County Commission OKs zoning change for campground
Thanks to a vote by the Anderson County Commission, a developer can now establish a campground on the land at 116 Stoney Flat Lane in Oliver Springs.
The commission voted to change the area’s zoning from A1, or “rural residential,” to A2, or “agricultural forestry.”
Commissioner Tim Isbel made the motion, and Commissioner Michael Foster seconded. The vote was unanimous among the members present.
Law Director
In a 10-4 vote, the County Commission approved Jamie Brooks Jr. as Anderson County law director.
The debate and split vote arose over whether changes in a private act would alter how his office functions and whether it would be better to wait for those changes before officially making Brooks the law director.
Commissioner Phil Yager made the motion, and Commissioner Tracy Wandell seconded.
“I want the mayor and County Commission to know I’m very appreciative of your confidence,” Brooks said.
Boys & Girls Clubs
The commission turned down a request to donate $25,000 to help the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oak Ridge with security measures, including cameras and a key card system. The motion failed on a vote of 7-7.
Commissioner Isbel, who works at the North Anderson County Boys & Girls Club, explained that he opposed the measure because his club raised its own funds.
“I do support the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Ridge, but I don’t support giving $25,000 unless we give it to all of them,” Isbel said, referring to his club, the Oak Ridge Club, and Girls Inc. Two compromise positions — splitting the $25,000 between the two Boys & Girls Clubs or giving $25,000 to each club —also failed.
Commissioner Anthony Allen made the failed motion to provide the funding, and Steven Verran seconded.
“The simple fact is that Oak Ridge doesn’t ask a lot of the county,” he said. “Oak Ridge is an economic engine for the county.”
Real estate
transfer
The commission voted to request that the Tennessee General Assembly allocate half of the real estate transfer tax to the county.
Rules changes
fail to pass
The commission turned down a request from its Rules Committee to change the meeting structure.
The change would have moved public comments about matters not on the agenda to the end of the meeting while keeping comments about matters on the agenda at the beginning.