Town sets new comment deadline
The deadline has moved up 24 hours for Farragut citizens to submit e-mailed comments for inclusion during public Town government meetings.
E-mails must be sent to comments@townoffarrgut.org and be received by noon the Wednesday prior to the meeting date. Previously the deadline had been noon the day of the meeting (Thursday).
The announcement was made Thursday, Dec. 10, during the regular Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, though the change had been formally made previously.
“Given the volume of citizens comments that we have been receiving for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and Planning Commission meetings, it has been incredibly difficult for staff to review all comments for compliance with the public meeting protocol and ensure they are read under the appropriate agenda item,” Town administrator David Smoak stated in an e-mail Friday, Dec. 11.
“We moved the public comment submittal deadline to the day before the meeting at 12 p.m. to give staff enough time to review all comments and follow up with the many citizens that leave off their name and/or address, so they have additional time to respond so that their comment is able to be read into the record of the meeting.”
Mike Mitchell of Farragut was the lone e-mail letter author read — his was exempted past deadline because the deadline is new. Mitchell continued to voice opposition to the Farragut Town Center at Biddle Farms project, claiming “the people are against this” while citing two social media polls he claimed to have conducted.
He also alleged BOMA and FMPC are “fast tracking (project developer) Budd Cullom’s proposal to try to freeze out local developer Doug Horne.”
Horne, owner of Republic Newspaper, Inc., parent company of farragutpress, submitted drawings to the Farragut Municipal Planning commission in November pertaining to possibly developing a project on former Farragut Mayor Eddy Ford’s property, but nothing else has been publicly shared.
“To say we are ‘fast tracking,’ but then to be nine months later, with no dirt moved, I don’t think the developer would think that is ‘fast,’” Smoak stated. “There have been 17 different meetings dealing with the Biddle Farm directly — that process is still continuing.
“We still have four more meetings that have to take place, and (processes) have to be approved in order for the developer to be able to move one shovel of dirt,” he added.
