Collinwood City Commission Discusses Progress at RV Bath House and Picnic Area

The Collinwood City Commission met in regular session on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the conference/courtroom of Collinwood City Hall.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Glenn Brown. All commissioners were in attendance: Mayor Brown, Vice Mayor Debie Pigg, Commissioner Shaundale Hanback, Commissioner Cindy Kephart, and Commissioner Kim McFall. City Manager Gary Victory and City Recorder Dana Simmons were in attendance as well.

The invocation was offered by Commissioner Hanback, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

The agenda and the minutes of previous meetings were unanimously approved.

Departmental reports were distributed to the commissioners for their review. There were no questions from the commission.

Next on the agenda was a resolution for a water tank grant. City Manager Victory explained that the resolution is for the application for a U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Disaster Supplemental Grant. These grants are being offered to communities who suffered damage from natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. The City of Collinwood intends to apply for a grant that would fund a new additional water tank for the city. A new water tank would increase the city’s water storage capacity from 300,000 gallons to 600,000 gallons, which would be conducive to future economic growth. The availability of more water would also help draw more industry, therefore increasing employment opportunities. The estimated cost of the new water tank is $1 million, with the city responsible for a $200,000 match. The grant resolution was unanimously approved on roll call vote.

A grant resolution to apply for a Public Entity Partners Safety Grant was next. This is a grant that has been applied for and awarded to the city for several years. The grant funds are used for various needs such as safety cones, bulletproof vests for the police officers, etc. The resolution was unanimously approved on roll call vote.

Next on the agenda was the RV park bath house and picnic area renovation at the former City Pool. City Manager Victory said the pool is now full of dirt as planned, and progress is being made to create a picnic area where the pool was. He said the pump house still must be removed, and something will have to be done with the kiddie pool. He also said that filling the pool with dirt cost more than was originally estimated. Renovations at the former restroom/office building next to the pool will ultimately create a bath house primarily for those using the RV park.

A Downtown Improvement Grant Resolution was next. The commission discussed applying for a $160,000 grant, which would have a 25% match to be paid by business owners who used the grant funds. They ultimately decided to apply for a $200,000 grant and use the extra funds to work on the stage at Ralph Hughes Park. The resolution passed unanimously on roll call vote.

The next item on the agenda was the retirement of City Manager Victory, who said he planned for his last day to be October 1. The commission set a meeting for August 31 to go through the applications and resumes received for the position. Mayor Brown thanked Victory for his service to the city, and Mr. Victory thanked the commissioners for being easy to work with. He said that even though October 1 would officially be his last day, he would still be available to help and answer questions when needed.

Mayor Brown then gave the Wayne County Welcome Center report for July 2026. A total of 383 visitors signed in at the Welcome Center, coming from 25 U.S. states and foreign countries including Venezuela, Switzerland, and Uganda. Volunteer of the Month was Frank Cannon.

Under “other” on the agenda, Commissioner Hanback commented that Elm Street was rough.

Mayor Brown said that used tires at the old tire shop were an eyesore, and City Manager Victory said he would contact the new owner of the shop.

The mayor then said he was very concerned about the safety of anyone pulling out from the Senior Citizens Center onto Highway 13 South due to the ongoing construction of the new Collinwood Medical Clinic. He said it was very difficult to see oncoming traffic before pulling out. The commission discussed temporarily reducing the speed limit on that section of the highway to 30mph, but Police Chief David Martin said that TDOT would have to approve it. No action was taken.

City Manager Victory commented next that the basketball court looked great after being updated. He went on to say that someone representing a church in the city complained about the church’s water bill, stating that hardly any water was used because no one was at the church most of the time. Victory said he explained that all city customers have a minimum water bill regardless of usage.

Tyler Pack and Jesse Mayes from Griggs and Maloney Engineering introduced themselves next. They are from the Lawrenceburg office, and both live in Lawrence County. They said they plan to start coming to as many commission meetings as possible and will be available to help with anything when needed. City Manager Victory thanked them for coming and said they were doing a good job.

City Recorder Dana Simmons said the commission needs to be thinking about “Howling in the Wood,” the annual Halloween event coming up on October 31. They discussed reducing the length of the event from three hours to two.

With no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned.