January Commission Meeting 2026

The big news this month was that Joe Carr decided he could appear, sans mustache, at a commission meeting, his first since his arrest in October for sexual battery. Drinking a Monster energy drink, he made no comments during the meeting, which took place on the evening of his disposition hearing in court in Asheville, where he waived his right to assigned counsel because he had hired Doug Edwards as his lawyer. His next court date is March 19, 9am, in Bumcombe District Court.

Rezoning had been deferred from last week and had only one case, which rezoned 22 feet on the back of a property on Weaver Pike in Bristol.

This month's meeting was primarily made up of presentations. Clay Walker presented from NETWORKS, the industrial recruitment for the county. Alicia Phelps presented a quarterly report from NETTA, the tourism association, focusing primarily on their online engagements. She stated that tourism added nearly $15 million to the county's sales tax receipts last year. Sullivan County Director of Schools Chuck Carter will be presenting a monthly report. This month, his focus was on students' direct preparation for obtaining a job.

There was a single item on the consent agenda, the 4-month moratorium on data centers. The single item on the regular agenda was the quarterly disbursement of the occupancy tax collected, which also passed unanimously.

During announcements, Commissioner Glover said that in February, MBI, JA Street, and the Sheriff would provide an update on what has been happening with the new jail.

January Commission Work Session 2026

There's not much to report on this work session as not much work was done. There was only one item on the agenda: a 4-month moratorium on crypto and data mining facilities. There wasn't much discussion as this has been covered during at least three different meetings. It was placed on the consent calendar.

During announcements, Commissioner Glover took the floor to express concerns about the reassessment that occurred last year. The Kingsport Times-News covered this discussion in depth here. What struck me about this discussion was the lack of looking for solutions. Appraisals went up; property taxes went up; and the county could barely make its budget. So, either the tax burden must be shifted, or the budget must be cut (and by a lot to make any difference). A great deal of the budget is non-discretionary -- you can't not pay for the jail, or the sheriffs; to not pay for emergency services or road maintenance or for snow removal would be extremely short-sighted; education and the facilities in which to conduct education are vital for the future. Commissioner Vanover did remind folks of the funds to assist the elderly and poor and suggested that perhaps those funds could be increased. Commissioner King said that many people had had their assessments significantly reduced by appealing. Both Glover and Vanover said that the assessments came from outside the county (that is, someone in the state government) and I do not know how that works. Everyone was careful to not put the blame on the Sullivan County Assessor's office. I hope there will be follow-up to this discussion but honestly, I doubt there will be. I've heard Commissioner Glover say many times, "We need to look into this," but I've not seen follow-up to that yet.

I continue to be a bit shocked at the various Commissioners' lack of familiarity with Robert's Rules, and of basic county business. Make no mistake, one reason I am here is to learn how this body and this county work and I have been impressed by the professional way the meetings are run. But when a Commissioner doesn't know to request that their agenda item be placed on the regular calendar, on first reading, or on consent, well, what does that say about their preparation?

I also noted that quorum was barely made, with 9 absences. I tried to note who was absent: Commissioners Akard, Carr, Cole, Crawford, Cross, Hayes, McMurry, Stidham and one other were not present. There was a meeting of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) with a legislative preview held in Jonesborough conflicting with this Commission meeting. AFP is funded by the billionaire Koch brothers and is a right-wing libertarian political group.

 

 

Real Local Impacts of Data Centers

This op-ed is by Jennifer Carter Chumbley who graciously agreed for it to be shared here. 

“Balanced development isn’t anti-growth. It’s what happens when growth finally has to answer to the people living next to it” 

No one is arguing that data exists or that digital systems are used. The issue is where massive industrial scale data centers belong and who pays the price.

Hospitals, banks, police departments, farms, and homes do not require a hyperscale data center next to rural communities or farmland to function. These services already operate today using regional and national data centers located in appropriate industrial zones.

The real impact: 

• Specialized emergency response needs that rural fire departments are not equipped or funded to handle - are we raising the amount we going to give our localities? 

• Enormous electricity demand that strains rural power grids and raises rates for residents and small businesses.

• Heavy water usage and backup diesel generators that affect air quality and noise.

• Minimal permanent jobs once construction ends.

