Three qualify for Farragut BOMA ballot
Farragut voters look to a contested race for Alderman Ward I, while Alderman Ward II remains uncontested for the single candidate on the ballot.
Richard A. Cataldi will face off against incumbent Louise Povlin for the Alderman Ward I position, while Ron Williams will run unopposed for the Alderman Ward II position.
The Farragut Board of Mayor and Alderman election will be held Thursday, Aug. 4. Early voting begins Friday, July 15, through Saturday, July 30.
“To re-main a premier residential community that is run in a financially sound manner and maintains an open, accessible transparent government,” Povlin, who was appointed by BOMA to fill the seat of Alderman Ron Honken, said regarding her vision for the Town.
“I don’t want to see government get so big that it becomes an obstruction,” Cataldi said.
Williams said the current BOMA and the administration for Farragut “have a pretty good plan already.” He emphasized fiscal responsibility in fulfilling that plan.
“Everyone needs to have the patience to let things work out as we can afford to pay for them,” he said.
Attracting business to Farragut was a priority for all three candidates. Williams mentioned a desire to fill the empty storefronts in Town.
Cataldi said that in order to attract business, the Town should be more willing to compromise its guidelines. He said he heard some negative perceptions about the Town while working on building St. John Neumann Catholic Church.
“Folks referred to the town of Farragut as the people’s republic, because while they have a wonderful set of guidelines, they too often use those guidelines as a hammer, instead of a ruler,” he said.
“Farragut is a business friendly community,” Povlin, co-owner of Anytime Fitness, said. She emphasized the importance of reaching out personally to businesses and teaching them about the steps necessary for their success, which she does as a liaison for the Farragut Business Alliance.
Povlin currently serves on FBA, BOMA and Farragut Municipal Planning Commis-sion. She said her experience working with different aspects of Farragut has helped her.
“Putting all those pieces together has given me a much clearer view,” she said, regarding the Town’s growth, the role of business in helping the Town grow and the role of planning, including the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
Cataldi said FBA cares about attracting business, improving roads and maintaining greenways and recreational areas. However, he said he can be more impartial in judging FBA ideas by not being a member.
Cataldi served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander, a Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor and a math teacher in Knox County Schools system and Lenoir City. He also served the Town earlier on a six-member committee that made recommendations that led to the Campbell Station Greenway and Outdoor Classroom.
“You can kind of say service is in my blood,” he said.
Ron Williams is currently on the Board of Zoning Appeals. He said he attends all BOMA, FBA, Visual Resources Review Board, Economic Development Commit-tee and FMPC meetings in order to listen to the discussion.
“The reasoning for that is this should help me in making decisions by learning stuff about the town of Farragut and how it operates,” he said.
