Some Lewisburg City Council meetings are all about legislation and debate.

Some, like the meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13, focus more on the people of Lewisburg, those who have helped build it, those who serve the city, and those who plan for the future.

The council began by honoring former councilman Hershel Davis. Councilmen presented a resolution to Davis' family, thanking him for serving the city and the citizens of the 2nd Ward "faithfully and with honor, integrity and great distinction served from 2005 to 2013."

The former businessman and Director of Maintenance for Marshall County Schools was praised for the "willingness, kindness, and example to serve" that served as an inspiration to the present council.

Lewisburg Fire Chief Larry Williams then briefed the council on the response to the fire at the Summit Apartments on Nov. 19.

Although the fire, characterized by Williams as "a little fire with a lot of smoke," did result in one fatality, it put the city and county planning for large scale emergencies to the test.

Williams, joined by the other department heads who were present that night, went through the response minute-by-minute to update the council on how the events of the evening unfolded.

The first call was received by emergency dispatch at 9:05 p.m. Three minutes after being notified, LFD engines were on site at 9:10.

"The timeline is critical," Williams said. "It shows how quick things unfolded and took place."

By 9:25, Williams had arrived to take command of the scene. Realizing the scale of the event, a unit was requested from Farmington-Rich Creek Volunteer Fire Department and a mandatory order to report for duty was sent to all Lewisburg firefighters within 10 minutes.

By 9:37, a unified command site had been set up, consisting of Williams, Lewisburg Police Chief David Henley, Marshall County Emergency Medical Service Director Bill Reuter, and county Emergency Management Office Director Steve Calahan.

Plans developed for disaster situations like this were put into movement.

Due to the smoke and the requirements of the fatality investigation, residents were not going to be able to re-enter their apartments for quite a while on the chilly evening.

School buses were summoned from the Marshall County School District and the Lewisburg Recreation Center was notified to open and prepare an emergency shelter.

Beginning at 9:48, the buses ultimately transported 91 residents to the Rec Center where bedding was provided.

Altogether, more than 140 residents were accounted for and evacuated from the building.

Three other county volunteer fire departments stood at alert to answer any other fire calls that might have arisen in Lewisburg.

Williams emphasized how many different departments had come together to address the fire and its aftermath.

While the previous planning had functioned well, Williams said that the after action discussions focused on improvements.

"What can we do to make it better next time?" said Williams. "What can we do to make it faster?"

The multi-agency response was exceptional compared to other counties as well.

"I've worked in other counties," said Lewisburg Police Chief David Henley. "They don't have what we have. The way this city pulls together is incredible."

Frank Sullivan, a Lewisburg native who has been ministering to communities in Detroit, Appalachia, and Baltimore since leaving town, offered his plans to the councilmen for the future of the Connelly Dream Center.

Sullivan happened to visit Connelly while he was back in Lewisburg for his 30th high school reunion.

He was struck by the "incredible opportunity and enormous need" that the building and its programs represented.

Currently the Salvation Army and the First Assembly of God work out of the old school building, providing meals, programs, and ministry to the community.

What Sullivan also saw was how much more could be accomplished by someone who could devote their full time to maintaining and expanding those ministries.

That's when he decided that he would be that person and is currently in the process of moving back to Lewisburg in order to expand upon the programming at Connelly, which will be known as Hope Town at the Connelly Dream Center in the future.

He hopes to be back in Lewisburg full time by the end of January to begin his work with the community.

Lewisburg Mayor Jim Bingham reported that the Tennessee Department of Transportation had offered a program in which the city-owned bridge over Rock Creek could also be replaced?

That bridge, only rated for nine tons of traffic, has been serving as the main detour while the East Commerce bridge has been replaced by TDOT.

While the offer would benefit the city, the one catch, Bingham said, was that the work would have to be done by the same contractor as the East Commerce bridge.

That project was due to be finished on September 30 and construction is still not complete.