --> 00:17:16.91] quote-unquote view that I had, I have friends that live now in the area that never had an
[00:17:16.91 --> 00:17:22.11] opportunity to live in that area. They have homes that they made purchases, they're raising
[00:17:22.11 --> 00:17:27.23] their family there. And so we've seen a lot of things change. I didn't get upset, I didn't go to
[00:17:27.79 --> 00:17:33.95] a council meeting, I didn't go to a planning commission meeting because that was their property.
[00:17:34.75 --> 00:17:40.43] And they made a decision to try to figure out how to develop that. And so now I have neighbors,
[00:17:40.43 --> 00:17:45.07] and I can wave at them across the street, and we can have conversations and do all that. So
[00:17:45.63 --> 00:17:51.87] things do change over time. And having been born and raised in my community, I've heard
[00:17:51.87 --> 00:17:56.91] people say, well, we need to stop letting people come into Portland. And I've asked a
[00:17:56.91 --> 00:18:02.59] question, I said, how long have you lived here? And they may say 10 years or 20 years. And I said,
[00:18:02.59 --> 00:18:08.19] what if we just said that two years before you moved here? Then you wouldn't have been
[00:18:08.19 --> 00:18:13.15] allowed to move here. And those are just the conversations that we have sometimes. I say,
[00:18:13.15 --> 00:18:19.31] listen, I get it. We all kind of look back and we have that romantic view of yesterday.
[00:18:19.95 --> 00:18:26.19] But the reason why a lot of people moved into Portland is because they like the look and feel
[00:18:26.19 --> 00:18:29.87] of it. And that just means that other people like the look and feel of it too.
[00:18:30.43 --> 00:18:35.31] How do we manage it? What regulations are in place to ensure that the city of Portland
[00:18:35.31 --> 00:18:41.23] is a beneficiary of it and not something that's just a secondary thought to where it's costing
[00:18:41.23 --> 00:18:46.35] us more to have it than being productive. Is that right? And that's the kind of
[00:18:46.35 --> 00:18:52.11] intentionality you get when you are very thoughtful about these policies. All right. So
[00:18:52.75 --> 00:18:59.55] that's all really, um, I think a lot of times there, there are a lot of benefits for whatever
[00:18:59.55 --> 00:19:05.79] is being proposed that it's just hard to see that. I think, um, that, that not in my backyard
[00:19:05.79 --> 00:19:10.51] mentality is, is it's going to happen anywhere, no matter how nice the development is
[00:19:10.51 --> 00:19:15.87] potentially because it's, you're used to whatever that view is and you just, you know,
[00:19:15.95 --> 00:19:18.99] I think it's really hard for people to put themselves in that position of what,
[00:19:18.99 --> 00:19:22.59] what are the benefits that are going to come with this? And a lot of times, um,
[00:19:22.59 --> 00:19:28.67] Change is different. It's just difficult for us, but about the only time that change is a
[00:19:28.67 --> 00:19:33.87] good idea is when it's our idea. Yeah. When change is someone else's idea, it's,
[00:19:33.87 --> 00:19:39.63] it's a little difficult to kind of get on board with in the beginning, uh, in a perfect world,
[00:19:40.43 --> 00:19:46.99] um, Portland would still look like the Portland of 50 years ago. And, uh,
[00:19:46.99 --> 00:19:50.91] kids will be riding their bicycle with their fishing pole and tackle box like I did.
[00:19:51.71 --> 00:19:58.27] But even though that day I thought was a great day as a kid, there's a lot of great days
[00:19:58.27 --> 00:20:05.71] today in the city of Portland. And one being this, when I wanted to work doing the kind of
[00:20:05.71 --> 00:20:11.79] work that I'd set out to do, I couldn't do it in Portland. I had to travel. I was in Nashville.
[00:20:11.79 --> 00:20:16.67] I was in Hendersfield. I was in different places to do the type of work that I did.
