No WhiteWash!

Last night the Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Alderman voted to borrow $41.1 million for various projects.  According to the Kingsport Times-News quote below, the total debt has doubled in the last five years.  I might add that this has occurred during Mayor Dennis Phillips terms as mayor and John Campbell as city manager.

With this bond issuance, Kingsport’s total debt has doubled in the past five years, from $110 million in fiscal year 2006 to $218 million in fiscal year 2010, according to city records. Kingsport’s general fund debt will increase from the current amount of $92.6 million to $103.4 million for fiscal year 2010, while total city debt will go from $173.5 million to slightly more than $218 million.

Read more via Kingsport BMA approves $41.1 M in bonds – Kingsport Times-News Online.

Things must really be in bad shape for the city because they are borrowing $200k to replace a roof on the Renaissance Center and financing it for 20 years.  Borrowing money to replace a roof should be a maintenance item that is planned for and funded from within a yearly budget.

It would not surprise me that Kingsport will be the subject of many discussions by other cities on Kingsport’s management practices or lack thereof. 

Mayor Phillips, when can we expect the property tax increase?

Below is the spending that was approved

The City of Kingsport for the last few years have been telling the citizens how great things are going in Kingsport.

The City of Kingsport is fortunate to have Eastman, the largest employer in Tennessee, located in Kingsport.  Having a large employer is great for the revenue that it brings the city, but it also allows the city to become complacent.

In the table below you can compare Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol retail sales growth from years 2000-2008.  Johnson City has led the Tri-City area with the best growth with Bristol’s growth coming in second.

It should be pointed out that Kingsport in the last 7 quarters has only had two quarters that have been positive growth when you compare the same quarter against the same quarter the previous year.  The two positive retail sales growth quarters can be attributed to new store openings.  While it may look like it good growth, one needs to keep in mind that this is incremental growth.  The real challenge will be whether Kingsport can keep up this growth given the unemployment situation in Kingsport and  another real question is how much money can you get the citizens to give up in a bad economy?

Bristol’s growth mostly started in year 2004 and then took a nose dive in 2008.  Most of that growth could be attributed to Exit 7 stores, but the Exit 7 stores have taken a beating and many have closed.

Kingsport was fat and happy with Eastman and Sam’s Club.  But when Sam’s Club decided they would close and move to Johnson City and Bristol, then Kingsport had negative growth in the year 2007.

One can say that Kingsport has had growth, so what’s the big deal.  Read more on this below.

The retail sales data is from the following link.  Tri-Cities Retail Sales Report

Using the Kingsport retail sales dollars and applying the yearly inflation percent tells a different story.  Note the “% Growth after Inflation” column below in orange tells a different story.  The year 2003 had a positive growth of 2.53% after inflation was applied.

One can say that the retail sales for Kingsport in 2001 actually meant more for the city in buying power than the current retail sales numbers.

The graph below needs no explaining and one can see that Kingsport is not as progressive as we are led to believe.

In the City of Kingsport city population table below it shows that the % growth from 2000 to 2007 resulted in a negative growth (-1.6%), while Johnson City had the best growth of 8.2%.  Morristown growth was 4.2%.  Bristol and Greeneville both had 0.3% growth.

Sullivan County growth is static and Kingsport is even more dismal.  Even with Kingsport going the route of captured growth through forced annexations, they cannot even keep up with the death rate.

City Population Table

Kingsport has led the Tri-Cites area with the highest unemployment rate of 10.5 percent for January, 2009.  For well over a year, Kingsport has been running a higher unemployment rate which cannot be blamed solely on Eastman.

Kingsport’s unemployment rate is likely to rise even more as the full impact of the Eastman layoffs kick in.

The sad news is that as these unemployed folks look for employment to support their families, they may be forced to move out of Kingsport to take jobs elsewhere.

To view Tennessee unemployment for January, 2009, go to Labor Force Estimates

Above is the data with no spin on the data.  It is up to you to decide if Kingsport is going in the right direction.  One needs to look at who is in charge of the Kingsport government for the periods above.  Will investing in more retail or hospitality type businesses bring good paying jobs for the citizen?  What is the city doing to help the citizens?  To me it seems that the city is only looking out for itself.  I also feel that if you can get the citizens to succeed, then the city will prosper.

I am sure the Kingsport will say that they are addressing the problem with the higher education center.  But what effort is underway to get employers to locate here with jobs to handle the thousands of students that complete their training.  My guess would be that these students will have to leave the area to find good jobs.

