August 23, 2010       Knox County Opens New Thomas "Tank" Strickland Park       see the history in pictures

Adjacent to the Burlington Branch Library at 4618 Asheville Highway. August 23, 2010 County officials and community members gathered to honor Commission Chairman Strickland with the surprise naming of the park in his honor. “This community is a much better place thanks to the many years of dedicated service of my good friend Tank Strickland. I hope that the families who come to enjoy themselves in Strickland Park are raising another generation of leaders who are as committed and as kind-hearted as Chairman Strickland,”said Mayor Ragsdale before he unveiled the park signage.

                                                                                                             

“This park project is noteworthy for its partnerships,” said Doug Bataille, Senior Director of Parks and Recreation for the County. “From the neighbors being involved in the planning process, to the state assistance with the stream restoration, and even the federal government’s funding, we’ve had nearly 25 different organizations and departments working together.” The park, though just one acre in size, has several innovative amenities. The amphitheater has grass seating and a shade arbor. The stream, which is actually a tributary to Love’s Creek, has two overlook points along the walking trail. And the county’s first area for bocce ball is there. “This is another example of county departments working together and a definite benefit of this location,” added Bataille. “Folks can check out the bocce ball set, or even chess men from the library next door, and enjoy a game in the park.” The staff at the Burlington Library plans to use the park for some of their programming. In addition to Knox County funding, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided financial support for the clean up of the site, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation helped with the stream restoration. Several community organizations have been involved in the development of Strickland Park. Town Hall East and Holston Hills Homeowners Association have both been involved since the planning stages. Knoxville Botanical Gardens and The University of Tennessee Department of Architecture helped with the design. And Cemex, a local business, donated the top soil, and their employees joined many others to volunteer on the community planting day. Consultants and contractors on the site include Benefield Richters Company Architects, Shelton General Contractors, Cannon and Cannon Engineers, SM&E Engineers, Plowboys Masonry, Kinsey Nursery, and Little Green Garden.

Town Hall East has agreed to adopt the park as part of the county’s Adopt-A-Park program. They will visit the park regularly, help with clean up and alert county staff about any maintenance issues.

Ellen Blasius, Knox County Parks & Recreation        Posted, 8-24-2010                                              

COMPLETED, STEP #2

"THANK YOU," especially to our Knox County MAYOR RAGSDALE, Knoxville City MAYOR HASLAM, Knox County COMMISSIONERS and Knoxville CITY COUNCILMEN ! !

STEP #3

To acquire 4630 Asheville Hwy and complete the PARK.       Stay Tuned!                     (final purchase approved Sept 27, 2010 and the building is coming down, with the help of local firemen)

 

August 7, 2010        Community Paint and Plant Day

        

Thank You, Cemex !               

        

Thank You, Airitech Tools !               

        

Thank You, Team and Freedom Christian Academy Students for your sweet handprints;   

Current Working Projects include:

¨     January 2010 -President MaryThom Adams appoints Cindy Prince to Chair "Neighborhood Watch" formation committee. Interested? Contact Cindy to join the committee. Cindy.Prince@Optimal4Software.com

¨     April 5, 2010 -BOD mtg lead by President Adams discusses how to promote our neighbors businesses and interest. Check out the LINKS section on this website and visit often as new LINKS are added.  

¨     Aug 2, 2010 - BOD mtg - discussion about upcoming events, membership, and adopting local schools as this years' community project.            

¨    Aug 7, 2010 - TOWN HALL EAST INC.,NEIGHBORHOOD SUPPORTERS, AND FRIENDS come out to plant and paint at the New Park Site.           

¨   Aug 23, 2010 - T.H.E. joins the "Adopt a Park Program", specifically for the new Thomas 'Tank' Strickland park. Do you like to play in the dirt? Come join the team. Contact Town Hall East, Inc. via email at: townhalleast@gmail.com

2010-2011 T.H.E. Meeting Schedule

T.H.E. Membership Meetings are 5 times a year.  All meetings, unless otherwise noted, are held in the Fellowship Hall of Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 4904 Asheville Hwy., at 7:00 PM, on the 2nd Monday of September, November, January, March, and May. We offer a means for community residents to become actively involved in improving and strengthening their neighborhood.

T.H.E.'s By Laws are available online for easy viewing and printing (Adobe Portable DocumentFormat - get the freeAcrobat reader).