[00:20:17.55 --> 00:20:22.43] I could do that job today in the city of Portland. And I think about all those folks and
[00:20:22.43 --> 00:20:27.79] I don't know, you know, if you've ever been used to it, but driving every day back and forth
[00:20:27.79 --> 00:20:32.75] to Nashville, spending an hour, hour and a half on the road, each direction, uh, hoping the
[00:20:32.75 --> 00:20:37.39] interstate's not shut down and then waiting an extra two hours to get back in traffic,
[00:20:37.39 --> 00:20:41.15] you missed all that time with your family and all the things that were going on.
[00:20:41.15 --> 00:20:45.95] And now if you can do that in your hometown, you can live there in your five,
[00:20:45.95 --> 00:20:52.03] 10 minutes from work. That's a quality of life that that's hard to put a dollar figure on.
[00:20:52.75 --> 00:20:56.67] Having all those types of jobs coming into our community, we're very diversified.
[00:20:56.67 --> 00:21:00.43] I'm very thankful that we don't have all of our eggs in one basket. If you want to see what
[00:21:00.43 --> 00:21:05.15] that looks like for a community, go to Detroit. They put all their eggs in one basket of auto
[00:21:05.15 --> 00:21:10.75] manufacturing. It collapsed kind of during that time. It made things look really tough there.
[00:21:11.31 --> 00:21:16.75] Here in Portland, we have all types of manufacturers and distributions. And so you
[00:21:16.75 --> 00:21:22.67] have different opportunities there. Uh, TCAT in our facility and getting ready to launch a brand
[00:21:22.67 --> 00:21:28.59] new complete renovation. It's going to be beautiful there. $45 million influx from the state
[00:21:28.59 --> 00:21:34.19] right there into the city of Portland. It's going to be a great facility. Having that training,
[00:21:34.19 --> 00:21:40.03] I can get training. I can get a job here. I can live here and I can spend less time on the road,
[00:21:40.03 --> 00:21:46.03] more time with my family or doing the hobbies that I want to do and still create a living.
[00:21:46.03 --> 00:21:51.55] It's pretty good stuff. It is really good stuff. Yeah, absolutely. Well, you've hit on a
[00:21:51.55 --> 00:21:55.47] lot of things that I wanted to cover. So thank you for doing that. I knew that you would just
[00:21:55.47 --> 00:22:01.15] fill in all the blanks. So let's, let's shift gears and talk about, go back to the infrastructure
[00:22:01.15 --> 00:22:06.43] conversation, because let's talk about the, the, the waterline challenges. Um, if you could
[00:22:07.39 --> 00:22:11.47] sort of summarize for those listeners that, you know, have no idea that there's been a massive
[00:22:11.47 --> 00:22:15.63] waterline challenge, you know, what were the, what were the things that we were really trying
[00:22:15.63 --> 00:22:20.91] to solve and, and what were some of the frustrating obstacles that you, you encountered?
[00:22:20.91 --> 00:22:25.71] Well, the city of Portland is kind of in a unique situation and until people become aware of it,
[00:22:25.71 --> 00:22:30.27] they wouldn't ever know. We're the only utility in Sumner County not connected to the Cumberland
[00:22:30.27 --> 00:22:34.75] Old Hickory system for raw water. So our raw water was coming from West Forest Drake's Creek.
[00:22:35.63 --> 00:22:40.27] A lot of folks don't realize that Westmoreland, Kestay and Springs, they buy all their water
[00:22:40.27 --> 00:22:45.79] from Gallatin. The city of Hendersfield don't have any utilities of the city's utilities.
