PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID KNOXVILLE TN PERMIT # 109
®
www.farragutpress.com • facebook.com/farragutpress • presstalk@farragutpress.com • © 2015 farragutpress all rights reserved • 50¢
ISSUE 43 VOLUME 27
FARRAGUT, TENNESSEE
THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015
Continental Properties to go ‘back to the drawing board’ ■ TAMMY CHEEK
tcheek@farragutpress.com
Continental Properties Companies Inc., also known as Continental 333 Fund, has withdrawn its request to rezone 19.66 acres just north of Kingston Pike at Peterson Road for The Springs at Farragut, an upscale apartment development. “We are going take that item off the agenda,” Mayor Ralph McGill said during Farragut’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting Thursday, June 25. “There won’t be any action taken
but representatives of Continental, at that time, would like to make a statement.” Town administrator David Smoak said Continental Properties’ withdrawal of the application means the firm would have to come back and go through the whole process again. Smoak’s announcement elicited applause from residents. Despite the announcement, Smith Road and other area residents asked to speak on the proposed rezoning Baldwin Park subdivision resident Michael Wilson said resi-
dents did not have an issue with the developer. “It’s a nice project, but there are inconsistencies with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan,” Wilson said. Mul Wyman, a resident of Wyndham Hall subdivision off Grigsby Chapel Road, said he thought the development should be built in the Mixed-Use Town Center District, and other residents agreed. While residents were given the opportunity to speak, they objected to the firm’s having an opportunity to give public expla-
nation for its withdraw. “I object to Continental Properties making any kind of statement,” resident John Nehls said. “There’s no longer an item before the Board, and for them to make a statement, not as a resident, I think would deprive the citizens of what I believe is following the procedure or the protocol.” Along that line, the crowd interjected, saying Continental Properties representatives were not residents. Town attorney Tom Hale spoke over them, saying, “The chair-
man is entitled to manage the agenda. Let’s be fair about this. “Everyone who comes in here has rights, not just one group,” he said. “When we start denying rights, we run the risk of being sued.” Still, residents such as Martin Ritter of Fox Den subdivision objected. “It’s not an issue on the agenda,” Ritter said. “You weren’t on the agenda either,” McGill said. “Don’t you guys want to find See ZONE on Page 5A
Village Green residents Cottrell to head Cedar battle over pool assessment Bluff Elementary School ■
Kristi Hulsey, Village Green Homeowners Association president, and Rob Eddins, HOA vice president, in front of the pool and tennis court, 218 West Heritage Drive, they are looking to replace with a $1.05 million proposed renovation.
■
Special to farragutpress
The fate of a proposed $1.05 million pool, tennis courts, sports court and parking lot renovation for Village Green subdivision, 218 West Heritage Drive, will be decided Saturday, July 12. That’s the date where residents representing Village Green’s 462 households will gather in the subdivision clubhouse and vote whether or not to accept the plan, which would include a $400 annual spike in homeowners dues over eight years (currently $295 yearly) or a one-time “special assessment” fee of $3,000 per household for one year. Proxy ballots for those unable to attend the July 12 meeting in Village Green clubhouse, 218 West Heritage Drive, recently were distributed to each home, Village Green HOA president Kristi Hulsey said. A 60-percent quorum at the meeting, and at least a two-third vote of approval from household representatives is needed to make the project a reality,
Hulsey added. Breaking down the numbers of those outspoken in favor versus those outspoken against as of mid-June, “It’s about 180 verbal yes’s and about four dozen verbal no’s,” Rob Eddins, Village Green HOA vice president, said. The biggest negative they hear is, “’I don’t use the pool so why should I pay for it?’” Eddins said. “… Most of the disapproval and negative comments and attitudes about it are pretty basic pocket book.” The new “L-shaped” pool’s main swimming area “would be 25 yards long and about 50 feet in width” plus “a shallow end in the short arm of the ‘L,’” Eddins said, adding the current West Heritage Drive pool “is about a third of that size.” Though saying the new pool is not being built just to satisfy the swim team, the Village Green Gators, with “north of 100” subdivision youth ages 6 to 18, Eddins added, “It is a factor.” With only five lanes for Gators competitions at the Monticello pool, “It is the smallest and shallowest pool for competitive,
neighborhood swimming in Knoxville,” Eddins said, adding the new pool would have “eight lanes.” The West Heritage and Monticello pools were “built more than 40 years ago” according to Eddins, with both on the verge of needing extensive repair. “It’s difficult to maintain and operate. They’re money pits.” The $1.05 million estimate is based on “a local landscape architect who has significant experience with projects like this,” Eddins said. Also included in the renovation are “two bathrooms” plus a bare structure for a future “snack bar” without making it operational immediately based on current limited funds, Eddins said. One subdivision resident on record opposing the project, Bill Shunk, said he’s lived in Village Green “since 1977.” Village Green resident pool usage is inflated, Shunk said, because “there’s probably a halfSee POOL on Page 2A
Special to farragutpress
When Keith Cottrell refers to Farragut Primary School as his administrative “boot camp” for learning about how a kindergarten through second-grade school operates, it’s anything but a harsh reference. “Farragut Primary was a fantastic area to Cottrell grow for me,” Cottrell, FPS assistant principal for three school years, said after being appointed new principal at Cedar Bluff Elementary School Tuesday, June 2. “The school was great, the community was wonderful. “First off all, I have to say that the principal, Gina Byrd, was a wonderful friend to me, a wonderful mentor to me,”
Alan Sloan
ALAN SLOAN
ALAN SLOAN
Cottrell added. “She’s a great school leader as the community knows. “And she was just fantastic for letting me have opportunities at the school to lead different instructional initiatives. To certainly interact with the kids, interact with the parents.” Though an elementary school teacher for 13 years “prior to going into the Leadership Academy” to train as an administrator, “All my teaching experience was with intermediate-aged students,” Cottrell said. “So actually working in a primary school for three years was like primary school boot camp for me. It gave me a great opportunity to learn more about the curriculum and the types of teachers that gravitate towards those grades and the students. “So it was a great training ground in that regard.” Cottrell’s administrative See COTTRELL on Page 2A
New concert series slated for Founders Park at Campbell Station
■
KEN LAY Correspondent
Shandy Dixon and Amy Boling recently took a labor of love and the duo soon hopes to reap the fruits of that labor. “My friend Amy Boling and I wanted to do something for the town of Farragut,” Dixon said. “We love music. Our kids play music and I’m the daughter of a musician.” Dixon and Boling set out on a mission that resulted in The Lawn Chair Concert Series, which will debut on July 30 at Founders Park at Campbell Station. The concerts will be on Thursday night from 6 to 9 p.m.,
July 30 and Aug. 27. “This is for the town of Farragut and this is for fun,” Dixon said. “We wanted to do something simple without all of the money and politics involved. “This all started when they had an open-mic night at Farragut High School and they had kids who couldn’t get in to the auditorium,” Dixon said. “Amy and I knew that these kids just want to listen to music. You know that if the kids wanted to listen to music, then their parents probably want to listen too. “This is grass roots and anytime you want to do anything, you have to go downtown. We See CONCERT on Page 2A