Town Council Workshop - August 27, 2026

The Town of Smyrna Council workshop on August 27, 2026, was held to set the September meeting agenda; no final votes or contract awards were made at the workshop. Procurement items proposed for the agenda included annual natural-gas cathodic-protection testing by Southern Cathodic Protection Company; on-call SCADA troubleshooting support from Prime Controls, replacing MR Systems; Motorola dispatch-console maintenance; and Nashcom service for 197 town radios. Staff said separating the radio service contract from a larger agreement saves about $5,000 annually. For janitorial services, staff recommended TNT Group following a competitive bid and evaluation of price, qualifications, and references; TNT ranked first overall despite being the eighth-lowest bidder. Other proposed agreements covered CSX design services for the Lowry Street Phase 3 pedestrian crossing, HDR design work for Lee Road and the Lee/Rocky Fork/Seminary intersection through the right-of-way stage, and the regional commuter-bus service contract with WeGo/RTA. Council requested Smyrna-specific ridership information and further discussion before deciding on possible future service changes; a potential 2027 consolidation of routes remains under consideration.

The council also reviewed a proposed $273,000 hardware and software support renewal that would defer replacement of the town’s transaction-processing system for at least two years; staff noted replacement hardware estimates had risen from $400,000 to $1.2 million. A proposed AI-use policy would require human review and privacy safeguards, with staff discussing adding compliance language to future vendor contracts and reviewing AI-enabled vendor tools. A planning-fee schedule amendment, described as removing per-lot charges for final and preliminary plats following a state-required fee study, was also set for the agenda. No procurement action was taken on the transit proposal, and council asked staff to bring back further information on traffic-study recommendations and possible roadway improvements.