No WhiteWash!

Ben Mallicote stated in the Rotary Club debate that he was humbled to serve as Vice Mayor of Kingsport.  Well, that is what he would like for you to believe.

The real story is that Ben Mallicote thought so much of himself that he nominated himself to be Vice Mayor and Mayor Phillips cast the deciding vote to break the tie.

I know of only one vote that Ben Mallicote has voted differently from Mayor Phillips.  He has stated in the past that Mayor Phillips is like a 2nd father to him.

Ben Mallicote would like for people to think he is an independent voice on the BMA.  But, with the exception on one vote that I am aware of, he votes the same as Mayor Phillips.  That is what Mayor Phillips wants, he gets!

Those city residents that go to the BMA meetings or watch on TV have more than likely observed the abrasive nature of Mr. Mallicote’s comments when other BMA members present a different viewpoint.  On this blog I have used the words “attack”, “anger”, “hissy fit” in describing the comments coming from Mr. Mallicote.  It is interesting to note that I have not seen any “hissy fits” coming from Ben Mallicote while he is running for re-election.

Clearly, Ben Mallicote has earned the title of “Tax, Borrow, and Spend” specialist by his voting record.

Below are the July 3, 2007 Regular Business Meeting Minutes for the Vice Mayor vote.

III.A SWEARING-IN ELECTED BOARD MEMBER OFFICIALS. City Recorder Jim Demming swore in the re-elected Mayor Dennis R. Phillips (joined by his wife and son), along with re-elected Alderman Larry A. Munsey (joined by his wife) and newly elected Alderman, Jantry Shupe (whose mother was in the audience). Alderman Marsh was not present and chose to be sworn in at the next business meeting rather than telephonically.

III.B ROLL CALL: By City Recorder Demming. Aldermen Marsh and Shull joined the meeting telephonically at this time.

III.C SELECTION OF VICE-MAYOR. Mayor opened the floor for nominations for vice-mayor. Mr. Marsh moved to postpone this action for two weeks in light of the physical absence of himself and Aldermen Shull, who seconded the motion. Mayor Phillip read from the City Charter stating that selection is required to be made at the first meeting in July, following an election and City Attorney Billingsley confirmed. Alderman Shull nominated Mr. Marsh, if the action is not deferrable. City Attorney Billingsley stated that no second is necessary. Alderman Mallicote offered his services as vice-mayor and Alderman Marsh moved that nominations cease, with Alderman Shull seconding. Board discussion followed whether to limit the nominations.

A vote was taken regarding ceasing nominations and failed, with Joh, Shull and Marsh voted “aye” and Mallicote, Munsey, Shupe and Phillips voting “nay.”

City Attorney Billingsley clarified that the roll call vote for vice-mayor required a majority vote; namely, four votes for one candidate.

Alderman Shupe nominated Mr. Munsey who indicated he was willing to continue as vice-mayor. Mayor Phillips announced the three vice-mayor candidates would be voted on by each Board member stating the name of the candidate for whom they were voting as a roll call vote was taken. A three-way tie resulted as follows:

Joh and Mallicote: Mallicote

Marsh and Shull: Marsh

Munsey and Shupe: Munsey

Mayor Phillips did not vote because no candidate would receive a majority vote. At this point, the mayor asked the three candidates to give a brief synopsis of why each would like to serve as vice-mayor and what each would bring to the board in that position. Another roll call vote was taken and resulted in a majority vote for Mr. Mallicote as follows:

Joh – Mallicote

Mallicote – Mallicote

Marsh – Marsh

Munsey – Munsey

Shull – Marsh

Shupe – Mallicote

Phillips – Mallicote

Mayor Phillips stated his appreciation for Mr. Munsey serving the Board extremely well as vice-mayor and has enjoyed working with him immensely and will continue to do so in his service as alderman. The mayor added that he would like to see the BMA devise a less divisive process for selecting a vice-mayor and would like to discuss improving the procedure further at the Board’s retreat.

Kingsport spending on projects in the last four years has set records since Mayor Phillips has been mayor.  I have written many posts in this blog about the spending on pet projects and to some, I am sure that they think I am against progress and just being negative.

The current debt is around $190 million and there are more projects in the works.  A recent review by Standard & Poor’s, a credit rating firm made the following statement below.

The five-year capital improvement program through fiscal 2013 includes planned issuance of additional GO debt of $5 million-$8 million annually, to help fund total general fund projects of $50.8 million.