• Major tax incentives and sweetheart deals that shift costs onto local taxpayers.

Calling data centers “invisible infrastructure” ignores the very visible consequences for people who live nearby. They are industrial facilities, not community services.

If data centers are truly essential, they should be:
 
• Properly zoned away from homes and farms (located in industrial parks).
 
• Paying full and fair taxes.
 
• Located where infrastructure already exists (not macaroons with no access to sewer for example).

• Not subsidized at the expense of rural communities.

****Supporting technology does not mean accepting bad siting, bad deals, and bad planning. We can have modern infrastructure without sacrificing local quality of life.****

 

December Commission Meeting 2025

Prelude
Commissioner Joe Carr, arrested in October for public intoxication and sexual battery in Asheville, continued to be absent from public meetings. If you have interest in ousting him from his position, if he has harassed you, and especially if you live in his district, give fellow Commissioner Joe McMurray a call at (423) 247-6161, or email him at Joseph.McMurray@sullivancountytn.gov.

The meeting
There were no comments from the public.

There were six items *not* on the consent calendar, and two of those were withdrawn. The biggies were the 4-month moratorium on data centers and the reservation of space in the old Blountville school for a business incubator. The moratorium had to be put on hold because Kingsport's planning and zoning department had not acted on it, and both Bristol and Kingsport must provide their recommendations before the county can take action. It was deferred until next month. The incubator garnered two no votes, from Commissioners Glover and King, but no further discussion.

Item 4, regarding a contract for juvenile detention, was discussed. It was amended so that the county would pay for medical care only if the inmate didn't have insurance. Commissioner Hopper asked if TennCare wouldn't cover them, but Vanover stated that TennCare is dropped upon incarceration. Commissioner Ward said that he supports this item, but the county needs to examine its situation with JCDC, as the county pays a fee, yet JCDC never has beds available for detention.

New business included the cyber security grant, which requires a 30% match from the county, and the sale of delinquent properties. 

After all items were passed, the Chair brought updated committee assignments. Commissioner Jones again begged folks to attend their committee meetings. Interestingly, Jones said the budget committee had several meetings without a quorum present, but the budget committee members are at the discretion of the mayor.

The budget development calendar was shared, as was the appointment of Jerry Buchanan to the Bristol-Bluff City Utility District.

Commissioner Ireson announced American Airlines was adding a direct flight from Tri to Chicago, and that a Breeze direct round trip to Orlando is only $300.

Commissioner Glover then made a motion from the floor that would give county employees a full day off on Christmas Eve instead of the half-day currently scheduled. Commissioner Ireson clarified that this would give employees who didn't get the day off a full day of holiday pay. Commissioner Means asked how much that would cost. She didn't get an answer. Glover asked for a roll call vote. Commissioner Ward abstained for cause (he is one of those employees with the Sheriff's office), and all other votes were yes.

Conclusion
I believe this meeting was over in less than an hour, which is a record. I've attended each regular meeting this year (except February, because it snowed). I have learned a lot about how the county operates, and I hope folks looking for county information can find it here. You can leave any comments or suggestions in the comments on any post.

December Commission Work Session 2025

 

This month's work session was fairly straightforward and so this report will be also. The most interesting thing was that Item #1 was dropped at the request of the school board. If you remember, it was about a simple reallocation of funds from personnel to contracted services for mowing. Hopefully soon someone will take up the mantle of attending and reporting on other local government meetings, including the school board, so that we will know why decisions like this are made and what alternative plans are in place.

Rezoning 

Two parcels were rezoned, the second with some neighborhood opposition, but both passed (even though the owner of the second parcel never did actually say he would make his entrance off Stone Drive instead of the small road now serving as the entrance, which was what everyone wanted).

Public Comment
Chuck Pine expressed his appreciation to the commission that multiple recycling, including aluminum, metal, plastic, glass, and cardboard, is now available at the Raytheon Road transfer station. I would assume it is also available at the Kingsport transfer station.

Judge Jim Goodwin spoke about a residential program he either works with or started (I have not yet been able to uncover any actual information online) called Restorations, which the county partially funds. It has been in operation for approximately 18 months, having graduated 50 individuals who leave the program with job skills and money in the bank, and who have paid over $18,000 in court costs and fines during that time. Item 15 on the agenda tonight is about $147,500 opioid settlement money going to Sullivan County Restoration, which Judge Goodwin said primarily provides for participant needs.

