The Mosheim Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved an ordinance on second and final reading Thursday night officially establishing a Mosheim Public Library Board, and appointing members to that new official board.
A framework for the governance of the library was never formally established when the library was formed in the 1980s according to Mosheim officials, leading to miscommunications and a lack of clarity in the library’s operations at times. The approved ordinance will bring library operations in line with Tennessee Code Annotated guidance. Previously, the Town of Mosheim’s municipal code did not recognized the existence of a library board, although one has existed for years.
Under the ordinance, the Mosheim Library Board was formally established and will now direct all affairs and operations of the library including personnel. The Mosheim Board of Mayor and Aldermen will have the sole authority to appoint members to the seven person library board, and library accounts will be audited annually under the supervision of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. A member of the Mosheim Board of Mayor and Aldermen will also serve as a member of the library board. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will continue to provide funding to the library.
The ordinance would allow the library to maintain access to Tennessee regional and state library materials and services.
Upon the passage of the ordinance, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen made appoints to the seven member board, giving priority to those board applicants living within the Town of Mosheim.
The board members will serve staggered terms.
Lynda Edwards, Betsy Evans, and Mosheim Alderman Marc Campbell were appointed to one-year terms on the board. Diane Daugherty and Tyler Ricker were appointed to two-year terms, and Jeremy Morgan and Roger Foshie were appointed to three-year terms. The seven were chosen out of a pool of 11 total applicants.
Edwards, Daugherty, Morgan, Foshie and Campbell all reside within the Town of Mosheim. Evans and Ricker live outside of Mosheim, but were members of the previous unofficial Mosheim Library Board.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their work on this matter,” Mosheim Mayor Rick Cunningham said after the new board was approved.
The Mosheim Library Board will meet on the third Tuesday of every other month at 5 p.m. at the Mosheim Public Library.
The board also approved two other ordinances on final reading.
The board unanimously approved a “Beer Ordinance” on that establishes defined classes of beer permits that can be issued by the town’s Beer Board, creates a detailed list of rules for applicants, and updates and modernizes the town’s existing beer ordinance.
The board also approved an ordinance for the town to adopt the 2024 International Building Code, Residential Code, Plumbing Code, Mechanical Code, Fuel Gas Code, Property Maintenance Code, and 2018 International Energy Conservation Code.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen also approved recommended edits and revisions to the Town of Mosheim’s Zoning Ordinance on first reading.
The zoning ordinance was first adopted in 1992, and has been amended several times since then. The present changes are a result of a comprehensive review of the 27-page ordinance.
Most of the changes are minor revisions and corrections to terms and spellings in the document however, there are a couple changes that are more specific additions to the ordinance.
One of the updates would require “ready-removable” shed structures only be fitted for minimal electric and no plumbing. Only one would be permitted per lot, unless permission was granted for a variance by the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the structures would have to be set 10 feet from a property line.
Another update would require construction on a structure must be completed within 365 days of issuance of the permit. Extensions would be at the discretion of the building inspector.
The changes to the Zoning Ordinance will be subject to a second reading by the Mosheim Board of Mayor and Aldermen before becoming finalized.
In other business, Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the rezoning of a property at 950 Main St. in Mosheim from B-1 Business District to R-2 Residential District upon first reading. The property had always been residential, and is surrounded by residential property. The property owner recently demolished a dilapidated home on the property, and wants to place a new home on the site. However, a new residence cannot be put in place unless the property is rezoned.
The rezoning will require a second reading before being finalized.
