Last week's meeting of the Jellico Planning Commission was a lengthy one. The Commission added its endorsement to a plan already approved by the City Council for the Jellico Community Hospital to erect signs (3) that will be beneficial to our entire community. The very attractive signs will indicate directions to the hospital as well as the Tannery Hollow Baptist Church and possibly other locations.
A determination was made that property owned by Mr. Joe Surber near the interstate does have the proper zoning to permit construction of a self-storage type building.
Heritage Pizza was given permission to erect a sign on that property as business advertisement.
Property owned by Mr. Haskel Strong was declared a legal lot but State Planner Mr. Colin McCloud stated that certain requirements must be met before his office can consider the site for possible approval for the placement of a mobile home.
The final site plan for the Taylor Barber Shop on North Main Street was given approval.
Most of the meeting was spent discussing the state law requiring identification of property suurrounding our corporate limits (as is required for all municipalities within the state of Tennessee). Three categories must be identified including (1) Urban Growth Areas (2) Planned Growth Areas and (3) Rural Areas. The latter two are to be identified by county wide committees established by every county within the state of Tennessee.
The Urban Growth Area is a projection for the next twenty years period and is based upon a municipality's probablility of providing all services to any area(s) among the identified area(s) to include water, sewer, electricity, police and fire protection, street maintenance, etc. That action must be taken before any plans can be considered for possible annexation of any of the identified area(s).
Much of the surrounding area(s) around Jellico must be included in that projected area since we are so limited in available space for growth and development. And such identification should insure that Jellico will be the only municipality eligible to consider any future annexation of the identified area(s).
The proposed "Reserve on Jellico Mountain" will also be included in the initially identified Urban Growth Area.
Great emphasis has been placed upon the fact that the Urban Growth Area projection must be accurate and completed. Failure to do so could result in a possible future loss of federal and state grant funds.
In another area, Chairman Roy Price pointed out that Mr. Billy Douglas has worked for several days in gathering pertinent information that can be used toward the compilation of insurance rates. According to Price, the work done by Douglas resulted in our receiving an index number of "7" as compared to a"9" assigned to municipalities that do not conduct the study. Hopefully that will help our local businesses with their insurance rates.
The problem dealing with the requirement for a state certified building inspector was discussed. And City Administrator Mike Jones was asked to contact the Municipal Technical Service for clarification of the total list of qualifications for the position.
A special call meeting of the Beer Board immediately followed the Planning Commission meeting.
A request for a beer permit from Mr.Steve Kirkham, representing the proposed new Rocky Top/Wendy's, was discussed at length with Mr. Kirkham addressing the board. Reverend Ellis Hoskins in attendance along with several other citizens, also spoke to the Board and expressed opposition to the granting of a permit so close to the Crouches Creek Baptist Church.
The requested permit was rejected by unanimous vote of the four (4) members of the Board in attendance at the meeting.
Upon the advice of City Attorney, Jeff Hall, the reasons for the denial were stated: (1) the location falls within the minimum 2,000 feet specified in the City Beer Ordinance (2) previous City Councils have fixed the number of permits at six and those six are already allocated and (3) consideration is not given to a permit for a building that is not completed or nearing completion.
In another action, the Board considered granting permission to serve beer in a proposed addition to "Buckner's Trough". The addition will meet the requirements of the ordinance according to owner Johnny Buckner. The Board was in agreement but City Attorney Jeff Hall is to do further research and inform Mr. Buckner.
Work on the Veterans' Park annex is progressing rapidly and the stage donated by Mr. W.H. Bowlin and constructed by Mr. Arnold Musick and Mr. Bill Partin will soon be ready for use. Several have already stopped by to look over the stage and some have indicated that they may be willing to sing, play and entertain once everything is ready.
Hopefully we will be able to have all types of non-compensated activities there in the future that will help draw people back downtown.
We certainly owe Mr. Bowlin a debt of gratitude for his generosity and his demonstrated interest in our town.
The same is true of Morgan Brothers Construction Company and Danny Blankenship. John Paul and Marvin Morgan are in the process of filling the Veterans' Park annex to the required level above the identified flood plain. The fill dirt is being furnished by Mr. Blankenship.
Hopefully we will eventually be able to black top the built up area. But it should still be suitable for additional parking when no activity is planned for the park.
I mentioned in an earlier article that WJJT radio AM 1540 and others have offered to help in a drive to raise funds for the downtown renovation project. Some have agreed to help with the actuall construction of some public restrooms.
Mr. John Davenport and Mr. Johnny Buckner have also expressed a willingness to help raise the funds for purchasing letters for the new building and/or construction of some public restrooms in Veterans' Park. Dr. M.L. Angel has again expressed her intentons to help financially with the project.