The City of Kingsport provided Standard and Poor’s information such as financial data so Standard and Poor’s could give Kingsport a credit rating.

Mayor Phillips, what is the above $50.8 million going to be used for? There should be no secrets, and no surprises about future spending.  The city is working on a new CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) and the citizens need to know what additional projects have been added.

The City of Kingsport is paying millions of dollars each year for interest expense on its borrowed money.  Below is a bond for $11,165,000 that will have $5,464,109 interest that will be needed to paid during the life (20 years) of the bond.  The bond below is just one bond and if you add up all of the interest for all borrowed money, this interest becomes a huge number.

I am not against progress.  I am concerned that Kingsport is doing too much in a short period of time and feel that someday in the future that the city will have to raise taxes to meet its obligations.  At the current rate of spending, a tax increase will be coming in the future.  I am sure that it won’t be this year because it is an election year.

It is a sad situation in Kingsport that the city has to borrow money to fund small dollar projects such as road work, etc.  If I want to send my child to college, I start saving money early when the child is young.  I don’t wait when until he is ready to go to college, stick my hand in my pocket and discover that I don’t have the money and then have to go out and borrow it.  My point is that the City of Kingsport needs to do more long range planning and funding of future projects and depend less on borrowed money.

You can see other Kingsport financial data like the above by going to the following link:  Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Year Ended June 30,2008.  You can also visit the Kingsport library to see the Kingsport 2008 Financial Report.

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007

Ben Mallicote seems to be in a tight spot in this election over his vote to refuse to give the regional sales tax back to the citizens via a property tax deduction after it had served its purpose.  Alderman Marsh and Alderman Shull voted to give the tax back to the citizens.

I had a chance to watch the video of the Rotary Club debate on cable channel 16 and it was very clear to me that he was trying to justify his vote on the regional sales tax issue.  Mr. Mallicote, why didn’t you not at the time of your vote bring up the same reasons as you did in the Rotary Club debate.

Alderman candidates debate what’s best for city at Kingsport Rotary Club

Kingsport Times-News

Mallicote, also first elected to the BMA four years ago, said you couldn’t consider Shull’s suggestion without considering the cost and trade-off.

“In the midst of this great housing crisis, Kingsport is third in the nation in home price appreciation. When other municipalities are seeing double-digit drops in sales tax collections, Kingsport is seeing double-digit increases,” Mallicote said. “Without the investment this board has made, we wouldn’t have Target, the new Food City, East Stone Commons, all of the new residential options, the higher education and allied health facilities, the revitalization of downtown, the new concert series, and a nationally recognized school system.

Mr. Mallicote mentions double-digit sales tax collections, but I doubt he can back up that statement with data.  See previous post that debunks this statement.  I am sure that Pat Shull is is thankful that Mallicote mentioned all of the other investments that Pat Shull voted for.

Mr. Mallicote again I feel is on the defensive in the radio interview on WJCW on April 23 concerning the regional sales tax.

Could it be that Mallicote does not have the security of the other four members of the Gang of Five to help him defend his vote?   Phillips,Joh,Shupe, and Munsey also voted against giving the regional sales tax back to the property owners.

The October 21, 2008 BMA meeting got a little heated with Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote going on the attack when Marsh and Shull attempted to state their views in a business like way.

See the November 11, 2008 post below for more information.

Click on the More Info button for all posts that discuss  Ben Mallicote

Kingsport, Tennessee BMA refuses to rescind Regional Sales Tax after it had served it’s purpose

Alderman Marsh presented a resolution at the October 21, 2008 Kingsport Board of Mayors and Aldermen to eliminate the quarter percent sales tax that voters approved in 1992 to fund the Meadowview Convention Center.  The quarter percent regional sales tax had served it’s purpose and the convention center debt was paid off in 2008.

The resolution was to use a portion of the regional sales tax to reduce the property tax rate for citizens. The citizens of Kingsport could have received a reduction in their city property tax, but the resolution was quickly voted down by the “gang of five”. (Mayor Dennis Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, and Aldermen Munsey, Joh, Shupe)  See Kingsport Times-News article  “Marsh urges scuttling MeadowView expansion

The decision of the “gang of five” showed their true colors by voting against the citizens for a property tax refund and instead voting for special interest groups.

Alderman Shull and Marsh have in the past tried to discuss the future of the regional sales tax, but Mayor Phillips would always table the discussion.  It is my feeling that Mayor Phillips had no intention of ending the regional sales tax and had plans to use it for MeadowView Convention Center expansion.