[00:22:45.79 --> 00:22:50.19] They have utilities that provided White House utility district, Hendersfield utility district kind
[00:22:50.19 --> 00:22:56.35] of splits their community and supplies water in there. Simpson County water district in, in,
[00:22:56.35 --> 00:23:00.91] in Simpson County, Kentucky gets its water from White House utility district that comes out of
[00:23:00.91 --> 00:23:06.27] Old Hickory Cumberland system. So people don't realize all that. Also, there was a lack of
[00:23:06.27 --> 00:23:14.67] interconnectivity in case of really, uh, disasters. I started working on water years ago before
[00:23:14.67 --> 00:23:18.19] really a lot of folks that are in office today were even in office. And we were meeting
[00:23:18.19 --> 00:23:22.59] down at the county level. We'd met with Army Corps. We've looked through so many scenarios over the
[00:23:22.59 --> 00:23:27.87] years. I just had a meeting with Army Corps Friday. And I was telling those, I said, listen,
[00:23:27.87 --> 00:23:33.47] I was reading a study by the Army Corps from the sixties about Portland. And so this thing
[00:23:33.47 --> 00:23:38.83] has been going on for years. One of our goals when we felt like there was an opportunity,
[00:23:38.83 --> 00:23:43.95] we've gone down the road many, many times and it always faltered due to the amount of money
[00:23:43.95 --> 00:23:49.31] it would take to do X, whatever that was, whether it was getting raw water or treated water,
[00:23:49.31 --> 00:23:53.79] the amount of money was insurmountable on those, all those things. So when we felt like the state
[00:23:53.79 --> 00:23:56.75] of Tennessee was going to get all this ARPA funding, they thought, hey, we're going to get
[00:23:56.75 --> 00:24:01.31] $1.35 billion. We're going to disperse this out. We're unsure how the money's going to go.
[00:24:02.03 --> 00:24:05.47] At that time, we thought there was going to be larger pots of money for regionalization than
[00:24:05.47 --> 00:24:09.39] what it ended up being. At the end of the day, all the money that was appropriated for
[00:24:09.39 --> 00:24:15.87] regionalization was $100 million. If you've been involved with any utilities and the cost of
[00:24:15.87 --> 00:24:20.75] utilities, you realize that the city of Portland could have spent all $100 million
[00:24:21.47 --> 00:24:26.83] on regionalization and still not fixed everything that needed to be done. But they broke that up
[00:24:26.83 --> 00:24:33.31] in pots of money for grants with a max of $20 million. Our goal number one was how do we
[00:24:33.31 --> 00:24:40.51] offset drought times when we don't have the water flowing? We knew we needed a minimum
[00:24:40.51 --> 00:24:45.95] of one million gallons a day of availability. The 2007 drought was one of the toughest droughts
[00:24:45.95 --> 00:24:51.79] for the state of Tennessee. When you're here in Gallatin or you're in Hendersonville and you
[00:24:51.79 --> 00:24:55.95] see the Cumberland, you see the old Hickory, it's hard for you to imagine, oh, droughts don't
[00:24:55.95 --> 00:25:02.11] affect us. Oh yeah, it hadn't rained in eight weeks, but plenty of water in the river.
[00:25:02.11 --> 00:25:06.19] Well, during that eight-week drought, you drive up to Portland and you see this beautiful
[00:25:06.19 --> 00:25:10.43] little stream that you would love to have in your backyard. You could see ducks on it and
[00:25:10.43 --> 00:25:15.95] birds out there. Then you realize there's only a trickle of water flowing in it. Then you would
[00:25:15.95 --> 00:25:22.83] see our city lake, and it's almost down to the bottom. You realize that for us, that if the
[00:25:22.83 --> 00:25:28.35] rain don't hurry up and come, we're going to be without water. We're trying to find ways
[00:25:28.35 --> 00:25:34.11] to figure out what could offset that along the way. As I said earlier, there were not a lot of
[00:25:34.11 --> 00:25:40.27] regional connections big enough to offset that amount of water because the infrastructure was
[00:25:40.27 --> 00:25:44.27] not already in the ground. There was no magic pipe in the ground that we could have put a
[00:25:44.27 --> 00:25:47.95] bunch of water in. None of that happened. So we worked our way through it and we said,
[00:25:47.95 --> 00:25:54.11] can we get one million gallons? Is that possible? We hoped we could get more. As we
[00:25:54.11 --> 00:25:58.03] worked through it, we realized the amount of money, and then we started getting the estimates.
