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Recreation

Bell began by speaking about the Sports Complex, which opened last September with football and soccer fields as part of Phase 1. Phase 2 will see the development of baseball and softball fields. According to Bell, approximately 1,400 children currently play at Baird Park, and once the fields are completed, baseball and softball play will shift to the Sports Complex away from the 75-year-old Baird Park.

Phase 2 which will include eight full-size baseball fields and four softball fields, will be designed by an outside firm, and bids for construction could be posted as early as 2027.

The economic impact of the complex was also discussed. Once Phase 2 is completed, the entire Sports Complex is expected to have a $55 million economic impact for the City of Lebanon.

“For us as a city, that brings in business for our restaurants, our hotels [and] our stores,� Bell said. “This park is designed to be an economic engine for the city.�

Approximately $3.5 million in revenue could be made annually from sales and hotel taxes, as sports tournaments held at the Sports Complex could bring in overnight visitors from outside the city.

“This is a continuation of investing in our lifestyle and our quality of life,� Bell added. “This park is really about the future.�

The City Council recently purchased three acres of property to serve as an additional access point to the Sports Complex, as the only entrance off of Murfreesboro Rd. can see traffic congestion.

Continuing from how the Sports Complex affects the local economy, Bell addressed the overall economy of the city.

Retail & Revenue

“Our economy is very strong,� he said. “For the past 20 months, consecutively, we have generated in the city limits of Lebanon over $2 million a month in sales taxes. To put that in perspective, Mt. Juliet has generated $2 million a month six times in their entire history.�

The upcoming Sam’s Club represents a $50 million investment in Lebanon, and Bell said the City invested $18 million into two roads, Willard Hagan Drive and Hagan Way, which connect the soon-to-open store to South Hartmann Drive. Bell said the roads were completed ahead of schedule, meaning the City received some money back on a rebate.

“For that $18 million investment, we are getting a store that will generate $2 million a year in sales taxes for the City of Lebanon, so that investment will come back to us.� Bell said. “Just like a business, cities have to invest in themselves.�

Sam’s isn’t the only store to call that part of Lebanon home. Target plans to open a location nearby within the next few years. Other retailers the city’s economic development department are looking into include hobby stores and sporting goods stores. A full-service hotel and “upscale grocery stores� are also on the City’s radar for recruitment.

Castronuovo asked Bell what his go-to In-N-Out order is.

“Double double animal style, no tomatoes, add-in chillies, toasted bun, fries extra crispy and a neapolitan milkshake,� Bell replied.

Bell added that during In-N-Out’s first month, it broke the Wilson County restaurant sales tax record.

“We were told Lynsi [Snyder], the owner, invited the first-ever employee that her grandparents hired. His name is Tom Evans, hired back in the [1940s] when he got out of World War II,� Bell said. “He’s 99 years old…He told me that his family is from Wilson County.�

Evans had traveled to Tennessee to attend the openings of the first two In-N-Outs in the state, Lebanon and Antioch. The Lebanon location opened first, 30 minutes before Antioch’s.

Bell went on to describe Lebanon’s growth, being the 12th fastest growing city in the U.S. and Wilson County being the second wealthiest county in Tennessee. Because of that growth, multiple businesses express interest in moving to Lebanon and bringing in jobs.

Bell told a story about a developer showing him a book of building designs, with corporate offices shown in the front of the book and warehouses in the back. The developer was interested in building warehouses in the city; however, Bell said he wanted the city to have “the things in the front of the book.�

“We have plenty of empty warehouses,� Bell added. “We want corporate jobs.�

Infrastructure

Castronuovo brought up infrastructure and concerns local residents have that improvements are not keeping up with the growth. Bell replied saying that investors had begun putting in “millions� for infrastructure improvements as part of the process of building new areas within the city.

“Growth must pay for itself,� Bell said.

Another interest the City has is extending North Hartmann Drive to the new Hartsville Pike. This is in response to local complaints of heavy traffic flowing through the Square, including semi-trucks. Commercial traffic could then utilize that connection to bypass the downtown Square. Additionally, Bell said the intersection of South Hartmann and West Main Street is “the busiest intersection� in the city.

According to Bell, the City is looking at potentially adding turning lanes, particularly a right-turn lane from West Main to go south down South Hartmann, as well as an additional left-turn lane from South Hartmann to go west on West Main. This would mean two left-turn lanes to turn from South Hartmann to West Main.

The water treatment expansion, zoning code updates and annexation considerations were also discussed, along with regulations requiring developers to preserve parts of the natural landscape when building new neighborhoods. Castronuovo then asked about the recent experience with the Department of Homeland Security and a briefly considered interest in opening an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center

The Federal Stand-Off

Bell spoke for 10 minutes recounting the February ordeal with the ICE detention center from his perspective. He began with the initial rumors that had circulated the city, then the outcry after news agencies reported ICE’s intentions to open a facility. The back-and-forth of ICE denying plans to then confirming plans to open such a facility, described by Bell as “the largest prison in the country.�

When Bell was finally contacted by a DHS representative finally confirming the plans to pursue the facility at a property on State Route 109, he recalled sitting at dinner with his wife and some friends who were saying they were thankful the detention center was “just a rumor.�

“If I know it, everyone else needs to know it,� he recalled. The next day he released an official statement. He then spoke about a conversation he had with a DHS official not long before the department officially scrapped the facility plans.

“It seems like you weren’t just going to tell [anybody] and just show up,� Bell said. “[The DHS official] said, ‘That’s exactly what we were going to do.’�

After the ICE story, Bell then went on to describe Lebanon as a “vibrant community� and that he regularly thinks about what the city will be like in the coming decades.