The October 21, 2008 BMA meeting got a little heated with Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote going on the attack, Alderman Joh stated that Aldermen Shull and Marsh were just sore losers.  Mayor Phillips stated that without MeadowView the city would have to raise taxes.  He also made a statement that MeadowView is needed to keep from reducing police and fire protection and doing trash pick-up every two weeks. Mr. Mayor, stop the spin, it may be news to you, the convention center has been operating at a loss and the taxpayers are in fact keeping the convention center in business.  The voters of Kingsport are smarter than you think, Mayor Phillips.

Maybe, I will in the future do a post about the wasteful spending in the City of Kingsport by Mayor Phillips and his gang.

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007

On September 16, 2008, the Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to spend $819,000 for an architect to design the $15 million expansion at the Meadowview Conference Resort and Convent Center.  This was brought quickly to a vote without much detailed discussion or input from the public.  There were discussions on using the regional sales tax to fund the convention center expansion.

Again, this vote was another example of railroading a vote.  Alderman Marsh expressed concern that this was voted on within 24 hours and that there had not been ample time to study the the financial numbers.  He also asked what is in it for the citizens of Kingsport.  He said that this is more for the special interests of certain people.  He attempted to defer the vote to the latter part of October, but Alderman Marsh’s and Alderman Shull’s votes were not enough to postpone the vote.

Simply put, this is an example of the City of Kingsport catering to special interest groups and there seems to be no value to the citizens of Kingsport.  See posts Kingsport, Tennessee incestuous relationship with special interest groups, Convention Center issues plague cities, and More hissy fits in Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen for more background information.

What are you views on the action of the BMA to not give back to the taxpayers the regional sales tax?  Leave a comment.

Ben Mallicote, who is running for re-election as a Kingsport Alderman made the following statement at a recent Rotary Club Debate that was moderated by candidate Dennis Phillips who is running for re-election as mayor.

“When other municipalities are seeing double-digit drops in sales tax collections, Kingsport is seeing double-digit increases,” Mallicote said.

I would like to suggest to Mr. Mallicote that he become more familiar with the city’s finances before making such a statement.  Take a look at the data below and one can see that Kingsport has not seen double-digit increases in sales tax collections.

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.

Click on the More Info button for all posts that discuss Ben Mallicote

A few quotes from members of the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman

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?

ETSU Bureau of Business and Economic Research has released the fourth quarter 2008 retail sales results for the Tri-Cities area.  You can see the ETSU full report by clicking on the link. Tri-Cities Retail Sales Report

Note the steep inclines in the graph below for Johnson City and Bristol  Kingsport did have growth but not as much as compared to Johnson City and Bristol.  Kingsport is just now picking up the sales that it lost due to Sams Club moving to Johnson City.  From the years 2000-2008, Kingsport increased $219.1 million in sales and Johnson City picked up $466.5 million for the same period.

In the last four years with Dennis Phillips as Mayor, Kingsport has grown less than Johnson City and Bristol in terms of retail sales growth. For the years 2004-2008 Johnson City had $264.2 million, Bristol had $138.5 million and Kingsport had $112.5 million in new retail sales growth.  Clearly, Kingsport has been the laggard in the retail sales for the Tri-Cities area in the last four years.  But, I think Kingsport just might be the biggest spender of taxpayers money in the Tri-Cities area.

Take time to look at the facts and try to understand them and do not take for granted what the Kingsport public relations machine gives you as the gospel.  See the Tri-Cities Retail Sales Report for the data.

THE TRI-CITIES

As expected, the deepening recession overwhelmed the urge to spend during the holiday selling season. During the fourth quarter, dollar sales fell 1.8% in Kingsport, 2.8% in Johnson City, and 7.1% in Bristol. Adjusted for inflation, holiday sales volume decreased 3.1% in Kingsport, 4.2% in Johnson City, and 7.1% in Bristol. In comparison, real sales were down 8.9% in Tennessee and 9.0% in the nation as a whole.

