Benchmarks 2016: Government (Section B)

Section B

Government The Greeneville Sun

Benchmarks — March 12, 2016

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THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

G.C. Commissioners Reject Flying Confederate Flag

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

Perhaps the most controversial item brought before the Greene County Commission in 2015 was a proposal to fly the Confederate battle flag at the Greene County Courthouse.

This proposal would eventually be met with an overwhelming defeat.

Commissioner James “Buddy” Randolph, who represents the county’s 7th District and is a lieutenant detective with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, sponsored the resolution to fly the flag at the courthouse.

His resolution was considered at the commission’s Oct. 19 meeting.

In his resolution, Randolph stated that the Confederate flag should be displayed alongside the American flag at the county’s courthouse as a “historic exhibit.”

The resolution further stated that the flag should be displayed to honor Tennesseans who fought for the Confederacy, and that the emblem represents “heritage and history that our county should be proud of.”

The resolution also stated that the Confederate battle flag represents “states rights, the South, it represents Dixie land, our culture and our heritage and should be proudly displayed by our county.”

In the days leading up to the commission’s meeting, Randolph said he felt the history the Confederate flag represented had been under recent attack.

The Confederate battle flag became a topic of national discussion and controversy following a June 17 shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, S.C., that left nine black parishoners dead.

Dylann Roof, the alleged gunman, was reported to have displayed the Confederate flag in photographs posted on social media.

Following the shooting, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the South Carolina State Capitol and its grounds. In July, she signed a bill authorizing its removal from her state’s capitol.

In the wake of the Charleston shooting and

SUN FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL S. RENEAU

Before and during the Oct. 19, 2015, meeting of the Greene County Commission, two opposing groups staged simultaneous demonstrations in front of the county courthouse in support of their respective views. One group backed a proposed resolution calling for the display of the Confederate flag on the courthouse lawn. The other group opposed that resolution. the call to remove the flag from the South Carolina capitol, legislators from around the country and a number of businesses discussed or took action to cease the display or sale of the flag and other items bearing its image.

Randolph said in October, one week before the commission’s vote, that it was Haley’s action that prompted him to propose his resolution.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, since they took the one off the capitol down in South Carolina,” he said.

Randolph added that he does not view the flag as a symbol of racism and that he was proposing the flag be displayed for historical purposes.

“If they have a racial problem with it, then it’s not the flag, it’s them,” Randolph said in October. “I don’t have an issue with race.”

Randolph’s proposal captured the attention of local, regional, statewide and national media outlets.

It also garnered the attention of people on both sides of the issue — those in favor of its display and those against.

Among those in favor of the flag’s display was

SUN FILE PHOTO BY O.J. EARLY

H.K. Edgerton, of Asheville, N.C., at right, a strong supporter of the historic Confederacy in the Civil War, makes an emphatic point to a WJHL-TV reporter outside the Greene County Courthouse on at the Oct. 19, 2015, County Commission meeting.

Cedar Creek community resident Chris Ward, founder of the Tennessee Freedom Alliance.

The display of the Confederate battle flag was a cause Ward was championing before Randolph’s proposed resolution even crossed Greene County Mayor David Crum’s desk.

In July, Ward organized a rally in Greeneville to honor the symbol.

Through a private Facebook group called “Greeneville Confederate Flag Rally,” Ward set up meeting points at all four public high schools in the county school system. Once the group converged at the intersection of Asheville Highway and West Main Street, they traveled down Main Street through downtown Greeneville, up Tusculum Boulevard, onto U.S. 11E

and up to Johnson City.

Ward said at the time of the rally the he had family who fought on both sides during the Civil War and that flying the flag was a way to honor his Southern ancestors.

While he acknowledged the flag has been used by hate groups, Ward said he supported the flag’s display because of heritage and history.

Many would make their

way to the courthouse when the commission was set to consider Randolph’s resolution. Ward himself walked approximately 12 miles from his home in Cedar Creek to the courthouse, carrying two Confederate flags on each shoulder.

But the proposed display had more than its share of decriers. Among them was Greene County resident Donnie Barnett, who organized a protest against the proposed resolution. Once he learned of Randolph’s proposal, Barnett said he created a public event on Facebook called “PROTEST — Greene County Confederate Flag Resolution.”

Barnett said in December that the protest he organized was attended by anywhere from 100 to 150 people.

Many present to protest the flag’s display broke out into chants such as, “Not my flag,” while counter-protesters in support of the emblem rebutted with “Heritage, not hate.” Protesters also sang “America, the Beautiful” and the National Anthem while awaiting the commission’s decision.

Those on both sides also jockeyed for position when news media cameras were nearby, hoping to have their message put out front.

Things were a little more subdued inside the courthouse. Prior to its vote, the commissioners heard from several members of the community opposed to the display of the flag on public property, with some citing Greene County’s overwhelming pro-Union stance during the Civil War, and one, a past president of the Asheville chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, speaking in favor of it.

By the end of the discussion, which included comments from Randolph and several of his fellow commissioners, the commission would soundly reject the resolution to display the flag by a 20-1 vote, with only Randolph voting in favor of its passage.

Following the proposal’s defeat, Randolph said he had no plans to bring the matter back before the commission in the future.

“There’s no use in bringing it up again,” he said.

Despite Tax Increse, County Still Faces Budget Problems

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

A

tax increase approved by the Greene County Commission in 2015 has helped boost some county funds, but it appears two areas of concern during the 2015-16 fiscal year will remain as such in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

There were two primary areas of concern during the development of the county’s current fiscal year budget — the solid waste fund and the highway department fund.

The highway fund, according to the county’s 2015-16 budget, was projected to see revenues totaling $5.6 million in

2015-16 against expenditures of $6.4 million. The expected loss of more than $765,000 left the fund with a projected ending fund balance slightly less than $1.4 million for 2015-16.

According to the county’s budget, the solid waste fund was projected to see around $1.6 million in revenues in 2015-16 against more than $1.85 million in expenditures, leaving the department with a negative fund balance exceeding $240,000. With the use of the fund’s nearly $310,000 fund balance remaining from the 2014-15 fiscal year, the solid waste fund was projected to close out 2015-16 with a slim fund balance of less than $70,000.

Solid Waste was a topic of discussion prior to the passage of the county’s

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2015-16 fiscal year budget. The operational hours of the county’s convenience centers were reduced on July 1 at each of the county’s 17 convenience centers in order to trim costs. While the centers’ total operational hours were left the same, the hours were subsequently changed in late July to provide access to a center every day except Sunday.

On July 20, the night the Greene County Commission approved the county’s 2015-16 budget, further changes were made in reference to Solid Waste.

The manner in which Solid Waste is funded was changed that evening, and tipping fees the county was set to pay for two municipalities were removed from the proposed budget.

This would lead the town of Tusculum

— one of the two impacted municipalities — to discontinue free curbside pickup in January.

In October, a proposal was made to have two other municipalities pay the operational costs of the convenience centers located within their limits. This measure was later pulled so that Solid Waste issued could be discussed at an Oct. 27 workshop.

(For more information on solid waste issues, see page 4) Greene County Mayor David Crum said both the solid waste and highway funds will be concerns for the county going forward into 2016-17. He said that, despite scaling back convenience center hours, the solid waste

On The Cover A view of the Greene County Courthouse from the third floor of the General Morgan Inn in downtown Greeneville.

Sun photo and cover design by Hala Watson.

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Governments Eye Joint Project To Revitalize Downtown The termination of the pre-existing TIF also allowed officials to move forward in coming The revitalization of up with a redevelopment downtown Greeneville plan for downtown, a will continue to be a topic necessary component. of discussion throughout Once developed, it 2016, as local officials must be submitted to intend to pursue tax the state. After officials increment financing to have a draft of the plan, accomplish their redepublic hearings must velopment goals. be held to help further TIF is a tool in which guide the document. governments or economThen, the county comic development agenmission and Greeneville cies can issue bonds BMA would have the to pay for redevelopopportunity to approve ment projects of public it before it is submitted value. State law allows to the state. the governing board Mamantov said the of housing authorities redevelopment plan to establish districts must include maps and where each property’s identify the impacted taxes are frozen for a area. Officials must set period of time in also explain in the plan an effort to encourwhy they wish to utilize age improvements and a TIF arrangement, and development. estimate expected debt The amount of properand the impact on the ty tax on improved propdistrict. erties increases increSmith has said the mentally in successive public hearings are years. The additional expected to be held revenue generated by beg inning in late the higher property valspring or early sumues, rather than being mer. allocated to a general Town off icials are fund, goes instead to a also seeking financial separate fund for projassistance to help with ects of public interest the redevelopment plan. within the TIF district.

They have applied for By law, a district develthe Citizens’ Institute oped using TIF must be for Rural Design grant contiguous and include provided through the properties owned by National Endowment multiple people or entifor the Arts to help ties. Officials with the town of Greeneville have SUN FILE PHOTO BY SARAH R. facilitate the process.

The grant, if awardexpressed wishes to Bristol-based crews from D.H. Griffin Wrecking Company rip through the facade of a condemned building at ed, is to be used to comdevelop the city’s down- 119 W. Depot St. in December. plete the design work town district by utilizing for the planned downTIF. town improvements.

Greeneville Town Administrator Todd Smith said the lack mental entities involved. At its Dec. 21 gap between the renovation of build- Grant recipients are expected to be of economic activity in the downtown meeting, the Greene County Commis- ings and the construction of new ones, announced in April.

Although town officials have not area is evidenced by empty storefronts sion met jointly with the Greeneville adding TIFs are typically used for and buildings. He said redevelopment Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the redevelopment projects in the hopes yet identified specific properties that efforts need to be initiated to address Greeneville Housing Authority Board of restoring life to a district and to could factor into redevelopment this lack of activity and that TIF is the of Commissioners. At that time, each remediate blight. He said the housing plans, several West Depot Street body voted to terminate the 1992 authority would serve as the conduit properties have been condemned by ideal way to get the ball rolling.

“We think the tax-increment financ- redevelopment plan. This 23-year-old in the TIF process because, under the town in recent months with two, ing is the right incentive to spur the TIF allowed for the extensive renova- state law, housing authorities are the the former Parks-Belk store at 119 development of the downtown,” Smith tion to the General Morgan Inn and entities receiving the incremental tax W. Depot St., and a former pool hall located at 134 W. Depot St., being revenue for redevelopment projects.

Conference Center. said.

Borrowing against the incremen- demolished.

These three governing bodies also But before officials can move forward, Those properties were purchased a previous TIF agreement that brought met in a workshop on Jan. 19, 2016, tal property tax revenues generates about a major renovation project in the at which time they heard from Knox- money upfront to help pay for the by Scott Niswonger in September ville-based attorney Mark Mamantov, costs of the project, and the hous- 2015, who has indicated he wishes to downtown area had to be closed. ing authority would be the borrower, see the properties removed, clearing In late 2015, the existing agreement a TIF credit law expert. the way for future development.

Mamantov said TIFs help bridge the Mamantov said. was terminated by the three govern-

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

Tax Starts on Page 2 fund will still lose money this year. He added the county cannot continue to utilize its fund balance to erase deficits.

And Crum said many in the community want extended convenience center hours, but doing so would come at a cost.

The rain and snow of winter have taken their toll on the county’s roads, but Crum said its is costly to repair roadways. The estimated cost to pave one mile of roadway in Greene County is $50,000.

“It costs a lot of money for a county this size to take care of roadways,” Crum said.

But, like solid waste, Crum said the highway fund’s balance cannot continue to be relied upon to clear deficits.

Before the commission even considered the current fiscal year budget in July, it approved a measure that saw the county’s wheel tax increase by more than double its prior amount.

In January 2015, the commission, by a 17-3 vote, passed the second reading of a resolution to implement increase. With this,

the county’s wheel tax rate increased from $20 to $55 per registered vehicle.

