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County commissioners look over urban growth boundary maps at Monday's meeting.
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HUNTSVILLE — “For the record, this is not annexation; for the record, we don’t want you.”
So said Huntsville Mayor George Potter Monday evening in the first of a series of public hearings to be held on proposed Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansions being sought by Huntsville and Oneida.
Mayor Potter was responding to residents of the Low Gap and New River communities — present to state their objections to being brought into the corporate limits of the Town of Huntsville.
Potter went on to explain that the UGB is a 20-year plan, and that the potential for future growth along major roads and highways in and around Huntsville may eventually be considered for annexation, but that neither he nor his Board of Aldermen have any intention of annexing areas that will cost the town money in the form of services provided.
“We don’t want people who live on Mud Street [in New River] . . . and we don’t need Low Gap,” Mayor Potter stated, adding: “Somebody’s stirring you people up.”
The public hearing, which lasted about 40 minutes, was the first item on the agenda as the commission’s Intergovernmental Committee was called to order shortly after 5 p.m. for its regular monthly work session at the Scott County Office Building.
Mayor Rick Keeton, who serves as the vice chairman of the county’s Urban Growth Committee, introduced the committee’s chairman, Dick Smith.
Smith explained to the gathering that by law, municipalities across the state have to have an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) plan which they are allowed to amend from time to time. He said that both the towns of Huntsville and Oneida had recently submitted growth boundary change requests, which necessitated calling his committee into session.
It was pointed out that the reason for UGBs is to allow municipalities to annex areas by a simple majority vote of the governing body, following two public hearings. If annexation of areas lying outside the town’s UGB are considered, it requires a costly public referendum of the people living in that area.
Both communities, Smith said, “have complied with regulations and steps to proceed to this point” — the first public hearing. He went on to explain that this was not an annexation, but rather changes to the UGB plans for the two municipalities. Smith added that he was formally turning over to the commission the plans for those changes.
The commission, he continued, now has 120 days to ratify, reject or “do nothing” concerning the requested changes. If rejected by a vote of the commission or if the time limit expires with no action having been taken, the UGB plans are sent to the office of Tennessee’s Secretary of State, where the mediation process begins to determine whether or not the UGB changes will be allowed.
Throughout the process which has just begun, Smith said, the boards of all three municipalities (Winfield included), as well as county commission, will have to conduct public hearings and vote to ratify, reject or take no action. If any one of the four boards votes to reject or does nothing, the mediation process will be launched — initially by the county’s Urban Growth Committee and, if necessary, by a mediation committee appointed by the Secretary of State.
Oneida is seeking to extend its UGB southward and westward — down U.S. 27 to the Fourth District line, and westward to include the Scott County Airport, along the Helenwood Detour Road and Nigg’s Creek Road. Another area proposed to be incorporated into Oneida’s UGB is the Brewster Mountain area on Litton Road.
Huntsville, meanwhile, has designated three, relatively small areas where it wishes to extend its UGB, which includes portions of the New River and Low Gap areas.
Second District Commissioner Clyde Zachary asked Mayor Potter to consider taking the New River and Low Gap areas off its proposed UGB map.
Commissioner Ernest Phillips said that annexations by the towns mean less sales tax revenue for Scott County, even though the county will continue to collect sales tax revenue from existing businesses for a 15 year period following an annexation.
Commissioner Rothel “Tub” Cross said the county “keeps giving and giving . . . pretty soon we ain’t going to have no county.”
Phillips responded: “We’ve got four governments for 24,000 people.”
Mayor Potter countered by saying that when the towns annex, Scott County “still gets the property tax” . . . adding that 50% of the sales tax, regardless of where it is collected, automatically goes to the schools.
The first of two required public hearings for Oneida is set for March 18, while the first hearing for the Town of Huntsville will be held on March 22, it was announced. As of Monday evening, no date has been announced for Winfield’s first public hearing.
In other Intergovernmental Committee action:
• Road Supt. Dick Sexton requested that county government provide some of its summer youth workforce to help with litter pickup along county roads. He also discussed the planned road improvement project for the Norma to Smokey Road, which is expected to be funded by federal highway funds and $120,000 pledged by National Coal. Mayor Keeton reported that he would know more about the release of the funds for that project within the next couple of weeks;
• Held a “public comment” hearing concerning the request to establish a tire recycling operation in the Bear Creek Industrial Park in Oneida, which included County Attorney John Beaty handing out copies of “factors to be considered” prior to a vote by the full commission at its upcoming March 15 meeting;
• Voted to continue providing matching funds (from 5% to 10%) of FEMA “Assistance to Firefighters” grants to local fire departments, which this year could include a regional training grant ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 submitted by the Mid-County Fire Department to acquire a 53-ft. trailer equipped with firefighting training tools and devices to benefit all local firefighting forces; and,
• Approved a fund-raising roadblock at two locations (in Elgin and at the Mountain View carwash) for the South Scott County Fire Department on Saturday, May 1.
BUILDING & GROUNDS COMMITTEE
The committee discussed a remodeling project currently underway at the Scott County Emergency Communications Bldg., with labor being provided by inmates from the Morgan County Regional Prison.
Mayor Keeton and Committee Chairman Odeva Byrd spoke about the progress being made to create space for one or more of the three county offices remaining in the courthouse.
The committee also approved a request from CASA Director Christy Harness to allow her organization to utilize office space in the Justice Center when not being used by judicial personnel. CASA will provide its own furnishings, telephones and computer equipment, as well as maintain their records “under lock and key,” according to Harness, who added that it would be at no cost to the county, but would save her organization money.
Mayor Keeton unveiled a series of drawings of the floor plans of the Scott County Jail and Courthouse recently completed from original drawings and an inspection of a team from the East Tennessee Community Design Services organization. The drawings will assist local concerned citizens and county government in determining the future use of those two historic buildings, according to Mayor Keeton.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
By an all-aye vote, the committee approved a request by Mayor Keeton that the county try to salvage the copper roofing and wood framework of the old Robbins School building prior to its scheduled demolition immediately after school lets out for the year in May.
Approval came in the form of a motion to solicit bids for salvaging the materials for the county and/or for putting the material up for sale.
The committee also voted to support a resolution submitted by Scott Appalachian Industries Director Larry West, calling for the commission to assist his non-profit organization in obtaining federal grants to go toward the construction of a major recreation/services facility for SAI and the community. The resolution contains a provision that SAI will provide the matching funds for any and all grants received for the planned $4.5 to $5 million project.
Following Mayor Keeton’s report on a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and officials from several state and federal agencies earlier in the day, the committee discussed at length what measures could be taken by local governments and the business community for job creation in the wake of Armstrong’s announced layoff of 260 employees in April.
Much of the discussion centered around the idea of developing a local Economic and Community Development Committee, and the possibility of hiring a professional business/industrial recruiter for Scott County.
EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE
In a surprise move, the Emergency Services Committee voted to hire an architect to draw up plans to build a new building to house the Scott County Ambulance Service.
That action came after an appeal by Scott County EMS Director Jim Reed, who has mentioned the problems associated with the existing facility for the last several years.
He asked that consideration be given to his request now.
“If you are ever going to help us, now is the time we need you to help us,” Reed said.
Ironically, the approval of a motion by Commissioner Jeff Watson to hire an architect for the project came after a lengthy report by Reed that some major cuts (7% to 10%) in TennCare, and possibly Medicaid, funding for the Ambulance Service will be coming this year.
On a motion by Commissioner Garrett, the committee also voted to put two surplus ambulance trucks (without boxes) up for an online auction, rather than go the expense of bringing them back from Arkansas to sell.