Old Business
*Item 1 concerning reallocation of funds in the school budget was withdrawn. 
*Item 2 is the moratorium on allowing data centers in the county, now proposed for only 4 months. Discussion included information that Bristol, TN has a 2-year moratorium enacted, and that a representative from BTES would be speaking at the business meeting coming up. It was placed on the regular calendar.
*Item 3 concerning the potential business incubator still had a lot of discussion and not many bones. Mayor Venable answered some pertinent questions about how it could be handled, and Hawkins County has agreed to share the guidelines of use that they use in their incubator (located in Kingsport). Placed on the regular calendar.
*Item 4 concerns the need for a contract with Blount County, TN for the holding of juvenile offenders. This has to be approved so that they can be held, as Sullivan County does not have facilities for that. Several Commissioners had educated themselves on this item and spoke favorably for its passage. Placed on the regular calendar.

New Business
*Items 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 were placed on the consent calendar as they were primarily re-appropriations or acceptance of funds for various needs. 
*Item 8 is to apply for a cybersecurity grant, but must be placed on waiver of rules due to it requiring a 30% ($10,500) match from the county.
*Item 14 is selling county-owned delinquent tax property. Four parcels with a delinquent tax debt of over $8,600 will be sold to Josh Barrett for $360. This was placed on waiver of rules.

Much to his credit, Judge Goodwin stayed to the end of the meeting and answered questions about Item 15 (the information which I included above).

November Commission Meeting 2025

 

The most important thing

After the meeting, Commissioner Joe McMurray spoke with me. He said that there is an ouster procedure in state law, and that anyone Commissioner Carr had harassed could perhaps help set that in motion, particularly if they live in District 9 (Joe Carr's district). If you can help in this effort, or if you know someone who can, Joe McMurray asks that you contact him at (423) 247-6161, Joseph.McMurray@sullivancountytn.gov .

The most unusual thing

Rarely has anything come before the commission this year that wasn't passed on either consent or waiver of rules. Tonight, not for the first time, there were items on the agenda that had not been in the work session. Further, they had not come through committees. All three of these items, plus one that was presented at the work session, were moved to first reading.

Overheard

Before the meeting began, I overheard Commissioner Jones discussing a state law prohibiting more than 2 commissioners representing any one district. In Sullivan County, Districts 2, 4, 6, & 11 each have three commissioners, while Districts 1 & 3 have only one. He opined that this law would be their opportunity to reduce the number of commissioners from the current 24. Commissioner Locke proposed reducing the number of commissioners to 14 a couple of years ago. So far, I have heard no cogent arguments for or against such a proposal.

Proclamations & Presentations

Oasis of Kingsport was recognized for Outstanding Community Service.

Barbara Street and Cody Boring gave a presentation about the Rocky Mount State Historic Site, and the many plans there for our nation's 250th birthday next year.

Commissioner Ward recognized the Veterans Service Officers who serve our county.

Board Vacancies

The Zoning Appeals Board had three expressions of interest in its vacancy: Jeff Begley, Robert Earhart, and Matthew Hill. Earhart and Begley were nominated by Commissioners. Earhart received 20 votes, Begley 2, with one commissioner absent and one seat vacant.

Dr. Barry Hopper was nominated to fill the commission vacancy in District 2 and was approved unanimously.

Notaries were approved.

Public Comment

Denise Skeen spoke on the factual concerns of SMRs (small modular nuclear reactors). Kanina Eurez is troubled by the arrest and pattern of behavior of Commissioner Joe Carr, who was arrested last month in Asheville and charged with sexual battery, and being intoxicated and disruptive. She said Carr has harassed her daughter, and his behavior is unbecoming to the Commission.

Business

The consent calendar, consisting of a resolution to transfer a vehicle to Bluff City and a resolution recognizing the receipt of reimbursement from Ballad Health for professional development training, was approved unanimously.

