It has been voted on that the pool will be in the MeadowView area. However, the mayor has run into some difficulty after finding out that the citizens objected to the location and the spending of taxpayers money for the Aquatic Center.

Since the city has run into difficulty getting citizens buy in on the MeadowView location, they will be undertaking a massive public relations effort to change citizens minds about the Aquatic Center and the MeadowView location.  See the Times-News article below.

Also, note that there is to be information on the city website concerning  the Aquatic Center.  Why is the web site not available for pubic input?  I do believe John Campbell stated that construction could begin in August on the Aquatic Center.

Alderwoman Valerie Joh who is running for re-election has stated that this is her “pet project” and the MeadowView location is is the center of the population for all kids in Kingsport. Simply put, Valerie Joh wants the Aquatic Center located at Meadowview!!

One also needs to understand that Valerie Joh owns Blue Ridge Properties, a real estate firm with many office locations in the Kingsport area.  The MeadowView location would make it more accessible for tourists and the City of Kingsport has made it known that they want to go after the tourist business.

Colette George, who is Valerie Joh’s daughter is chairman of the Executive Committee for Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau and also is connected with Blue Ridge properties.  Colette George is also on the Kingsport Planning Commission.  Colette George husband, Ron George is also a member on the Kingsport Board of Education.  Also, Alderman Larry Munsey is the BMA Liaison to the Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau.

My point to the above Valerie Joh connections is a lot of the decisions and planning are hard-wired before it even gets to the public.

Kingsport Times-News

Kingsport does plan to keep Legion Pool open for a year or two after the aquatic center opens to gauge usage at the old facility.

Chris McCartt, assistant to the city manager, gave a project update to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday. The BMA is slated to vote Tuesday night to employ the engineering and planning firms and allocate $360,000 for phase one of the project.

Phase one of the project will take about five months to complete and consist of programming (the types of features found at the facility), schematic design and design development, McCartt said.

“We know we want an indoor lap pool, some kind of indoor recreation component, and some form of therapeutic/warm water pool. Outside we want to have water park features,” McCartt said. “What that consists of, the design team, aquatics specialists and the public will come in and offer their suggestions.

“The elements are somewhat set in stone. What’s comprised of those elements are what we’re going to be working on over the next five months.”

McCartt said the city is not replicating Legion Pool at the new site. The new facility will have multiple pools for multiple uses, along with numerous features for families and children.

Kingsport plans to solicit input from the public through the city’s Web site, Channel 16 and public meetings. The Web site will also be updated periodically with updates and notices of meetings.

“Folks will be able to come to the public meetings and look at the possibilities and what the indoor and outdoor components are going to be,” McCartt said. “We take all that stuff, cook it down and find what will work for Kingsport.”

Mayor insults citizens

February 15th, 2009

It is an election year in Kingsport, Tennessee for members of the Board of Mayor and Alderman.  Mayor Dennis Phillips is running for re-election and has managed to insult the voters in his bull-headed attempt to put the aquatic center in an area where he wants it, but the citizens do not.

The mayor recently made the statement below as reported by the Kingsport Times-News.

“We have got to do a better job of getting this whole thing down to the eighth-grade level to where we can all understand it. I think that we need to get the word out of who we’re building the pool for,” Phillips said.

The above statement by the mayor should tell the citizens what the mayor thinks about their intelligence.  Clearly, this is an insult..

Mayor Phillips is attempting to resell the concept of putting the aquatic center in the Meadowview area.  He has managed to get very strong vocal opposition to it being placed in the Meadowview area and opposition to it being built in this economy.

This issue has been hard wired from the very beginning.  First, it was the committee appointed by the mayor to make recommendations where to place the pool.  It came out in the February 3, 2009 BMA meeting that the findings of the committee were flawed because of the very narrow marching orders given to the committee.  Also, who do you think made presentations to the committee?  Apparently, the committee believed the data presented by the city and we have seen in the past that the city is capable of not telling the full story sometimes.

The demographic analysis stated that the Meadowview area was the “closest proximity to home owners” is also flawed.  I guess the city thought the citizens would believe that statement when in fact there is no way it can be true.  I have reported many times concerning the city twisting the truth to get the effect they wanted.