Based on the above data, do you feel that Kingsport is as progressive as they claim to be?  Feel free to comment.

Tri-City Christian School is the owner of the old Lynn View Middle School that they acquired from Sullivan County, TN and has now closed the school and wants to sell the property.

When the county sold the school to Tri-Cities Christian Schools (TCCS), both sides signed a contract that gives Sullivan County “first right of refusal” if the private school system decides to sell the property.

The sale of the Tri-City Christian School has gotten messy with different players getting involved.  Read the links below for more background.

Sullivan County Commission divided on Lynn View

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County could have less than a month to invoke a buy-back option on the former Lynn View Middle School before that option expires.

The price could be $0.

And Kingsport officials are interested in leasing or buying the property from the county for use as a community park and recreation center.

So far, however, none of that has lit much of a fire under county commissioners.

A proposal to take the first step — to say the county wants to exercise the buy-back option — failed last week to gain support from any of the Sullivan County Commission’s three primary committees.

One wonders what is really going on with this property.  Read the comment by Pastor Boyd Holder. Jr. and the concerns that he has with Commissioner Wayne McConnell.

But, it appears that the City of Kingsport is the main problem that the church has in purchasing this property.

Kingsport, Sullivan County close to pact on acquiring old Lynn View Middle School

Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips and City Manager John Campbell met last month with McConnell and others to discuss the future of the facility.

On Monday, McConnell came before the entire Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen to further discuss acquiring the property.

The property in question consists of two pieces — the school building on the north side (6 acres) and the ball fields on the south side (10 acres). A day-care center is located in the facility, and the Optimist Club operates its youth sports programs for about 900 children each year on the fields. The BMA would like to see both of these operations continue if Kingsport acquires the property.

Since the City of Kingsport appears to want the property, I would like to suggest that Pastor Boyd Holder take his entire congregation to the next BMA meeting.  Then on TV explain to the BMA why you want the property.  The congregation should feel comfortable in the courtroom where the BMA meeting is held because the seats look just like church pews.

Who do you think should purchase the school?

Stimulus Watch has a list of  “shovel-ready” projects for which the mayors of this state have requested federal stimulus funding.  I guess Kingsport, Tennessee Mayor Dennis Phillips and City Manager John Campbell are happy with the unemployment  rate (Dec. 8.4%) for Kingsport, because Kingsport does not have any “shovel ready” projects listed.  It is interesting that Johnson City submitted 11 projects.

Where are our great economic development politicians when we need them?  Why is it they just want to spend our local tax generated money when billions of dollars are available from the feds?

Kingsport citizens deserve better leadership!!

See Tennessee projects

Find projects by state or territory

The Kingsport Times-News article, Fiscal year 2008 audit OKs Kingsport financial health does some explaining on the recent audit of Kingsport’s finances.

However there seems to be some things left out or a press release issued by the city that never made it into the newspaper.

The press release below in the last two paragraphs state that the five enterprise funds had $16.3 million in cash.

Enterprise funds have to be self-supporting and we know that the Cattails Golf Course does not make any money and the MeadowView Convention Center ended the year with a $1.3 million loss

This would mean that the city is running a profit center in the water and sewer departments.  The raising of water and sewer rates each year has helped this cash position.  How else could they have gotten all of this extra cash?

If the City of Kingsport is doing so well, then how come they did not want to refund the 1/4 percent regional sales tax, back to the citizens when the MeadowView Convention Center was paid off?   Alderman Marsh and Shull tried to get the regional sales tax refunded back to the citizens but was voted down by Mayor Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, Aldermen Munsey, Joh, and Shupe.

Press Release

KINGSPORT – Kingsport garnered a clean opinion of its financial statement for fiscal year 2008 from auditors Blackburn, Childers & Steagall, and rectified all four findings reported in the prior year.

“This audit represents what the citizens of Kingsport expect from their local government, transparency in financial reporting and responsibility with the taxpayer dollar,” Kingsport Audit Committee Chair and Alderman Larry Munsey said Tuesday. “I’m pleased to note that city finance staff corrected four items identified in last year’s audit, while auditors, whose job it is to go over things with a fine-tooth comb, only found three items in need of some work going forward into 2009. By any measure, our city continues to stand on firm financial ground.”

Auditors noted in their 2008 findings the need for a change in the way property purchases and sales are recorded by the Kingsport Industrial Development Board; better record keeping on the disposition of city capital assets; and better segregation of duties within payroll processing.