The increase, which took effect May 1, was projected to generate $1.7 million for the county. The $35 increase was divided to serve multiple purposes — $25 dollars goes toward the general fund, $5 toward the county’s debt services, $3 for allocation to local volunteer fire departments, and $2 toward the county’s capital projects fund.

As far as estimates, it was felt the wheel tax would bring in $340,000 to go to debt service payments, around $200,000 for the fire departments, and approximately $136,000 for capital projects. The remainder goes toward the general fund.

Part of the Greene County Commission’s July approval of the 2015-16 budget was the setting of the county’s property tax rate for the fiscal year. Unlike the wheel tax rate, this amount was unchanged from the prior fiscal year.

The county’s current property tax rate is $1.8731 on each $100 of assessed property for residents living outside of the town of Greeneville’s municipal limits and $1.6613 for those living within the town’s limits.

Per the approved budget,

general fund revenue in 2015-16 was projected to be $22.6 million against $22.5 million in projected expenditures. The difference, along with other funding sources, left the county with a projected ending fund balance of nearly $2.2 million for 2015-16.

The use of capital projects funding will also be a topic of discussion in the coming months, particularly repairs to the Greene County Courthouse, Crum said.

As was discussed at the Greene County Commission’s February meeting, architect David Wright told the Commission that issues with the courthouse’s guttering and caulking have allowed moisture to find its way under the building’s weatherproofing and in between its brick exterior and interior walls, causing deterioration.

The estimated cost of the fix is $200,000, an amount that could increase once work begins and the extent of the damage becomes better known.

In early March, the Greene County Commission’s Budget and Finance Committee voted to sponsor a resolution to have Wright develop a plan to repair the leakage and water damage at the courthouse.

Mosheim Welcomes

Business & Industry In Mosheim we’re ready to assist, develop and grow with Greeneville, Greene County and our industrial prospects and their projects. Infrastructure is readily available and includes water, sewer, gas, and electrical. Mosheim is a progressive community that is growing and a desirable location for families and new industries to locate.

Come out! Look us over!

Join us in our future growth and progress.

Thomas L. Gregg, Jr. MAYOR

Tom Carpenter ALDERMAN

David Myers ALDERMAN

Dave Long ALDERMAN

Harold Smith ALDERMAN

More and more people and businesses are choosing to locate in Mosheim.

Town of SUN FILE PHOTO BY O.J. EARLY

County Mayor David Crum, right, calls on the Greene County Commission to end discussion and vote on the County Budget and Finance Committee’s budget recommendation. County Commissioners Zach Neas, left, and Ted Hensley listen.

Mosheim

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THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

Solid Waste Is A Major Issue For Local Budgets

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

The subject of trash caused a bit of a stink in Greene County in 2015.

According to the county’s 2015-16 budget, the solid waste fund was projected to see around $1.6 million in revenues in 2015-16 against more than $1.85 million in expenditures, leaving the department with a negative fund balance exceeding $240,000. With the use of the fund’s nearly $310,000 fund balance remaining from the 201415 fiscal year, the solid waste fund was projected to close out 2015-16 with a slim fund balance of less than $70,000.

During a June meeting of the commission’s Budget and Finance Committee, Mayor David Crum described the solid waste fund as “perilously close to going off the cliff.”

Efforts to reduce costs were made prior to the passage of the county’s budget. Chief among these was the altering of the hours at the county’s convenience centers.

In June, Crum announced that hours at each of the county’s 17 convenience centers were being reduced to 30 hours per week beginning July 1 in order to cut costs.

Per this announcement, the centers were to be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Mondays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Tuesday hours of the Afton, Hal Henard, South Greene and West Greene centers were to be 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

But Crum subsequently announced a new schedule for the centers. Per this move, the centers’ weekly operational hours continued to total 495, just as they did with the changes announced in June. However, the hours were spread out across

SUN FILE PHOTO BY BRAD HICKS

The mayors of Greene County’s five governments meet at the Greene County Courthouse Annex in October to discuss solid waste concerns. the centers, with some to be open more than 30 hours per week and others less. Unlike the prior plan, this second plan, which went into effect in late July, provided residents the opportunity to utilize a center every day of the week except Sunday.

Action was also taken on the night of the Greene County Commission’s July 20 meeting — the same night the Commission approved the current fiscal year budget — in an attempt to further reduce solid waste costs.

Acting on an amendment proposed by Commissioner John Waddle, the commission voted to take the approximately 5 cents of the property tax rate designated for the solid waste fund and move it to the general fund, instead relying on sales taxes collected within the county to fund solid waste for the 201516 fiscal year.

But action with regards to Solid Waste did not end there.

Also proposed by Waddle and approved by the commission was an amendment to remove from the county’s budget $140,000 in tipping fees the county was set to pay for Tusculum and Greeneville in 2015-16.

The county had paid Tusculum’s tipping fees since 1993. Waddle previously said the county had paid around $350,000 in tipping fees for Tusculum over the two-decade period, adding that the county paid approximately $15,000 in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

Along with this, the Commission voted to remove the $130,000 in tipping fees the county was set to pay for Greeneville in 2015-16.

The town had requested the county pick up the expenditure this year, and the amount was originally included in the

county’s 2015-16 budget.

There were further efforts to reduce Solid Waste costs beyond the passage of the county’s budget. In October, the commission was set to consider a resolution that would have transferred operational costs of two convenience centers from the county to the towns of Baileyton and Mosheim.

This resolution, proposed by Commissioner Brad Peters, states the two impacted centers are owned by the towns of Baileyton and Mosheim and stemmed from the move to fund solid waste this year using the county’s sales tax. According to Peters’ resolution, the county receives no sales tax revenue within the municipalities of Baileyton or Mosheim.

Consideration of this proposed resolution was pulled from the commission’s October agenda so that a possible resolution could be discussed at a

later workshop.

The mayors from each of Greene County’s five governments attended that workshop, but no resolution on solid waste issues was reached at that time.

No future joint meetings have been scheduled to discuss Solid Waste issues.

TUSCULUM CUTS TRASH PICKUP In late December, the Tusculum Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to terminate curbside collection of residential garbage, with officials citing the county’s measure to no longer pay the town’s tipping fees as the reason behind the move.

Discontinuing curbside trash pickup affected more than 700 Tusculum households who received the weekly service.

City residents now have two options. They can pay for a private service to pick up trash or drive

it themselves to a convenience center.

Discontinuation of trash pickup could be temporary if some accommodation can be worked out with the county for the 2016-17 budget year beginning on July 1, Mayor Alan Corley has said.

The county’s tipping fee cost Tusculum more than $7,000, and would have meant an unbudgeted expense of up to $20,000 by the end of the current budget year on June 30 if the city continued trash pickup.

The county had paid Tusculum’s tipping fee since 1993.

If the city was to resume curbside trash pickup in the future, money will have to be budgeted to purchase a garbage truck. The older truck currently in use has mechanical problems, and the city would have to budget at least $150,000 to buy a used truck to continue the service, city officials said.

Recycling service will continue to be offered by the city.

In February, officials discussed trash issues at the Mosheim Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s meeting. The focus of the discussion was whether municipalities should contribute funding to help the county pay for the operational costs of the county-operated convenience centers.

At that meeting, Crum said one proposal is asking the town of Mosheim for $28,500, plus an additional $4,000 and $3,000 from Baileyton and Tusculum, respectively, to help with the costs. “(Municipal officials) feel property tax is the way to fund solid waste, and I agree with that,” Crum said.

Staff Writer Ken Little contributed to this report.

Greene County Sees First Same-Sex Marriages In 2015

BY KRISTEN EARLY ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Several counties across the state have joined a resolution approved by the Greene County Commission that calls on the Tennessee Attorney General and General Assembly to challenge a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to approve samesex marriage.

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial 5-4 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all states.

In September, the commission voted 17-2 to approve a resolution asking the General Assembly “through legislative and legal action” to reaffirm the state’s authority to regulate marriage as it is defined in the Tennessee Constitution.

A 2006 statewide referendum amended the Tennessee Constitution to say that marriage in Tennessee is to be defined as between one man and one woman.

The proposed amendment was approved by 81.6 percent of those voting in the referendum statewide.

Following the referendum, an amendment was added to the state constitution which, in part, states that “any policy or law or judicial interpretation, purporting to define marriage as anything other than the historical institution and legal contract between one man and one woman is contrary to the public policy of this state and shall be void and unenforceable in Tennessee.”

The amendment further states that if “another state or foreign jurisdiction” issues a license for persons to marry that does not comply with this definition, then the marriage “shall be void and unenforceable in this state.”

Greene County Attorney Roger Woolsey told the commission in September that the U.S. Supreme Court majority decision

SUN FILE PHOTO

SUN FILE PHOTO

Ivy Devoti, left, and Lillian Wisecarver, right, exchange rings and vows during their marriage ceremony at The Big Spring Wednesday. At center, Rev. Carolyn Claiborne, of Distinctive Wedding Ceremonies, officiates.

Tiffany “Danny” Gordon, left, and Sarah Belanger, right, apply for a marriage license at the Greene County Clerk’s office in May. Belanger and Gordon were the first same-sex couple issued a marriage license in Greene County. essentially ruled that the state constitution’s definition of marriage was unconstitutional in terms of the U.S. Constitution, and was a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law for all citizens, as expressed in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The commission’s resolution also directed the Greene County Clerk to forward copies of the resolution to other county governments throughout the state. Greene County was not the first to approve the resolution, nor the last. However, the state has yet to act on the matter.

The decision handed down by the Supreme Court to legalize samesex marriage in all states brought strong reactions on both sides of the issue, and Greene County was no exception.

Some celebrated, while others saw the ruling as an overreach of judicial power.

No matter what the feeling by officials, however, the state agreed that clerks must issue the licenses.

Tiffany “Danny” Gor-

don and Sarah Belanger were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license at the Greene County Clerk’s office following the ruling.

Just a few days after, the second such couple to obtain a license, Ivy Devoti and Lillian Wisecarver, both 31 and of Greeneville, married at The Big Spring, which is located behind the Greeneville- Greene County Public Library.

“More than excited,” was how Devoti described the emotion of the moments prior to the ceremony. She planned to take Wisecarver’s last name.

Wisecarver said that the couple had been discussing getting married before the Supreme Court’s decision, and had thought they would need to travel into Virginia to do so.

“It makes us feel really great, because we’re not having to run away from our hometown to get married,” Wisecarver said. “We met here in our hometown; we’re actually able to get married where we met.

“We’re actually able to

live our lives normal now,” she added. “We’re able to raise our son together as a regular family. We’re not outcasts anymore.”

Other local same-sex couples shared that sentiment of joy.

Joanna Malcom and Tiffany Evans were married in Virginia just prior to the ruling and returned home to Greeneville to celebrate with friends and family during a vow renewal ceremony two days later.

“I’m just so happy, even happier than I thought I would be,” Malcom said of the Supreme Court ruling. “I keep rereading the official opinion from the Supreme Court; it’s just so beautiful. It just really sums up how I feel and how I know a lot of my friends feel, whether they’re gay or not.”

The June 6 vow renewal, held at Evans’ parents’ home in Greeneville, featured many of the markings of a wedding, but state law prohibited the couple from holding a legal ceremony in Tennessee.

“I kind of wish we had waited now, but we had been planning it,” Malcom said.

What would have only been a month-long wait to marry in their home state for Malcom and Evans, however, would have been much longer for Greeneville Alderman Brian Bragdon and Robert “Robbie” W. Foshie Bragdon, owner of Greeneville Gymnastics Academy.

The two traveled to Washington, D.C., to marry in 2013.

“As a native Tennessean and somebody who was born and raised here in Greeneville, certainly, it would have been nice and special if I could have legally gotten married in my home state,” Brian Bragdon said. “Not having had the opportunity to do that at the time, I’m happy for those who will have the opportunity to do that now.”

For the Bragdons, marriage also was an effort to ensure certain benefits should something happen to the other.

“When you talk about survivor benefits, passing on your estate and those types of things, it certainly will have an impact.