The mayor states. “At the same time, we will maintain some type of city water feature at Legion Pool for the foreseeable future. We’re not going to abandon those children.”  The city talks about keeping the Legion Pool open for one to two years after the aquatic center opens.  Well, Mr. Mayor, when you close the Legion Pool after one or two years, then you are in fact abandoning the children.

Phillips said the city would somehow make the aquatic center available to people who can’t afford the fees and find a way to help some people get to the new facility.  Nothing has been said about the fees that would be charged.  Mayor Phillips statement makes be believe that the fees will be higher than the Legion Pool.

“This aquatic center is an investment in our city, and you have to invest in your city to get people to come,” Phillips said.  Apparently the mayor is willing to invest money to get tourists to come to Kingsport, but not willing to invest to help lower the high unemployment rate in Kingsport.

Clearly, the mayor and city manager are on a public relations blitz to keep this project going.

I encourage you to read the entire Kingsport Times-News article (including comments) and also see post,   Kingsport’s aquatic center in deep water

Comments are welcome.

Kingsport aquatic center aims to make a big splash » Comments

Joh seeks re-election to Kingsport BMA » Comments

BMA approves contract for aquatic center » Comments

Kingsport set to pick planner, engineer for aquatic center » Comments

I have written many posts concerning this issue and feel that politics is playing a big part in the decision to expand the convention center.  Good common business sense seems to be absent for the five BMA members (Phillips, Mallicote, Joh, Shupe, Munsey) who voted to expand the convention center.  It appears that there is an incestuous relationship with special interest groups

Alderman Marsh implored the mayor to get public input before the vote, but the mayor railroaded the convention center expansion to a vote.  Alderman Marsh and Shull voted to give back to the city property owners the 1/4 percent regional sales tax that was used to pay off the current convention center, but the gang of five prevailed.

The taxpayers have invested $25.7 million in the current MeadowView Convention Center and Cattails golf course.  The convention center has never made money and the golf course barely breaks even.

The City of Kingsport is spending another $15 million to expand the convention center into an executive conference center.

One needs to ask, what is the real cost to the taxpayers for Kingsport’s part of MeadowView? The combined cost of the current convention center, golf course and the new expansion would be about $41 million.

To get the true cost, the interest expense for the bonds must be added to the cost.  In the table below you will see the actual cost after applying the different interest rates.  The bond life used is 20 years.

I would like to ask, are there any citizens in Kingsport that would invest $57 – $59.6 million in a project that did not make money for them?

It is up to you as voters to decide your future.  Mallicote, Joh, and Phillips who are running for re-election voted to spend more money on the money-losing convention center.

Alderman Shull who is also running for re-election voted against the convention center expansion and instead voted to give the regional sales tax back to city property owners.

I must warn you to beware of the spin that the city officials have been putting out concerning MeadowView.  If MeadowView has been that great for Kingsport, then why do we have a declining population, negative retail growth after inflation, and the highest unemployment rate in the Tri-Cities area.  You decide…see data

Click here for interview

In this interview, Valerie Joh discussed the Aquatic Center.  She stated that Meadowview is the center of the population for all kids in Kingsport.  Simply put, Valerie Joh wants the Aquatic Center located at Meadowview!!

A recent Kingsport Times-News article below gives additional information on Valerie Joh.

Joh, a six-year incumbent on the BMA, is the owner of Blue Ridge Properties of Kingsport. Joh said she knows her way around a budget and has a vested interest in Kingsport — three children and six grandchildren.

“I think our biggest challenge is to try and keep a positive outlook. We have got Kingsport on a roll, we’re looking positively at things that are going on, and I think we need to find a way to keep that atmosphere here,” Joh said. “In over 38 years of selling real estate, I have never once ran into a family who said I’m going to live here because your taxes are lower than Johnson City’s or Bristol’s. That’s not the biggest issue we deal with.

“I want to keep your property values high because that’s your biggest investment you make. To do that we have to keep Kingsport positive.”

When Joh ran for re-election four years ago, she said her main issue was downtown revitalization. This time around, she said Kingsport should work to develop more places to live and shop downtown and to do more to improve the Kingsport Public Library.

“It is behind the times when compared to the libraries of our sister cities,” Joh said.

The Kingsport Times-News article below fails to mention that the moderator for the debate was Mayor Dennis Dennis Phillips who is running unopposed for a third term as mayor.

