This evening Monday October 2, 2023 the Knox County School Board had discussion about 41 acres of property for $4,890,500 for currently a ”Farragut Solution”. In 2020, 2021, 2022 it was the ”Southwest County Solution”. Now and only now Susan Horn wants it in the Town of Farragut.
This plan is in my words, my opinion is ”ass backwards”. Superintendent Rysewyk and Horn are pushing hard to spend almost $5 million on Wednesday October 4, yes in two days. Dr. Rysewyk message to the board before today’s meeting.
Farragut Property
There has been some attention and questions on social media regarding the proposed purchase of a Farragut property. I want to be clear about the staff’s plan for this property and our next steps:
- We need to purchase this property to address the growing population of the Town of Farragut and to plan for a long-term solution for this community, not just a short-term fix.
The first step toward making this solution a reality will be purchasing this property. - Our next step will be for Dr. Adams to present to the Board at the October Quarterly Workshop. Dr. Adams’s presentation will provide an overview of the current challenges in Farragut and a potential range of solutions.
Dr. Adams will also use this time to announce the dates of a series of community meetings to gather input from families. - Following these community meetings, we will return to the Board to present our findings and recommendations for a community-wide solution in Farragut.
All of the options we are considering will require the land that is on this week’s agenda. This property is a better deal than the one that was being considered last year. We get more property (41 acres), and the overall cost will be less expensive. While the land net cost is more, $4.5 M versus $3 M, the new location will not require us to build a new road as the previous property did (the road was estimated to cost us an extra $3.5 M for a total of over $6.5 M), The land is also located within the Farragut city limits with more existing infrastructure.
All of this is in the wrong order, buy the land, identify the issues, determine solutions, get community input. It should be 1) identify the issues, 2) get community input 3) determine solutions 4) buy the land. This land has previously been pitched to the Town for a Senior Living Complex, for an Apartment Complex and all have been rejected by the Town. No developer has purchased it and Knox County Schools and Knox County can purchase at market value by eminent domain, if necessary. So, the Horne’s (not sure if there is a family connection to Board Member Horn) are not gonna sell this in 30, 60, 90 or 180 days out from under Knox Schools.
School Board Member Mike McMillan mentioned the sell of alcohol in proximity to a school. In Knox County and the Town of Farragut it is 300 feet, this property borders the Ingles Acquisitions property (which is the Ingles Supermarket) that sells beer and wine.
Much has been discussed about Ivy Rose Farm property (which I am told borders the neighborhood of Vice Mayor Povlin) Former School Board Chair Kristi Kristy said at tonight’s meeting she reached out to Mayor Ron Williams and Vice Mayor Louise Povlin. She received a reply from a Town of Farragut staff person. The reply focused on the current zoning of the property and the Town of Farragut land use. Mrs. Kristy has asked the law department to research if land use and current zoning is a limitation.
In my opinion, it is a county facility and many schools in Knox County are in residential areas. That is the point, to serve the citizens and children. If what Mrs. Horn wants is a ”Farragut Solution”, then Farragut better take what it can get from Knox County.
“Hope you are doing well. This is Mark Shipley. I’m the Community Development Director for the Town of Farragut. It was mentioned that there was some people asking about the remaining Ivey Farms Subdivision property north of Union Road being an option for a new school.”
“Unfortunately, this land would not be a good candidate for the following reasons:”
- “The property is zoned R-1, Open Space Residential Overlay (OSR). This is a residential zoning district with a requirement of at least 35% of the entire development being permanent open space. This zoning does not permit schools.”
- “The remaining unplatted land (three of the four phases have already been platted) that does not already have utilities extended to it for residential lot development is roughly 59 acres. This area is Phase 4 of the master concept plan for the Ivey Farms Subdivision and, because it has steep slopes and a major drainageway, it includes a higher percentage of the overall development’s required open space. There would be no way to develop this portion of the Ivey Farms Subdivision without violating the required amount of open space for that project. Thus, rezoning the remaining 59 acres for a zoning district that would permit a school would not be possible given that land’s relationship to the approved master concept plan for the Ivey Farms Subdivision.”
- “Even if the above items were not considerations, the school would be accessed through a local street internal to a subdivision and would have no direct access to a non-local street. This subdivision is also surrounded by two existing subdivisions (Fox Run and Saddle Ridge) which, in addition to the topography, could create local opposition because this would be very inconsistent with the concept of the overall development of the property that representatives from both subdivisions understood when the plans were presented to the Planning Commission and approved.”
- “Having a school on the property would not be consistent with the Town’s adopted Future Land Use Map, which calls for an Open Space Cluster land use consistent with the master concept plan approved for the entire Ivey Farms Subdivision.”
I have requested of the Communication team at Knox Schools and Dr. Garfield Adams for the list of 21 properties they have considered before arriving at this one.
More to come, I am sure.