“I think it’s an historic day for the majority of Americans who support

and believe in marriage equality,” he added. “I’m obviously pleased that the Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all states.”

Others, however, joined the Greene County Commission in deeming the ruling a judicial overreach.

“It looks like gay marriage will have to be recognized in Tennessee,” State Sen. Steve Southerland, R-1st, of Morristown, said. “I think the federal government is interfering with our state rights.”

He said he is disappointed in the ruling because of that, but that he does not know of any action that could stop the ruling from changing Tennessee’s laws.

State Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville, said shortly following the ruling that it was too early to comment on what could be done.

“The legal scholars will have to look at the ins and outs of the situation just to see what the ramifications are,” Hawk said. “I know that our constituency across the state of Tennessee will be very disappointed in this ruling.”

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EMS Once Again Searching For A New Director

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

Local residents saw four different people lead Greene CountyGreeneville Emergency Medical Services in a year’s time, and now a fifth person will be needed to take the helm.

Conrad “Chuck” Kearns was chosen in August to lead Greene CountyGreeneville EMS, marking the fourth time leadership of EMS changed during the 2015 calendar year.

He unexpect e d ly resigned in early March, though, to take another position in another state.

The Greene CountyGreeneville EMS Board voted u na nimously on Aug. 3 to offer the director’s position to Kearns.

Kearns’ hire came more than five months after the retirement of longtime EMS Director Robert Sayne, who worked his last official day in late February 2015, and tumultuous times for Greene County-Greeneville EMS. The County Commission cut around $200,000 from the EMS budget in the 2014-15 fiscal year, which would lead to a half-dozen employees quitting and ambulances being taken off the road.

In the fall of 2014, Sayne presented a $220,000 cut to the

SUN FILE PHOTO

Conrad “Chuck” Kearns resigned from his role as director of Greene CountyGreeneville EMS in March 2016, barely more than six months after taking the job.

EMS budget, but this proposal would have changed employees’ benefits, reducing the rate at which they earn vacation and eliminat-

ing overtime earnings during vacation. But, as the Commission was advised by County Attorney Roger Woolsey, this would have required

that the Commission approve a change to the personnel policy in the department’s employee policy manual.

A number of EMS

employees publicly objected to the change, leading the Commission to be faced with the decision of either changing the policy and losing employees or rejecting the policy change and having Sayne find other places to come up with the more than $200,000 in cuts.

Eventually, the County Commission would reject the policy change.

This led Sayne to cut first responder services in the South Greene area to make up the proposed budgetary cuts.

In late 2014, the County Technical Advisory Service was asked to conduct an audit of EMS operations, including the department’s management, employees, regulation and oversight.

Commissioner Eddie Jennings called upon fellow commissioners to vote for Sayne’s resig nation.

That vote was tabled.

In October, 2014, nowdeceased County Commissioner Ted Hensley tried to rescind the local EMS board’s authority to make final decisions about service operations after the EMS Board took action to prevent a nother ambulance from operating in the county without direct approval from Sayne for each call the outside service runs.

Hensley later withdrew this resolution.

Questions regarding

EMS finances persisted into early 2015, and Sayne’s retirement took effect Feb. 28.

Tommy Crowder, a human resources officer with the Washington County- Johnson City EMS, was named interim Greene CountyGreeneville EMS director in February 2015.

He was offered the position permanently in May, but instead opted to return to his Washington County post.

Prior to Kearns’ hire in August, Greene CountyGreeneville EMS Personnel Supervisor Calvin Hawkins served as interim director.

Kearns is a New York native with more than 30 years of experience in the public safety and EMS fields. Most of his experience comes from his time spent in Florida, and he is currently the president of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians’ Board of Directors.

At a March 9 meeting, the Greene CountyGreeneville EMS Board sat down with Robert Petrucci, Kearns’ possible replacement. Petrucci was interviewed during the process that led to Kearns’ hire and has more than 25 years experience in the EMS field across multiple states, including California, Nevada, South Carolina, Colorado and Maryland.

Divided Vote Allows For Town Property Tax Spike

BY SARAH R. GREGORY STAFF WRITER

T

he Town of Greeneville’s $26 million budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year raised property taxes by 17 cents to generate more revenue for increasing debt payments.

The Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen was split in its decision in June.

Aldermen Buddy Hawk and Sarah Webster voted in favor while Brian Bragdon and Keith Paxton voted against the budget and tax increase. Mayor W.T. Daniels cast the tiebreaking vote in favor of the funding plan.

The action marked the first increase to the city’s property tax rate since 2001, changing it from $2.0453 to $2.2153 per $100 of assessed value.

For tax purposes, residential property is assessed at 25 percent of its appraised value.

For example, the owner of residential property inside town limits appraised at $100,000 would have an assessed value of $25,000. The rate now in effect — approximately $553 in annual city property taxes on a property assessed at that amount — works out to be about $43 more than the previous rate.

COVERING DEBT PAYMENTS City Administrator Todd Smith presented the 17-cent increase option as a method of covering the largest payments due under the town’s debt amortization schedule.

Beginning with the current 2015-16 fiscal year, the town’s debt payments climb each year until they plateau in 2019-20. The debt is scheduled to be totally repaid in 2029.

At the start of the fiscal year, the town’s total outstanding debt principal was projected as just over $23 million. By the

end of the current fiscal year, the town will pay just under $1.3 million toward its principal and almost $845,000 in interest.

Increases to debt payments due over the next five years culminate in payments that are $900,000 higher than what the town paid during a five-year period of decreased payments following debt refinancing undertaken in 2010.

T hat ref inancing applied fixed rather than variable rates, and allowed the town to pay interest, but not principal for a five-year period.

Daniels said the change gave the town “a chance to fund our fund balance to a more attractive number” and “a road map to bring Greeneville to a debt-free situation.”

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS In addition to the property tax increase, other major highlights of the town’s 2015-16 budget include: • a 1 percent pay increase for town employees, • projected revenues of more than $24.8 million, and • projected expenditures of almost $25.9 million.

Almost $1 million of the town’s fund balance was planned to be used to pay local matches to grants for three projects: • the final phase of construction of the more than 20-year-old Fairgrounds Road Connector project, at a cost of more than $722,000, • work on the historical walkways project that loops around the downtown area, at a cost of more than $98,000, and • conversion of the former EastView Pool to a splash pad, at a cost of $125,000.

Other expenditures in the budget include: • almost $896,000 in government administrative costs, • just under $3.1 million for the Greeneville Police Department, • almost $2.3 million

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During the 2015-16 budget development process, board members requested multiple options for dealing with an expected $500,000-plus shortfall. request for an additional $247,000 in appropriations from the town was not approved.

for the Greeneville Fire Department, • about $140,000 for the office of the Building Inspector, • $100,000 for civil defense and emergency services, • over $2.8 million for the Public Works Department, • more than $1.5 million for health, welfare and recreation, • over $3.5 million for capital improvements, • $15,000 for economic development, • just over $30,0000 for the Greeneville-Greene County Municipal Airport, • appropriations to various organizations and initiatives totaling more than $3.6 million, and, • over $5.6 million for Greeneville City Schools.

School system leaders’

BOARD REJECTS PROPOSED CUTS During the 2015-16 budget development process, board members requested multiple options for dealing with an expected $500,000plus shortfall.

Smith prepared two options: a property tax increase, ultimately approved by the board, or extensive cuts to town programs and services.

After budget hearings in spring 2015, aldermen signaled little support for those cuts as a method of balancing the current year’s budget.

Of the more than $515,000 in cuts on a prioritized list prepared by

Smith, board members voiced support for only about $25,000 in reductions, citing the bulk of the programs listed on the chopping block as being of an overall benefit to the town.

Among them were a slash in funding for the Greeneville-Greene County Public Library that could result in closure, cuts that would make the Roby-Fitzgerald Adult Center a part-time service, drastic reductions to funds for training for all town departments, including police and fire, and reductions in the Parks and Recreation Department budget that would result in closure of the town’s only public pool.

Other proposed cuts would have resulted in the closure of the Andrew Johnson School Building, meaning its tenants, Main Street: Greeneville, the Greeneville-Greene County History Museum and local offices of the Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security, would have to find new locations.

Keep Greene Beautiful would have lost all of its funding under the proposal, as would the

Dickson-Williams Historical Association.

Other cuts would have impacted the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance, Greene County Partnership and Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association.

Ultimately, none of the proposed reductions were included in the finalized 2015-16 budget.

SOLID WASTE PROPOSAL Earlier in the budget development process, a concept for implementing a new, monthly solid waste fee was discussed, but not acted upon.

In late 2014, board members discussed a proposal for a monthly fee for collection of residential garbage containers and increased rates for monthly and onetime rentals of larger, commercial containers.

The proposal was discussed as one method of covering a projected deficit in 2015-16, as new revenue from monthly fees would allow the town to use about $1.1 million typically appropriated to the municipal solid waste fund in the general fund.

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www.greenevillesun.com

THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

6 Liquor Stores Sue Town For ‘Overtaxation’

BY SARAH R. GREGORY STAFF WRITER

All six local liquor stores filed lawsuits against the Town of Greeneville in 2015, alleging that they were overtaxed during a 13-year period.

Trial dates have not yet been set for the three separate but similar suits, filed in Greene County Chancery Court in June 2015.

Last fall, Chancellor Douglas T. Jenkins recused himself from hearing the cases. Third Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Beth Boniface will hear the complaints if they go to trial.

Combined, the stores’ lawsuits seek repayments from the town totaling more than $1.6 million, plus interest and attorneys’ and litigation fees.

THREE COMPLAINTS FILED A lawsuit filed June 17, 2015, by the Terry Law Firm on behalf of Big Time Beverage, The Bottle Shop, West Side Package Store and Express Wine and Spirits, seeks upwards of $1.3 million.

Another suit filed the same day by an attorney with the Chattanoogabased Grant Konvalinka and Harrison law firm on behalf of Greeneville Beverage Store No. II seeks more than $150,000.

A lawsuit filed June 18, 2015, by Greeneville attorney J. Russell Pryor, who represents Towne Square Package Store Inc., seeks over $200,000.

The three suits allege the town collected a higher percentage of taxes on the stores’ purchases from alcoholic beverage wholesalers than allowed by Tennessee law.

The percentage of an “inspection fee” municipalities may add to package stores’ wholesale purchases is based on the overall population of the county in which they are located.

According to state statutes, if a municipality is in a county with a population below 60,000 people, it can levy an 8 percent tax on its liquor stores’ wholesale purchases.

If the municipality is in a county with a population greater than 60,000, it may only charge a 5 percent inspection fee.

In all three suits, the plaintiffs allege the Town of Greeneville taxed them at the higher percentage until late 2014, even though Greene County’s population has been above the 60,000-person threshold since the 2000 federal census became official in 2001.

However, the inspection fees have not been paid directly to the Town of Greeneville.

Wholesalers collect the fees — a percentage of their total sale to the retailer — then turn the funds over to the municipality.

MEDIATION FAILED In January 2015, before the suits were filed, the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen authorized the town’s attorney to negotiate with the package stores’ representatives.

A 120-day tolling agreement was given a 60-day extension in April to provide additional time for a negotiation with an impartial mediator in hopes of avoiding litigation.

At the time, aldermen were told the expense of such litigation would be “significant,” but details about the situation were not discussed.

City Administrator Todd Smith said that the town hoped to “come up with a deal or agreement to work out with the parties at hand.”

In July 2015, after the suits had been filed, town officials agreed on one last effort to settle the complaints outside of court.

Aldermen authorized the town’s

attorney to make a final settlement offer that would return a year’s worth of overpaid taxes to the stores.

That payment would have totaled about $137,000 plus $50,000 in legal fees. It would have been divided between the six local liquor retailers based on the taxes they paid from October 2013 to October 2014, when the tax rate was corrected in the town’s codes.

TOWN RESPONDS Days after aldermen agreed to make a final settlement offer, the town’s formal responses to the liquor stores’ complaints were filed in Greene County Chancery Court.

