Rocky Top passes Israel support resolution, limits sign size
Rocky Top City Manager Mike Ellis, left, watches as Mayor Kerry Templin, fourth from left, leads last Thursday night’s council meeting. Other members include, from left, Jeff Gilliam, Mack Bunch, Zack Green and Stacy Phillips. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
The new rules also require the signs to be unlighted, and limits them to one per property.
In August, the council had passed the measure, Ordinance 592, on first reading by a unanimous vote.
The vote was unanimous again on second reading Thursday night, and with that approval, the ordinance will now go into effect.
Council members also unanimously approved a “Resolution for Support of Israel.”
Introduced by Councilman Zack Green, the resolution states that on “Oct. 7, 2023, Israel suffered the largest terrorist attack since the holocaust as the terrorist organization Hamas carried out an unprovoked attack from the Gaza Strip on the nation of Israel, murdering more than 1,200 people from 31 countries.
“ ... Such brutality defies human dignity and is abhorrent regardless of who the perpetrators or victims may be,” the resolution reads.
It continues:
“The nation of Israel, though constantly maligned and its very existence threatened, has the right to defend itself just as any other nation; and we are compelled and commanded to take a stand in solidarity to support Israel’s ability to defend itself from any threat of violence, terrorism, or war.”
The resolution also proclaims that “the city of Rocky Top will recognize annually the seventh day of October as a day of prayer of blessings and peace for the nation of Israel and remembrance to the lives lost.”
“Councilman Green proposed this,” Mayor Kerry Templin said. “I’ve been thinking about this for the past year.”
Green made the motion to approve the resolution, and Councilman Mack Bunch seconded the motion.
In his monthly report to the council, City Manager Mike Ellis reported that water-loss insurance for Rocky Top water customers would be available starting at the end of October for $2.35 a month added to each customer’s water/sewer bill. Customers can opt out of the coverage if they choose.
The insurance would cover up to $2,500 of water lost through a leak, with no more than two claims a year allowed.
Also during last week’s meeting, the council:
• Passed unanimously on first reading Ordinance 592, which would amend the city’s short-term residential rentals ordinance to require an annual fire safety inspection on every individual housing unit that is made available for rentals of less than 30 days.
The current ordinance requires annual fire department inspections on just the overall property, but not specifically on each individual rental unit.
• Approved a resolution to have the city submit an application to the Tennessee Department of Economi0c and Community Development requesting fiscal year 2025 Infrastructure Planning Grant funds of up to $500,000, for up to three categories, not exceed $200,000 per category, for water and/or wastewater planning project activities.