“We’re very pleased with this report, and already have projects underway to address the findings on capital asset recording and payroll processing,” Kingsport Finance Director Jim Demming said Tuesday. “The third finding on KIDB is just a matter of changing from net reporting to include all costs related to property acquisitions and sales.”

Demming also noted that the addition of a new internal auditor position and realignment of finance staff duties should quickly correct the findings.

Meanwhile, as of June 30, Kingsport posted $14.84 million in its unrestricted fund balance for 2008, with another $3 million to be added over the next few years as the general fund is repaid funding it advanced for the construction of Cattails Golf Course. Board policy is to maintain a minimum of $11.4 million at all times.

City Manager John Campbell said the pace of city government has quickened with regards to a number of key areas, including the development of a higher education center; greater internal support for job recruitment and retention efforts; expansion of commercial and tourism development; and implementing technology to increase efficiency.

“We have the staff in place to ensure we offer the greatest transparency possible,” Campbell said. “At the same time, we continue to operate well within the self-imposed debt limit of 10 percent of assessed property value, with new capital projects funded by the debt service roll-off as old debt is paid off.

“Without a doubt, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen is making sound investments that position our community for continued growth, which is how we keep property taxes low for everyone.”

Kingsport City Government is organized into six reporting units, starting with the general fund which covers emergency services, development services, leisure services and administration.

Five enterprise funds include the water fund, for the production and distribution of clean water, funded solely by user fees; a sewer fund, again self-supporting through user fees; a solid waste fund for garbage collection and disposal, reported separately but funded through property taxes; and two funds that cover MeadowView Conference Center and the golf course.

Collectively, enterprise funds reported $16.3 million in cash as of June 30, a strong cash position Campbell said he intends to maintain.

Kingsport, Tennessee City Manager, John Campbell gave an update on how the City of Kingsport is doing at the local Kiwanis Club meeting on January 16,2009. A Kingsport Times-News article discusses what he said and the newspaper did a follow-up poll. The results of the poll show that 61 percent do not share John Campbell’s upbeat outlook for the city.

The City of Kingsport, Tennessee has removed an old family cemetery on the construction site of the John Adams School in the Rock Springs Road area that was recently annexed.

I recall quite some time ago, a WJHL TV interview with Kingsport’s City Manager, John Campbell that indicated that they had a problem because they recently discovered a cemetery at the site of the future John Adams School.

It is interesting that this “recent discovery”, that was discussed in the interview had a new road cut around the family graveyard many months before leaving the graveyard about eight feet above the road.

This graveyard was know to local residents and was listed on the U.S. Geological Survey topographic map as the Hargis Cemetery. It was also listed on many web sites giving the longitude and latitude coordinates for the exact location of the cemetery.

I was aware of the cemetery because of my interest and research in genealogy. I do recall that the ancestors in this cemetery were from the 1800’s or earlier.

It is sad to see that the City of Kingsport chose to remove this cemetery when it is quite possible that the folks buried there fought for the freedom that we have now in this country. The school buildings were not being built on the graveyard site, but I guess the city felt it was an eyesore.

I would like to tell the City of Kingsport that before you jump onto your bulldozers in recently annexed areas in the county, you might want to check out the old cemeteries. There are lot’s more in the Rock Springs Rd. area.

Can the city move the cemetery, yes they can. Can you vote for leaders that reflect your views and positions, yes you can.

Apparently, the announcement by Eastman Chemical’s $100 million cost reduction has gotten the attention of Mayor Phillips and City Manager John Campbell.

There was an article in the Kingsport Times-News on December 17, 2008, that was a press release (below) issued by the City of Kingsport, Tennessee and on the same day of Eastman Chemical’s announcement in the Times-News.

It has been my view that the Kingsport officials have been in denial that the region is in a recession because of the way they like to talk about how great things are going in Kingsport and their out of control spending.

I feel the Eastman announcement shocked them that things aren’t as well off in Kingsport. The big issue is that there will be less money coming to the city government because of the economy.

The press release below is the City of Kingsport‘s attempt to put their “spin” on how great things are going in Kingsport.  It appears that they are defending their out of control spending such as the MeadowView Convention Center expansion and the aquatic center.

No where in the press release do they mention that they are cutting back and it appears that it is business as usual.  Citizens have been cutting back for some time and there was a recent directive by the State of Tennessee to reduce spending by as much as 20 percent.