Arguing that settlement payments for overtaxation would be citizen-funded windfalls for the stores, the town denied that it should pay out the more than $1.6 million being sought by the retailers.

Among other defenses, the town maintained that the liquor stores and their wholesalers shared fault during the extensive period of overtaxation.

The official responses pointed out that the census information that determines the appropriate tax rate has been available to the general public — including the stores and their wholesalers — throughout the 13-year period that overtaxation occurred.

The wholesalers and stores, the town’s responses say, are “presumably much more knowledgable about issues relating to the liquor industry than the town,” and “failed to note the effect of the increase in population and advise the town of the need to modify” the tax rate.

Refunding taxes to the stores, the town’s response added, “would not be equitable” because the stores “failed to raise any objection to such taxes and instead merely passed those taxes on to the taxpaying public.”

Refunds “would ultimately require the town to take away monies that would be used to benefit the taxpaying public” to provide the stores “a windfall.”

In essence, the town asserted that refunds to the stores would mean the money “would not be returned to the customers who paid the tax.”

The town also claimed a six-month statute of limitations on legal action after administrative processes for seeking refunds.

It also claimed governmental immunity and asserted that the plaintiffs failed to file their suits in accordance with a timeframe established in the parties’ tolling agreement.

SIMILAR SUIT SUCCESSFUL The local stores’ complaints are not without precedent in the region.

Six plaintiffs in a similar suit against the City of Morristown were successful in their efforts to receive a judgment for overpaid taxes in 2015.

In a Hamblen County Chancery Court ruling, Judge Tom Wright ordered Morristown to repay the amount the stores were overtaxed, plus interest and attorney’s fees.

“We could run the scenario by a hundred people and a hundred people are going to say the city ought to give the taxpayer their money back,” Wright is quoted in a court transcript from April 2015. “In fact, if we weren’t talking about liquor stores, there would be people setting their hair on fire outside this courthouse protesting the fact that the city took money from people that it shouldn’t have taken; there’s no question about that.”

In May 2015, the Morristown Citizen Tribune reported that case had advanced to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Winter, Funding Freeze Put Road Projects On Halt happen, according to Nagi: resurfacing several miles on State Route 93 (Kingsport Highway) all the way to the ike many years before Washington County line and it, 2015 was a frusresurfacing Tusculum Bouletrating one for road vard from North Main Street to crews.

U.S. Highway 11E. Area transportation offiWinter’s wrath will likely cials stopped short of critidetermine where Weems sends cizing Gov. Bill Haslam his crews. after an Associated Press “Always in the spring, we try report surfaced that the to analyze any new road damgovernor wouldn’t seek an age caused by winter. We try increase in the state gas tax and finalize our schedule at that during the current legislapoint,” Weems said. “As of right tive session. now, it will probably be just some But that decision, local maintenance and patching some leaders argued, means road of the chip-sealed roads. We don’t departments will focus have enough money to do a lot of mostly on maintenance — paving.” and few new projects — in Planned TDOT work helped 2016. dictate where workers in the “Of course, we do need Town of Greeneville will go, Pubmore revenue for roads and lic Works Director Brad Peters bridges. We could use it,” said. said Greene County Road “The state has scheduled TusSuperintendent David culum Boulevard to be surfaced Weems. “I guess that’s a in 2016, which is why we are decision for the governor working feverishly to get the and state legislators.”

SUN FILE PHOTO sidewalks around [Walters State As of March 1, Tennessee’s Road work along Midway and McDonald roads generated controversy.

Community College] finished state gas tax was 21.4 cents before then,” he said. per gallon. That yields more As for new projects, Peters said, “everythan $675 million each year, according eral transportation bill was passed order that puts this in place tomorrow, thing we do is determined by the available to the Tennessee Department of Trans- for the first time in a decade, which I’ll be willing to pay.”

Road officials have for years lobbied funding.” portation. Cities and counties, though, is [a] good thing for TDOT in terms of Rounds of heavy snow this winter illusget only 7.9 cents ($242 million) for planning,” he said in an emailed state- the General Assembly for more revtrated the grim financial picture for local ment. “However it does not address the enue. local projects.

“The continued lack of funding for transportation.

The tax hasn’t been increased since shortfalls in terms of funding needed On the heels of a mid-February snowstorm, county highway projects has reached a projects.”

1989.

Haslam has said a gas tax that hasn’t critical point in Tennessee as state gas- Peters wrote in an emailed statement to the “It is a very large part of our budget.

About half of my budget comes from changed in 27 years is bad news for oline/fuel tax collections remain con- Sun: “We have already exceeded our budgsistently stagnant, hovering at their ted amounts for both salt and snow-related the state,” Weems told the newspaper local roads and bridges.

During a stop in Greeneville in lowest rates in more than a decade,” labor. Going forward, we’ll either have to in January. “We have so many roads in the county, we might be able to do some August 2015, Haslam talked about a a document presented at a 2015 Ten- request more funding from the general fund widening if some funds come in, but the $6 million “backlog” of TDOT projects nessee County Services Association or make cuts in other budgets, particularly read. “County highway departments street and sidewalk repair.” majority of our time in the future will and dwindling revenue sources.

In the same week, Weems said his departBusiness leaders, including Scott M. are continuing to scale back or cancel be maintaining what we have.”

Mark Nagi, TDOT spokesman, said Niswonger, voiced support for more resurfacing projects and reduce staff- ment shuffled funds to purchase more ing until additional revenues become salt. the state department will emphasize transportation projects.

“The more we spend on salt the less “Nobody will pay more for [an available.” “maintaining transportation investIn 2016, only a handful of state proj- we can spend on paving,” he said. “And ments more than being able to fund increased] gas tax than our companies will in Greene County,” Niswonger ects are planned in Greene County. we do expect more damage because of new projects.”

“Back in December a long-term fed- said. “If you want to sign an executive Here’s a look at what is supposed to the snow and cold.”

BY O.J. EARLY STAFF WRITER

L

Commissioner Resigns Following ‘No Contest’ Plea

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

Longtime Greene County commissioner Hilton Seay resigned in 2015 after facing a charge of patronizing prostitution.

In July, Seay pleaded ‘no contest’ in Greene County General Sessions court to the charge. Following the plea, he was placed on probation for a period of 11 months 29 days and was ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim, per an agreement reached with the district attorney general’s office.

A complaint sworn out by Greeneville Police Detective Lt. Robert Vereecke stated that on March 20, Seay allegedly solicited a Greeneville woman with “the intent that she engage in prostitution.” According to the complaint, this alleged solicitation occurred within 1.5 miles of Highland Elementary School.

Another solicitation allegedly occurred on April 10 with the same woman, according to police reports.

Seay, who represented the 7th District, submitted his letter of resignation from the county’s legislative body

in late July. That letter was read by Greene County Mayor David Crum at the commission’s Aug. 17 meeting, the same day Seay’s resignation took effect.

The letter, signed by Seay, referenced neither his plea nor the criminal complaints filed against him. The letter was prepared by Seay’s attorney, E. Ronald Chesnut.

“Mr. Seay wishes to express his appreciation to the citizens of Greene County for giving him the privilege of being of service on the commission in various capacities since 1996,” the letter stated. “However, Mr. Seay wishes to devote his time to personal endeavors, mainly traveling to be with family and grandchildren.

“Mr. Seay takes this action with continuing support for the commission and its commissioners in the difficult decision to be made for the betterment of Greene County and its citizens.”

County commissioners present voted unanimously to accept Seay’s resignation and declare his seat vacant. Seay did not attend that meeting and had not been in attendance at any commis-

sion or committee meeting for around three months prior.

At the time of his resignation, Seay was the commission’s longest-serving member. He served on a number of committees, including serving as chairman of both the Education Committee and Ethics Committee.

He is a retired educator with an Ed.D. degree in school leadership and administration, and he formerly served as chairman of the Republican Caucus.

When reached by phone the night his resignation was accepted, Seay said the criminal complaints and his plea did not factor into his decision to resign.

“I almost didn’t run the last election because I figured I had my time, but I did and ever since I’ve considered resigning, almost after every meeting,” he said at that time. “So, finally, me and my family decided that I would resign. I’m almost 76 years old, and we still want to do some traveling and I’ve got eight grandchildren located in two different states outside of Tennessee that we have to travel to see and I want to see them.

“I was on 13 committees, and every time I was going to go somewhere I had to look at the calendar to see when I could go and how long I could stay because of the meeting and not wanting to miss a meeting, so I just decided that I’d paid my dues. I had my time in, therefore I resigned.

“Almost every meeting I’d come home from, I’d tell my wife, ‘I think I’m going to resign,’ and that was before there was anything ever came up on the (legal matter).

“I didn’t have to resign. I got no pressure. Nobody pressured me to resign.

It’s strictly my decision.”

At its Sept. 21 meeting, the Greene County Commission voted to appoint Paul Burkey to fill the 7th District vacancy left by Seay’s resignation. Burkey was appointed to serve on the commission until the August General Election.

Burkey previously filed a petition to seek the seat in the August election and will appear on the ballot. If elected, he would fill the remainder of Seay’s unexpired term, which runs through 2018.

www.greenevillesun.com

Saturday, March 12, 2016

THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION

7

Tusculum Sees Year Of Changes, Challenges In 2015

BY KEN LITTLE STAFF WRITER

The year 2015 was eventful in the City of Tusculum.

The service of free curbside trash pickup for Tusculum residents was discontinued in January of this year.

An unexpected action by the Greene County Commission to require Tusculum to pay their tipping fees prompted the Tusculum Board of Mayor and Commissioners to end free curbside pickup. (See related story, page 4).

The action also prompted a change in the regular meeting date of the board. The move was made at the suggestion of Vice-Mayor Barbara Britton so city officials can attend county commission meetings.

The board changed the body’s regular meeting date from the third to the SUN FILE PHOTO fourth Monday of each Motorists driving through Tusculum began moving slower in January when changes to speed limits inside the month. town took effect. Tusculum’s Board of Mayor and Commissioners voted to lower speed limits on some roads

from 35 mph to 25 mph.

GROUP HOMES A proposal made in late 2015 and formalized in February of this year to build two single-family homes housing intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals in Tusculum is moving forward.

The houses will be built this year at 2609 and 2619 Erwin Highway, which is a part of the former Shelton heirs property that was subdivided in 2015.

The proposal met with some resistance from the public.

Ohio-based Scioto Properties LLC, which provides housing for people with disabilities, will build the 3,500 squarefoot homes, which will each house four individuals. D&S Community Services, a provider of residential services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Tennessee and several other states, will hire staff to care for the residents.

Residents are likely to come from the Greene Valley Developmental Center after it is closed later this year.

Some Tusculum resi-

dents and officials questioned the legality of building the houses in an R-1, residential-zoned area. The legality was questioned because the homes would be operated by for-profit entities.

The issue was researched by City Attorney Alex Chesnut, who concluded that the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act pre-empts any state and local laws that might stand in the way of constructing housing for people with disabilities.

Scioto is a for-profit business.

SPEED LIMIT CHANGES In December 2015, the Tusculum board lowered speed limits through much of the city from 35 to 25 miles per hour.

The reduced speed limits took effect this January.

Slower speed limits apply to the Old Erwin Highway running through Tusculum from Highway 107 and also on Sam Doak Drive, from the center of town, near Doak Elementary School.

The 25 mph limit is already in place in the area closest to Doak Elementary, but as the road

travels past the Russell Acres subdivision, a higher 35 mph limit is currently enforced.

City officials said the changes were adopted due to safety concerns, as many motorists have neglected to slow from 35 to 25 mph when approaching the school.

On the Old Erwin Highway, where Tusculum city limits begin near Tusculum College’s Doak House Museum, the current 35 mph speed limit will be dropped to 25 mph, persisting through town limits to the Erwin Highway.

Tusculum commissioners also voted in 2015 to develop a plan to install a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Erwin Highway, Gilland Street and Harlan Street, near Tusculum city limits.