[00:25:58.35 --> 00:26:05.23] It's probably going to take 60 million dollars to run a treated water line 20 plus miles.
[00:26:05.87 --> 00:26:09.63] It's not just for Portland. It's for rural northern Sumner County as well. We're fighting
[00:26:09.63 --> 00:26:14.27] for them just as much as we're fighting for us. Wanted fire protection along the route. A lot
[00:26:14.27 --> 00:26:19.79] of people kind of gets glossed over a little bit, but that's an important thing. When a
[00:26:19.79 --> 00:26:23.39] volunteer fire department has to drive two and a half miles to get to a fire hydrant, by the time
[00:26:23.39 --> 00:26:28.59] they get back to your place, your place is gone. A lot of those lines, those water lines
[00:26:28.59 --> 00:26:32.83] out in the county didn't have the volume and pressure needed to fill up a tank quick enough
[00:26:32.83 --> 00:26:37.71] anyway. So that's an aspect that we were really proud of on this project. But as we got
[00:26:37.71 --> 00:26:42.51] off into it, we said it's probably going to take 60 million dollars. We had to ask ourselves
[00:26:43.55 --> 00:26:50.27] if all we can get is what's in the grant, if all we can get is the 10 million that was
[00:26:50.27 --> 00:26:55.95] already appropriated on the Sumner County side for water lines, what would we do?
[00:26:56.83 --> 00:27:02.27] And it only made sense. You started where the water was and you ran it as far as you could get.
[00:27:03.31 --> 00:27:08.59] Now that may mean it may not make it to Portland, but you have to say what's the
[00:27:08.59 --> 00:27:12.91] most prudent thing and the best thing. You don't want to start a line on the area that doesn't have
[00:27:12.91 --> 00:27:17.07] water to put in it. So you started an area that has water to put in and you get it as far
[00:27:17.07 --> 00:27:23.07] and you get as much benefit as you can going forward. As we got our bids in, we realized we
[00:27:23.07 --> 00:27:28.27] may be able to do this thing for 40 million dollars. And we did bid alternatives and a lot
[00:27:28.27 --> 00:27:32.27] of folks, if you're not in that, maybe you don't understand what that means. So instead of
[00:27:32.27 --> 00:27:36.75] just looking at a 12 inch line, you get a cost for a 12 and a 16. Instead of just looking at
[00:27:36.75 --> 00:27:43.23] a 16, you get a cost for a 16 and a 20. That's how you do utilities. That makes sense.
[00:27:43.23 --> 00:27:47.71] When it comes to water lines, you can put a bigger pipe in the ground that's needed. Sewer's a little
[00:27:47.71 --> 00:27:51.95] different, but on water you put the biggest pipe you can afford in the ground. And we're doing
[00:27:51.95 --> 00:27:56.99] ductile iron that many people say will last over 100 years. All that's important, right? Because
[00:27:56.99 --> 00:28:02.11] we're looking beyond today. We're looking into the future. And it's cheaper to put it in today
[00:28:02.11 --> 00:28:07.47] than it will ever be in 15, 20 years. And if you get it done today and you get it under grant
[00:28:07.47 --> 00:28:14.03] funding, that means that the ratepayer doesn't have to absorb debt service to change that line
[00:28:14.03 --> 00:28:18.75] out in a few years. Well getting this under the grant keeps the ratepayer from having
[00:28:18.75 --> 00:28:23.47] that on their bill. Because on the utility and enterprise fund, the way the law is structured,
[00:28:24.19 --> 00:28:28.91] every user of that utility is the one that's responsible for any of the upgrades and it's
[00:28:28.91 --> 00:28:34.43] divvied out. So if you have 100 people, whatever that cost is, it gets divided among those
[00:28:34.43 --> 00:28:38.03] 100 people essentially. Whatever the debt service is in the state of Tennessee, we do
[00:28:38.03 --> 00:28:41.87] depreciation. They force us to do depreciation from the comptroller. We all have to add that on
[00:28:41.87 --> 00:28:45.95] there. So all these things are a little different. And so when you start looking at
[00:28:45.95 --> 00:28:52.27] multi-million dollar projects, it carries a weight on what it would do to utility rates
[00:28:52.27 --> 00:28:57.79] for everyone involved in the project. So we get it all done. We get 28 million dollars. We have
[00:28:57.79 --> 00:29:03.47] 19 sitting on the table from TDEC. We have nine million sitting on the table from the county.
