Bearden Shopper-News 081913 by Shopper-News

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A-4 • AUGUST 19, 2013 • BEARDEN Shopper news

Questions unanswered on south Knox road project Something is not quite right in what is going on with the possible extension of the James White Parkway from its current termination at Moody Avenue to Gov. John Sevier Highway. Transparency is at risk. The good news is that Gov. Bill Haslam has said he will make the final decision, which means a more level playing field.

Victor Ashe

Months ago, a public hearing was held at which both Mayors Madeline Rogero and Tim Burchett along with Vice Mayor Nick Pavlis voiced their opposition to the extension of the parkway due to the new urban wilderness, hiking trails and recreational opportunities that have been created in south Knoxville. Support for improving Chapman Highway was also voiced. There was strong support for this option and opposition to the build option. TDOT Commissioner John Schroer indicated he would honor local government feelings even if he personally disagreed. That has now changed. On July 1, Schroer came to Knoxville and met with Burchett and his chief of staff Dean Rice, along with state Sens. Becky Massey, Stacey Campfield, Frank Niceley and Doug Overbey and state Rep. Harry Brooks. Schroer was accompanied by five TDOT staffers. On background this writer was told that Schroer said he no longer felt obligated to honor local opposition as it was a regional project and not a local project, despite it being built almost entirely in Knox County. The legislators basically listened to the proposal and were noncommittal. This writer was also told TDOT clearly indicated that the extension will go forward, with a news conference expected in the near future that will announce three items:

■ Henley Bridge reconstruction will be completed earlier than the current delay states. ■ Chapman Highway improvements will be made, and ■ The extension of the parkway will occur. Rogero was in Washington on July 10, so Schroer returned to Knoxville on July 17 for a similar meeting with Rogero without legislators or council members present. Deputy Mayor Bill Lyons was in the meeting with her. While Burchett appears to have changed his opposition to the extension, he also says the extension is not likely to occur and feels other road projects in Knox County have a higher priority such as Oak Ridge Highway being improved from Schaad Road out to its intersection with Pellissippi Parkway. Neither of these significant meetings was announced to the public or sun-shined although state law may not have required it. However, all of this occurred more than five weeks ago and it happened under the radar screen. Rogero says she still opposes the extension but has not indicated what steps she will take if the TDOT commissioner insists on ignoring the majority views of the public hearing his department held. She and Lyons had lunch on Aug. 7 with Haslam, who will have the ultimate voice on this matter. The governor told WBIR-TV he will weigh in on this hometown issue. To harm two south Knoxville parks in a process that was not a process but a series of unannounced meetings calls into question the public hearing held months ago. What would the city response to this be? It would be hard to argue that this project is the No. 1 road project in Knox County given the issues on Oak Ridge Highway. The cost of the James White extension far exceeds normal road projects at $105 million for 5 miles of asphalt. Finally, what happened in a few months to make this a regional project? And who stands to benefit from the extension?

Governor gets hometown welcome Bill Haslam grew up here in Knoxville, but you would have thought it was down in Tater Valley from the reception he received last week in Maynardville.

Sandra Clark

“This small county has a loud voice. This is Governor Haslam country,” someone yelled. “It’s great to see a local business that saw a need and met it,” Haslam said, after touring the Cooper Container Corporation. “Being in Nashville can make you see things a certain way, while trips to communities large and small

Gov. Bill Haslam got a rousing welcome to Union County when he toured Cooper Container Corporation. Photo by S. Clark help me understand what’s happening in the state. “Unemployment is way too high,” Haslam said. “I need to understand what is working (such as at Cooper Container) and how we can leverage that.”

Haslam walked through the plant with owner/ founder A.C. Cooper and his son, Donnie Cooper. Surrounded by local officials, Republican leaders and representatives of the business community,

New West Hills leader emerges Who is Rocky Swingle? The short answer is he’s a West Hills resident and the leader of the opposition to the proposed Tennova hospital on Middlebrook Pike.

