Maury County Rejects Crosswaters Reserve, 20 to 0

Twenty commissioners. Twenty votes. The old Monsanto property will not become a resort.

The Maury County Commission voted 20 to 0 Monday night to deny the Crosswaters Reserve rezoning request. Every commissioner in the room voted no. The proposal to transform 1,339 acres of the former Monsanto Chemical Company campus in Santa Fe into a 1,300-home resort community centered on Monsanto Lake is denied.

The room was packed. People came from all across the county to participate in their local government happenings. Like every commission meeting, they opened with a prayer asking for God to grant the commissioners wisdom as representatives of the citizens of Maury County.

The developer’s attorney, Reed Martz, had seven minutes. He argued the site is north of the Duck River and was never part of Monsanto’s chemical processing operations. He pointed to the TDEC brownfield agreement as proof the land is clean. He said the project fits the county’s comprehensive plan, would deliver 1,313 new homes and 150,000 square feet of commercial space, and would generate $5.1 billion in economic impact over 20 years. He asked the commissioners plainly: if not this, then what?

Commissioner Aaron Miller had been hearing from constituents since the project was announced. He knew his vote before he walked in. But he wanted to say something more than a procedural reason.

“There are things that are more valuable than dollar signs and the GDP and the line graph constantly going up,” he said. “Those things include preserving the natural beauty of God’s creation, being good stewards of the gifts that we’ve been given, knowing that we can plant a tree whose shade we will never sit under, but that our children will.”

Commissioner Gabe Howard pointed to the planning commission’s unfavorable recommendation and the incompatibility with the comprehensive land use plan. Commissioner Scott Sumners said the proposal does not fit the character of that part of the county and noted the county is actively developing a new land use plan. County Mayor Sheila Butt read directly from the current comprehensive plan: the rural character of that area is meant to be preserved and enhanced, not replaced.

After the commissioners had their say, Maury County residents took the microphone for public comment.

Jordan Rouden, a District 9 resident, did the math. If the development claims 975 single-family homes on roughly 500 acres of residential land, he said, that is not one unit per acre as advertised. “That doesn’t math, guys,” he said. “Make it make sense.”

Chris Gramling, also from District 9, laid out the three reasons the proposal fails the county’s own zoning ordinance: incompatibility with the surrounding area, infrastructure strain, and the planning commission’s unanimous recommendation for denial. When people think of Santa Fe, he said, they think of farms, churches, rural homes, and the Santa Fe Diner. Not a 400-room hotel and a marina.

The commissioners gave their answer. Twenty votes. All of them no.

As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, it is worth pausing on what happened in that room Monday night.

A packed commission chamber. Neighbors standing in the back. A prayer for wisdom. Public comment. Debate. A vote.

This is the thing the founders built. Not perfect, not fast, not always tidy, but accountability rooted in the people it represents. Commissioner Miller said he had been hearing from his constituents and would be following through on their wishes. That is the covenant of representative government.

Maury County has now voted against proposals for this land three times. A landfill. A waste processing facility. A resort. Each time the community showed up. Each time the answer was no.

That is not obstruction. That is a community that knows what it is and what it wants to remain.

The vote was unanimous but the underlying questions have not changed. The old Monsanto campus is still there. It is still zoned heavy industrial. The county is developing its new comprehensive land use plan and those public meetings are happening now in Culleoka, in Santa Fe, in Mount Pleasant and Hampshire through this week. If you want a say in what Maury County looks like for years to come, those are the rooms to be in.

The developer has not indicated whether it plans to appeal or return with a revised proposal. That is worth watching.

There are a variety of opinions on what the growth of Maury County should look like. Not everyone will be happy with every decision. There will be compromises to make and common ground to find. There are ditches on both sides of the road that should be avoided. Even so, the commissioners and residents of this county made it clear on Monday that the Crosswaters development does not align with the vision for this piece of middle Tennessee.

