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The Sports Complex features new fields for youth sports to play on, which moves them from airport property, which Bell said was a safety concern, while also offering activities for the city’s youth.

Lebanon saw the first sit-down full-service restaurant open in years in 2025. Aubrey’s opened a location on West Main Street.

“When I was running for mayor back in 2020, one of the things I heard all across town was we needed more full-service restaurants, so we made that a goal,” Bell said. “Aubreys came in, opened, and has been a great success. It gives people options, but also generates sales tax revenue. It also proves to other restaurants that are similar that they can succeed here.”

In addition, In-N-Out opened its first Tennessee restaurant in December. The California chain had stayed west of the Mississippi River, but three restaurants in Tennessee marked a new eastward expansion.

“People out [west] feel the same way [about In-N-Out] that people in the South feel about Chick-fil-A,” Bell continued. “People love Chick-fil-A for the culture that company establishes.”

Bell mentioned other accomplishments and economic developments such as the sewer line on South Hartmann Drive, two new roads leading to the Sam’s Club which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026 and how the location off of Hartmann is prime for retail expansion.

Target announced plans to build a location in Lebanon. In addition to Sam’s Club and Target, a second Walmart is planned for construction on State Route 109. Bell said the City is looking for other stores to fill out retail development areas. Notably sporting goods, hobby and men’s clothing stores.

As part of Walmart’s construction off of Highway 109, Safari Camp Road, Leeville Pike and First Avenue will soon see infrastructure improvements to move some entranceways away from Interstate-40 ramps, to improve safety according to Bell.

In 2025, a sanitation fee was established. Bell says it was needed to offset rising costs of fuel, increased collection and fees charged by the landfill in Rutherford County. Residents shared concerns with the City Council about how people on fixed incomes can afford the extra $20 minimum each month. The City introduced an application for individuals with certain income requirements to qualify for a reduced fee. Approximately $4 million was added to the annual budget to accommodate sanitation.

“We really didn’t see it was sustainable for sanitation to continue along this path,” Bell said. “The decision we made was that sanitation needs to sustain itself—it needs to pay for itself.”

According to Bell, there were some hiccups when the fee was first established, such as double billing or the incorrect amount charged, but said everything should be ironed out going into 2026.

“We run a tight budget here in the City of Lebanon. We are conservative in how we set up our budget. We’re conservative in how we spend the people’s money. We haven’t had a property tax increase.”

WIth increased costs, businesses opening new locations or coming into Lebanon for the first time is expected to bring enough sales tax revenue to offset budget increases and infrastructure upgrades.

“Our sales tax revenue is doing really well. A lot has to do with the new businesses that have invested in Lebanon, but a great deal of it is because [of] local businesses,” Bell said. “That’s something we always want to support—to make sure that people who want to open a small business here that they are successful and I urge everyone to support them.”

With increased development, many residents feel that growth may change the identity of Lebanon even further away from a rural community.

“All of us, myself and the Council, take this very seriously. The Council for the past year, years before, and I know going into the future look very closely at every [zoning] request that comes in,” Bell said. “Over the past year, the Council has really taken a careful approach to annexing property. Lebanon covers a lot of territory, and the more territory it covers, the more services we have to provide.”

Bell said new building standards hold developers to a quality which improves the city and prevents “bare minimum” construction from popping up around Lebanon. The “look” of Lebanon, according to Bell, is established through zoning codes, which received a comprehensive update in the last two months.

“It’s our job to make sure [development] happens in a way that is sustainable. Also to hold on to who we are as a city and we’ve always been as a city, our historic downtown is important for that,” Bell added. “We’ve had a lot of investment, private investment, in our historic downtown. That’s important to hold on to the charm of what Lebanon’s always been.”

As for 2026, Bell said Phase Two of the Sports Complex is a high priority, as well as continuing the momentum of increasing economic opportunities for residents wishing to open local businesses and filling gaps in retail categories so residents won’t need to travel out of the city, keeping tax dollars within Lebanon.