A presentation by Kingsport Economic Development Director Steven Bower preceded discussion on Item 2, which is TIFF financing for a redevelopment project in downtown Kingsport. The county's portion would be about $1M, with new tax revenue of about $80k/yr anticipated. Several commissioners spoke positively about the project with a few clarifying questions, and it was approved 23 yes 1 absent.

Commissioner Vanover brought Item 5, recognizing the American Legion's Program "Be the One," aimed to prevent suicide. Approved 23 yes, 1 absent.

1st reading

Items 4, 6, 7, & 8 were all moved to first reading status. Item 4 had been brought to the work session, but the other items were new and had also not been through committee.

Item 4 is about reallocation of funds within the school budget having to do with mowing, which had been handled by school personnel and is now a contracted service. Director of Schools Chuck Carter came to help answer questions, but some of the commissioners seemed very dismissive of the difficulty and cost of mowing, while others recognized that their relatives who had worked for the schools had spent a lot of personal time mowing, and everyone opined that the looks of the school grounds were much improved by the regular and efficient mowing. This involves no new money.

Item 6, brought by Commissioner Means, is to create a 4-month moratorium on the location, construction, or operation of data mining centers within Sullivan County until proper planning codes are in place. 

Item 7, also brought by Commissioner Means, is to reserve space within the Blountville Elementary School Campus to serve as a small business and entrepreneur space.

Item 8 is a resolution to authorize an agreement with Blount County to continue to provide Juvenile Detention Services at $200/child/24 hours for Sullivan County. This is what is currently being done and involves no new money.

At various times during these discussions, the importance of first readings, of work sessions, and of working through committees was emphasized, but first reading seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

Commission Related

Mark Vance, misogynist perennial candidate in Sullivan County District 2, has declared he's running again. He's the one who called all Women's March on Washington participants "dum a... women", among other things.

Data Center Documentary

This is a documentary about West Virginia and the data centers being pushed there -- and who exactly they benefit.

 

November Commission Work Session 2025

 

Rezoning

The work sessions always begin with rezoning requests, which have not been met with opposition since I've been observing until this meeting. There were four requests, three of which were not controversial and were passed. The one on VI Ranch Road involving the former Methodist church at the Y intersection, however, was quite contentious. It also had zero chance of passing. I could tell the whole tale but: 1a) the person who had bought the property probably thought that he could do anything he wanted to property he owned (which you can't);  1b) the property owner didn't understand the process of zoning or appeals at all; 2) spot zoning is illegal; 3) the folks who opposed it because the old, rotted wooden cross from the property was on the burn pile are as out of touch with reality as the property owner, who was at least sympathetic (this wasn't the legitimate reason for their opposition – but it was the one they highlighted, with handheld signs no less).

One of the problems with county government is simply not knowing how it works. I have to say that when we have needed to deal with our county government, we have found county employees willing to explain processes and procedures to us and assist in any way they can. So if you need some help, ask.

Zoning concerning crypto mining and data centers

Luke Meade is the planning director, and the Commissioners had some further questions for him. Commissioner Vanover asked for information on data centers as he expects to have something before the commission next week, and Commissioner Means asked them to specifically address the environmental issues of data centers. They seem to be looking at two things: 1) a temporary moratorium on crypto mining and AI data centers; and 2) a new zoning classification specific for these businesses that would give the planning commission control over how and where they come to be, which they are thinking should be deep inside existing industrial parks. Clay Walker with Networks said they were not currently working on any data center projects. There is currently no infrastructure to support them, and TVA would have to decide whether to make the investment. Commissioner Harvey asked about job creation. Mr. Walker said that these projects don't create as many jobs as manufacturing, but they are very high-paying jobs (more jobs and higher paying for AI centers than crypto). They would generate significant tax revenue (@$800K/yr est.). Commissioner Means recited information that one megawatt that these centers use is equivalent to the use of 15,000 homes, and that they also require massive amounts of water for cooling.

New Business

There were only 5 items of business. Item 1 is a simple transfer of property to Bluff City, and Item 3 recognizes the receipt of reimbursement for professional development training from Ballad Health. These are next week's consent agenda.

Item 2 is a TIF-financed project in Kingsport that will have a fuller presentation next week.

