Monday, December 24, 2007

Why Exaggerate?

I was struck by two things occurring in the same day's paper today- in the letters to the editor, Steve Eldridge, president of the North Hills Area Association called candidate Bruce Wilson (2nd) out for claiming that he had met with the Association when (according to Eldridge) he hadn't.

In the West Shopper section, under paid advertising, the Richard "Cate Update" lists accomplishments under County Commission that Mr. Cate didn't have a chance to deliberate or vote on (Recall, God resolution, Halls TIF). The implication is that somehow Mr. Cate had a hand in these? Otherwise, why list them in your political ad?

He also mentions that he "is volunteering his time to attend Commission meetings." I assume that's going forward- I've been the last three meetings, and only saw Mr. Cate at the last one. You'd also have to call hanging out in the back yapping with Brian Hornback and Lee Tramel as "attending meetings." To me, that's a pretty loose resolution.

Why exaggerate? The voters want integrity. I happily admit that I didn't attend ALL of the marathon meeting last week- I had a family obligation and I had to leave at 8:40 (but I watched the rest online later, and nothing coming up would be anything I would speak to). I hope to go to all the upcoming meetings, but if I miss one, I'll sure tell you about it.

An old quote (I think it was J.C. Watts) says "Integrity means doing the right thing when nobody's looking." That starts with doing the right thing when people are looking, doesn't it? If you can't master the latter, you sure can't master the former, and clearly we have to have Commissioners who can do the right thing behind closed doors.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Upcoming Media Events

January 8th: WNOX Candidate Forum (100.3 FM, 7:30 - 9pm), Fourth District 4-B Candidates

January 13: Hubert Smith Radio Show (850 AM, 4pm - 6pm)

Coming Soon: Candidate profiles on WATE.COM

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Fourth District Zoning Board Issue

Tomorrow, one of the Zoning Board items is a item by Rocky Hill Storage for a waiver of the requirement of lighted signs to be at least 300 feet from residential property.

I drove by the site today and found no houses nearby, just an apartment complex across the street (and shielded by trees). Nearby property is probably still zoned RA or PR, but is extremely steep and unbuildable. It's more likely any adjacent property would end up rezoned as commercial.

But The Taxpayers Lost

County Commission has now set a dangerous precedent by giving $5M to support a commercial development. Now the developers will be lining up at the trough, and the citizens will find ourselves $30M in additional debt and without the room to maneuver to build other infrastructure like roads and schools. It's one thing to offer a TIF to compete with another city for a new business to locate in Knox County, but our retail needs only grow at a rate commensurate with population and economic growth (maybe 7% per year combined). Building beyond that rate (400,000 SF??) simply empties a store somewhere else.

What happened to the free market? And the Scott Moore connection is further evidence that our rules for disclosure of conflicts of interests must be extended to include family members.

I can't believe the "you did it too" attitude of travel allowances and KCSO bonuses. Clearly, we need more transparency in what is going on at all levels. I'm thinking now that travel, clothing, and all "fringe" benefits should be submitted to and approved by a citizen's review board or something along those lines.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Zoning- The Homeowners Win Twice (or at least 1.5 times)

Tonight, Commission denied rezoning for a development of 80 condos (LDR) to 250 apartments (MDR) in South Knoxville. The developer argued that the 3500 new employees in the area needed housing, so the development would be "traffic neutral." This statement, of course, was totally at odds with his stated plan that the apartments would be "luxury."

Anybody knows how to swing a $1600/month apartment on $6/hour?

With some 60+ homeowners in attendance, Commission voted down the rezoing. Earlier in the evening, West Knox homeowners negotiated a developer down from 5 unis/acre to 4.

In both cases, the issue of the Sector Plan were brought to light and debated. Is the sector plan just a "suggestion" document, to be amended whenever we wish? Or is it something we only need to amend in dire circumstances?

If the Sector Plan is amended willy-nilly, then it needs to be reviewed and revised much more often than 7 years. Knox County *must* be able to plan the schedule for building infrastructure (roads and schools especially) so we don't always have to operate in "crisis mode."

Amazingly, the school zone for the 250 proposed apartments is already overcrowded and adding portable buildings. That issue alone should have killed the rezoing proposal in under 10 seconds. You can't add potentially 300-500 kids into a school zone that can't seat all the kids they have today.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Angel Tree Needs Help

Normally, they are stripped clean this time of year and only the tougher ones are left ("I'd like a left-handed spaceship toy that's made of titanium").

I talked with the Angel Tree volunteers, and they agreed it seems to be a tougher year. Couple that with the low sales, and I'd say we're seeing the fallout of the home mortgage crisis. While Knoxville tends to be somewhat buffered from national trends (both good and bad), it's clear things are tougher out there for many.

If there's any year to remember the reason for the season and help, this would be one.