City officials are coordinating the project with the state Department of Transportation. A date for the installation of the signs has not been established.

The matter will be discussed at the March meeting of the Board of Mayor and Commissioners.

The stop sign proposal is part of a larger initiative to improve safety following

a rash of accidents in the area, including one fatality last year.

Parking limits were established in 2015 on some Tusculum streets at designated times. The board authorized the city to post signs limiting onstreet parking, and allowed authorities to enforce such limits.

City officials said the change was needed because the town has no law on the books to prevent onstreet parking that might prevent large vehicles like fire trucks from accessing various streets.

The ordinance finalized in December 2015 did not specifically establish a set amount for a fine.

Also in 2015, the city hired a contractor to complete some safety improvements on traffic signals at the intersection of East Andrew Johnson Highway and Erwin Highway, also known as State Route 107.

City officials said the work demonstrates to the state Department of Transportation that Tusculum is committed to improving safety at the busy intersection, and led to a commitment by TDOT to more extensive

improvement work.

It could be as long as five years before TDOT begins its own improvement project.

SEWER TREATMENT PLANT By early 2015, a wastewater treatment plant in Tusculum was opened for business.

The treatment plant is part of a sewer project along the section of East Andrew Johnson Highway in the city.

The project cost about $1 million. It came in slightly under budget, Mayor Alan Corley said.

Commercial or residential customers along East Andrew Johnson Highway in Tusculum are now able to hook in to the self-contained wastewater treatment system.

City officials like former Mayor John Foster were strong advocates for the project, which they hope will bring in revenue through sales tax returned from new businesses that locate along Tusculum’s commercial corridor.

“Hopefully it will attract some retail and commercial customers,” Corley said.

The project includes a sewer trunk line that

was installed starting at the Tusculum city line near the Consumer Credit Union bank and ending at the intersection of U.S. 11E and Afton Road/Ripley Island Road.

The treatment plant is located on a two-acre site west of the Andrew Johnson Highway.

The project was partially funded by a $485,000 matching grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The city is responsible for remaining expenses associated with the work, or about half the total cost.

NEW CITY OFFICIALS The year 2015 also saw several new faces at city hall.

City Commissioner Mike Burns, who was elected in 2014 to a four-year term on the Tusculum board, joined the board and also the city planning commission.

Planning commission member James Seip stepped down this January. Tusculum resident Dale Landers will fill the position, at least through July 1.

The planning commission now consists of Burns, Landers, Chairman Robert K. Bird, Secretary Teresa McCrary and Corley.

CITY HALL WORK In the coming year, Tusculum officials will likely have to address structural problems and other issues at city hall, at 145 Alexander St. The building dates from the 1960s and is gradually deteriorating, city officials said.

There are only two viable options, city officials said.

The first is to repair structural issues with the building and build an addition to house fire department and police department equipment.

The second is to construct a new city hall on adjacent property acquired several years ago that would also house the Tusculum Police Department.

Either choice requires funding that is currently not in the city’s budget, Corley said.

The building has “significant problems,” he said.

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THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

Mosheim Upgrades Public Library, Sewer System

BY LISA WARREN STAFF WRITER

Upgrades and renovations to the Town of Mosheim’s public library and sewer system have been two of the major projects in the works for the municipality during the past year.

Construction work has just been completed on the Mosheim Public Library expansion project, which doubled the size of the library building.

With the bricks and mortar work finished, Mosheim Mayor Tommy Gregg said all that remains on the project are some interior finishes and movement of books and other library materials into the new addition.

The project added an additional 2,000 square feet of space to the existing library.

The new space is allowing the library to create an archive room, a dedicated children’s area and a larger computer space, as well as additional areas for books and other materials.

The expansion work, which began last spring, was conducted by Hite Construction Company, which bid less than $200,000 on the project — the lowest of the five bids received and well under the $220,000 initially approved by town leaders for the project.

In 2014, the Town of Mosheim received a $43,500 federal grant and a $100,000 state grant to aid in the library’s expansion project.

The library is located at 730 Main St., in

SUN PHOTO BY LISA WARREN

An expansion project at the Mosheim Public Library has doubled the size of the facility during the past year.

Mosheim. Hours are Monday through Thursday from noon until 6 p.m. and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. The library is closed on weekends.

The library director is Cindy Fink.

SEWER SYSTEM With the library expansion winding down, work is gearing up for another Town of Mosheim project.

Needed upgrades and further extensions to the town’s sewer system are getting underway.

In January, the Mosheim Board of Mayor and Aldermen agreed to authorize the issuance of $600,000 in sewer revenue and tax bonds to help further fund upgrades to the municipality’s Lick Creek Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant, which

provides service to the town’s residents and some neighboring areas.

The $600,000 bond is being combined with a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency in order to cover the cost of upgrades to businesses and industry within the town and parts of the municipality’s surrounding area.

Town officials say they anticipate that user fees will fully pay for the bond without an increase to existing fees.

Work on the project was scheduled to begin this month by Frizzell Construction. The Bristolbased construction company was awarded the lowest bid on the project at just over $760,000, which came under the planned budget.

The town’s sewer sys-

tem has been in operation since 1986.

Fire Department Also during the past year, the Town of Mosheim Fire Department was recognized with a Life Safety Achievement Award by the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation, in partnership with Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company.

The award, which recognized the department’s efforts at fire safety education, was announced by H. Butch Browning, president of the association’s Fire Research and Education Foundation.

Last April, the fire department hosted its first annual open house for the community. The event allowed the public to come meet the firefighters,

tour the fire station, hear safety education talks and witness equipment demonstrations.

In January, the Town of Mosheim Fire Department was one of eight departments in Tennessee to participate in a state-wide smoke alarm installation effort. During the one-day event, held Jan. 23, different departments throughout the state, including Mosheim, were challenged to install 100 smoke alarms in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The free smoke installation program, which is part of the “Get Alarmed Tennessee” initiative, has been in place since 2012.

Also during the past year, the Town of Mosheim purchased a

new ladder truck for its fire department.

The nearly $120,000 vehicle replaced the department’s 1974-model ladder truck, which was put out of service in 2015 due to several mechanical and safety issues that were discovered during a routine safety inspection.

Town of Mosheim utility customers now have the convenience of paying for their municipal bills with a credit or debit card.

In October, the Mosheim board voted unanimously to approve the installation of a Business Information System credit card processing system at Mosheim Town Hall.

This new service allows the town customers the option of paying their municipal bills via credit or debit card. Until now, Mosheim Town Hall had no such option available to its customers.

The town is also in the process of working with Greeneville Light & Power System to install street lighting at the Bridge Burners Boulevard and Pottertown Road intersections.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation had previously installed cautionary lights at the Bridge Burners Boulevard intersection to warn oncoming traffic of large vehicles pulling onto the roadway.

In other roadway projects this past year, the town spent $262,000 to repave 2.5 miles of Mosheim’s Main Street.

Repaving work is expected to gear up later this year on portions of Blue Springs Parkway.

Officials Search Out Expansion For National Cemetery

BY O.J. EARLY STAFF WRITER

The National Park Service announced in October 2015 that the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery, which has been part of Greeneville’s history for generations, would close for new burials by the end of 2017.

“We’re sad that it’s getting close to its capacity,” Superintendent Lizzie Watts said then, “because it really has for the whole staff — and I just don’t speak for myself, I speak for everybody that’s ever worked in the national cemetery, employees before now and all of us that are here now — it really is a unique honor.”

The situation may not be entirely hopeless, though.

U.S. Rep. Phil Roe’s office “is in talks” with a wide range of officials “to see if there’s any way Congressman Roe can assist in addressing this issue,” a Roe spokeswoman in January.

“We are aware of the space challenges that exist, particularly the lack of contiguous property for a possible expansion,” said Tiffany McGuffee Haverly, Roe’s communication director. “Congressman Roe believes that any eligible veteran should have a burial plot in a national cemetery, and will work to ensure East Tennessee’s heroes are laid to rest with the reverence they deserve.”

Haverly didn’t offer specifics about the discussions, but she did confirm that Roe’s staffers have communicated with the National Park Service, administration at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

It would take congressional action to expand the cemetery, because the site is managed by the federal government.

State Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville, said area officials have discussed forming a partnership between the state and federal government to allow some state-owned property in the area to be used for national cemetery burials. He sees two options: expanding the cemetery or finding

SUN FILE PHOTO

The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site houses a national cemetery overlooking downtown Greeneville.

SUN FILE PHOTO

Members of the National Guard stand at Andrew Johnson’s grave during a ceremony in late 2015. another burial site in Greeneville.

“I am hopeful that we can accomplish at least one, if not both, of these potential outcomes,” Hawk said.

Grady Barefield, commander of American Legion Post 64 and chap-

lain of the Greene County Honor Guard, has one state-owned property in mind. Barefield said he previously proposed to Roe’s office that a portion of the roughly 450-acre campus at the soon-tobe-closed Greene Valley Developmental Center be

used for veteran burials.

Barefield said he has also discussed this possibility with Hawk.

“At least I would like to see them have a place out there where veterans can be buried at,” Barefield said.

This isn’t the first time

officials warned of no new burials.

The cemetery was owned by the Johnson family until 1906, when the War Department took over operations. The National Park Service supplemented the War Department’s roll starting in 1942, and the policy was clear: no more burials.

The cemetery was reactivated in 1946, according to the Park Service, after years of lobbing by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Legion.

For more than a century, the cemetery has been open to eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent family members.

The first soldier was buried there in 1908, and the cemetery holds veterans from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan. African-Americans, however, were barred from burial there until 1920.

Watts pointed out that burials may still occur

even if the cemetery is considered “closed” by 2017.

Those who have what the Park Service calls “reservations” — someone who has a spouse already buried at the site — can still be interred at the national cemetery.

“We could be open for the next 40 years as far as re-interments, the second burial,” Watts said in October. “There just won’t be any space for new burials. A closed cemetery means that there will be no more new burials for new eligible veterans, only the reservations.”

In numerous interviews with the Sun, Watts said the National Park staff is saddened by the approaching “closed” status.

“I know it is hard for them. Everyone on my staff has been involved with burials,” she said.

“We really do take it as an honor and a privilege.

It’s because of our veterans that we are the greatest country in the world and that we have the freedoms and the liberties that we sometimes, as Americans, take for granted.”

www.greenevillesun.com

Saturday, March 12, 2016

THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION

9

Appointed Panel Proposes New County Charter

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

In just a few months, voters across Greene County will have the opportunity to decide whether Greene County’s government will operate under home rule.

A referendum for the Greene C ou nt y C h a r t er will appear on the Aug ust General Election ballot. If the charter is ratif ied by a majority vote, the provisions outlined in the moret h a n-70 - p a g e do c u me nt wou ld ta ke ef fect beg i nning September 2018.

The document was developed by the Greene County Cha r ter Commission. The panel was established and began meeting in May 2014 following for the passage of a referendum calling for the formation of a body to be responsible for developing a governmental charter for the county.

The charter commission originally had a nine-month deadline to develop and submit the charter, with the document originally due by the end of February 2015.

However, the Greene County Commission granted the charter commission a ninemonth extension, giving its members until the end of November to develop the charter, approve the final version of the document and submit it.

Seven men were elected to the charter commission in May 2014, with the panel’s members each representing one of the county’s districts. Those elected to serve on the charter commission were Ronald Davenport, who represented the 1st District; Walter Johnson, 2nd District; Jeffrey Cobble, 3rd District

SUN FILE PHOTO BY O.J. EARLY

Charter Commission Chairman Jeff Cobble, right, makes a point during a May 2015 meeting of the Greene County Charter Commission. Dr. Ed Claiborne, also a commissioner, listens.

SUN FILE PHOTO BY BRAD HICKS

State Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville, signs Charter Commission Secretary Timothy Houser’s copy of the Tennessee Blue Book at a meeting in August. and chairman; Ed Claiborne, 4th District; Timothy Houser, 5th District; John Waddle, 6th District; and Robert Wood, 7th District.

