POA CEO explains incorporation pros, cons

Alyssa B. Martin news-herald.net

The Tellico Village Property Owners Association hosted its monthly Town Hall at the Community Church on Thursday, Aug. 29, with only three items on the agenda:

• Behavior;

• Tanasi Update; and

• Incorporation.

Of the three, the last item took up most of the almost two-hour meeting.

Chief Executive Officer Chet Pillsbury was the sole presenter during the meeting — up until public comment time.

BEHAVIOR

Recently, there have been multiple incidents of residents verbally (or physically) assaulting Tellico Village staff members, which resulted in two residents being suspended from amenities for 30 days.

Since this was decided, some residents have questioned how the POA or Pillsbury has the authority to ban residents from utilizing amenities.

According to Pillsbury, the Board and CEO have the right to take away amenity privileges if residents aren’t following rules and this includes mistreating staff members whether verbally or physically. This ruling, however, is considered a nuclear option by Pillsbury and he could only recall it being used about three times in the last five years.

“Please treat each other like neighbors,” Pillsbury said. “Please continue to find a better way than yelling and screaming at each other.

“And please remember that the staff you have is here to take care of you — not to be a punching bag. It’s important that you understand that.”

TANASI UPDATE

All bids have been collected for the Tanasi Rebuild Project and the Board has gone through one round of negotiations with the two companies that submitted.

As it stands, they are currently negotiating pricing for many things and working through how to cut costs.

“The point of all of the negotiation and discussion is we have a budget, and we must stay within that budget,” Pillsbury said.

“We are just about there. As soon as we are able to deliver the final (decisions) to the Board for their discussion and review, I’ll also deliver that to you all.”

INCORPORATION

The majority of the Town Hall meeting was spent discussing what it takes to become an incorporated town. This conversation isn’t new to Tellico Village; in fact, Pillsbury said incorporation has been discussed since the community’s beginning and every few years since — 1998, 2000, 2008, 2011, 2018 and again now in 2024.

For a while now, residents have requested Pillsbury look into what it takes to become a town and present the information at a Town Hall. During the November 30, 2023, Town Hall meeting in regards to becoming a Water Authority, a resident asked if that discussion was a step toward becoming a town. Pillsbury’s response was that he never wanted to hear that question again, alluding to his opposition.

For last week’s Town Hall meeting, he provided factual information regarding the “pros and cons” of incorporating, identified information that was his own opinion, and relayed what it takes to make incorporating happen.

In short, it’s up to the people.

“I don’t want you to think that I am standing up here all knowledgeable in the law and the process because I am simply reading the documents. I am not (an expert),” he said.

“But it is important because a lot of people are very passionate about this. I shouldn’t say a lot. There are some people who are very passionate about this topic,” Pillsbury said.

“And I want to be sure that we cover all the things that need to be covered.”

Three pros were outlined for incorporating:

Potential access to additional grants, loans for water, sewer and roads. Government must work within the regulations of the Sunshine Law; all documents and meetings are available to the public. Taxes aren’t regulated as closely — after 15 years, all tax revenue goes to the municipality and there isn’t a 5% assessment cap on raising taxes.

Six cons were outlined for incorporating:

Amenities — including golf, restaurants and the Wellness Center — would be sold and the community wouldn’t have any power. Municipalities don’t govern restaurants or such facilities. Home values may drop. No 5% assessment cap … taxes would be driven by commissioners and based on need. POA cannot simply go away. There would be two levels of governance — the town and the POA. Residents would have to pay for everything — water and sewer monthly costs would likely rise and the police department, the judicial system, and the fire department might not stay volunteer-based. City taxes would be implemented to pay for it. There would be a potential for low-income housing in the town due to accepting federal and state funds.

Pillsbury went into detail on some of these points, which can be viewed on the Tellico Village Network’s YouTube Live Stream.

FURTHER EXPLANATION

To become incorporated, residents have to create a petition and have 33% of the community sign off on it. The petition has to include an operating budget for five years explaining what costs will be incurred and how residents intend on paying for it. Funds must be private, meaning it has to be paid for by the people.

The POA isn’t legally allowed to help create, sponsor or fund the petition, according to legal documents Pillsbury referenced in the presentation.

If the petition reaches 33% community backing, a public notice has to be filed in a local newspaper for two consecutive weeks before being presented to the County Election Commission.

Then the Loudon County Electoral Commission will send a ballot to District 7 and District 1 — those within the main area of Tellico Village — for a simple “yes” or “no” in favor of becoming a town vote.

Because Kahite isn’t within Loudon County or Loudon City, for that matter, these residents don’t have a say in the vote.

If the majority is in favor of incorporating, then it is taken to the Loudon County Commission to decide. Another factor is the three-mile rule — stating that no new incorporation can be established within three miles of an existing incorporated town.

While this is an issue for Tellico Village, being sandwiched between Loudon and Lenoir City, the Commission has the ability to overrule this if they choose to do so by annexation(s).

Kahite, which is in Monroe County, would have to be annexed into Loudon County. For this to be possible, the municipalities of Loudon County, Monroe County and the town of Vonore would all have to agree.

Loudon County commissioners would also have to review and okay the proposed petition and budget.

If all is approved, Tellico Village residents have to vote on giving up all amenities. The vote would need to be 50% plus one, according to Pillsbury.

The POA and new town municipality would both operate for 15 years, collecting property taxes and establishing new businesses for sales tax revenue. The only way for the POA to be dissolved after that time would be from a two-thirds vote from residents.

IT DON’T COME EASY

Pillsbury said that these laws and legislations have been put in place so new incorporations don’t form easily. Since these laws were put in place 30 years ago, no new towns have been incorporated.

Not all of this information is in chronological order; however, Pillsbury said some of these events may be happening simultaneously.

Tellico Village also leases property from the Tennessee Reservoir Development Agency, including the land where the Yacht Club was built, which could cause issues.

“I want to reiterate, all of these laws, all of these statutes, all of these steps were specifically designed to keep you from becoming a town,” Pillsbury said in his closing remarks. “And the evidence of that being the case is there’s never been any more towns incorporated since this law was put in place. Not one. And approximately six have tried, and all have failed. All I can tell you is that’s what they intended when they put this together.”

“All of these things, they’re not really the REAL question,” Pillsbury said. “The real question is, do you want to live in a community, a planned community with the amenities you have the advantage of and get to use? Or do you want to live in a town?”

During public comments, resident Larry Foys read a prepared statement about the Tellico Village and surrounding areas, alleging Villagers pay twice as much as surrounding areas without the benefits of public safety facilities and not including the new water and sewer fee that goes into effect later this year.

He said that a group of Village residents are petitioning to incorporate in 2026. If anyone has any questions or wants to be involved, email incin2026@gmail.com. County and state officials were contacted for research before the Town Hall meeting, and he said a website for the initiative will be posted shortly.