Loudon City Hall Discusses Downt

Loudon City Hall began planning their 2025 at last week’s workshop with thoughts of downtown development and historic district expansion, capped off by an executive session.

Expanding History

Council kicked things off with notions for future planning and surveying first considered around three months ago when East Tennessee Development District’s Historic Preservation Planner Sarah Anderson proposed the plans to council. Anderson has been working in collaboration with the Loudon Historic Preservation Advisory Committee to identify and hopefully acquire funding for historic resource surveying in Loudon.

The proposal, which if approved would see a thorough review of Loudon’s Historic District and the surrounding area extending to Ward Avenue, is currently being considered by the City Council. Experts and architectural historians would be brought in to re-evaluate and expand upon the already existing list of Loudon areas on the National Register of Historic Places, a program through the National Park Service.

Selected locations could potentially be deemed “worthy of preservation,” as well as hopefully clarify the boundary of the Loudon Historic District. Funding now could also open doors for more of this kind of support later, Anderson stated in the workshop.

“By going through with a historic resource survey, it makes you more competitive for other grant opportunities, including future Historic Preservation Fund grants,” Anderson said during the Jan. 13 workshop.

The proposal on Monday suggested that Council would match the funds that potentially would be awarded to them should they receive a Federal Historic Preservation (HPF) grant. City Staff is currently seeking approval from Council of the grant and additional approvals during the development process. City Council will be voting whether to go ahead with the application for a grant on Jan. 27, with the announcement of the award anticipated for the Fall of 2025.

Downtown Development

Downtown Development Coordinator Kathy Price piggybacked off of Anderson's presentation to discuss the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) on the workshop agenda. The drafted request is essentially a master plan for Downtown announced back in April of last year, assessing the area and identifying needs for further expansion.

The project will be funded via a grant from Tennessee Downtowns, an affiliate of Tennessee Main Street. The project is still very much in the planning stages, with Council observing aspects of Downtown that could or should be affected. Some of those discussed included urban design, transportation and mobility, traffic, housing and public spaces. Price also stated that her developments and planning will be working in close collaboration with the historic preservation plans that are also taking place in the area.

Budget Monitoring, Zoning and Loose Ends

Budget monitoring and review at the beginning of the new year was a lengthy priority for council during the session. Recorder Melissa Huskin presented the financial summaries and capital budget update as it was finalized on November 30, 2024.

Overall, the numbers looked good. Huskin reported that general revenues were at 68% of budget, with only a few different items to continue monitoring. Recreation, sanitation, and street aid were among the items highlighted to keep an eye on going forward. The Council was assured that most budget woes would be put to rest once December became finalized as well.

“Even though we are a little low, we’re still on track,” said Huskin. “And this will be settled up at the end of the year.”

Overall, the council seemed pleased with the results.

“The big takeaway from me is the bottom line,” said Loudon City Mayor Jeff Harris. “Revenues are exceeding expenditures.”

There was also discussion of a potential revision to the City of Loudon Municipal Code as the agenda’s last item. The revision and discussion concerned Title 13, a section initially written to exercise police force but has since shifted to having better applicability as an extension of zoning regulations. City Attorney Kris Frye seemed keen on uniformity.

“Right now, it is my opinion that this section is not harmonized with our zoning ordinance,” Frye said. “So, we’re going to look at how we make Section 13-304 and our zoning ordinance make more sense in conjunction with state law.”

The Blair Lane Right-of-Way also caught some attention, with debates of its encroachment and rightful ownership brought up by Loudon resident Brent Watson.

Watson and members of his family have been attempting to sell the land they claim to own that sits on Blair Lane for over a year, with city ordinances impeding on that time and time again. He expressed frustration in the restrictions put in place by an ordinance from 1980.

Council went into executive session to discuss next steps in the matter with the City Attorney. A decision has not yet been made public.