Betty Bean Since he stepped in, this opposition has grown from a few isolated voices to a fullfledged movement, complete with nearly 300 yard signs, paper and online petitions and a Facebook page. The guy’s good. The longer answer is he’s a native Knoxvillian whose family moved to West Hills from south Knoxville just in time for him to enroll in the 7th grade at West Hills Elementary School. He is a 1965 Bearden High School graduate who received degrees from the University

of Tennessee in 1969 and 1973, whereupon he and his wife, Jenny, decided to venture outside the hometown and landed in Los Angeles, where he went to work for Amtrak. He was transferred to the Philadelphia area, and the Swingles stayed in the Northeast for nearly three decades. Rocky was an Amtrak corporate sales representative whose major responsibility was talking business travel managers of major companies into using trains instead of planes. “I spent the last seven years working in New York, which I loved, but the commute was a killer,” he said. “When our daughter, Sarah, got married and moved to San Diego, we just decided to come back here, where all my family is.” So Rocky retired and the Swingles bought a house on Sheffield Drive, near his mother. They closed last

Oct. 31. A couple of months later, he started reading stories about Tennova’s plans. He says it didn’t sink in until May, when the West Hills Community Association met and invited Tennova representat ives to come Swingle and speak. Swingle attended, and something clicked. “I started thinking, ‘This is just not a good idea.’ I met some people who agreed, and we’re off and running.” Swingle says he tries to be organized, focused and persistent. He’s not a total rookie, though, and has been able to translate a similar experience he had when he was living in New Jersey and developers wanted to cut down a 50-acre forest behind his

home to build an apartment complex. “At the time, it was one of 25 properties listed for preservation, and I said, ‘This is nuts.’ I’d never done anything like this, so I found out what I could do, put out a flyer, and people started coming forward, saying ‘You’re right.’ Eventually we formed a nonprofit group to try and preserve land and make sure when there’s development done, it’s done the right way. New Jersey rules are different, but really the situation is very similar.” Additional uncertainty has been added by Health Management Associates’ ownership of Tennova. After reports of HMA being at loggerheads with the hedge fund that is its largest shareholder, Swingle is suggesting that City Council postpone the Middlebrook rezoning until Tennova’s status is made clear.

City opens Loves Creek greenway By Sandra Clark The city of Knoxville has opened a half-mile crushedlimestone trail at Loves Creek which Mayor Madeline Rogero says will extend eventually to Knoxville Center mall and the New Harvest Park. “It started as a dream,” said 4th District City Council member Nick Della Volpe. He and his neighbors actually cut portions of the trail by hand. At the recent ribbon-cutting, Della Volpe related the history of Buffat Mill, built in 1870, and said Finbarr Saunders, Madeline Rogero, Joe Walsh and Nick Della the old mill site is still there. Volpe walk on the Loves Creek Greenway. Photo by S. Clark The trailhead is near the “This was a tag-team said Rogero. City crews county-owned Spring Place Park where parking is avail- project with multiple city built the trail for an estimatand county departments,” ed $35,000 on Knox County able.

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property that’s within the city limits. Inmates from the Knox County Work Release Center cleared brush while Knoxville’s Public Service Department executed all other construction. “The greenway will offer citizens another opportunity to stay healthy,” said Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett. A highlight was an original composition, “Loves Creek,” performed by Julianne and Scott White. The catchy tune and lyrics inspired toe-tapping and Rogero’s comment: “Y’all have set a new bar for ribboncuttings.” The Whites are members of the Knoxville Songwriters Association.

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Haslam fielded comments and questions. “What do you want to tell the governor?” he asked. The county needs road improvements along with retail development to increase the sales tax base, which has been eroded by residents shopping in Knox County or Kentucky. “Government does not create jobs,” said Haslam. “Jobs are created when people like (the Coopers) put capital at risk.” Cooper Container employs 78 full- and part-time workers. “We’ve stayed steady the last few years,” Donnie Cooper said. “We’ve been fortunate.” Haslam didn’t announce a grant or state giveaway. He did something even rarer. Bill Haslam showed up and listened, and for that he’s a hometown hero.

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