Town holds planning and codes workshop
Town of Farragut Community Development Department held a workshop in Farragut Town Hall Thursday
evening, Oct. 30, to explain where residents can find information on Town planning and codes enforcement.
Nine people attended, bringing with them questions and concerns of their own.
“The purpose of this (workshop), mainly, is to talk about the information from my department, Planning and Codes … show you how our department is divided up and what are some of the information resources that we have — mostly on the website (townoffarragut.org),” Community Development director Mark Shipley said. At the same time, he asked residents to fill out a survey about how they currently receive information on the Town and give input to help the Town work better.
“You need a video showing people how to use the portal (to get the agendas),” resident Mike Mitchell advised.
Since the Town recently changed its website, “all your links are dead now,” he added.
“Is there a place where I can volunteer for these workshops and ordinance changes?” Dean Hoyt asked. “I would like to get more involved with the Town.”
“You can go to the public meetings, or you can … come by and meet with (Shipley,)” the director answered.
“If it’s a committee meeting, and you want to come see what they’re talking about, then show up,” Mayor Ron Williams advised. “It’s an open meeting.”
“What it sounds like, to me, is the Town expects residents to be pro-active,” Evans Road resident Greg Wiberley said.
“We have a lot of different ways we give information out,” Shipley said. In some cases, the public needs to be set up on an account or on mail listings.
“There are some things you have to be active about, do some work on your own to figure out what you would like to receive,” Shipley added.
Besides the website, the Town has print publications, such as Talk of the Town and Parks and Recreation activity guide, digital communications, Annual Report and Visit Farragut website.
“I had signed up for all the communication on the Town website,” Kimberlie Parks said. “Just recently, you guys have changed some things, so does everybody have to go and re-sign up for everything?”
“Under the new agenda management, you may have to (sign up again),” Shipley answered but then asked her to add a comment on the survey.
“I don’t want something to be difficult,” he added. “We’re not really changing things intentionally. We went to the agenda management system with the goal to make the agenda easier to find.”
But, “if you all are having trouble with it, I want to know about it,” Shipley said.
While he was going over the Planning and Codes segment of the Town’s website, Parks asked about the procedure for codes enforcer’s process on temporary dumpsters.
“I had a code enforcer come out to my home,” she said. “I was not home, and whoever reported the red dumpster in my driveway … he knocked on the door, and when my (15-year-old) son told him I was not home, he continued to question my son.
“Is that part of policy?” Parks asked.
“Was it a building inspector?” Shipley asked.
“No, it was just some … I have his name written down somewhere,” she answered.
She said her son called her and when she arrived home, she asked the man why he was there.
“He said he got a phone call from somebody about my dumpster, so he came by,” Parks related. “When I went and did an open records request, there was no report, so what is that process for people who call in? Are they supposed to put a report … I have no proof that he was even there.”
“I’ll look into that,” Shipley said. “I don’t know the specifics of what happened there. I know, when the building inspectors are out in the community and they see a construction dumpster or something and they know they don’t have a permit, they’ll ask what’s going on.”
Still, “I think that process needs to be clarified,” Parks replied.
“Currently, we’re on the 2018 codes,” Shipley said. “We probably will update to the 2024 next year or the year after.”