Your Congressional District May Have Changed. Here Is What Maury County Voters Need to Know.

Nearly 20,000 Maury County addresses are in a different congressional district than they were last election. The county is not mailing notifications. August 6 is coming fast.

If you voted in Maury County’s last congressional election and assumed your district is the same as it was, you may want to check again.

A new congressional map took effect in May. Maury County is now split between two different districts. Nearly 20,000 addresses in the county are affected. And the county elections office has confirmed it does not plan to mail notifications to voters whose districts changed.

The responsibility for finding out is yours. Here is everything you need to know.

The Tennessee General Assembly convened a special session in early May 2026 and passed a redrawn congressional district map on May 7. The redrawing was triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s April ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which Republican legislators used as justification to redraw Tennessee’s maps before the 2026 elections.

For Maury County the change is significant. The county previously sat entirely within Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District. Under the new map, Maury County is divided between the 5th District and the 9th District, with a new boundary line running through the county affecting roughly five precincts.

Chaz Molder, Columbia’s current mayor and a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 5th District, described the redistricting as “changing the rules in the middle of the game” in a June interview with Inside Politics Nashville. Whether you share that view or not, the practical reality is the same for every Maury County voter: the map is different and the primary is August 6.

The redrawn 5th Congressional District now covers all of Maury, Lewis and Marshall counties along with parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties. The new district stretches from Middle Tennessee all the way to Memphis and into West Tennessee, touching Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi along the way. The Cook Political Report rates it R+8, meaning it leans reliably Republican.

The 9th District, which now picks up part of Maury County, covers portions of western Tennessee and Memphis. It is a substantially different district from anything most Maury County voters have been part of before.

Three Republicans are competing in the 5th District primary on August 6: incumbent Andy Ogles, who served as Maury County Mayor before winning the seat in 2022, and challengers Charlie Hatcher and Micheal O’Leary.

Five Democrats are running in the 5th District primary: Mike Cortese, Chaz Molder, Joyce Neal, Elizabeth Stephens and Jim Torino.

When the new maps passed in May, the Tennessee Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit challenging them, arguing the maps were drawn to dilute Democratic and minority voting power particularly in Memphis. The court denied the request for expedited relief, meaning the maps would stay in place for the August 6 election regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome.

With that ruling in hand the Tennessee Democratic Party voluntarily dismissed its case.

Two other legal challenges remain active, one from the ACLU and one from the NAACP and League of Women Voters. Both are pursuing separate arguments at the federal level. Those cases are ongoing but will not affect the August 6 election.

For Maury County voters the bottom line is straightforward. The new maps are in effect. They will govern both the August 6 primary and the November general election.

Maury County Elections Administrator Chris Mackinlay confirmed that roughly five precincts are affected by the new boundary and that the county will not mail district change notifications to affected voters. He said he is confident the changes can be implemented in time but acknowledged concerns about Election Day confusion and said additional staffing may be added at affected precincts.

Three things every Maury County voter should do now:

1. Look up your congressional district using the Tennessee Secretary of State’s address lookup tool to confirm which district you are in and which race you will be voting in.
2. Confirm your voter registration is current.
3. Note that Tennessee has an open primary, meaning any registered voter can participate in either party’s primary on August 6 without declaring a party affiliation in advance.

The Secretary of State’s voter tools are available at sos.tn.gov.

Columbia Passes $84.4 Million Budget With No Tax Increase, Eyes Major Infrastructure Push

The city council approved the FY 2026-2027 spending plan on June 11, delivering a 4% raise to city employees and nearly $49 million in capital improvements.

COLUMBIA, The Columbia City Council gave final approval on June 11 to the city's fiscal year 2026-2027 budget, a spending plan totaling $84,446,601 across all funds. The council passed the budget without a property tax increase, continuing a pattern of fiscal discipline that residents and business owners have come to expect from city leadership in recent years.