University of Tennessee executive staff will take a voluntary 5 percent pay cut and relinquish their UT-provided cars.  UT staff take pay cut

Recent announcements by Domtar and Cooper Standard to shut down over Christmas because of lack of orders also shows that the recession is affecting local firms.  Domtar, Cooper Standard to shut down over Christmas

City Manager, John Campbell stated “Investments in quality of life, hospitality and tourism, including the aquatic center and MeadowView, will help Kingsport begin to take on qualities of a true destination city,”

Wow, this is news that Kingsport is going to be a tourist attraction.  Could John Campbell provide a list of attractions so the locals can visit them.  Will the citizens aquatic center be shared with the tourists?

The City of Kingsport recently contracted with a Michigan firm to do a study on directional signs to help direct motorists and pedestrians to various city destinations.  This study will cost $81,410 and does not include the signs.  Save the money on the study.  Here are some suggestions for the signs;  Dollywood 95 miles, Nashville 281 miles, Asheville 83 miles, etc

Campbell stated . “But we know that Greater Kingsport has one of the higher personal saving rates in the country, and that helps position the region to weather the storm.”  How does he know about the personal saving rates of citizens?

Anyway, it really smarts that Campbell expects citizens to use personal savings to weather the storm while the city’s spending is out of control.  The city would not even stop or give back to the citizens the regional sales tax after the tax had paid off the current convention center.

It is apparent to me that the City of Kingsport is not going to stop it’s spending on such projects as Meadowview expansion, aquatic center, V.O. Dobbins center, etc.  The press release below is their attempt to justify the spending.

If money gets tight for the city, what I would like to see is for Mayor Phillips to propose cutting city services like garbage collection to every two weeks, reduce police and fire protection coverage in order to continue the spending pattern that the city has shown to the taxpayers in the past.  Go ahead Mayor Phillips, make good on your threat’s about cutting services.

It could get very interesting in an election year, if the mayor did push for cutting services.  Fasten your seatbelts if he does.

Kingsport, what are you doing to reduce spending?

Kingsport officials say region, city positioned to succeed despite national downturn

KINGSPORT – While regretting the impact of the national recession on a major regional employer, city officials said Wednesday that Kingsport and the region remain positioned for success through economic diversification and a strong focus on education and workforce training.

“As difficult as today’s announcement by Eastman Chemical is, it dispels a number of rumors about what we can expect going forward,” Mayor Dennis Phillips said Wednesday. “It also serves as a positive indicator of how well positioned that company is today as compared to a decade ago.

“At a time when many companies like Toyota are talking of leaving a brand new plant shuttered, or, in the case of Dow Chemical, laying off thousands, Eastman is positioned to meet current economic realities with far more limited measures. And that is really a success story for Kingsport and the region.”

Meanwhile, other indicators of continuing buoyancy in Kingsport and the regional economy are made clear with AGC Industries, formerly AFG Industries, recently announced the $34.6 million reconstruction of a glass manufacturing plant in Church Hill, creating 120 new jobs by 2010.

“Just this afternoon, we expect an important positive announcement from Domtar,” Phillips said. “And through the continued work of NETWORKS, KEDB and city staff, we are working to diversify our economy, recruit new jobs and encourage existing employers to expand.”

City Manager John Campbell indicated that continued economic diversification remains vital to the long-term success of Kingsport.

“Investments in quality of life, hospitality and tourism, including the aquatic center and MeadowView, will help Kingsport begin to take on qualities of a true destination city,” Campbell said. “At the same time, by offering more opportunities in higher education, we help create the workforce necessary to attract new employers and expand existing Kingsport businesses. There are both short term job gains, and longer term strength, to be expected from the investments the board is making or considering today.”

Working within the city staff structure, Campbell said the creation of a new economic researcher position will boost the internal and external capacity for recruiting retail, home builders, medical, and other services.

“We are also strengthened by the fact that Kingsport and the region continue to do well in terms of the appreciation of home values, with depreciation being a major cause of much economic difficulty nationally,” Campbell said. “Kingsport has ranked 14^th in the country for much of the year in terms of appreciation. The key investment that most people own, their home, remains a sound investment in Kingsport.”

While making strategic investments in key areas of return – education, workforce retraining and economic diversification through hospitality and tourism – Campbell indicated that continued softening in the regional economy is to be expected given national conditions.