 

February 18, 2010        Ground Breaking      STEP #2

Taking shape are the dreams and goals of a wonderful pocket park ~~~~ Many hands and hearts, years and dollars have been dedicated to the wonderful event that occured Thursday, February 18th; with the GROUND BREAKING  of our neighborhood park as our newest spot of joy and beauty next to the Knox County Burlington Library.  County Commissioners, City Councilmen, and both Mayors heard and supported the pleas and desires of Town Hall East, Inc. to clean up the area from debris and buildings that had been an eye-sore for a number of years.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Park Underway! We picture lolling under one of the shade trees, reading a thriller ... maybe it’s one of those specimen American Chestnuts from UT…. . County Mayor Ragsdale and Parks Director Doug Bataille, together with Commissioners Strickland, McKenzie, Wright, and Carringer, and other City and County officials participated in the groundbreaking for the new neighborhood Park. The updated Park Plan was unveiled by Mayor Ragsdale, showing lovely green space punctuated with trails, outdoor seating, a children’s play area, bocce court, added parking, and other amenities. Good weather should allow the heavy equipment to begin contouring the surface, to be followed by tree plantings, and the build out of trails and park amenities. T.H.E. will be fielding its own park crew – volunteers we need YOU -- to do some park work in connection with our community action/park matching grant from City Parks. We know you can hardly wait!

Past Events:

-President Sharon Davis thanks MPC Executive Director Donaldson for his interest,direction, and assistance toward establishing the new R1-EN zoning.  TownHall East, Inc. is pleased to have been the 'poster child' and to have led the way for other neighborhoods with our successful efforts of re-zoning Holston Hills and Chilhowee Hills.  For years community leaders have searched for methods to protect the rich character of our neighborhood without having the tools to reach the goal.  The R1-EN zoning satisfies that goal by protecting property values with new lot sizes, building codes and set back regulations.

¨      Proposed New Subdivision RestrictionsSupported by Town Hall East, Inc.   as Presented by Mark Donaldson

¨      Protecting Community Property Valueswith Restrictions - The largest investment many of us make is the investment in our homes.  The Property Values in today's 'subdivisions' are protected with 'restrictions' and are set in force when the subdivision is developed.  These restrictions are conveyed with the deed, remaining in effect when purchasing or selling the property, and protect Property Values in the subdivision.  

          Holston Hills and Chilhowee Hills were developed with minor restrictions.  Until a few years ago, the City of Knoxville codes and regulations prohibited doublewide manufactured homes within the City of Knoxville.  Regulations are currently left up to individual developers and property owners.  Neighbor by neighbor, property by property, property owners of Holston Hills and Chilhowee Hills are looking for legal and fair methods to maintain the charm and value of their beautiful neighborhoods.  Currently City Codes do not give the neighborhoods the tools they need to achieve what they want.  Other avenues, like seeking modifications to the City Codes is currently being proposed.  Come join this effort, NOW!  

         Sharon Davis, Town Hall EastPresident 2004-2007

¨      Pursuance of Neighborhood Conservation(NC-1) zoning, a type of historic zoning that will protect the rich character of our neighborhood. Contact Linden Craig or Melissa Hansen-Petrik to help in this effort.

¨      Building HealthyCommunities: We joined other key stake holders from development,business, health, neighborhood, and government sectors of our community for thefirst in a series of other workshops and events aimed  at fosteringdevelopment practices to benefit the economic, community, and environmentalhealth of our region.   President, Sharon Davis accepted an invitationto participate on Friday, April 28, 2006, at the downtown Hilton Knoxvilleas we take steps toward Building Healthy Communities. The April 28 workshop focused on pedestrian-related development issues that would result inNeighborhood grocery stores, medical facilities, libraries, schools, etc.; thateven the young and old could easily access by foot or bike or wheelchair. It enriches neighborhoods and individual health, for starters.  What a wonderful concept!

¨      Greenways.  We have an outstanding start to our greenway system in Holston River Park and Holston Middle School.  Ourdream is to have an interconnected greenway system that wends along the riverfront and connects to Volunteer Landing while also leading along Love’s Creekto Knoxville Center.  This will be areal boom to walkers, runners, and bikers.  Contact Nick Della Volpe to help.

¨  Promoting and supporting the "http://www.knoxarboretum.org", KnoxvilleBotanical Gardens and Arboretum, located 5 minutes EAST of Downtown Knoxville.

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