The General Fund, which covers Columbia's core day-to-day operations including public works, parks, fire, police, and administration, accounts for 61 percent of the total budget at $51,444,978. That fund is projected to see a $1.5 million, or 3.3 percent, revenue increase driven by continued economic growth in the city. All city personnel will receive a 4 percent salary increase under the adopted plan, a move city leaders said is essential to recruiting and keeping qualified workers as competition for public sector talent tightens across Middle Tennessee.

Mayor Chaz Molder called the budget a reflection of Columbia's growth and the administration's commitment to responsible planning. City Manager Tony Massey echoed that framing, emphasizing operational excellence and the quality of services residents expect. Assistant City Manager and CFO Thad Jablonski noted that the budget maintains the city's strong financial position while advancing infrastructure improvements without touching tax rates or fees.

The five-year Capital Improvement Program for FY 2027 through 2031 carries nearly $92.7 million in planned investments. For FY 2027 alone, approximately $49.2 million in CIP funding has been allocated, with 53.6 percent of that going into the Wastewater Fund for treatment plant construction and pump station upgrades. Other major projects include a TDOT partnership to widen Bear Creek, improvements at the Nashville Highway and Bear Creek Pike intersection, the Iron Bridge replacement, and ongoing street resurfacing. For a city growing as steadily as Columbia is, the decision to push that level of capital investment without raising taxes is a meaningful one.

Not every Maury County municipality is holding the line. In Mount Pleasant, the city commission held a public hearing on June 16 on a proposed property tax rate of $1.4975 per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2026-2027, a 20.5 percent increase over the certified revenue-neutral rate of $1.2426. City officials have not publicly detailed what is driving the proposed increase. Columbia’s decision to deliver salary increases and nearly $50 million in capital investment without touching tax rates stands in notable contrast.

Columbia Adds Armored Tactical Van and New Fire Engine to First Responder Fleet

A $259,200 police tactical vehicle funded by a state grant and a $925,000 fire pumper are now in service, strengthening the city's emergency response capacity.

COLUMBIA, The men and women who answer the call every day in Columbia are going to work with better tools. The City of Columbia has placed into service two major public safety additions: a new tactical response vehicle for the Columbia Police Department and a new fire engine for Columbia Fire and Rescue. WSMV visited Columbia on June 17 to cover the additions, giving the investments regional attention they deserve.

The police department's new vehicle is a Ford Transit 350 HD 4x4 tactical van capable of seating up to 12 personnel, built with A9-level ballistic protection. The van was purchased for $259,200 using funds from the State of Tennessee's Violent Crime Intervention Fund grant, meaning Columbia taxpayers did not bear that cost directly. It will support SWAT deployments, narcotics operations, violent felony arrest warrants, and other specialized law enforcement missions. Police Chief Jeremy Haywood said providing advanced protection for officers is not optional in today's law enforcement environment and expressed gratitude to city leadership for recognizing that need.

Columbia Fire and Rescue has added a KME Panther pumper that carries a price tag of $925,000. The apparatus is equipped with a 1,000-gallon water tank, a 1,500-gallon-per-minute fire pump, and a Class A foam system. That 1,000-gallon tank is significant. It gives crews the water supply to operate on scene for an extended period before they need to locate a hydrant or wait on a water tender to arrive. In a fire, that time matters. Getting water on a structure quickly limits fire spread, protects exposures, and in the best cases saves a building or a life. Fire Chief Chris Cummins said the new engine positions the department to respond more effectively as Columbia continues to grow in population and geography. A city that has been adding residents, businesses, and square footage at Columbia’s pace needs fire apparatus that can keep up.

Mayor Chaz Molder said equipping first responders with modern resources is among the most important investments a city can make, and it is hard to argue with that. These are not symbolic purchases. They are the kind of investments that protect lives, reduce response time, and give the men and women of Columbia PD and Columbia Fire and Rescue the confidence to do their jobs well.