[00:29:04.11 --> 00:29:09.71] And we realize we're going to run short and we're running two scenarios. What would it look like
[00:29:09.71 --> 00:29:13.39] if we had to go out and borrow the money, the city of Portland had to go out and borrow it,
[00:29:13.39 --> 00:29:18.75] what would it look like if the state of Tennessee could appropriate 12 million? And
[00:29:19.47 --> 00:29:27.07] time is crunching. So in April, the governor and his amended budget puts 12 million dollars
[00:29:27.07 --> 00:29:33.39] in there for a Sumner County Fast Track grant for that water line. And from their perspective,
[00:29:33.39 --> 00:29:38.03] a lot of it has to do with our industrial part because they're constantly sending us requests for
[00:29:38.03 --> 00:29:43.15] information for our industrial part. The state of Tennessee is wanting to recruit, get more
[00:29:43.15 --> 00:29:48.59] providers, more jobs into the state. And we've had to say no to a bunch of those because their
[00:29:48.59 --> 00:29:53.95] request for certain amounts of water in their process, we just didn't feel comfortable doing.
[00:29:54.51 --> 00:29:59.15] And so we had to turn several of those down. So as we work through it, we get the approval. And
[00:29:59.15 --> 00:30:07.55] I remember getting a text on a Saturday morning and saying, we think we're going to get this
[00:30:07.55 --> 00:30:13.07] money. And I said, when's the vote? Because you know, the vote matters, right? And so
[00:30:13.79 --> 00:30:18.19] then the General Assembly was able to approve that budget. The 12 million dollars is there.
[00:30:18.83 --> 00:30:23.95] Now the process begins, how do we take 12 million from the state ECD,
[00:30:24.99 --> 00:30:30.19] transfer it over to TDEC, because they've been kind of going over with these grants,
[00:30:30.19 --> 00:30:35.47] and then move that money to Sumner County. So if we had to go back, a lot of partnerships,
[00:30:35.47 --> 00:30:40.83] and we've been meeting collaboratively for a long time with multiple cities. So all in all,
[00:30:40.83 --> 00:30:47.07] I think it went well. A pipe is going in the ground. And so looking forward to a great
[00:30:47.07 --> 00:30:50.99] product. I know you talked about just the drought conditions and some of these
[00:30:51.87 --> 00:30:57.15] extreme, you know, emergency situations. But I know that water pressure and general availability
[00:30:57.71 --> 00:31:03.63] day to day has kind of underlined a lot of the look to investment. Am I right there?
[00:31:03.63 --> 00:31:08.59] Yeah. So I mean, like say, you're not going to locate in a place that can't meet your demands
[00:31:08.59 --> 00:31:12.99] for capacity. Right. And when they send that request to us, we're like, we just don't
[00:31:12.99 --> 00:31:17.95] feel comfortable doing that because we have to take into account what happens if it doesn't rain.