It is no secret that the Mayor would like certain candidates to win in the upcoming election.  I am shocked that the Rotary Club would select the Mayor as moderator and not surprised that Mayor Dennis Phillips accepted.

Kingsport citizens deserve better ethics.

KINGSPORT – Five of the candidates running for seats on the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen presented themselves to another local civic club on Wednesday, with two of the candidates sparring over their philosophy for the direction of Kingsport.

Kingsport’s city election is May 19, and six candidates are running for the three open alderman seats. The incumbents – Valerie Joh, Ben Mallicote and Pat Shull – are facing challenges from Wade McClellan, Mike McIntire and Tom Parham. Dennis Phillips is running unopposed for a third term as mayor.

Read more via Kingsport Times-News Online – Kingsport,

Alderwoman Joh stated that 875 families have moved to Kingsport since July, 2008.  What she did not say is how many families have moved away and that the data included not only Kingsport but the surrounding areas.

I have written posts on this subject before.  See the following link for more information.  East Tennessee city steals data to enhance it’s image

If you are interested in the direction this city is headed then take the time to review the articles and the comments.

You can click on the word “Comments” to take you directly to the comments for the article.  Express your concerns via a comment if you desire.

The real question is the City of Kingsport listing to the commenter’s?

It’s your city…..get involved!

Kingsport aquatic center aims to make a big splash » Comments

Joh seeks re-election to Kingsport BMA » Comments

Mallicote to seek new term on Kingsport BMA » Comments

BMA approves contract for aquatic center » Comments

Kingsport BMA hires architect for expansion at MeadowView » Comments

Kingsport set to pick planner, engineer for aquatic center » Comments

The issue was for approving money so the city could begin to come up with detailed drawings.  However, the issue with the location came up with Mallicote again restating his opposition to the aquatic center located at Meadowview.  Alderman Marsh and Shull also voiced their concerns with the Meadowview location.

Alderwoman Valarie Joh was not a happy camper in this discussion.  She stated that the BMA had already voted on the Meadowview location.  That statement is true, but Mallicote, Shull and Marsh did vote against the Meadowview location last summer.

Alderwoman Joh has stated that in past meetings that Marsh and Shull were sore losers because they lost the vote.   Well Mrs. Joh, it appears also that the citizens of Kingsport are also sore losers because of the large numbers that are expressing their concerns over the location of the aquatic center.

On August 30, 2008, I wrote the following.

Kingsport, Tennessee has decided to build a new aquatic center at Meadowview and to co-locate with the YMCA.

The very vocal concerns expressed by local citizens over the location of the aquatic have fallen upon deaf ears by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.  The citizens are calling for a petition to stop the aquatic center and voting the current BMA out of office.  Never before have I seen Kingsport citizens more angry.

I have not written a post of this issue before, but privately I felt that the BMA would vote to place the aquatic center in the Meadowview area.  It appears that certain members of the BMA have decided to railroad this issue to a vote.  The very short two-day notice of a public meeting was a good indication to me that the BMA wanted to push the aquatic center.  Giving the public two-day notice of a public meeting to me is not ample notice for an aquatic center that has been in the works a long time.

I would like to add that Alderman Shull, Alderman Marsh, and Vice Mayor Mallicote voted against putting the aquatic center in the Meadowview area.

Also, it appears that the City of Kingsport does not care about other small businesses by competing with them.  Giving the YMCA the aquatic center to operate and who is not paying for the center, gives the YMCA an advantage over other firms who provide a similar service.

What are your views on this subject?  Leave a comment.

During the vote last summer Larry Munsey started the idea about keeping the Legion Pool open for a a year.  In the meeting this week, it was discussed about keeping it open for two years.  Keeping the legion pool open for a period of time will not satisfy the citizens concerns because the city plans to shut it down later.

Do we really want the expense of operating two pools?   See how these ideas “evolve”.  I guess you can do anything if you spend enough money.  This points to the greater problem – the BMA refuses to distinguish between NEEDS vs. WANTS and will not prioritize spending.

The City Manager envisions turning the Legion area into something like the Splash Pad at Riverview.  In short, we need to see some cost and usage data to really make up my mind.

Kingsport’s history is to get hit later than the rest of the country during a recession, but to also Recover Later.

What are your thoughts on the aquatic center?

