VOL. 8 NO. 50 NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ IN THIS ISSUE
Lights fantastic at Chilhowee Park Take a minute to tour Chilhowee Park after dark to see a forest of lighted trees floating on the lake. You never leave your car. The exhibit will continue until Jan. 1. It’s sponsored by Xfinity, WVLT Channel 8, Knoxville News Sentinel, 93.1 WNOX, Krispy Kreme, Cheerwine, and The Muse Knoxville.
Tour de Lights On Friday, Dec. 19, bring a bike to Market Square to enjoy Tour de Lights – a fun, free, casual 5-mile bike ride that starts from Market Square and tours downtown, 4th and Gill and Old North Knoxville. Ride starts at 7 p.m. but judging begins at 6 p.m. and prizes are awarded after the ride in several categories, including Best-Decorated Bike, Best Decorated Person, and Best Group Theme. Mast General Store and Three Rivers Market will provide hot cocoa and cookies for participants. Helmets, white front light, and red rear reflector are required and all ages and skill levels are welcome. Info at www.knoxtrans.org/.
Legacy Parks lists outdoor adventures Join your friends for some outdoor activities. In addition to Tour de Lights, Trek South is sponsoring a Fort Dickerson Hike at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at the Augusta Street entrance. Walk around Concord Park to see the Knox County Festival of Lights, running from 6-9 p.m. through Dec. 30. It’s sponsored by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. Come for a bike ride Saturday, Dec. 27, at 9 a.m. as the Knoxville Bicycle Company sponsors the Saturday Dam Road Ride. Meet at 10657 Hardin Valley Road.
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P.E. is not for all
If you like your ShopperNews, you might also enjoy the other seven papers we produce weekly for Knox and Union counties. Each paper contains unique writing. Where to look? Go online to www. ShopperNewsNow.com/. We post each Tuesday at 6 p.m. This week’s Union County edition, for instance, has a story from Ronnie Mincey about his time in high school physical education: P.E. to Ronnie meant “personal embarrassment.”
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December 17, 2014
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Inching toward an impact fee By Sandra Clark The town of Farragut does not have a property tax. It funds an almost $10 million budget with state-shared sales and gasoline taxes along with licenses, permits, fees and fines. Money is tight, yet demands for services increase. What to do? The Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week adopted 4-1 on first reading an ordinance to impose an impact fee on new development along Everett Road. Proponents said the fee will enable the town to speed needed road improvements. Alderman Bob Markli countered that a fairer fee would be imposed town-wide. During a break, planning commissioner Ed Whiting said of Markli: “He’s heading for a property tax. And you can quote me.” “No one living (on Everett Road) has to worry about paying the fee,” said town administrator David Smoak. “It’s just for those getting a new building permit.” Ed Zarb, representing the Homebuilders Association, said, “We’re obviously concerned that this is setting a precedent. Is it your intent to impose an impact fee on future development on other roads?” Smoak said developers have traditionally helped with road improvements as a condition for rezoning. “I can’t speak for future boards or projects.” The town is trying to kick-start
completion of the Split Rail Farm subdivision. Under a negotiated agreement, those developers will pay $3,276 per lot, while the fee elsewhere on Everett Road will be closer to $6,000 per lot. Smoak said sidewalks on both sides will be part of the project. Zarb urged the town to consider collecting the impact fee from the home buyers at closing. “That’s when the impact occurs.” Who pays? Markli: “I submit it’s the landowner. The developer will offer less money to the landowner. The
bottom line is that landowner is bearing the cost of these road improvements. If we’re going to do this, we should put it on every parcel, spread it out.” Mayor Ralph McGill: The costs will flow to the home buyer. The consumer always pays. In other business, Jeff Palmer of the Sheriff’s Office announced his retirement. His replacement in Farragut will be Captain Brad Hall, a detective for 13 years who has also worked in patrol. Palmer said he’s enjoyed his two years in the town. “I wish I had been
posted down here sooner.” Farragut Market was approved for an off-premise permit to sell beer. The new owners are Alex Bhakta and Rena Patel. The board postBrad Hall poned discussion of zoning regulations for a town center since Community Development Director Mark Shipley was out of town. The next meeting is in January.