The Charter Commission met regularly for nearly a year-and-a-half to not only develop the document, but to reviews its provisions, making changes and edits as its members deemed necessary.

Among the charter’s provisions is a measure aimed at preventing conf licts of interest. It includes language prohibiting members of the county commission from debating

and voting on items for which they have a conf lict. These conf licts are defined in the charter.

The charter also calls for the formation of an Ethics Committee made up of nongovernmental individuals appointed by the county commission to investigate ethics allegations made against county officials, employees and agents.

Provisions in the charter are intended to make it more difficult for the county commission to increase taxes.

The charter states that any

increase in property taxes or the county’s wheel tax rate must be approved by a twothirds majority of the full commission at two consecutive meetings.

Limitations on terms of office are also included in the charter. The document restricts the number of consecutive terms in which most elected officials can serve.

The charter also allows for a recall vote, which gives the county’s citizens the authority to call for the removal of an elected official through petition and referendum.

Language in the charter would consolidate the county’s financial management.

This means that all government budgets or funds would be under the supervision of a single financial department.

A Finance Committee made up of commissioners and

other county officials would also be formed.

The charter allows for the county’s government and the charter itself to be changed by citizens through petition drives. These drives, if successful, would see initiatives placed on ballots and the proposed changes decided by Greene County’s voters.

In August, the charter commission voted to approved the draft of the document and, two months later, voted to approve the final version of the charter.

The charter was certified

by Greene County Clerk Lori Bryant in November. This legally required certification and the submission of a copy of the charter to the Greene County Election Commission for filed allowed for the referendum to be placed on the August ballot.

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www.greenevillesun.com

THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

Municipal Airport Sees Year Of Advancements, Challenges

BY SARAH R. GREGORY STAFF WRITER

It’s been a busy year at the GreenevilleGreene County Municipal Airport.

An ongoing project to relocate a portion of Airport Road and rebuild the airport’s runway and taxiway ramped up, and the Greeneville-Greene County Municipal Airport Authority decided to seek an upgraded Federal Aviation Administration certification to accommodate larger aircraft.

The authority continued planning for a new hangar to base a medical transportation service at the facility, and altered fee structures for hangar rent and fuel as a method of boosting the airport’s revenue.

The board also began paying judgments against it from a lawsuit about contractual disputes related to the ongoing construction.

The facility’s governing board also secured loans to cover its local matches to about $13 million in state and federal grants for the extensive work.

SUN FILE PHOTO

CONSTRUCTION ONGOING In June 2015, the Greeneville Regional Planning Commission approved plans for the relocation of a portion of Airport Road and work to correct lineof-sight issues on the airport’s runway.

The work is a safety mandate of the Federal Aviation Administration, as an elevated section of the runway prevents pilots from being able to see one end of the strip from the other.

The projects met all of the town’s regulations, along with numerous other requirements of the FAA and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The price tag for the work was estimated as about $10 million, paid with federal funds dispersed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division.

In summer 2015, crews closed Airport Road from the Kingsport Highway to the entrance near Forward Air’s offices to begin work on relocating the route.

The new road is being moved slightly to the south and east of the demolished portion of Airport Road and will span three-fourths of a mile and cover just over 3.5 acres of land.

Moving the road allows the airport’s runway and taxiway to be extended to satisfy FAA safety mandates.

In late 2015, the airport authority accepted a gift of more than $123,000 from Greeneville businessman and pilot Scott M. Niswonger to seek an upgraded C2 certification from the FAA. That certification would allow larger, faster aircraft, like corporate jets, to land at the local airfield.

The facility is currently classified as a B2 airport under the system that generally pertains to safety requirements like slopes and open space.

Projects already underway at the air-

An airplane is directed toward the runway at the Greeneville-Greene County Municipal Airport. The airport is seeking a new certification, which will allow it to accommodate larger aircraft. port for the runway and taxiway were would house the company’s aircraft, crew, pilots and maintenance staff at engineered to meet C2 standards. the local airport on an around-the-clock basis were planned to be presented to GRANT MATCHES SECURED Beginning in January 2015, the air- the planning commission in 2015.

However, airport officials confirmed port authority worked to secure approximately $784,000 in loans to cover the that some proposed changes to the local match to almost $13 million for plans held up that process. So far, the ongoing construction projects at the plans have not been presented to the planning board. facility.

Janet Malone, airport authority Facing state and federal deadlines and with the loan process from Capital chairman, confirmed, however, that Bank not completed, airport officials the plans remain in the works.

When the company’s letter of intent requested a short-term loan from the was accepted in 2014, board members Town of Greeneville.

The Greeneville Board of Mayor and noted that an aeronautical grant from Aldermen met in special called session TDOT would cover about 95 percent of to authorize the short-term loan, which the project’s cost, with the board being was repaid later in the year plus inter- responsible for a 5 percent match.

Lease payments from the company est.

In essence, the town paid the grant were expected to cover the local match matches and the authority repaid the within the first year of occupying the town using funds from Capital Bank facility, board members said. after that loan was finally processed.

Also during 2015, the Greeneville FEES INCREASED Increased rental rates and fuel flow BMA and Greene County Commission approved separate but similar resolu- fees went into effect at the airport in tions guaranteeing each government August 2015.

The increases were put in place to boost will back 50 percent of the airport’s Capital Bank loans in the event of the airport authority’s general operating fund. default.

The per-gallon fuel charge was increased from 0.06 cents to 0.08 cents.

MEDICAL HELICOPTER HANGAR Rates for T-hangars and office rentals Little progress was made toward the project, but the airport authority con- were also boosted. Monthly rental fees tinued working on plans for Med-Trans for 64 T-hangars were increased by $25 Corporation to base its medical helicop- to $130, $150 or $200 monthly, depending on the hangar type. ter service at the facility.

Two older offices were increased from In late 2014, the board accepted a letter of intent from the company, which $30 to $50 per month.

Rental rates for three of the airport’s does business locally as Wings Air newest T-hangar offices were increased Rescue.

Plans for a new facility hangar that from $105 to $150 per month.

GARNISHED FOR LAWSUIT JUDGMENT In late 2015, a Greene County Chancery Court ruling ordered that garnishments against monthly rental payments made to the airport authority would continue as the board works to pay a more than $781,000 judgment against it.

The garnishments are an effort by Baker’s Construction Services Inc., of Sullivan County, to collect the judgment in its favor from a lawsuit filed against the airport board in 2011.

That suit was tried in 2014. The judgment was upheld in the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 2015.

The case relates to disputes over a contract dating to 2009 in which BCS was hired for work related to the expansion of the runway and taxiway.

The company successfully argued that the board’s failure to secure all rights of way needed to carry out the work within a certain timeframe constituted a breach of contract.

Going forward, the board will be tasked with determining how to pay its bonds, a bank loan and the judgment against it with insufficient funds to cover all.

No action has been taken, but Malone indicated in early 2016 that the board has multiple options, including selling various assets, to meet its obligations.

In early March, Greeneville Mayor W.T. Daniels proposed to Greene County Mayor David Crum that the town could assume full ownership of the airport and pay off the lawsuit judgment, or both the county and city could split the cost of the judgment, each pitching in around $400,000.

Plans Change, Downgrade For Hunter Education Range

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

Dirt has moved and the planned improvements at the Greene County Hunter Education Range began to take shape in 2015.

The improvement project calls for the construction of a new pistol range, while existing areas of the range, located along Hal Henard Road, will remain intact. The current pistol range is to be converted into a smallbore range, and the large-caliber range will be expanded to allow for additional shooters.

A classroom/administrative facility designed to hold 75 people is to be constructed, as are additional pavilions.

The more than 30year-old range has served as a law enforcement training facility but, once the planned improvements are completed, the range must be open to the pubic for 21 hours per week.

The improvement project was made possible by $1.6 million in grant funding provided through the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The county has an approximate required match of $400,000.

To facilitate the project, the Greene County Range Oversight Committee was formed and began meeting in late 2014 after the project was approved. This committee met regularly over the course of 2015 to move the project forward and discuss updates on its progress.

The project was put out for bid last year, but the company that will be responsible for much of the improvement work

SUN FILE PHOTO BY BRAD HICKS

Law enforcement officers and trainees utilize the current pistol range at the local firing range in November. has not yet been decided upon.

On Oct. 29, the committee opened bids for the project, with Greenevillebased Brooks Builders submitting the lowest bid of the five contractors placing cost estimates — a little less than $1.48 million.

According to that bid, Brooks Builders estimated the cost of the range’s skeet/trap area, which was originally to be located on the hill above the planned classroom/ administrative building and include several highlow houses and concrete retaining walls, to be more than $350,000.

The committee had previously voted to permit the Greene County Highway Department to complete grading work at the site, and members of the committee felt that a better idea of the project’s actual cost may come once this grading work has been finished.

At its Nov. 3 meeting, the committee voted to

reject all of the bids submitted and put the project back out for bid.

In the days after this meeting, a new landing spot for the skeet/trap area presented itself.

Greene County Mayor David Crum told members of the Greene County Budget and Finance Committee in November that the skeet/trap area could be relocated to a portion of a 25-acre tract of county-owned property located just across the creek from the planned ad m i n i st rat ive / c la s s room building.

Years ago, the tract was conveyed from the Greene County Board of Education to the Greene County Commission so that officials could seek a state recreational grant.

A “limitation of use” placed on the acreage specified that the property must be used for recreational purposes. Crum said the construction of the skeet/trap area on the property would comply with this use.

SUN FILE PHOTO BY KEN LITTLE

Architect Dave Wright updates members of the Greene County Range Oversight Committee on the status of the new county firing range project in May 2015.

Relocating this component of the firing range would address grading concerns and may eliminate the need for the expensive concrete retaining walls.

At its Nov. 16 meeting,

the county commission approved a resolution authorizing the relocation of the skeet/trap area.

In December, the Range Oversight Committee approved a scheme that specified how the skeet/

trap area, which will be located on 10 acres of the 25-acre tract, is to be situated on the property.

Other cost-saving moves have been discussed. Site architect David Wright said overall project expenses could be reduced by scaling back the classroom /ad mi n istrative building. This component was originally set to be around 4,200 square feet, complete with amenities such as a family restroom, fireplace and synthetic log siding.

The building was estimated to cost around $480,000, or $114 per square foot. But in December, Wright submitted a revised plan to trim the facility’s size by about 600 square feet, a move that includes the removal of the family restroom. Also, he said the log siding could be replaced by board and batten siding, a move that could save around $35,000 on the building costs.

Thus far, the highway department’s work includes some grading and the building of the dirt pad on which the classroom /administrative building will sit.

In January, the committee approved a measure to officially put the project back out for bid.

Wright said at the committee’s February meeting that, once the project has been advertised, bids will be collected over the subsequent three to four weeks.

Per the grant awarded to allow for the improvement project, officials have less than two years remaining to complete the site upgrades.

www.greenevillesun.com

Saturday, March 12, 2016

THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION

11

County Commissioner Dies After Pancreatic Cancer Battle

BY BRAD HICKS STAFF WRITER

Ted Hensley may be remembered by many for his service on the county’s legislative body or his involvement with a number of projects, committees and local organizations over the years.

But it was the resolve Hensley displayed in his final months that Greene County Mayor David Crum said he will remember most when reflecting upon the life of his fellow county official.

“I think the thing I want to remember most about Ted was the passion he had these last few months. He spoke openly about his faith, and he had a peace about his death,” Crum said.

“We never know how we would respond to a diagnosis like he was given.

He knew the end result of that diagnosis, what it would be. But he had a peace about that and a confidence that I want to remember most.”

Hensley, 62, died Feb. 9 at Wellmont Hospice in Bristol following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He announced

SUN FILE PHOTO BY O.J. EARLY

The now-deceased Ted Hensley speaks at a Greene County Commission meeting. his diagnosis in late 2015.

