By Mike Steely
Among the many items on the Knoxville City Council agenda tonight are several donations to various organizations including $1,000 from Community Improvement Funds toward the creation of the Everly Brothers Park.
City Councilman Duane Grieve has requested the funding which will go through Legacy Parks Foundation which is acting as fiscal agent for the Bearden Council. The small pocket park, at the corner of Forest Park Boulevard and Kingston Pike, has been leased to the city by the state and plans are being made to honor the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members who lived in Knoxville for a couple of years and attended West High School.
The Bearden Council is working with the East Tennessee Design Center on some ideas of what to include at the park, including an entrance, stage area, and possibly a statue of the famous brothers.
The council will also consider several other “consent” items on the agenda including a $500 donation to Legacy Parks to help cover the cost of hosting a luncheon and annual fundraising; $600 to Holston Middle School to help purchase some technology; $1,450 to Fountain City Art Center to provide scholarships and art education; $650 to the Free Medical Clinic for services to uninsured people; $300 to the Kingston Pike-Sequoyah Hills Association to help publish a quarterly newsletter; and $800 to the Knox County Public Library toward a mobile display unit for the Burlington Library.
Other donations may include $300 to Ijams to help defray the cost of hosting the Meadow Lark Festival; $600 to Chilhowee Intermediate School to help upgrade the school marquee and purchase books for the library; $300 to the Emerald Youth Foundation for a sports program; $250 to Montgomery Village Ministry to upgrade a computer lab; $300 to the Design Center to help with efforts in the Lyons View Community; $900 to Ijams to assist the “adaptive paddling” at the new River Landing; $600 to the Fourth and Gill Neighborhood Organization for its betterment project; and $500 to the Arts and Cultural Alliance Center to help fund the Public Art Project.
The council will also consider approving the 2016-2021 Capital Improvement Program, authorize $563,395 in sidewalk replacements on a contract with Design and Construction Services, authorize $175,166 for sidewalks improvements in the Fort Sanders area; and consider planning commission recommendation on changing the city codes regarding urban agriculture.
