I attended The Development Corporation meeting about sewer options for the Midway Business Park and Southeast Knox County. Here's the deal. The Midway Business Park could invest $4.0 million dollars and construct an on site treatment facility. Or they can take that $4.0 million dollars and give it to KUB (Knoxville Utilities Board) and KUB could construct a Waste Water Treatment Facility for all of Southeast Knox County that would include the Midway Business Park for $9.5 - $13.0 million dollars.
I believe it is tax dollars better spent to construct a Waste Water Treatment Plant. Because if they only spend the $4.0 million dollars on an on site treatment facility and then in 10 years they have to build a Waste Water Treatment Facility it will be $4.0 million dollars wasted.
It is better to plan and be forward thinking about the greater community, then with only being concerned with the here and now. Decisions need to be made for our future generations, not the instant gratification here and now crowd.
BTW, one man that served the role of political opportunist got up and made his typical gotcha comments/questions. Mike Edwards gets the award for the best one liner last night in response to a question from Bob Wolfenbarger. He said "Bob, one day you may get your Perry Mason moment. But, NO." Wolfenbarger was trying to connect the President of the Chamber / Development Corporation to the allegations that have plagued Cynthia Finch.
The most interesting thing about Bob Wolfenbarger is that he isn't from Midway or even Southeast Knox County. He resides in the City of Knoxville, in the Alice Bell community. It is a reasonable assumption that residing in the Alice Bell community, he has KUB sewer service. Why wouldn't he want the same thing for the Midway / Southeast Knox County citizens that he enjoys?
I believe it is tax dollars better spent to construct a Waste Water Treatment Plant. Because if they only spend the $4.0 million dollars on an on site treatment facility and then in 10 years they have to build a Waste Water Treatment Facility it will be $4.0 million dollars wasted.
It is better to plan and be forward thinking about the greater community, then with only being concerned with the here and now. Decisions need to be made for our future generations, not the instant gratification here and now crowd.
BTW, one man that served the role of political opportunist got up and made his typical gotcha comments/questions. Mike Edwards gets the award for the best one liner last night in response to a question from Bob Wolfenbarger. He said "Bob, one day you may get your Perry Mason moment. But, NO." Wolfenbarger was trying to connect the President of the Chamber / Development Corporation to the allegations that have plagued Cynthia Finch.
The most interesting thing about Bob Wolfenbarger is that he isn't from Midway or even Southeast Knox County. He resides in the City of Knoxville, in the Alice Bell community. It is a reasonable assumption that residing in the Alice Bell community, he has KUB sewer service. Why wouldn't he want the same thing for the Midway / Southeast Knox County citizens that he enjoys?
IGNORANT REZONING COSTS KNOX COUNTY HALF A BILLION EACH YEAR
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we are even talking about sewer for an area as far flung as the Midway/Tuckahoe area of Knox Co. is proof that we are too ignorant to "grow smart". Before we rezone, we need to figure out the costs of serving any new development with basic services such as roads, sewer, schools, fire, police, sanitation etc. That way we can encourage development only where these costs are minimized. A report put out by Rutgers estimated that Nashville would save almost a billion dollars a year by managing growth this way. Nether TDC nor MPC perform this calculation before a rezoning, leaving us with the illusion that all growth costs about the same, and that revenues can be maximized by simply maximizing growth. Can you imagine what Knox County could do with half a billion dollars more each year?
Reference: http://www.islandpress.com/media/PDF/Burchell%20PR.pdf
What I learned in the Midway Business Park discussion is that a majority of the people opposed to the business park and the most vocal are people that drive to west knoxville, tax the roads, dining establishments and do not discuss the growth in west knoxville. They enjoy the benefits of west knoxville and then drive home and act superior to everyone else.
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