“Nationally, October was the month everything shut down, particularly in the retail sector, and we expect to see some softening in that area,” Campbell said. “But we know that Greater Kingsport has one of the higher personal saving rates in the country, and that helps position the region to weather the storm.”

A report by East Tennessee State University shows that Tri-Cities’ retail sales outperformed those of Knoxville, Chattanooga and Tennessee overall.

“If you look back since 2006, we’ve had $370 million in new construction, much of that in the retail and commercial office sectors,” Campbell said. “That is definitely helping Kingsport recapture lost market share.”

Looking forward, with ongoing work on projects like the reuse of Quebecor, the pending mall renovation, and expansion of Meadowview Convention Center, 2009 could still be a good economic year in Kingsport.

“No community is immune to the economic circumstances of the rest of the country,” Campbell said. “But we’re doing all we can to retain and recruit the jobs of tomorrow.”

There was a newspaper article below written by Bill Bovender, a local attorney in Kingsport, Tennessee, that attacked the views that many citizens of Kingsport have in the way the Kingsport government is run.

I am sure that Bill Bovender’s talking down to and labeling citizens as GDD (gloom, doom, and depression), that do not share his view will not go down easy.  In fact, I am sure that many will find his elitism views and name calling insulting.

If one compares Alderman Shull’s ”A New Direction for Kingsport” and Bill Bovender article, they can see he is not only criticizing Shull, but distorting Shull’s positions and is resorting to name calling.

It is easy to notice how the “elites” have rolled out the old attack machine against anybody who dared to present a different view?

It is also easy to see that Bill Bovender is not exactly an innocent bystander when one Googles his name and see his involvement in city/county affairs.  If one also does a Google search on Keith Wilson, Publisher of the Kingsport Times-News and Ted Como, Managing Editor of the Kingsport Times-News, one can see they they are also not innocent bystanders because of their involvement with the city and county affairs.

The Letter to the Editor below was submitted to the Kingsport Times-News for publication in response to Bill Bovender article.  Kingsport Times-News should print Alderman Shull “A New Direction for Kingsport” and his letter to the editor.

The Kingsport Times-News in my opinion can be very stubborn on many issues.  See previous posts from this blog and check out what this blogger had to do to get porn/spam off the Times-News webpages.

Feel free to leave a comment.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A few days ago I wrote an article entitled “White Paper: A New Direction for Kingsport”. I sent it to several citizens including Mr. Bovender and the editor. Therefore, folks that read my paper will recognize his column as a thinly veiled personal attack on me. Unless the Times-News publishes my paper Mr. Bovender will have it both ways, a forum for his attack and the ability to prevent his readers from understanding the context of my views.

I spoke to Bill at length a few months ago. His views about the “progress” that Kingsport has made are sincere, almost to the point of being emotional. In my view, this emotional aspect is what has caused him to attack me. He has not contacted me personally; instead he prefers to characterize me as “negative”. I’m sure that the soldiers that I led in Iraq, my co-workers, and the Kingsporters who share my political views would disagree with this characterization.

Bill is not an ignorant person. Yet the way that he describes my positions have little relation to the merits, they are simply belittling and unhelpful to any citizen trying to understand the issues. Why is it that some insist on demonizing the opposition rather that engaging in fair debate? The overriding question before the BMA is how much “progress” can we afford and at what pace?

I am open to discuss and explain my positions with any citizen. An examination of my voting record will reveal that I supported several measures that Bill would call “progressive”. Most importantly I “positively” supported a resolution to cut property taxes which was recently defeated 2-5 by the BMA.

Bill, some free advice – stick to the issues, simply attacking my credibility won’t work. Kingsporters are smarter than that.

Below, is the Kingsport Times-News article written by Bill Bovender that appeared in the Sunday December 7, 2008 newspaper.

In my opinion Bill Bovender attack on certain BMA members is not exactly stating their real positions and Bill Bovender appears to be speaking for the elites who can be labeled as TB&S (tax, borrow and spend)

Gloom, Doom and Depression crowd should get with the program

There are a few people around Kingsport with political aspirations who do not view the progressive sea change the Model City has experienced over the past few years as a positive thing. If one were to put a label on their attitude, it would be that they are purveyors of Gloom, Doom and Depression or GDD.

