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After a second round of voting by the County Commission to secure a legal majority, Franklin County is positioned to get its ninth Dollar General — to be built near the State Route 16-Rowe Gap Road intersection.

The commission approved in a 9-7 vote on Feb. 7 to rezone the property from an R-1 single-family residential district to a C-1 commercial to accommodate the store.

The commission’s action corroborated an 8-7 vote taken on Jan. 17 to rezone the property.

After the initial vote was taken, it was later discovered that a misunderstanding of a Tennessee Code Annotated voting law had taken place, and a majority of the county legislative body, not just the quorum present, was required for approval. That means, in Franklin County’s case, a minimum of nine of the 16-member commission’s votes was required to authorize the rezoning.

County Mayor Chris Guess explained the circumstances.

“I made a mistake,” he said, adding that he “is human” and is new to leading the commission.

Guess said later that he learned about the nine-vote minimum and set a special meeting on Feb. 7 to have the commission vote again and correct the situation, which it did, adding the required ninth supporting vote.

On Jan. 17, Commissioners William Anderson, Tyler Bauer, Johnny Hand, Bruce McMillan, Augustine “Spike” Hosch, Jarad Shetters, David Eldridge and Grant Benere supported the rezoning while Carolyn Wiseman, Scottie Riddle, Dale Schultz, Charles Keller, Glenn Summers, Monica Baxter Jeffers and Lydia Curtis Johnson were in opposition. James David Kelley was absent from the meeting.

When the commission reconvened on Feb. 7, Kelley was present and voted for the rezoning while Hosch and Summers changed their positions with Summers in favor and Hosch in opposition.

The rezoning request was made by property owner Jeff Lowe with Berry Engineers LLC, based in Cleveland, Tennessee, handling the development.

Several residents spoke in opposition to the commission during a public hearing on Jan. 17.

A subsequent public hearing was not held on Feb. 7. Guess had asked commissioners if they needed further input on the matter, but they said it wasn’t necessary.

Former County Commissioner Greg King said he thought another public hearing should be held because Kelley hadn’t been at the first one.

Some nearby residents said at the Jan. 17 hearing that they were opposed to the development due to safety concerns. One said a detailed traffic study had not been concluded that would display how dangerous increasing traffic volume in the area would be.

Another resident said that even if a reasonable speed limit were posted, it wouldn’t be followed, and speeds in the area would reach 75 mph in a busy area, only adding to the danger level.

The Franklin County Regional Planning Commission approved to recommend the rezoning after fielding public input late last year.

Residents at that time also expressed concerns about traffic safety.

Resident Phillip Wilkerson cited the safety issue and said that Franklin County has eight Dollar General stores, and he sees no need for another one.

Other residents echoed Wilkerson’s assessment.

However, Chandler Hunt, with Berry Engineers, told the Planning Commission that Dollar General conducts research to assess the need for its stores before picking locations on which to build. He added that the store in question met the company’s standards for public demand.

Hunt said the new Dollar General stores have expanded the grocery item selections they offer which gives residents in rural areas more convenient shopping alternatives.

He told the Planning Commission that the Tennessee Department of Transportation would have to approve an entrance that would be safe in relation to traffic flow on State Route 16.

Commissioners questioned what the status of the TDOT study was on Jan. 17.

Ben Berry, principal engineer with the firm, told the commission that TDOT had given its approval for the project to proceed.