[00:31:18.59 --> 00:31:25.23] At 2007 drought, they produced a study in 2011 on the 2007 drought. In that study,
[00:31:25.23 --> 00:31:28.99] it said Portland suffered the worst. And then they put this little phrase in there. It said,
[00:31:28.99 --> 00:31:34.67] and then the rains came. Now listen, if you're living in an area where you have a river and
[00:31:34.67 --> 00:31:38.43] you have all the water you want, you don't think about that. In the city of Portland,
[00:31:38.43 --> 00:31:43.79] we're like all standing outside, looking up in the sky going, dear Lord, we need some rain,
[00:31:43.79 --> 00:31:50.35] please let it rain. A lot of folks in our county don't understand what that looks like.
[00:31:50.35 --> 00:31:54.27] The city of Portland is well versed in that because we've gone through it for years.
[00:31:54.83 --> 00:31:59.39] And so we just thank the good Lord. He is able to operate all of this for us.
[00:31:59.39 --> 00:32:07.63] We sing favor one after another, getting approvals of these things. We were told it was impossible.
[00:32:09.31 --> 00:32:15.63] Impossible. Going back to 20, it's just, it's probably impossible. And here we are,
[00:32:16.27 --> 00:32:23.87] the lines are going in the ground. So what is impossible with man can be possible with God.
[00:32:24.43 --> 00:32:28.35] And we just trust in Him for what He's doing for us. And I just give Him praise because I
[00:32:28.35 --> 00:32:31.87] know without Him, nothing else is going to work anyway. That's the way I look at it.
[00:32:31.87 --> 00:32:36.51] And I love how, you know, as we're getting to the kind of conclusion of this episode,
[00:32:36.51 --> 00:32:42.59] it ties together the many talents and the many qualities and characteristics that you
[00:32:42.59 --> 00:32:48.19] bring to the table in your leadership role. And when all else is not working, you know where
[00:32:48.19 --> 00:32:52.35] to turn and I'm sure you turn there every day. Well, I appreciate those are kind words,
[00:32:52.35 --> 00:32:58.83] but I will share this without a doubt. Listen, I'm just a dumb old country hick from the city of
[00:32:58.83 --> 00:33:06.43] Portland. And I'm fully confident and aware that the only reason why I'm in the position I'm in
[00:33:06.43 --> 00:33:14.11] with the things that we're doing is because of God. And I pray about stuff. Please, you direct
[00:33:14.11 --> 00:33:19.15] me what we're going to do. And God has been very faithful to me. And so I know not
[00:33:19.15 --> 00:33:23.63] everybody may agree with that or may think that way, but that's okay. They don't have to.
[00:33:23.63 --> 00:33:27.63] I know where my source of help comes from and it comes from the Lord. So I'm very thankful
[00:33:27.63 --> 00:33:31.63] to him. And here's something else I think is going to be really interesting. So you've been
[00:33:31.63 --> 00:33:36.03] doing these podcasts, you said since October, and you just brought in a guy that can't shut up
[00:33:36.59 --> 00:33:40.03] into your room and man, I'm going, we're going to talk, you know what I'm saying?
[00:33:40.03 --> 00:33:44.11] And you're saying like, Oh, Lord, we got to speed up. We got a time. So I just find it funny
[00:33:44.11 --> 00:33:47.87] because they always ask me to come to the radio station when they don't have a guest and they
[00:33:47.87 --> 00:33:52.67] just need somebody to fill in time. So I come and talk. That's what I do. Listen, I'm a
[00:33:52.67 --> 00:33:56.67] pretty nerdy girl. So I love getting into the specifics and talking about the size of the water
[00:33:56.67 --> 00:34:02.83] lines and you know, this intricate dance. And so it might've ended up being a rain dance,
[00:34:02.83 --> 00:34:08.19] but before that it was the dance of getting all these politicians and people who could
[00:34:08.19 --> 00:34:11.63] influence the right outcome. And you know what it proves? It proves it's doable.