Item 4 was unexpectedly contentious: a reallocation of funds within the Sullivan County School Board from Personnel and Benefits to Contracted Services. The explanation was that mowing is now a contracted service. Commissioners Glover and King seemed to think that mowing was already a line item and that this money could be used to increase support staff pay. Sponsor Jones said he would have someone from the school come in next week to answer questions that he couldn't answer.
 

Item 5 is a citizen-requested recognition of an American Legion program to help prevent veteran suicide.

Announcements

Commissioner Jones had begun speaking of this issue in public comment, but that is limited to 3 minutes, so he concluded it here. There is a law in Tennessee,  Public Chapter 1101, that counties are asking the legislature to revisit as it doesn't allow counties to block annexation that is in an “urban growth boundary, planned growth area”.

Commissioner Jones then spent a long time talking about the Tri-City Airport Quarry and its possible expansion on Centenary Road, which is right next to a subdivision and very close to a school. It has a blast schedule currently and faces a lot of local opposition to expansion, but the county doesn't actually have a vote on this matter at all.

Dr. Barry Hopper was introduced and is expected to be appointed next week to the Commission seat vacated by Matt Slagle. He served temporarily in the last vacancy.

October Commission Meeting 2025

 

The two most unusual and important things in this meeting both happened toward the end. During the discussion of Item 7, Commissioner Sam Jones of Kingsport went on a monologue about SMRs (Small Modular Nuclear Reactors) that I found alarming. SMRs are just nuclear reactors that are smaller and not manufactured on site. None are yet active in the US, although one is being built in Oak Ridge. The only currently operational SMRs are in China and Russia. All concerns of large nuclear reactors are still concerns of SMAs, just with smaller footprints.

Commissioner Sam Jones of Kingsport opined: "Tennessee is on the tip of the spear in this nation on nuclear energy. We have the first modular unit being build in Rome County....Clay Walker (head of Networks, which is industrial recruitment for Sullivan County), it's something that they want to start education in, K through 12, on nuclear energy, clean energy, what it can do....They can build these (SMRs) in two years....And its the type of thing that is going to be needed to, like, with these farms" (he's talking about Bitcoin mining here) "that we've had issues around to find electricity...without pulling it from the current grid." If you want to listen to his whole spiel, find it on YouTube at the 1:46:00 time mark.

Folks, this is what the giant coal barons/corporations did in the coal mining portions of Appalachia: they funded "friends of coal" and brainwashed children to vote for Trump and against Appalachia's interests, and it took less than 20 years. This is going to be a long term problem to work against. If you are willing to be a leader in a real fight, the folks at Southwest Virginia Nuclear Watch can help guide you.

That was the most concerning thing. The most unusual thing that caught my interest was the abstention vote of Commissioner Cheryl Harvey on the Committee Assignments. This was not an item but was forwarded from last month. Chair Gardner had asked everyone if they were ok with the assignments. Commissioner Jessica Means, whose children are reported to be homeschooled in Blountville, asked to be on the Education Committee. Commissioner Ward observed that the same people were on the Budget Committee that had been on it his entire three years on the Commission. Chair Gardner explained that the Budget Committee is the mayor's committee and its makeup is entirely up to the mayor. Commissioner King encourage everyone to show up for their committee meetings. The voting was 20 yes, 1 abstention, 2 absent, 1 empty. After the meeting I asked Commissioner Harvey why she had abstained. She said it was because the same people were always on the budget committee and that was the only way she could voice her objection to that. Mayor Veneble is retiring after this year, and so far Commissioner Zane Vanover and former Commissioner and current Board of Education Vice-Chair Angie Stanley have announced that they will run in 2026 for Sullivan County Mayor.

The rest of the meeting was pretty cut and dried. It was a long, busy meeting because they had not had the zoning meeting and the work session the week before, and there were a number of presentations and proclamations. Because Item 10 had to do with Ballad Health giving the county a building for a new EMS station in Kingsport, it was heard first so that Alan Levine could get on with his very important life. This building is on JB Dennis and is 6300 sq ft and valued at a million dollars. It passed 21 yes, 2 absent, 1 empty.

Sheriff Cassidy then recognized officers who had responded during Hurricane Helene.

The rezoning hearing was held, with three parcels being approved for rezoning (one from B3 to R1, and two from R1 to A1), none of which was controversial.

