Good News for Ft. Dickerson and more!

June 29, 2011

Good news for South Knoxville after last night’s council meeting. We passed on first reading a resolution authorizing the city to enter into a ten year lease for property located at the lower side of Fort Dickerson.  This will be utilized for parking for those who can now hike the trails at Fort Dickerson. I encourage you to visit soon and enjoy the new trails. Soon to come will be canoe and kayak rentals.

Council also funded a $40,000.00 contract for a safety improvement study from Cherokee Trail to Scottish Pike.  I look forward to the findings and hopefully a plan to make this road safer to travel.

We also passed on second reading an ordinance placing an H-1 (historic overlay) on the former South High property. Hopefully this will help encourage restoration and development of this property.    

You have probably read a lot about the fireworks ordinance we have been dealing with and I want to bring clarity to that situation.  Two years ago the Fire Department drafted new fire codes, in doing so, they inadvertently left out the section that prohibited the discharge of fireworks in the city limits. This ban had been in place for decades. On first reading ,I along with the majority of council members, voted against placing the ban in place due to what I felt was a the inability of KPD to enforce.  After discussions with Chief Rausch and Chief Sharp I reconsider and brought the ordinance back for consideration. It passed on both readings 8-1 with Bailey dissenting.  I mention this because the 4^th is right around the corner and this is a reminder it is illegal to discharge fireworks at this time.

The Knoxville Fire Department added a new fire engine to its fleet at Fire Station #10 located at 2911 Sevier Ave. on Wednesday, June 22.  A 2011 Quint, manufactured by Ferrara Apparatus Company in Holden, Louisiana was added to South Knoxville's Station #10. This is the first of its kind to be purchased by Knoxville. What makes a Quint unique is the fact that it is an aerial unit and a fire pumping unit all rolled into one. We welcome this new advanced equipment to South Knoxville.

Thank you for visiting my site and feel free to contact me at 454-7216.

Nick

Posted Wednesday, 06/29/11, 02:32 PM - Category: Politics