Issues & Challenges

We live in a community that actively supports a major national security asset. The wind tunnel at AEDC is part of critical U.S. defense infrastructure, and it’s time that we become serious about that fact. Major cities like Chattanooga, Huntsville, Murfreesboro and Nashville surround our region. The reality is that Tullahoma sits in a perfect position to capitalize on the radiating growth that has been coming for years and that will not stop. Smart development plans that peer into a future with our city as a regional hub is the only way that we can have some influence on its direction. We need housing that is affordable for middle and lower income folks, our aging population and for younger people that are just starting out to keep our community from becoming a hodgepodge of random developments that don’t work together.

Bashing the experts, undermining the hard work that has already gone into a comprehensive plan by encouraging the absence of a plan for high density within the borders of our existing communities runs directly counter to the facts on the ground. This growth is beyond our local control and we think that actively managing the impacts of it while respecting the investment risk of property owners is the smart way forward.

Locally, Manchester, Winchester, McMinnville, and Morrison are also rapidly expanding, with residents of these communities working, living or shopping at our stores and restaurants. Tens of millions of dollars are being invested in plants like Bridgestone and Dot Foods, and retail outlets like Marshalls, Old Navy and Ross, in addition to the investments that the existing industrial bases of engineering contractors, various suppliers to the base and that the most recognizable brand in the world have also poured into our area. The automotive industry, which is substantially investing in our region and the state at large, is an added bonus that spawns major commercial interest in Tennessee. Factor in our farming and agricultural properties and we have a diverse, strong workforce regularly flitting into town that will likely see the Tullahoma area as an ideal location to put down roots and raise a family. But, where do we expect these people to live?

Division & Fear

Save Tullahoma? More like “Save My Backyard.”

This activist group was formed when a leaked draft proposal for a high-density development was acquired by a resident of an adjacent neighborhood. Using imagery such as these burning buildings and trigger words like “low-income” and “Section 8,” the group has successfully fanned the flames of fear in our community by misrepresenting the development. They have attacked city planners, elected leaders and individual citizens, among other bullying tactics, with the sole intention to stop land development that Tullahoma not only badly needs, but that is in the best interests of every current and future resident of our city.

While claiming to not have a financial interest in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan or the rezoning of a large farm behind their neighborhood, the vast majority of people that run this group are in homes that surround the land that is proposed for the project. There has been a lot of talk about special interests or outside investors ruining our community, but this is purposely misleading and deflective.

A crew of actual special interests from right here in town (and outside of the city limits) have been running a slash-and-burn campaign to stop higher-density housing from being built anywhere near their property. This not only threatens the overall health of our community living options but is a basic attack on the concept of American conservative ideals, capitalism and personal property rights. If these residents want to preserve a neighboring tract of land as a green space, they should buy it and build a park instead of picketing the streets with cheap signs or showing up to board and planning meetings with talking points, anger and fear in their hearts.

What professional developer would come into town and build something that depresses property values? Why would a local developer or landowner spend hard-earned money on a project that would wreck their own community? Our city has a clear need for affordable, denser housing developments now and in the future. A noisy activist group won’t alter the fact that older generations and the youth are hungry for a place to call their own that won’t break their bank accounts.

Is this how we should address our growing city and plan for the future? Should we attack people whose job it is to look out for the entire community or who want to develop land that they own? Is it right for a small subset of neighborhoods to decide that they get to dictate how someone uses their property and money in Tullahoma just because they yell the loudest?

This philosophy seems like it belongs in a different country, not ours. It’s a very simple trade: You don’t get to tell your neighbor what to do with his property and, therefore, we don’t get to tell you what to do with yours. That’s the agreement that we have with each other, and it’s been here since the founding of the United States.

Sure, you can choose to live in a neighborhood that has an HOA so that you can influence what your neighbors do, but when did this control extend beyond the borders of that overlay? Do personal property rights only count if the property is yours?

It’s unfortunate that we have to confront a circus-like atmosphere from our Board of Mayor & Aldermen, but the dysfunction of this governing body is starting to majorly impact a brighter future in Tullahoma. The expectation that we have is for the rule of law to be followed, for respect and etiquette among parties to prevail, and for the city to function as a highly-tuned machine that responds to the needs of us as citizens. Instead, we’re beset by scandal.

Alderman Jenna Amacher is not a resident of Tullahoma. She’s stated it publicly multiple times and is in direct violation of our state statute TCA 2-22-122. Why is she allowed to remain on this board? Manchester recently removed an alderman for a similar offense, and a couple of years ago the local school board fired an employee for defying Tullahoma residency requirements. Why aren’t we doing the same? Where is the accountability for inaction on this? UPDATED 3/20/2023 with the full story here.

Newly elected Alderman Kurt Glick has an active lawsuit against the City of Tullahoma in which City Administrator Jennifer Moody, acting in her role as his superior, determined that there were problems with his leadership. How are we to expect that Mr. Glick’s judgement will not be impaired by his pursuit of $500,000 from the community that he now represents? Should he be in a position of authority over and make administrative decisions for the city that he’s suing? How are we to know that any of his service isn’t a retaliatory act and that he’s doing what’s best for Tullahoma? The answer is that we don’t know—and it’s concerning. UPDATED Kurt Glick was arrested and indicted on two felony charges of official misconduct in July of 2023, further damaging the reputation of our community to the world at large by splashing negative headlines across the state.

Now he’s decided that the best way to represent the city is to run for mayor. Election day is August 1, 2024. Please make your voice heard at the ballot box.