Some of the GDD’s ideas include: Let’s return to the good ole 1950s, because the city’s ruling class has gone too far, too fast. Debt reduction should be the number one spending priority — not education, infrastructure, etc. “Economic development” is deemed by GDD as a bad word. John Adams Elementary School is a waste of tax dollars. The at-large election of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen should be trashed, with a ward system being utilized. I cannot wait for the ward bosses to appear. Well be just like Chicago. GDD claims city leaders are “elitist” and have no “vision.” Want elitism? Go to an “old south” town. Kingsport is about as anti-elite as any place you can find.

The attitude of GDD reminds me of some of Spencer Tracy’s lines in “Inherit the Wind,” the great movie about the Scopes Monkey Trial. Tracy played a fictionalized Clarence Darrow, who actually defended Scopes. At one point during the movie’s version of the trial, he says something like “… with flags flying and banners waving, we’ll march back, backward into time.  “I’ll be the first to admit that there is merit in some of what the GD and D’ers are saying.

However, having lived here for 33 years, I find the many things going on — downtown education center, new restaurants, new retail, job creation — make this the most exhilarating and promising time I have experienced.

It is hard to understand negativity. Some just exude it. The glass is half-empty is their mantra. Is the country experiencing tough times? Yes. Must Kingsport prioritize? Yes. I thought that was what the city leaders have been doing.

Most of the BMA, Mayor Phillips, and City Manager Campbell have awakened a sleeping giant  Don’t think for a minute surrounding cities have not noticed.

There were plenty of people in John-son City who claimed John Campbell and the majority of the City Commission were without “vision,” even “fools,” for suggesting a new road be built connecting north Johnson City with ETSU. State of Franklin Road appears to have weathered those narrow-minded nihilists.

There is more “going on” in Kingsport than almost at anytime in decades. But, it is the progress and growth which Kingsport is experiencing which seem to bring out the cavedwellers, nay-sayers, and general “agin it” crowd.

There is real danger that, in writing this column and commenting on the ideas of GDD, I will end up aiding rather than hindering the movement GDD covets.

I hope that is not the case. Never in the past 30 years has Kingsport been as exciting—a fun place to live. The investments being made by the city will yield tremendous returns. We may well be able to keep our best and brightest kids around.

I was recently involved in a lawsuit where one issue was the alleged inability of a company to recruit people to come to this area to work.

Supposedly, the potential candidates described Kingsport as “backwards,” “nothing to do,” the “boondocks,” and just a “smelly little town.”

The various projects, expenditures, annexations and activities initiated by Phillips, Campbell, and the BMA fly in the face of those who were not interested in moving here. The Gloom, Doom and Depression coterie needs to get on the team.

Bill Bovender practices law in Kingsport E-mail him at [email protected]

There were three bonds that were voted on at the November 18, 2008 Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Alderman. A total of $34,753,000 was voted on and passed.

This was an “Initial” resolution, which means the city staff is authorized to go into the bond market to make a deal subject to BMA final approval.

The three bonds are as follows.

The items in green in the table below gives the details for the General Improvement Bond ($12,305,000) and it would have been nice if the items in the General Improvement Bond were listed separately. Politics, I am sure has something to do with it, because of the way it is listed. For example, if a BMA member had a strong desire against one of the items below in green, but was for the balance of the items, then it may force the BMA member to vote for something he/she was against to get the good items.

I have written many posts concerning the MeadowView Convention Center Expansion. This expansion of the convention center in my view, caters to the special interests. The current convention center has not made money and the taxpayers are keeping it afloat. Johnson City, Tennessee Millennium Centre has not made money since it was built in 1999. I do believe that the City Manager of Johnson City was John Campbell when it was planned and built. Now, John Campbell, who is now the City Manager for Kingsport wants to do it here.

On the V.O. Dobbins Center, Alderman Marsh and Shull voted against this project, because it had grown into something bigger than in the earlier discussions. Both, Marsh and Shull expressed concerns that the city was getting into the business of competing with the private sector.

Alderman Marsh stated that the City of Kingsport is attacking its own taxpayers by competing with businesses that has rental property that rent to nonprofits. The city is looking to have as renters, non-profits that are renting elsewhere in the city. For example, if the city is successful, United Way would leave the downtown area to relocate to the V.O.Dobbins Center and thus steal customers away from the private sector.

With the final approval of the three bonds below, the total debt would be $190.7 million and this does not include the aquatic center. Alderman Marsh has stated that the debt could go as high as $250 million in the next few years.

If you have a concern about this debt or the items below, then voice your concern to the BMA members. You can express your concerns by going to the meetings, write letters to the editor, talk to them on the telephone, leave a comment on this blog