The presentations began with Alicia Phelps from NETTA who does a report every quarter of their activities. Clay Walker from Networks was next. He was touting the "Red Carpet Tour" which has been going on for 8 or 10 years it seems. He said they had six projects within that time directly from this tour, bringing in about 2000 jobs. I wonder if that is considered a high rate of success. Mayor Veneble read the proclamation for Sullivan County Day the third Thursday of October. Ryan McReynolds explained the expansion and status of the Justice Center in Kingsport, and gave a heads up to the Commissions that they are co-owners of the Old City Hall and a new agreement on its use would be needed. Travis Ward deferred his presentation to next month.

Minutes and Notaries were approved. Public comment was opened, with Stella Robinette of Kingsport inviting everyone to the Red Ribbon Walk on October 29 at 4:15.

Items 1,2,3,4,5,6,9,12,13,14, and 15 were placed on the consent calendar. These were primarily Items about accepting funds, or applying for grants with the exceptions of recognizing Dr. Stephan May's volunteer work as Medical Director of Branch House Family Justice Center, and allowing Recycle Services, LLC to begin recycling glass from Sullivan County (they will place and pick up containers for recycling themselves). The consent calendar was approves 21 yes, 2 absent, 1 empty.

Item 7

TCCA (Tennessee County Commissioners Association) is proposing that 50% of the tax paid to the state when property is sold come back to the county it is sold in. Right now, half goes to the Highway Department, soil reclamation, and several other projects, and the other half to the state's general fund. The counties are trying to get the state to send the half that goes to the general fund back to the counties. For Sullivan County, this is somewhere around $2 million. Waiver of rules requested, requires 15 votes. 21 yes, 2 absent, 1 empty.

Item 8

This gives $500 to promote "Project Greenlight" which advocates people to put green lights on their porches to honor veterans the week prior to Veteran's Day. Waiver of Rules. 21 yes, 2 absent, 1 empty.

Item 10 was already approved.

Item 11

Appropriating money to NETTA (NorthEast Tennessee Tourist Association) funds for first quarter of FY25-26. Waiver of rules. 21 yes, 2 absent, 1 empty.

The committee assignment discussion happened next. Then announcements, none of which were significant.

See ya next month!

 

October Commission Work Session 2025

 PSYCH! There wasn't one! Yep, I got there, ready for it, but no one was there. I called Chairman Gardner, who was very nice on the phone, assuring me it was OK to call him anytime I had any questions at all. Anyway, he said there had been some something or the other in Knoxville that interfered with the regular meeting, and they would have the rezoning, the work session AND the regular meeting THIS Thursday. His words, "It'll be one of those 'Eat before you come meetings'." 

September Commission Meeting 2025

 

Takeaway: Charlie Kirk has become their religion, and they are just fine with Joe Carr making horrid comments to people he doesn't know. Unfortunately, that's the summary. They also veered pretty far out of bounds on parliamentary procedure at the end of the meeting.

The regular business of the meeting was mostly cut and dried. They re-elected Gardner as Chair of the Commission, Vanover as Chair Pro-Tem, and Hunter Locke in the new position as Deputy Chair (explaining that there were a few times that they had needed a third), all unanimously.

Hannah Taylor, Director of the Health Department, Dr. Steven May, Medical Director, and Captain James Hubbard from EMS explained a hands-only CPR initiative that they have going to train thousands in CPR in a short period of time by going to where the people are (in this case, high school football games) and doing the training then and there.

Becky McKinney was appointed to the library board. A bond extension, minutes, and notaries were approved. 

Victoria Hunt was back again for public comment after several months' absence, and once again, I have no idea what her ideas were. She seemed to be against Item 8 and tourism in general, wants her son to have a good-paying job, and credits private property owners running off waders with the improvement of fish size in the river below the dam.

The consent calendar of Items 1-7 was approved unanimously. See previous post for summary of those items.

Because they knew there would be dissension about Item 8, they moved new Item 10 to the fore here so the judges who were present wouldn't have to sit through that discussion. Item 10 creates a Mental Health Court with no local funding. The judges saw the need, found the funding, and have come to the commission to implement it. Commissioner Means was concerned that the definition of “mental health” was a slippery slope (yes, Jessica, we'd hate for regular folks to get treatment rather than incarceration, EVEN THO that is LOTS more cost-effective and humane). The judges explained that they dealt with different demographics, including the diagnosed, the undiagnosed, and the co-occurring (mental health and substance abuse), and that the program had definitions and screening criteria. This is separate from Recovery Court, which deals with addiction. Other commissioners praised their efforts, and Item 10 was passed unanimously.

