Predicting what a new year bring

Predicting what a new year brings

Alyssa B. Martin news-herald.net

As the old year turns to a new, change and creating a more positive and healthy environment always seems to be top of mind.

Mayors of Lenoir City, Loudon and Loudon County were asked about their top priorities for the 2024, especially with the continued influx of new residents moving here from other parts of the U.S.

In the two years prior to summer 2023, more than 300,000 people moved to Tennessee from other states, and the county received its fair share of newcomers.

While such growth can cause traffic and housing issues and put stress on local school systems, all three mayors said they believe the community is on a healthy trajectory.

Tony Aikens was elected mayor in 2010 and previously served as chief deputy of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.

He said his main goals are to keep property taxes as low as possible, improve safety and traffic issues on major roadways and continue to help the city grow in a positive way.

Aikens said he and his team are working on grants to improve safety of Old Highway 95 from Lenoir City High School to Rock Springs Road and hoping to add sidewalks and turn lanes to optimize traffic flow.

He said he hopes phase two of the traffic signalization project on U.S. Highway 321 and Broadway, which was started a few years ago, can be executed by summer.

Aikens said he plans to keep city taxes low.

“The problem is when the county commission chooses to move pennies out of the debt service, or out of the school debt into the county journal debt, it results in a tax increase for the citizens of Lenoir City,” he said. “County commission has done that several times in the last few years.

“Several years ago we took the certified rate, which was a tax reduction, which saved about $54,000 per year over a four-year period. … This past year we didn’t take the certified rate, we chose to keep it at the .99.”

Regarding a proposed sales tax increase to benefit the city and city schools, Aikens said voters will make that decision. If passed during a special election in April, the additional funds will be used for school facility improvements and a new senior center.

Aikens said one of his top priorities is for Lenoir City to continue growing. He said he is particularly proud of downtown revitalization and plans for a bigger focus this year.

“Since being mayor, I’ve been to a lot of community meetings and a lot of meetings where growth has been an issue, as far as affordable housing and apartments and things of that nature,” Aikens said. “I do believe Lenoir City is growing in the right direction, and a town needs to grow to be successful.

“I don’t want Lenoir City to be like our sister city, Pigeon Forge, and it’s not going to be,” he added. “But I do believe a good, positive growth where you give people affordable housing and a place to raise their family is a good thing, and I think we’re on that path. There’s some out there that could disagree with that, and that’s their opinion, but a town has to grow to be successful.”

Loudon

Jeff Harris has served as mayor since 2018, but his contributions to the community reach farther.

Harris has been a Realtor in East Tennessee for more than a decade and is director of student ministry at Blairland Baptist Church in Loudon. He was elected chairman of the Loudon County Economic Development Agency last year and currently serves as interim city manager and manager of Loudon Utilities Board.

He said he is looking forward to breaking ground on the Lakeshore Loudon development, an expansion of LUB water capacity and hiring a new city and utilities manager.

Lakeshore Loudon has been in the works since 2021, with the overall goal of providing affordable housing downtown. Harris said he hopes to begin excavating by March, with a completion timeline of an estimated three years.

He said the addition to downtown will house hundreds of families and eventually add more restaurants and shops.

At the end of January, LUB will break ground on a $70 million expansion of the current water plant — a facility now operating at maximum capacity. The expansion will allow space for an additional 15 million gallons of water a day.

Without the expansion, the city couldn’t issue new building permits.

Harris recently applied for the city manager position. He said council is utilizing a search firm to receive and interview applicants, and he believes the person council picks will be the best fit for the job and community.

Regardless of the outcome, Harris said he is 100% certain council and LUB will hire the right person.

Harris credits living by a calendar and his supportive wife for being able to do so much in the community.

“If you love what you’re doing, it (doesn’t) seem like work,” Harris said. “Yes, it’s kind of hectic sometimes. But I tell you what, I love serving our community in whatever capacity I can. When I look at it from that standpoint, yes it seems like a lot sometimes, but at the same time I’m helping to make a difference, and there’s some satisfaction in that.”

Loudon County

Buddy Bradshaw has served as county mayor for nearly a decade. He said he prides himself on keeping unemployment and tax rates low and increasing economic growth in the community.

In 2024, he said he hopes to maintain the county’s tax rates and reopen the county courthouse.

The biggest financial burden Bradshaw said faces the county this year is building a new school. Although still in the planning stages, he said he hopes to break ground this year to adhere to the five-year plan presented in the fall at Loudon County Commission meetings.

He said his second financial concern is keeping tax rates low across the board.

Money spent locally is money given back locally, and Bradshaw said he urges residents to shop at local establishments rather big box stores outside the county.

Bradshaw said the county no longer operates on a mindset of “if we have it, we’re going to spend it” or emptying bank accounts at the end of the fiscal year. He said the focus is instead on necessities, allowing the county to build up reserves for an inevitable shift in the economy.

“This commission, over the last year, we’ve done an outstanding job at being fiscally responsible, building up our fund balance, because I’m very wary (of the market crashing),” Bradshaw said. “... I think we’ve done a great job of positioning ourselves for when it does happen to ride the storm out until recovery starts.”

Regarding housing market concerns, Bradshaw said the county won’t be as impacted as other areas of the country. He said the county is a destination for families to raise children and for retirement, and he said he feels secure in what the area has to offer newcomers.

Bradshaw said he is hopeful this will be the year the doors of the courthouse open again to the public.

The exterior of the building was completed last month, and construction workers began tackling the daunting, naked interior. With wooden walls lacking drywall and exposed plywood floors, Bradshaw is still hopeful the structure will be ready in about 12 months.