Solicitors now need Knox County, Town permits
Soliciting on Farragut streets will require a permit from Knox County and town of Farragut as Farragut’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen move to amend the Town’s Municipal Code rules for solicitors at its meeting April 14.
In addition, BOMA voted unanimously 4-0 to approve a resolution in support of a 2016 Local Parks and Recreation Fund Grant for improvements to Mayor Bob Leonard Park and approve bids for Contract 2016-05, Street Resurfacing. Mayor Ralph McGill was absent.
“This section of the Code has not been amended since 1985, so we think it’s time to amend it,” Town recorder Allison Myers said.
The amendment defined various groups to which its rules apply. It defined peddlers as people, firms and corporations without fixed places of business that travel between different places to sell merchandise. It defined solicitors as people, firms, or corporations that go from place to place taking orders for merchandise for future delivery. It defined solicitors for charitable or religious purposes as people firms and corporations who solicit contributions from the public for charitable or religious organizations. These groups cannot sell any products over $10 to the public and still qualify for that category. It defined solicitors for subscriptions as people, firms and corporations that sell subscriptions from place to place. It defined transient vendors as people that bring merchandise into temporary locations to sell. None of the new rules apply to people who sell wholesale to dealers or deliver goods in the course of regular business. They would also not apply to news agents employed by newspapers distributed in Farragut, even if the agent asks for subscriptions.
Under the new requirements, all solicitors, peddlers, transient vendors, solicitors for subscriptions and solicitors for charitable and religious purposes would need a permit from Knox County before applying with the town of Farragut.
“Typically when a resident has a question about the validity of a permit holder they’ll call the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. This new requirement will help with the continuity between the two agencies,” Myers said.
Also, with the exception of solicitors for charitable or religious purposes or solicitors for subscriptions to publications, all applicants would need to pay a non-refundable fee.
Under the new ordinance the hours that one can solicit would be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with an added hour until 8 p.m. during Daylight Savings. The ordinance would prohibit the selling of goods or services in vehicular traffic lanes. It also would ban solicitors and peddlers from entering areas marked with “no soliciting” signs.
“We needed to make those changes. It was necessary,” Vice Mayor Dot LaMarche said.
BOMA approved a resolution stating that Farragut will match $500,000 of the funding provided by a 2016 Local Parks and Recreation Grant. The total project limit for the grant will be $1 million. The grant and its matching funds will pay for improvements to Mayor Bob Leonard Park. The project includes converting Field No. 3 to synthetic turf, reconstructing restrooms and building additional lighted parking areas.
BOMA also voted to approve an ordinance to transfer $458,000 for street resurfacing from last fiscal year’s budget to this fiscal year’s budget.
It also approved a $466,475.25 bid for street resurfacing by APAC-Atlantic. Staff identified Outlet Drive near At Home, Turkey Cove Lane, Ford’s Cove Lane, Lost Tree Lane at Fox Den Villas and Condos, Allen Kirby Road and Campbell Lakes Drive as areas to be resurfaced. Staff also identified two sections of Anchor Park Greenway to be resurfaced: from Bobolink to Briarstone and from Briarstone to Sailview. APAC-Atlantic also will work on paving additional parking spaces at McFee Park.
“We’ve always had a good working relationship with them,” Darryl Smith, Town engineer, said.
David Smoak, Town administrator, gave a report that included news that the Tennessee State Senate, though not yet the Tennessee State House, had approved a budget that would reduce the Hall Income Tax from 6 percent to 5 percent for next year.
“It doesn’t affect the monies that we would get in this year’s budget that we’re planning for next year, but the following year that’ll reduce it by at least 17 percent,” he said.
All of the ordinances on which BOMA voted were first readings, meaning that BOMA will have to pass them again in order for them to go into effect. The only two exceptions were the two business items involving the resolution for the Local Parks and Recreation Grant and the approval of bids.