The agenda then returned to Item 8, which is a resolution to advertise for Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) to provide tourism marketing on a contractual basis. One person has been handling archives and tourism; those are strange bedfellows, and tourism is often outsourced. The Item sponsor, Vanover, acknowledged there was a fear of losing local control and explicitly stated that they would look for local firms, but the purpose was to market to outside folks. Ireson had been to the Governor's tourism event at Meadowview and spoke about how Kingsport and Bristol were #1 and #2 in sales tax growth, and getting folks not living here to pay sales taxes was how to reduce property taxes.

Cole, Cross, Glover, King, Leonard, and Slagle ultimately voted against the resolution. Cole asked if it would split departments and the answer was yes. King didn't think tourism would help the rural parts of the county as much as the Dollar General Stores that have popped up everywhere. Glover said that NETTA already does this, which was countered by Vanover saying that this already collected money can ONLY (by statute) be spent on tourism, which is defined as bringing in visitors from 50+ miles away. Glover also seems convinced that there is some group in Kingsport “foaming at the mouth to get this money.” Slagle offered an amendment that was accepted, stating that no contract would be awarded without commission approval. He still voted against it.

Means asked if the person who was hired could be fired, and the benefits of contractual workers were briefly explained. She also said that she had calculated that if the sales tax were increased by 4% (and Sullivan County got all of that increase), “we could do away with property tax, and I hate property tax.”  Imagine paying 15% sales tax on milk for your baby, or a car!

Item 8, to advertise for RFQs for providing tourism marketing, was passed on waiver of rules requiring 16 votes to pass; 16 yes, 6 no.

Item 9, which increased the Employee Share of premium participation in the state insurance plan for the 2026 Calendar year, because it basically had to be as the state sets that, and Sullivan County's budget is already set. Not to worry, ALL premium increases were less than $20/month.

Then chaos erupted. Announcements were called. Chair Gardner passed out committee assignments and asked if any changes were wanted. 

Then, in the middle of that, Larry Bailey, deputy mayor, presented the new employee handbook and asked that it be approved. Hunter Locke rather angrily made a motion to defer it until the Commissioners have a chance to review it.

They then went back to committee assignments and decided to defer that to next month also.

Finally, back to announcements, the Bluff City Mayor and a person from the Holston Heritage Museum thanked the county for the sale of equipment, and are hopeful that the museum can be marketed more effectively.

Then it devolved into the All Charlie Kirk Channel All The Time show. Jessica Means had organized the candlelight vigil in Blountville to him the night before. Means and then Harvey went on and on about what a great Christian guy he was (using examples I can prove false, like that CK didn't interrupt people rudely, or that he was for free speech) and how we should be more like him.

So much for not having a point of view in this reporting, but imagine if Edward R. Murrow hadn't had a point of view. The truth is what is important, not giving lies and falsehoods the same respect as good-faith mistakes. I think most of these commissioners actually attempt to govern in good faith, for the good of the county, but this performance was far beyond the pale of the exclusive prayers they always open with. And if you want me to pledge to anything, it will be to uphold the Constitution.

September Commission Work Session 2025

From the agenda, it looked like this work session would be short and sweet, as there were only eight items on the agenda, and no zoning requests. Alas, it was not to be. Matthew Johnson, the Director of the Sullivan County Department of Archives and Tourism and the only speaker during public comment, hung around as he and Mayor Venable (who rarely attends Commission Meetings) would be needed on Item 8.

Items 1-4 are to accept grants or give permission to make application for grants. Item 5 is to sell some older and unused highway equipment to Bluff City. Item 6 is to adopt the Sullivan County Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (Disaster Plan). Item 7 is to reappropriate funds that weren't spent last year to support the Emergency Management Agency. All seven of these items were placed on the consent agenda.

