A McFee state of mind for Town
Trail opening, 70-acre land acquisition
Finally, the Board, in a 2-1 vote, approved the letter of intent to purchase the property for $5.5 million while the property owner will donate 15 additional acres, giving the Town 70 acres.
Mayor Ron Williams and Vice Mayor Louise Povlin voted for the LOI while Alderman David White voted against it. Aldermen Scott Meyer and Drew Burnette were absent.
“I don’t think we had enough citizen input on it,” White said, adding he also had a problem concerning the Open Meetings law regarding how the agenda was advertised.
However, Town attorney Tom Hale assured the Board the Town was in compliance.
“By buying this, it puts us in the driver’s seat,” Povlin said.
Of the nine citizens who spoke on the matter, five spoke in favor of the purchase, stating the Town should purchase the property while it can.
Four spoke against it, attributing their opposition to the Town’s need to find solutions to its traffic problems and the cost of the property.
“I don’t have that much against the (purchase),” resident Larry Doss said. “(But) I do have when there are so many questions that need to be answered.”
One of his concerns was the cost, which he said was “very high” and wondered if the Town would recover the cost if it decided to sell the property at some point.
Doss also was concerned about the planned access road going to the Scott family farm that could draw more traffic to McFee Road. “The money could be used a lot better to take care of the (road) infrastructure,” he said.
As for proponents, “We need to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Ron Pinchok, former Alderman and a Farragut Municipal Planning Commissioner. “We need to take action, as soon as possible, to secure more green space before it’s all gone.”
“I subscribe to the vision these people bring forth,” resident Kim Frasch said. “We need to take advantage of this.”
“Currently, the Town of Farragut has no additional acreage to grow and enhance our park facilities for our citizens and the surrounding community,” Town administrator David Smoak said.
“The Town has been in discussion with the Scott family about the potential purchase of a portion of their land located adjacent to McFee Road and directly north of the railroad tracks at the southwestern boundary of the Town of Farragut.”
He said the letter of intent outlines the parameters of the agreement between the Town and the Scotts, which include such restrictions as: a covenant that the property is to be only used for governmental, conservation or park purposes; no building could have more than 6,000-square-foot footprint and no building could exceed 12,000 square feet; a landscape buffer; and a 50-foot easement be granted across the tract to allow connectivity of the remaining farm owned by the Scotts.
However, Smoak said the LOI does give the Town a 90-day inspection period to survey the property and conduct all environment assessments needed to ensure the property could be developed.
Parks & Recreation director Ron Oestreich said according to the National Recreation and Park Association, many communities have adopted a general guideline of having at least 10 acres for every 1,000 residents.
“Farragut currently has 140 acres of park property and 24,000 residents,” he said. “This purchase brings us closer to that target.”
Despite public support for natural areas, “Many agencies lack financial resources to further their land acquisition efforts,” Oestreich said.
“Once it’s gone, it’s lost forever,” he added.
Knox sports complex
Also speaking was Steve Maddox, president and owner of Maddox Companies, which include Maddox Property Management and Sales, Maddox Construction and Maddox Development Companies.
He pointed out his Prosperity Crossing is a 230-acre developement at the southwest corner of Watt Road across from Flying J Travel Center and just outside of Farragut that will have a sports complex as a major component.