For the year 2008, Kingsport reported the smallest decline in retail activity with a loss of only 0.4% in inflation adjusted sales. Retail volume decreased 3.3% in Johnson City and 7.7% in Bristol. In comparison, real sales were down 6.3% in Tennessee and 3.8% in the United States

THE METROPOLITAN AREAS

During the fourth quarter, dollar sales in the Combined Statistical Area (CSA) declined sharply, falling 7.8% to $1,573 million. Adjusted for inflation, retail volume in the Tri-Cities metro area was a 9.2% below the same period in 2007. Dollar sales and sales volume decreased in all seven metro counties. The smallest loss was reported by Hawkins County, followed by Unicoi, Carter, Washington (TN), Scott, and Washington (VA) counties.

he recession also caused a miserable holiday shopping season in the nation and the state. In the United States, dollar sales decreased 7.6% to $1,094 billion. Adjusted for inflation, real sales were lower by a staggering 9.0%. This marks the fourth decline in a row, after twenty consecutive quarters of real growth during the 2002 to 2007 business expansion. Tennessee suffered a similar retail performance. Dollar sales fell 7.5% to $20.6 billion, and sales volume was 8.9% below 2007 levels. Retail activity has now declined for five consecutive quarters in Tennessee, creating the prospect of a one billion dollar deficit in the state budget.

Looking at the annual data for 2008, the dollar value of retail sales fell only 0.2% in the nation to $4,475 billion. But adjusted for inflation, real sales in the U.S. were down 3.8%, compared to a 1.1% increase in 2007. Retail sales in Tennessee decreased 2.8% to $82.1 billion. Sales volume in the state dropped 6.3%, compared to a 0.6% increase in 2007.

ANALYSIS

There are no surprises in this report. It is now well understood that the nation is in a major recession, and that business conditions will continue to get worse, before they get better. The last time we saw such bitter economic news was the severe recession of 1981 and 1982. It is worth recalling that the federal government under a Republican President and with a Democratic Congress undertook a massive stimulus package of tax cuts and increased spending. They were successful, but in retrospect, they probably should have done more.

The overriding danger in this recession is not its severity, but the meltdown and continuing dysfunction of the financial system. As Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, has stressed, there will be no recovery until the financial system is healed. And the last time the financial system collapsed was in the early 1930s, and we know what that led to.

The central bank has been pumping massive amounts of liquidity into the financial system, and the federal government is undertaking the largest fiscal stimulus since the Depression and World War II. But the financial system remains paralyzed and the credit flows necessary for our capitalist economy to function are not being provided.

The economic outlook for the nation and the region depends upon events in the financial system. If there is an early resumption of normal financial operations, business activity would quickly recover. If the financial system continues to malfunction, the recession will last longer, and the ultimate government intervention in the financial system will be more drastic.

With this in mind, if the financial system begins to function normally over the next several weeks, then an end to the recession by late spring or early summer is very probable. Then we can fret over when the recovery will begin and will it be strong or weak. And if we are very lucky, a year from now we will be concerned about tight labor markets and inflation dangers.

Interviews with parents of school age children in the Rock Springs area indicate that they are very concerned about the City of Kingsport,TN  busing policy

The Kingsport, TN City School Policy Manual states:

“Students whose place of residence is one and one-half (1 ½) miles or more from their assigned school shall be eligible for transportation services”

The less than 1 ½ miles will have a major impact on parents whose children will be attending the new John Adams School in the Rock Springs Road area.

Currently, Sullivan County provides school bus transportation for students, but after being annexed into the city means that children will either have to walk to the John Adams school or parents will need to drive them there if they are less than 1 ½ miles from the school.

I see a problem with the children walking to school.  First, there are no sidewalks and no parent in their right mind would ever let their child walk to school via Rock Springs Rd.

Also, the Rock Springs Road in it’s present state will not be able to handle the influx of parents driving their children to the school.

The city is asking for homeowners to voluntarily request to be annexed into the City of Kingsport, TN.

Without a change in bus policy it is clear that the Sullivan County homeowners will have to give up something that the city does not offer.

The City of Kingsport needs to understand that this new school is not your typical city school.  This new school is located in a rural area where there are cow pastures and hay fields.  In fact, the school that is being built will be on a former cow pasture.

Below are the improvements that the city states that will be done.  The road work stops at Rock Spring Drive.  What are the plans to improve the entire Rock Springs Road to the school and beyond?

“Rock Springs Road Improvements – This project involves upgrading Rock Springs Road from the southwesterly City Limits to Rock Springs Drive (SR 347) to an improved two-lane section. It will provide wider travel lanes, shoulder and some realignments at key locations to improve safety.”

To this writer, it appears that the City of Kingsport is more concerned about MeadowView Convention Center Expansion, Aquatic Center, V.O.Dobbins Center, etc than the safely of school children.  See post Rock Springs Rd – Still dangerous to travel

The City of Kingsport has been talking for years about doing improvements.  Mayor Phillips who is running for re-election must address this safety now because the new school will be open in the fall of 2009.