Item 8 is to authorize the advertisement for requests for qualifications (RFQs) to provide tourism marketing on a contractual basis. The hotel tax has taken in quite a bit of money in the years it has been collected, with half appropriated to NETTA (Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association) that serves 8 counties. Mr. Johnson has been organizing and preserving the archives and acting as tourism director, and this proposal is to "see what's out there" to help him, hopefully finding a (hopefully local) business that can assist in tourism promotion. Mayor Venable spoke pretty eloquently about the need to use what we have, like the new airline flying directly from DC, and see if the county can get more visitors from there.

The commissioners had LOTS of questions and concerns.  Commissioner Akard was concerned that the money was burning a hole in the county's pocket, and that someone (I assume the mayor) had in mind who he wanted to fill this role and become a county employee as Director of Tourism. Commissioner Glover even directly referenced "sticky fingers" trying to get $800,000. He and Commissioner King suggested spending the money to finish making the Farmer's Market building like Kingsport's. The Mayor said he wanted that building too, but this money is to be used specifically for tourism. Commissioner King then talked about the Ag Center, which, to my understanding, the county GAVE to the Cattleman's Association after spending the money to build it, but the Commissioners and the Mayor seemed to think that had been a great deal. The Mayor talked about the need to grow the commercial base (specifically hotels) of the county, but all the effort has gone to industry. There was more discussion about the language and intent of the resolution, and it was referred for more discussion at next week's meeting.

Item 9 was added at the last minute, which is a state insurance plan change and will be discussed at next week's meeting.

During announcements, Larry Bailey, Sullivan County Director of Finance, gave out booklets about the structure of the county that had been put together in 2005, with hopes that a similar booklet could again be produced. 

The elephant in the room, however, was the threatening and abusive private message that Commissioner Joe Carr had sent to someone, someone he's not friends with, someone he doesn't know (graphic below). The Commissioners I spoke with were aware of it but were unsure if they had the authority to do anything about it. If they do not have a code of conduct in place, they surely need to adopt one.

If you'd like to see the meeting, you can find it here.

 

 

August Commission Meeting 2025

There was not much controversial in this month's Commission Meeting, but there was still a lot of business to be done. The most important business was the approval of the resolution to authorize funding for the County Tax Relief Program, which is supplemental to the Tennessee State Tax Relief Program. It was in the consent agenda so received no discussion. The most interesting thing was the facts behind the Proclamation of September as Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month.

 

Director of Schools Chuck Carter presented a video made by Sullivan East and ETSU graduate Eric Hare (who is also the principal's son) touting the Sullivan County School's motto of "Inspire, Innovate, Transform". Several board appointments were then made to the Intermont and Blountville Utility Districts and the Emergency Communication District Board.

September was proclaimed Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. Commissioner Jones shared a statement before the reading of the proclamation that included these facts: Sullivan County leads the state in suicides with 27.1/100k (the state rate is 16.7); 69% of suicides are by firearms; suicides in youths ages 10-19 have increased 47% from 2019-2023; there has been an 80% increase in firearms suicides in the same period. Commissioner Jones said that he thought the Commissioners, as the governing body of Sullivan County, should be aware and "see what we can do to prevent it." The obvious answer was in his presentation of facts: common sense gun legislation including safe storage and red flag laws, as well as accessible mental health treatment for all Tennesseans.

John Rose, executive director of BRIDGE, spoke during public comment about the new airline service coming to Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Breeze Airways.

Commissioner Glover took this time to recognize Sherri DeVault who is the grants coordinator, along with the entire finance team, for working on about 45 grants currently and bringing about $1.7 million to the county in the last nine months.

The Consent Agenda of items 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,and 11 was then approved unanimously.

Item 3 was the teacher bonuses which was voted on independently to show support which was unanimous. Item 12 was a sheriff's department grant, which there was some discussion as to what it could be used for, but it is for the opening of the new jail. Item 13 is for a grant for generators for Emergency Services which requires a $72,688 match from the county. Item 14 was about selling some property on Bristol Caverns Highway. All were passed unanimously.

Announcements were that on September 2 there would be in the Food City Press Room a live broadcast from Israel with Phil Roe as a special guest, and on August 24 there would be a blessing of the new Safe Haven Baby Box. Commissioner Glover shared a handout about property tax relief which I've shared here.