At that time, Hensley said he had no immediate plans to resign from the Greene County Commission.

“I’m going to continue to serve as long as I can,” Hensley said in November. “I’m hoping at least two more months, probably, maybe three. But I just have to take it a month at a time.”

Hensley was a graduate of Greeneville High School and East Tennessee State University. He was a broker/

owner with Century 21.

Hensley was elected to represent Greene County’s 2nd District on the commission in 2010. He won re-election in 2014. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the 5th District seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2012 and again in 2014.

Throughout his career, Hensley received a number of business-related awards.

He was on the founding board of the Tennessee Solar Energy Association and founded the Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association.

He was also an advisor to the Tennessee Valley Authority and its solar programs, and he exhibited at the Knoxville World’s Fair in 1982 as part of the TVA energy presentation.

Hensley also built Hensley Aipark in Chuckey in 1995 and helped form the Experimental Aircraft Association.

He was on the founding board of the Greene County Habitat for Humanity and served as the board’s president for two years.

Brian Cutshall served with Hensley on Habitat for Humanity’s Board of Directors in the 1990s. Hensley

was already a very active Habitat board member and volunteer, according to Cutshall.

“I know that Habitat held an important place in Ted’s heart, as he always believed that everybody deserves decent, affordable housing. He loved Greene County,” Cutshall said. “Ted was a go-getter, intelligent and kind. Our community will greatly miss him.”

Hensley also served as president of the Opportunity House Board of Directors. He was involved in other area organizations, as well, including Ruritan, Kiwanis and the Laughlin Health Care Foundation.

In his role as a commissioner, Hensley served on more than a dozen boards and committees, including the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals, the Ethics Committee, the Regional Planning Commission, and he chaired the Long-Range Planning Committee.

Planning Commission Chairman and fellow real estate agent Sam Riley said Hensley had only served on the planning commission for around a year but had a positive impact and brought

stood out to Commissioner Wade McAmis.

Like Hensley, McAmis was first elected to the commission in 2010. As a group of the rookie officials was leaving training, Hensley ran up and introduced himself, McAmis said.

“I just remember him saying, ‘I hope we can all go home and do good things for Greene County,’” McAmis said.

McAmis said Hensley was never shy about taking a strong vocal stand, yet was always cordial and would greet others with kind words and handshakes following meetings.

Residents of the county’s 2nd District interested in filling the seat had until March 11 to submit applications to Crum’s office.

The Greene County Election Commission will review the applications to determine eligibility to hold the seat. The county commission is to make the appointment March 21.

The candidate elected would complete the remainder of Hensley’s unexpired term, which runs through 2018.

good ideas to the table.

“He had some good input into it. He really did,” Riley said. “I enjoyed serving with him.”

Commissioner Jason Cobble described Hensley as an exceptional individual who had the county’s best interests at heart.

Cobble said Hensley was an advocate for small business and developing the entrepreneurial spirit, as well as limiting government.

“I really admired Ted for his drive to try to keep things the way they were structured originally,” Cobble said.

Of the efforts he undertook on the commission, one most important to Hensley was a project to see a banner bearing the nation’s motto, “In God We Trust,” placed in every public building, gathering place and classroom in Greene County. He sponsored a related resolution that the commission approved in February 2014.

Several people used the word “outspoken” to describe Hensley, but Crum used “passionate” to describe his desire to improve Greene County.

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THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

Regulators Stand By Decision To Cancel NFS Study

BY KEN LITTLE STAFF WRITER

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission eliminated funding in 2015 to a National Academy of Sciences study of cancer risks in populations near U.S. nuclear facilities, including Nuclear Fuel Services in Unicoi County.

“The NRC determined that continuing the work was impractical, given the significant amount of time and resources needed and the agency’s current budget constraints,” spokesman Scott Burnell said in a September 2015 news release.

The NRC commissioned the NAS study in order to update one released in 1990.

That report, undertaken by the U.S. National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Institute, found no increased risk of cancer mortality related to the proximity of an individual to the nuclear facilities.

The conclusions of the 1990 study have been questioned by environmental groups, including individuals who maintain the NFS facility in Erwin may be responsible for the release of radioactive materials that ultimately cause types of cancer in people living near the plant and along the Nolichucky River.

NFS officials have long maintained the operation is safe and poses no health threat to surrounding residents, or those living downriver from the facility.

Greene County is downstream of the Nolichucky River from Unicoi County and NFS. ‘STRICT REQUIREMENTS’ The NRC apparently still abides with the conclusions of the 1990 study, based on the statement released in September 2015 by the federal agency.

“The NRC continues to find U.S. nuclear power plants comply with strict requirements that limit radiation releases from routine operations.

The NRC and state agencies regularly analyze environmental samples from near the plants. These analyses show the releases, when they occur, are too small to cause observable increases in cancer risk near the facilities,” the release said.

As of this February, the NRC stands by its decision to discontinue funding the NAS study.

The pilot planning phase of the analysis included two components: an ecological study of multiple cancer types of populations living near nuclear facilities, and a control study of cancer in children born within 30 miles of nuclear facilities such as NFS. The two-phase NAS analysis was in its second phase.

Phase 1, completed in May 2012, involved a “scoping study to identify scientifically sound approaches for carrying out the cancer risk assessment.”

Phase 2 was to include a “cancer risk assessment informed by Phase 1 results.”

The study was not intended to determine cancer rates around U.S. nuclear facilities, but geared toward “analyzing risk,” study director Dr. Ourania Kosti said in 2014.

Kosti said in September 2015 that information gathered by the NAS may be of some value if similar studies are authorized in the future.

“We did not collect any health data during the pilot planning phase to perform an analysis and draw conclusions about risks near nuclear facilities,” Kosti said. “What we did learn during the pilot planning step was knowledge on available information to conduct a study.”

Kosti said that includes “where to

find the information, how good the information is, what gaps exist in the information, how much it would cost to retrieve it, and what the requirements are when reporting it.”

“In other words, we prepared the groundwork to conduct the study so that we are prepared for any challenges,” Kosti said.

MATTER OF FUNDING The NRC estimated in 2013 that completion of the study will cost about $2 million, including about $500,000 for the second phase.

Information provided in September 2015 by the NRC said that NAS staff communicated “the execution phase of the pilot study would require significant time and resources to complete: 39 months and $8 million.”

NAS staff estimated it may take eight to 20 years to complete the pilot and subsequent nationwide studies.

That timeline “would possibly prolong the study to 2025, 15 years after the start of the project with NAS,” Mark A. Satorius, NRC executive director for operations, wrote in an August 2015 policy analysis.

“We’re balancing the desire to provide updated answers on cancer risk with our responsibility to use Congressionally-provided funds as wisely as possible,” Brian Sheron, director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, said in the 2015 news release.

ANOTHER VIEW Barbara O’Neal, of the Erwin Citizens Awareness Network Inc., a group critical of the NFS operation, suggested in September 2015 that the NRC may not have wanted the study to go forward for other reasons.

“While the study would have cost a lot, that’s true, more importantly

NRC would have had to have released much more information than they ever wanted to release. Also, if a modicum of truth had ever come out, it would have looked really bad for the NRC who has allowed these facilities to ‘self-report’ for years,” O’Neal said in an email.

The issue of questioning how accurately effluent release information would have been reported is another issue, O’Neal said.

“Plus, for nuclear facilities like NFS, it’s too late — they’ve been operating too long, 57 years — and the damage is already done,” O’Neal said.

U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, reacted to the announcement with a statement released in September 2015: “We need a thorough, accurate accounting of the health risks associated with living near nuclear facilities so residents can know if there are any adverse health impacts associated with living close to nuclear reactors. But the NRC has decided to take a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ approach to this public health concern by ceasing work on what could be a life-saving cancer risk research study,” Markey said.

RIVER WATER SUPPLY NFS, a “uranium fuel fabrication facility” regulated by the NRC, is located near the Nolichucky River in Unicoi County.

NFS, a subsidiary of the Babcock & Wilcox Company, makes high-enriched uranium fuel for the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet and also recovers and purifies lowenriched and high-enriched uranium from scrap generated internally or at other facilities.

The Greeneville Water Department intake point is about 28 miles downstream from the NFS plant. The water department is the source of drinking water for most of Greene County.

Greeneville Fire Department Has Change In Leadership

BY SARAH R. GREGORY STAFF WRITER

A

veteran member of the Greeneville Fire Department was selected to serve as the town’s new fire chief in October 2015.

Former Fire Marshal Alan Shipley was named chief of the Greeneville Fire Department following the departure of Mark Foulks.

Foulks was selected to serve as chief of the Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department in August 2015.

FOULKS TO MURFREESBORO In July, Foulks confirmed that he had been selected as a finalist to lead the Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department following the retirement of that department’s chief, Cumbey Gaines.

Murfreesboro City Manager Robert J. Lyons announced Foulks’ selection in late July, touting the former Greeneville fire chief as a capable leader who could advance the squad’s capabilities.

“Chief Foulks is a proven leader in Tennessee firefighting and emergency services. I believe his focus on firefighter safety, communication and training will help take our department to the next level,” Lyons said.

Foulks had served as Greeneville Fire Chief since 2006.

Prior to that role, he served in various capacities, including assistant chief, at the Knoxville Fire Department, where he began his career in 1990.

Foulks said he had not

SUN FILE PHOTO

Former Fire Marshal Alan Shipley comments during a meeting of the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen, after being appointed to succeed Mark Foulks as chief of the Greeneville Fire Department in October 2015.

Greeneville City Administrator Todd Smith appointed veteran firefighter and GFD Captain Marty Shelton as the department’s interim chief.

Shelton, a 26-year veteran of GFD, also serves as chief of the Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department and is a former member of the Greeneville Emergency and Rescue Squad.

Shelton served as interim chief from late August to mid-October 2015 while a nationwide search for Foulks’ successor was underway.

For the first time in decades, the search for a new fire chief fell outside of the town’s civil service INTERIM APPOINTED In early August 2015, system. been actively searching for a new position, but was encouraged to explore the Murfreesboro option by a friend in that area.

Ultimately, considerations about the best opportunities for his family led him to accept the position, he said.

“I hate to leave Greeneville. Greeneville has been very good to me,” he said. “I’m sad to leave here because of the firefighters and all the work they’ve done in the community, but at the same time, I’m excited about the possibilities in Murfreesboro.”

While their personnel are still part of the system, chiefs of the town’s police and fire departments are no longer subject to the Greeneville Civil Service Board’s oversight. Those changes were finalized in updates to the town’s charter that took effect in 2014.

In searching for Foulks’ successor, Smith was assisted by the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service and assessment center, the Tennessee City Management Association, International Fire Chief Association and Tennessee Municipal League.

After the Aug. 31, 2015, application deadline,

Smith began narrowing a pool of 42 applicants to a list of finalists. The City Administrator indicated the majority of applicants were from outside of Greeneville and Greene County, with many residing in states other than Tennessee.

Fewer than 10 candidates advanced to an MTAS assessment center evaluation, designed to detail each candidates’ abilities in relation to several different scenarios.

After receiving the assessment center report and undertaking interviews, Smith named two finalists for the position: Shipley and Kenneth Reeves, a division chief for the Memphis Fire Department.

Both candidates met with Smith for interviews before meeting other town department heads and Greeneville Fire Department staff.

SHIPLEY NAMED CHIEF In mid-October 2015, Smith announced during a gathering at Central Fire Hall that longtime firefighter and thenFire Marshal Shipley had been selected for the department’s top spot and would begin duties immediately.

Smith cited Shipley’s “top notch” experience as a firefighter and fire marshal as a basis for his selection.

“He knows the department inside and out, and is intimately involved in this community,” Smith said. “He was the candidate that stood out.”

At the time he was selected as chief, Shipley had already been a member of the department for 25 years.

He had served as fire

marshal since 2007, and had been active in conducting fire and arson investigations throughout Greeneville and Greene County since 1998.

