“We would have to make so many
renovations to the building and
obviously we would build
downtown a fire hall, but we
would have to make so many
renovations to the building to
make it what they need,” City
Administrator Amber Scott said.
“When they weighed out all of
the options, that’s sort of what
they went with.”
Mayor Tony Aikens said he, Harry
Wampler and Simpson determined
transforming the old city hall
into a fire hall would take
“major construction.”
“We need at least three bays,”
Aikens said. “You have the
living quarters there. And
again, it’s an older building
that has — it’ll be a good
building to sell but it’s just
not fitted for a fire hall. ...
I would like to try to see us —
the fire department does need a
new fire hall downtown and I
would like to try to see us in
the coming years, short few
years, to look at building a
fire hall up above between the
new playground, or the new park,
and the post office. I think
that would be better suited and
put us closer to downtown and
closer to the centralized area.”
Hopes are to have to have the
property appraised sometime this
week, he said.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get it
appraised and I want to take it
back before the budget
committee,” Aikens said. “I
don’t want to do anything they
don’t want me to do even though
they basically have given me the
authority to do it. I still want
to run it past them. ... I want
to run it past Mr. Simpson and
Mr. (Mike) Henline and possibly
even the rest of the city
council, depending on the time
frame. I would like to get the
ball rolling on it pretty quick
and they did too when I brought
it up before them in the budget
committee.”
Aikens said the property could
go on the market in December.
“Of
course we’ll have to advertise
it and run it in the paper and
take single bids and then we’ll
have to scrutinize them and see
if it’s something that we feel
like it’s worth,” he said. “I
mean I’ve got an idea what I
think it’s worth, but obviously
the appraisal may come in sort
of differently, and we want to
be fair because it’s the
taxpayers’ money we’re dealing
with.”
In other news, Lenoir City
Council:
Approved a resolution
authorizing approval of a loan
with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Rural Development
for the event center.
Adopted a resolution authorizing
the issuance of general
obligation bonds by Lenoir City
in an amount not to exceed
$7,010,000 to finance the
acquisition, construction and/or
equipping of the new event
center and related costs. City
council also granted the
issuance, sale and payment of
the $7 million bonds and
authorized the levy of taxes to
pay the bonds.
Approved an amendment with the
Tennessee Department of
Transportation for phase two of
the downtown streetscapes
project.
Granted employment agreements
for Police Chief Don White and
City Administrator Amber Scott.
Passed the low bid of $6,300
from Foothills Sealcoating
contingent upon the street and
sanitation crew street
superintendent reviewing some of
the company’s work. The other
bid from Curtis Paving came in
at $12,500.
Awarded a bid to Cook’s Pest
Control for pest control service
at $410 per month.
Passed a bid from Home Works TN
at $22,720 for decorative
fencing around the
handicap-accessible playground
off Broadway Street.