The public participation in the downtown renovation project has really been surprising and I sincerely appreciate all of the help and offers of help that I am receiving. As I stated earlier, I am now convinced that we can renovate and revitalize our downtown and we certainly are making progress toward that goal.
The Tourism Commission is busy planning our Fourth of July activities and we are looking forward to utilizing the new area and stage for the first time. The games for our young people that will be provided by the Jellico Hospital should also add a lot to the downtown offerings.
But again I want to remind everyone that the new area does not have trees or other cover and visitors will want to prepare for that situation. Everyone should also consider bringing a lawn chair or some other type of seating.
Note: Tourism Director Joann Watts and the Jellico Tourism Commssion are very interested in having an antique and\or old car and truck show (July 2nd and July 3rd). Anyone who would be willing to display their vehicles are asked to contact Watts at 784-3275.
Last week I named and thanked the personnel in the Jellico Police Department but I inadvertantly left off the name of Lori Marples who takes care of police records, files, etc. Lori was recently hired by the City Council and she too performs a very valuable service. She is an extremely cooperative and willing employee.
This week I want to name and thank the members of the Fire Department who perform one of our most crucial public services. A trained and ready Fire Department is one of a community's greatest assets and is always a factor when attempting to attract industry, businesses and new residents.
Our firemen/dispatchers include Fire Chief John Queener, Gary Troxell, Johnny Perkins, Fire Inspector Nelson Kidd, Dale Crawford, Chris Anderson and Jackie Richardson.
Volunteers for the department are Assistant Fire Chief George Deuel, Jack Young, Joe Smith, Donald Elliott, Jimmy Leach, Jeff Brown, Ed LeForce, Robert Rookard, Brian Gulley, Bruce Perkins, Jeff Partin, Jerry Lynch, Billy Douglas, Jody Dobson, and Gary McLemore.
I have received notification that our "Final Design Report, Jellico Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and Facility Improvements, March 1, 1999" has been rejected by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That is a serious concern to all of us who have spent so many, many hours in developing a plan for the state mandated corrective action. We are working under a deadline that could lead to large fines if the dates listed in the directive are not met on time. And we must have final state approval before we can begin the required work to meet those deadlines.
However, Mr. Mike Macindoe of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, feels that the rejection is based upon some previous years' errors in reporting and that the problem can be resolved. He is to meet with the state officials on June 15th in an attempt to clarify what must be done to obtain approval of the plans for correcting the problem.
Rejection of the Final Design Report means also that our previously appproved "Revolving Fund" loan has now been placed on temporary hold until the issue is resolved.
We have not had such problems with our water treatment plant and pipeline construction. Good progress is being made on both of those projects.
I was contacted by Mrs. Jamie Dugger to say that she hoped to make a final decision by Friday, June 11th as to her plans for relocating "Jamie's Curtains and Decor" to Jellico or to Bell County, Kentucky (too late to include in this week's article).
We were still hopeful at the time this article was written that she would continue with her original plans for moving to Jellico.
In some very good news, I was contacted by a high echelon official of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to inform me that plans are presently being developed for the proposed industrial development in southern Whitley County, Kentucky. (Four sites were originally selected as possibilits for the site but I understand that that number has been narrowed somewhat and may now include two favored possibilities. However I have not been officially informed that that information is correct.)
We do expect an opportunity to view the newly developed plans within the next few weeks.
I sincerely appreciate all of the nice compliments concerning the awnings placed on our new city building. I can't recall as many people commenting favorably on any single thing that has been done downtown to date. The awnings do add an awful lot to that building that about everyone now recognizes to be the centerpiece of our town - both literally and figuratively. as I have said many times in the past, that building is the key to getting our downtown renovated and revitalized.
But there is a very practical need for them as well including protection against weather and pointing out the entrance from Fifth Street.
Hopefully the new lighted "Community Bulletin Board" purchased by Mr. John Mays will be in place within the next few days (if not already) underneath the side awning. That too will add a great deal!
And the eventual purchase and placement of the metal lettering and the historical plaque should really make that building stand out as something of which our town can be proud. It certainly has drawn more than its share of favorable reactions from our citizens and visitors.
Final Note:
Last week I mentioned Mrs. Cheryl Galant of Kettering, Ohio who called to express her very favorable impression of what has been done to our town within the past year or so. She expressed a strong interest in the possiblity of relocating to Jellico.
Last week Mrs. Yvonne Tidwell stopped me to inform me that virtually the same situation exists with her mother who really likes what has been done. And she too plans to return to Jellico to live. And I am sure there are probably others.
We hope that we continue to attract people back to Jellico. The improvements that we are making can only help in that respect.
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