Sugarwood road plans move forward
During a Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting Thursday, Nov. 13, the Board voted unanimously to approve a professional services agreement with Barge Design Solutions Inc. to design a preliminary engineering plan for another access into Sugarwood Subdivision onto Kingston Pike.
The access road would be from Sugarwood Drive to the traffic signal at Smith Road and Kingston Pike.
With Knox County building the new elementary School at Village Commons Boulevard, which is 400 feet east of Sugarwood Drive, Town staff and the Board already discussed their anticipation that Sugarwood residents would have more difficulty entering and leaving the subdivision.
“Eastbound traffic on Kingston Pike currently backs up during peak hours to points west of Sugarwood Drive, making access to Kingston Pike extremely difficult from Sugarwood Drive,” Town engineer Darryl Smith said. “Construction of the new school at Village Commons Boulevard will add further congestion near Smith Road during peak hours.
“An access road from Sugarwood Drive to the CVS Pharmacy would allow Sugarwood residents to access Kingston Pike at the Smith Road traffic signal,” he added.
“Back in September, we brought a proposal from Barge Design Solutions for approval, and you requested we hold off for a little bit and meet with the stakeholders,” Smith reminded the Board.
“Alderman (Drew) Burnette was very nice to lead that discussion,” Smith said. “I think it turned out well. We had quite a bit of good input from residents.
“Also, staff met with the leaders of St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church to talk about one of the alternate (accesses) we were considering,” he said. “They were not very enthusiastic about the alternate going through the (church’s) parking lot.
“They have limited parking anyway, and to take any more parking would greatly reduce any chances of expanding their building in the future,” Smith said. “We didn’t really want to get into that.”
So, “we’re now looking at only one alternate (access),” he said. “That is the route that goes through the vacant property to the north of St. Elizabeth’s and turns into Kingston Pike at the Smith Road intersection.
“Since we only had one alternate, we decided instead of going for a concept plan, we wanted to wait and have Barge Design Solutions to come up with a preliminary plan,” Smith said. “They have a lump sum fee of $75,200 and a completion date (for the plan), of May 3 (2026).”
“I appreciate you all giving me some time to set up those meetings with the church and with the neighborhood,” Burnette said, adding he understood the church leaders’ feedback.
“The (other) proposed route would limit (the church) from being able to expand and having some growth,” he said. “As well, that area was also an area, where they have a farm where they grow food there and supply to the community and some other places.
“The HOA president was very good to work with in helping me get that (meeting) set up,” he said. “The feedback was strong, definitely some questions … we got to hear a lot of good feedback.
“The vast majority — 80 to 90 percent — were very much on board with us going forward and getting the design work done,” Burnette added.
“Now we’re at that stage, we got the support, we’re excited sometime this summer to be able to meet with (the residents) again and show them the design.
“I will say there are some challenges with this route, which is why I asked them
to design to the preliminary plan stage,” Smith said. “It will be a good point for us to take a really good look at the plans and make sure this is something we want to move forward on.”
Alderman Alex Cain asked about the comments from the owner of the vacant lot.
Smith said he talked by phone with the owner, whose reaction was mixed.
Alex Schubert, one of the property owners of the vacant lot, said the property is in the family’s limited partnership.
He referred back to the September meeting, when the Board members stated the lot was a “dead” piece of property.
“I came to see what your definition of a dead piece of property is,” he said. “The appraisal on it’s not dead. I have two contracts (on the property) that are recent. In the last two years, they are $575,000, but (prospective buyers) got scared off when they came down to Farragut to see what they would have to do to develop the property.
“The property’s not worthless; it has a value,” Schubert said. “I’m glad for Farragut to have it and get their connector it, but I would like to be compensated fairly.”