Shipley said he was eager to begin building on the department’s existing successes.

“I think this is the best department in the state,” he said. “The relationships we’ve built over the years, I want to see this department continue.”

He said that prayerful consideration led to his decision to seek the department’s top spot.

“I prayed about this for a long time,” he said. “The men and women serving this department are awesome. That’s why I came to the conclusion to do this.”

BOWLBY NAMED MARSHAL Following Shipley’s promotion, the town began the process of identifying a new fire marshal.

In February 2016, the town announced that another veteran member of the department would be promoted.

Craig Bowlby, a 28-year member of the department, was selected to fill Shipley’s former role.

Bowlby was most recently a lieutenant within the department.

Smith cited his experience and certification in hazardous materials mitigation and as an Emergency Medical Technician, along with many other firefighter-related certifications.

In addition to duties with GFD, Bowlby is a 25-year member of the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad and an auxiliary deputy for the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

Water Department Tackles Water Pump, Sewer Line Upgrades

BY SARAH R. GREGORY STAFF WRITER

Significant upgrades to the Greeneville Water Department’s infrastructure have been undertaken in the last year.

Top among them is installation of a new, high-capacity pump and water intake system at the Nolichucky River, an almost $6 million project paid for with local and grant funds.

The Greeneville Water Commission also acted to replace a leaking tank used to clean filters at the Water Treatment Plant, which had been a problem for decades.

Other recent upgrades to critical pieces of the utility’s infrastructure included replacement of drives on the existing pump at the Nolichucky River and replacement of scales used to measure chlorine for water treatment processes.

Commissionersdiscussed some potential upgrades to the sewer system that may be undertaken this year.

And, in the most recent Greeneville Municipal Election, incumbent commissioner Joe Waggoner defeated retired Greeneville Water Superintendent Ken Earl to be elected to a fourth term on the board.

NOLICHUCKY RIVER UPGRADES In fall 2015, the Greeneville Water Commission approved plans for the utility’s most significant undertaking in more than a decade: installation of a new, high-capacity pump and intake system at the Nolichucky River.

The upgrade provides redundancy to a system that has components more than 50 years old.

In September 2015, a $5.8 million project bid from Haren Construction, of Etowah, was approved.

Of that cost, the commission will pay about $4.6 million, while $1.2

million will be covered by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency.

The existing pump house structure at the river will be expanded to accommodate a new intake screen and pump system, enabling the utility to pump about 13.5 million gallons per day.

Existing pumps, which take in about 8 million gallons per day, will continue to be used. They date to about 1960, and were originally designed to pump 4 million gallons of water per day.

Water Superintendent Laura White explained in the fall that the util-

ity will alternate which pumping system is active, adding that the new pump will ensure the department’s operations are not interrupted.

The new pump will allow water to be pumped each day, even during times when water is turbid, which cannot be done with the existing system as its screens become clogged with debris.

Board members have said the project will be complicated and dangerous, as crews must anchor the structure as much as 60 feet to find bedrock in the river.

The work is expected to take nearly a year and a half to complete.

OTHER UPGRADES Other upgrades undertaken recently by the Greeneville Water Commission include replacement of a leaking tank at the Water Treatment Plant.

The concrete tank, which dates to the early 1960s, had been repaired several times over the years.

In September 2015, work to replace the tank, at a cost of about $460,000, got underway.

A Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department PLEASE SEE WATER | 13

www.greenevillesun.com

Saturday, March 12, 2016

THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION

13

Cases Allege Criminal Acts By ‘Public Servants’

BY KRISTEN EARLY ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The coming year may finally see a resolution to two ongoing cases that have impacted the community in recent years.

A jury trial date is on the federal docket for District Judge J. Ronnie Greer in a sexual discrimination/harassment lawsuit against Greene County government and former County Clerk David Thompson.

The trial is scheduled to take place in December 2016.

Meanwhile, should the case of the former general managers of the Chuckey and Cross Anchor utility districts go to trial, a jury will be drawn from a surrounding county.

A motions hearing in the cases of former general manager Kandie Collins Jennings, 41, and her mother, retired general manager Shirley Kidwell Collins, 64, was held in December in Greene County Criminal Court.

Jennings and Collins are charged with multiple felony counts of official misconduct and theft of about $250,000 from the utility districts. They were indicted on the charges in 2014 by a Greene County Grand Jury.

THOMPSON CASE The delayed court date on the sexual discrimination case follows several time extension requests and stays due to health issues of the plaintiff’s attorney, Sandra Stanbery-Foster, who said in documents filed last year that she will seek secondary counsel to aid in the case.

Former Deputy Clerk Michelle Burke filed the suit alleging Thompson subjected her to a “steady stream of unwelcome, uninvited, illegal, unlaw-

SUN FILE PHOTO

Former Greene County Clerk David Thompson resigned following allegations of sexual discrimination, which he denies.

SUN FILE PHOTO

Chuckey Utility District President John Carter addresses the district’s board concerning County and jurors transported to Greene County details of the district’s then-upcoming split from Cross Anchor Utility District. ful and egregious sexual harassment, over years during (her) employment, designed to intentionally inflict emotional distress upon (her).”

The lawsuit alleges that Burke suffered “unlawful employment discrimination, ‘quid pro quo’ harassment and sexual harassment, (a) hostile work environment, sex discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and retaliatory discharge.”

Thompson “may be liable” for Burke’s complaints, according to the suit, which further claims that Greene County government is “vicariously liable” for all the complaints.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 22, 2014.

Thompson commented in January about the filing of the lawsuit by Burke.

“I have no comment other than to say that we’ve known about this since it was filed on Dec. 22,” Thompson said. “This is just another chapter — and hopefully the final chapter — in the saga in

which I can finally prove that I did not sexually harass Ms. Burke.”

Attorney Thomas J. Garland Jr., of Milligan & Coleman PLLP, will serve as attorney for both Greene County and for Thompson.

Greene County Attorney Roger Woolsey had previously recused himself from legal matters surrounding Thompson’s case, but is acting as attorney alongside Garland in this matter.

Along with the $3.5 million in damages, the suit asks Greene County to develop a comprehensive handbook on avoidance of sexual harassment and train supervisors and employees regarding its content.

Burke further seeks all wages, front and back pay, benefits and other compensation or to be reinstated as a county employee.

In answer to the lawsuit, the Greene County government contended in January 2015 that the alleged relationship between Burke and Thompson was consensual.

Woolsey denied that Burke is entitled to any relief, saying that her complaint “fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted against Greene County” under federal or state common law.

“In order for Ms. Burke to be a victim of sexual harassment, there must be evidence that she was subjected to a hostile work environment that was ‘unwelcome,’” the response states. “The evidence provided to Greene County shows that Ms. Burke welcomed her relationship with Mr. Thompson.”

CHUCKEY/CROSS ANCHOR It may be the end of this month before the community knows if the case against the utility district managers goes to trial.

Criminal Court Judge John F. Dugger Jr. in December denied a defense motion for a change of venue due to potentially damaging pretrial pub- BACKGROUND A TBI investigation took licity, but approved the request for a jury to be place in conjunction with drawn from Hamblen an investigation by the

Water Starts on Page 12 of Housing and Urban Development covered about $428,000 of that cost.

In summer 2015, the commission authorized work to replace two variable frequency drives on the existing pump at the Nolichucky River water intake.

A bid of just under $50,000 was approved in July 2015 for that project.

The drives help power a pump that regulates levels in a reservoir during periods of high water or flooding at the river.

Around the same time, the board approved a $3,300 project to replace scales at the Water Treatment Plant. The old scales, used to weigh large cylinders that hold chlorine used in water treatment processes, were no longer reading or calibrating accurately.

SUN FILE PHOTO

Several significant upgrades to the Greeneville Water Department’s infrastructure were approved by the Greeneville Water Commission in 2015, including installation of a new pump system at the Nolichucky River.

Throughout 2015 and at the start of 2016, work continued on a new storage facility adjacent to the Greeneville Water Department’s North Main Street offices.

A pre-fabricated metal storage building has been erected to house various pieces of equipment, including a large truck with a complex water-jetting system that needs

Criminal Court if the case goes to trial.

Dugger set a March 31 pretrial conference in the case. Issues addressed in a defense motion by defense lawyers Joseph Costner and Craig Garrett to dismiss the case against Jennings and Collins will be taken up then, he said.

Those issues include consulting contracts between the utility districts and the defendants, and the charges relating to official misconduct, including language in the indictments against Jennings and Collins that alleged they were “taking advantage of their official positions.”

“We will have a pretrial conference and we will revisit these motions,” Dugger said.

If the prosecution and defense do not reach a resolution of the case before or at the pretrial conference, Dugger advised both sides “to mark off plenty of time in your calendar for May.”

storage in a heated facility during winter months.

UPCOMING SEWER WORK Plans are also in place for replacing crumbling sewer lines around Har-

din Park later this year.

Nearly 2,000 feet sewer lines running between the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery and Hardin Park, and in the Vann Road, Crescent Street and Gra ndv iew Avenue areas are crumbling, commissioners were told in early 2016.

The projects are complicated by the fact that many sections of the 6inch lines run directly under the center of roadways that would have to be torn up for the work then re-paved upon completion.

Paving work could total as much as half of the project’s overall cost and would mean roads near two schools — Hal Henard Elementary School and Greeneville Middle School — could be closed for as long as two weeks.

The board approved a project to replace about 1,100 feet of lines on Crescent Drive at a

Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.

“During the course of the investigation, TBI agents developed information that, while serving as managers of the utility, Jennings and Collins misused their authority as employees of the districts and mismanaged funds,” according to a TBI news release.

All charges in the case stem from actions in 2012 and 2013 that took place without the approval of either district’s boards, according to the indictments against Jennings and Collins.

Jennings is charged with four counts of official misconduct, two counts of theft over $10,000 and two counts of theft over $1,000.

Indictments against Collins include five counts of official misconduct, two counts of theft over $10,000, and two counts of theft over $1,000.

Both utility district boards dismissed Kandie Jennings, her father, Willie Collins, and her husband, Bill Jennings, after Certified Public Accountant David “Mickey” Ellis’ preliminary audit findings released in October 2013 indicated “questionable practices by the management.”

Chuckey Utility District also stopped payments on a consulting contract with Collins, who served as manager of the two utility districts from 1986 to 2012.

Final audit findings

by Ellis in January 2014 included unauthorized bonuses, unreliable or incomplete meeting minutes, unauthorized fuel purchases, missing records and unauthorized loans.

After a lengthy audit, the state Comptroller’s Office also released a number of findings in August 2014.

cost of $125,000 earlier this year, but crews are expected to hold off on the work until the end of the 2015-16 school year.

WAGGONER RE-ELECTED In August 2015, incumbent commissioner Joe Waggoner held off a challenge from retired Water Superintendent Ken Earl to be elected to a fourth, sixyear term to the board.

Waggoner is an atlarge commissioner on the board.

He took more than 66 percent of the vote in the August 2015 Greeneville Municipal Election, winning by 528 votes over Earl’s 265 in an election that featured only one contested race and was marked by low voter turnout.

In all, just 797 of the town’s more than 9,000 elig ible voters cast ballots in that election.

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14 THE GREENEVILLE SUN BENCHMARKS EDITION Saturday, March 12, 2016

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Cease the Grease!

The Problem Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) come from meats, butters and margarine, lard, food scraps, sauces, salad dressings, dairy products, and cooking oil. When FOG goes down the drain, it hardens and causes sewer pipes to clog. This can lead to a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) where raw sewage actually backs up into your home, lawn, neighborhood, and streets. Not only does this nasty mess cause health issues, it also can run into a nearby stream or river which affects our drinking water. If your pipes become clogged from putting FOG down the drain, it can be a very expensive problem to fix. To avoid household, environmental damage, as well as a costly bill, NEVER put FOG down the drain!

GWC

Greeneville Water Commission 516 N. Main Street • Greeneville, TN 423.638.3148 www.greenevillewater.org