Contentious Citizens Forum over Evans Road
Citizens living along Evans Road spoke against prospective road and pedestrian upgrades during the Citizen Forum segment of Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s meeting Thursday, July 24.
The Board already had heard from residents who spoke about Evans Road at the Farragut Municipal Planning Commission’s meeting Thursday, July 17.
Three more residents voiced their objections before the Board — one of which did not want to quit talking after his three-minute time limit expired.
Evans Road resident Greg Wiberley said regarding the Town’s plans to improve widen Evans Road and add a sidewalk: “The Town certainly has enough right-of-way as it exists now — 25 feet — to widen the road without any problem and to actually have a sidewalk that would match the existing sidewalk on the other end of Evans Road.
As a result, “why you need additional room (by taking his property) is beyond us,” he added.
“The Town (Engineering) staff — and these are their words — (said) ‘the route chosen under consideration now … is not a safe and constructible alternative. The other ones are feasible but have safety and additional impacts,’” Wiberly said. “So it seems to me that the Town has really failed to recognize that end of Evans Road is largely agricultural.
“It’s a legacy property,” he added about his property, as well as Pryse farm. “To try to make Evans Road and that area into a suburbia does not fit the character of that particular neighborhood.
“So, when you have all the residents in that area say, ‘we don’t want this;’ and you have, from what I can tell, nobody coming out here and saying ‘this is a great idea and I really want this,’ I would think, in a democracy, that people opposed would win over no voices at all. Please, somebody meet with me; somebody talk to me. There are a lot more issues there that I don’t have time to discuss in three minutes.”
“I’m more than happy to meet with you,” said Alderman Drew Burnette, representing South Ward (Evans Road area).
Wiberley said he would send out some e-mails for anyone who wants to meet.
“It would have to be separate (meetings with an alderman),” Burnette said about complying with the Sunshine Law.
Mayor Ron Williams explained only one Board member at a time can meet with him because of the Sunshine Law. He also urged Wiberley to sign up for Town e-mail notices it sends out to everyone.“But you have to sign up.”
Likewise, Carolyn Wiberley spoke on behalf of the Pryses and their 98-year-old mother, who were unable to attend.
“(A Pryse family member) is very concerned that if (the mother’s) yard is taken for this construction, the effect it would have on her,” Carolyn said. “She just wanted me to ask if this has to happen, please postpone it so her mother doesn’t have to see this.
“She is so very worried about what it would do to her …not having this being the last memory of her home,” Carolyn added, her voice breaking with emotion.
Another Evans Road resident, Jim Petrone, said his property also would be strongly impacted by the road improvements that were discussed at previous meetings.
“I’ve lived there 30 years and it’s a rural area,” Petrone said. “The character’s changing because of the traffic that’s generated … things do change I guess.”
Still, “I’m obviously very opposed to the way you all want to suburbanize our neighborhood by creating walking trails and greenways and all that sort of thing across the front of our property,” he added.
“Now, because of the opposition from the people that live on the north side of Evans Road, I understand you’re going to shift all that development to the south side and across Mrs. Pryse’s property.”
However, “I’m still opposed to it,” Petrone said. “I live about 1,000 feet from Evans Road, at the top of the hill, and I can see somebody riffling my mailbox that’s out there on Evans Road and not be able to do anything about it.
“The No. 1 problem that we have out here in Farragut — and I’ve been here a long time — is traffic,” he added. “The (proposed) improvement is going to create more traffic. The road probably does need improving, but we don’t need additional walking traffic across the front of our property.”
While the 3-minute speaking timer went off — signaling when a speaker is supposed to be finished — Petrone continued: “People can get to the beautiful parks that we have down there on McFee (Road) by car. That’s what they do right now.
“They don’t have to walk through a greenway and a walking trail to get there,” he added.
Petrone said he found out about the project by looking at the Town’s budget.
“I think it’s presumptuous, without first taking a vote on it, to project an end date on something that hadn’t even been voted on,” he said.
“It’s not even been designed yet,” Mayor Ron Williams said before reminding Petrone his time to speak was up.
“Look, you’re not going to cut me off,” Petrone exclaimed. “I didn’t have any idea about this meeting until Ted Pryse called me an hour ago. … We’re going to fight this thing in the courts or as hard as we can fight it …”
At that point, a Knox County Sheriff’s officer interjected: “Sir, you’re three minutes is up …
“I don’t care,” Petrone said.
“You don’t have an option,” the officer said. “You’ll either leave or we’ll make you leave … your time’s up; you need to leave.”
“I don’t want to fight you over this, but I am going to fight the Town of Farragut,” Petrone said before stepping away from the podium.