Farragut West Knox Chamber party-goers celebrate the annual open house. They are Becky Vidal, Knoxville Hilton; Bettye Sisco, Farragut Chamber; Nancy Howard, Provision Center for Proton Therapy; Fran Owen and Tracy O’Connor, both with the Knoxville Hilton. See additional photos on page A-12. Photo by S. Clark
Internet gets faster in Halls, Farragut By Sandra Clark Farragut Mayor Ralph McGill echoed the sentiments of most community promoters. “TDS is putting in one gigabit (whatever that means) into Farragut (and Halls). “This is the highest Internet speed you can get, period. Having it here really makes a difference for businesses.” McGill was reacting to last week’s announcement from TDS Telecom that it is bringing “1Gig Internet” to parts of Halls and Farragut, where the company provides basic telephone service. The company’s announcement said Farragut and Halls residents will be among the first in Tennes-
see with access to 1Gig Internet service this year. “The launch of 1Gig service means area residents have access to the fastest Internet service in the nation,” said Matt Apps, manager of Internet Product Management and Development at TDS. “With 1Gig, anything our customers do on the Internet will be incredibly fast. From streaming movies or TV shows to working from home, the experience is ‘lagless’ and completely seamless.” The TDS press statement continues: The 1Gig service is about 100 times faster than the national average Internet speed of 10 megabits per second. With it, cus-
tomers can transfer HD movies in seconds and connect remotely to their office or telecommute seamlessly, even on multiple devices. (Writer’s note: I’m amazed that the guy in charge of this is named Apps.) According to Apps, 1 gigabit per second really opens up new possibilities for telecommuting, allowing people to enjoy the benefits of living in a smaller community while working for an employer based in a larger nearby city. The company says 1Gig service is available for immediate installation as part of a TDS TV bundle. TDS TV includes a ConnectedHome DVR (which links all TVs
Midway on back burner By Betty Bean This fall, the Knox County Development Corporation (TDC) loaded a bunch of county officials and business leaders onto a bus and took them on a tour of four of the county’s eight industrial/business parks. WestBridge, Hardin, Eastbridge and the Pellissippi Corporate Center were on the itinerary. Midway Road wasn’t. Nor was it included in an industrial land inventory conducted earlier in the year by TDC and the Knoxville Chamber, an odd omission in light of the nearly 20-year battle that has been waged over the county-owned parcel at the Midway Road intersection of I-40. The Development Corporation has been
desperately seeking a large parcel of developable land; residents of Thorn Grove and Mike Edwards surrounding communities have fought to preserve the area’s rural character. Chamber CEO Mike Edwards, a major player in the last round of negotiations (in 2010), said he’s no longer directly involved (the chamber has spun off TDC to become a stand-alone body) but said although Midway hasn’t been part of recent discussions, it’s now more developable because TVA has installed “a
big, huge transfer station” on the parcel and KUB also has built a substation there. “We weren’t crazy about TVA wanting to flop its footprint on Midway, but it was an easement they’d owned for a long, long time. So now the utilities are out there, and I think a sewer system is in place, too.” Elaine Clark, president of the French Broad Preservation Association, is reluctant to talk about Midway (perhaps observing the “don’t trouble trouble till trouble troubles you” admonition), except for expressing some skepticism of Edwards’ claim about the availability of sewer for the park site, which she described as “a two-acre drip field.” She said she’d like to
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see the task force county Mayor Tim Burchett put together early in his first term under the leadership of former tourism head Gloria Ray resurrected. (The task force dissolved in 2012 when Ray resigned as CEO of the Sports and Tourism Corp.) “We were making real progress,” Clark said. “That’s something that should be revived.” Todd Napier, CEO of TDC, said there was no reason to include Midway on the bus tour, which they were trying to conduct in four hours. He said there’s really nothing to see on the parcel, which is now on the books as a $6.4 million investment, down from the original $10 million after the write-down of the TVA acquisition. Midway is in Com-
missioner Dave Wright’s Eighth District. He’s also on TDC board and was interviewed just hours after its December meeting. He said he had “the latest, greatest, most breaking news” about what’s going on with Midway. “Nothing. “But it’s going to be something someday. We’ve got kids graduating from Carter and the Career Magnet Academy who’ll be looking for a job. I’d rather see them on the Midway Road exit as opposed to Hardin Valley.” Bill Emmert, whose back porch is a stone’s throw from the boundary of the proposed business park, said neighbors remain vigilant. “It’s as quiet as a mouse, but I’m sure they’re doing something,” he said. “We’re watching.”