[00:34:12.19 --> 00:34:17.31] If you don't care who gets the credit, if you're not worried because it wasn't your idea
[00:34:17.31 --> 00:34:22.19] and you can come into a room of people. And some of this even started with people who are no
[00:34:22.19 --> 00:34:28.75] longer in office. We started the process. We continued the process and to say, listen,
[00:34:28.75 --> 00:34:34.75] is this for the betterment of us all? And if it really is a betterment for us all,
[00:34:35.39 --> 00:34:42.03] does it really matter, quote unquote, who's in charge or who gets the credit? And I've seen
[00:34:42.03 --> 00:34:47.23] some amazing things. I'm so appreciative to the city of Gallatin, Mayor Paige Brown,
[00:34:47.87 --> 00:34:51.95] their willingness to step up. I'm very thankful to the county commission. Hey, listen,
[00:34:52.91 --> 00:34:59.15] we got our grant approval. It was 20 yeses for that. So I'm very thankful.
[00:34:59.15 --> 00:35:00.51] Maybe not the first time around.
[00:35:02.11 --> 00:35:08.35] That's part of the process. And I tell folks all the time, I love America. I love our
[00:35:08.35 --> 00:35:13.95] political process. It looks messy. It seems ugly at times, but would you rather be here or
[00:35:13.95 --> 00:35:18.83] would you rather be in Iran trying to figure it out? I would much rather be here. And I
[00:35:18.83 --> 00:35:25.79] love a healthy debate. Now I'm not a fan of degrading people. I don't think that's healthy,
[00:35:25.79 --> 00:35:30.27] but I love a healthy debate. You tell me why you believe the way you do. I'll tell you why
[00:35:30.27 --> 00:35:36.91] I believe the way I do. We put our arguments out there and see if we can convince others
[00:35:37.47 --> 00:35:42.99] of our side. So I love the political process in America. And it's just an honor to be,
[00:35:42.99 --> 00:35:47.95] I'm just honored to be a part of it. And I just play a very small part. And there are so
[00:35:47.95 --> 00:35:52.75] many other people involved. So it's pretty good. All right. One last short question.
[00:35:53.87 --> 00:36:01.55] If you're Portland citizens and listeners are tuned in, what would be one thing you wish
[00:36:01.55 --> 00:36:06.43] they would do to help this community thrive? Just continue to volunteer. I say it all the
[00:36:06.43 --> 00:36:12.67] time. It does not matter the size of your community as far as demographics go or population.
[00:36:13.47 --> 00:36:17.23] Because you could have a bigger city with a lot of strong community,
[00:36:17.23 --> 00:36:22.27] or you could have a small city and there's really no community. It's about the people.
[00:36:22.27 --> 00:36:27.31] Get involved, join, volunteer. I have found this to be true and maybe you have as well.
[00:36:27.31 --> 00:36:34.43] Those who are out there volunteering, offering up their time, do spend less time in complaining
[00:36:34.43 --> 00:36:39.23] about things. They're just involved to make a difference. Just come make a difference.
[00:36:39.23 --> 00:36:44.59] We have so many opportunities to do that, many venues for everybody. I love getting out there
[00:36:44.59 --> 00:36:48.35] and serving and seeing other people in the community serving side by side and making
[00:36:48.35 --> 00:36:53.63] it happen. So get involved, volunteer. The people will look different. The community
[00:36:53.63 --> 00:36:57.87] will look different and you will make a positive impact. So win, win, win. It is.
[00:36:57.87 --> 00:37:01.87] And we are the volunteer state. That's right. Amen. Thank you so much, Mike Callas. I
[00:37:01.87 --> 00:37:10.50] appreciate your time today. Thank you. Portland is at an important inflection point,
[00:37:10.50 --> 00:37:13.70] and these are the kinds of local conversations that matter most.
[00:37:13.70 --> 00:37:17.30] If you want more honest conversations about growth, leadership, and the choices
[00:37:17.30 --> 00:37:22.10] shaping Sumner County, stay with us. This is Growing Pains, and we'll see you next time.