Biz liaison proposed by ex-Vice Mayor at BOMA meeting
As Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen prepared to adopt its 2025-26 budget at its Thursday June 12 meeting, former Vice Mayor Louise Povlin asked for a staff change in responsibilities to create a liaison with the Town’s businesses to as they begin operation.
“The perception that Farragut is difficult to work with through the build-out process persists to this day,” she said. “Dealing with local government is not something small business have experience with. … We need to seek a solution that will help small businesses get off on the right foot. … Small businesses need some handholding during their build-out process … a person they can trust through this process.”
“I don’t understand what she was asking for except more involvement from the Town in the development of local business,” Alderman David White said. “I’ve personally have been responsible for over a million square feet of retail space all around the country — in seven states — I’ve never had anybody from the city come hold my hand and help me design the interior space other than issue a permit and make sure we did everything right.
“I don’t think the (Town) ought to be more involved in helping a business owner develop his business except for permits and see he does everything right,” he added.
However, Alderman Drew Burnette agreed with Povlin.
“In terms of community development, Louise couldn’t have hit the nail more on the head,” he said. “It’s a trump card I’ve tried to play for many, many years.
“You live in this community, you know we’re tagged with being hard to work with,” Burnette added. “It’s hard for staff, sometimes, to understand and take that in, I get it. … But that is so very real. If you don’t think it’s real, you haven’t heard from business owners. You go to ribbon cuttings. They’ve all got stories.
“But, having somebody on staff, whether it’s a new staff member or an existing staff member that has room on their plate for this, it would serve our community so well it’s not even funny.”
Moreover, “We’re not helping businesses build business — nobody’s ever saying that,” Burnette said. “We’re trying to take obstacles out of the way that would allow them to open up in a smoother way, in a quicker way, and not drain all their funds and cause an absolute nightmare for them … I hope somebody can step in and fill that role …”
“I tend to agree with Louise,” Vice Mayor Scott Meyer said about idea of having a liaison between the Town and businesses. “I think we should take it to heart.
“With our small businesses, we have to do better in reaching out to them, get through the codes and requirements,” he added
Mayor Ron Williams said he also has talked to business owners at ribbon cuttings.
“At one time there would be a laundry list, but that has decreased tremendously,” he said. After talking with the new Dunkin Donuts owner, “he said he couldn’t ask for any better help than what they got … so that’s improving.”
Still, “to have somebody who would — even if it’s part time — work with a new business, like what our previous assistant to the Town administrator did, it’s a help. It really is,” Williams said.
“Most of the time when you’re building a Walmart, Publix or something like that, like what (White) did, you don’t need somebody to come and hold your hand,” he added. “But what Mrs. Povlin’s talking about is the small business, and a small business is a lot different than a Publix, Kroger or something to that effect. You (developer has) a lot of staff who work.
“With a small business, the build-out time is a killer because they have to get on this as quickly as they can because every day they are not open … they are burning money. Sometimes it’s a difference of whether you are open a year or close because you run out of funds.”
However, the Board took no action on Povlin’s request at the meeting.
According to the budget documents, Smoak said while the budget is broken down into many funds, one of its main funds is the General Fund, which is the Town’s operating fund for day-to-day operations. Its next largest fund is the Capital Investment Fund, which includes projects.
The General Fund shows revenues projected at $17,817,804, a slight decrease from FY 2025, “mostly due to conservative budget estimates and interest earnings,” he said.
Meanwhile, General Fund expenditures are projected at $12,082,765.
At the same time, CIP projects funds total $17.3 million for 2026 while projects’ expenditures also are projected at $17.3 million.