According to Moody’s the three bonds have been issued and are listed below.  The dollar amounts below do not include interest expense.

General Obligation Public Improvement Bonds, Series 2009A
Sale Date: 22 JAN 2009
Sale Amt: $12.31 million

The detailed spending for this bond is listed in the table below.

General Obligation Bonds, Series 2009B
Sale Date: 22 JAN 2009
Sale Amt: $7.15 million

The bond above is for rebuilding of the V.O. Dobbins Community Center as well as the creation of a new non-profit center.  This non-profit center will take tenants away from the private sector, which means, the City of Kingsport becomes a competitor with it’s own tax customers.  Alderman Marsh and Shull voted against this project.

Local Option Sales Tax Revenue and Tax Bonds, Series 2009C
Sale Date: 22 JAN 2009
Sale Amt: $15.31 million

The above bond is for the MeadowView Conference Center Expansion.  This expansion is a very controversial subject with many citizens because of it benefiting special interest groups.  The current convention center loses money and it wishful thinking that the expansion would break even.

This new $15.31 million bond for the convention center expansion combined with the $25.7 million already spent for the current convention center and Cattails Golf Course would make it $41 million that the taxpayers will have poured into MeadowView.  The Cattails and the current convention center do not make money.  Alderman Marsh and Shull voted against this project.  See link for additional information on Meadowview

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.

It is my opinion that Mike McIntire has been hand picked to run as an alderman, because his views coincides with the majority on the Board of Mayor and Alderman.  It appears that Mike McIntire and Tom Parham are being used to replace Pat Shull in this upcoming election.  But at least Pat Shull has put out information that shows he is willing to think outside of the box.

There are no fresh ideas, he has no problem with the debt the city has and states that  he understands why some people think MeadowView is for the elite but he is for the MeadowView expansion.

Both Mike Mclntire and Tom Parham could be labeled as “insiders” because of their past involvement with the City of Kingsport and I am not sure this is what we need.  Currently, we have the “gang of five” (Phillips, Mallicote, Munsey, Joh, and Shupe) on the BMA that almost vote the same on every issue.  It is my opinion that this “gang of five” does not reflect the views of the majority of the citizens of Kingsport, but instead caters more to the special interest groups.

What Kingsport needs is not another person on the BMA who agrees with everything Mayor Phillips and City Manager, John Campbell wants.

This election is not about special interest groups.  It is an election for the citizens of Kingsport to elect BMA members that reflect their views on the direction that the city should go.  The citizens need to tell the elites, that this election cannot not be won with the elites money.

Is this what the citizens want?  Read the Times-News link above, make comments on the Times-News webpage and also here.

Please leave a comment.

The current BMA members whose terms will expire are Mayor Dennis Phillips, Alderman Valerie Joh, Alderman Ben Mallicote (the vice mayor) and Alderman Pat Shull.

Any person who is a qualified voter of the city and who has resided within the city for at least one (1) year next preceding the election shall be eligible to election to the office of mayor or alderman.

Residence within any area annexed in a year preceding an election shall be counted in meeting the residence requirement of this section.

The City is governed by a seven member Board of Mayor and Aldermen, elected at-large and on a non-partisan basis for four-year staggered terms. The exception to this rule is that the Mayor is elected at-large for a two year term. Elections are held in May during odd numbered years. The new Board of Mayor and Alderman is seated on July 1 of each election year.

If you have a desire to be on the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman, you will need to pick up your petition at the below location.   The deadline to submit completed petitions is noon on February 19, 2009.  25 signatures from registered voters are required on the petition.

City elections:  2009 schedule

Feb. 19 – Candidate petitions due in county elections office
April 20 – Last day of voter registration.
April 29 to May 14 – Early voting period.
May 19 – Election Day

Mayor Dennis Phillip and his band of followers (Mallicote, Joh, Munsey, and Shupe) want to invest $15 million more to make this convention center larger.

Over the years the Meadowview Convention Center and Cattails golf course have been subsided (borrowed) over $3 million dollars from the General Fund.  This money needs to be paid back to the General Fund plus interest.

Can they spend more money on Meadowview?  Yes they can!  Mayor Phillips and his gang got the majority votes.  Can you vote for leaders that reflect your views and positions, yes you can.

See also the following link concerning MeadowView