(Story courtesy of WVLT News)
Knoxville, TN (WVLT) Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon has responded after city council shelved a proposal Tuesday evening to sell almost 13 acres of Chilhowee Park to Emerald Youth Foundation, a religious group who planned to turn the space into a community complex that included sports fields and shared spaces.
“I am disappointed that Council voted to withdraw this $25 million investment in our youth,” Kincannon said in an emailed statement to WVLT News. “This was a rare opportunity, born out of a years-long commitment to find more safe activities for young people in our City dating back from when gun violence was at an all-time high.”
That investment faced weeks of pushback from the East Knoxville community and, ultimately, the council. Many of those who opposed the $900,000 sale said Kincannon didn’t take enough community feedback, instead moving forward with the sale of public land without input from taxpayers.
It’s an issue she even acknowledged during an interview with WVLT earlier in the month.
“I should have had more community input from a broader spectrum of people,” she said on Sept. 18.
The decision to scratch the sale from city council’s agenda entirely came after two votes to postpone approving the sale. In fact, Knoxville Council Member Debbie Helsley came to the table with plans to propose pushing the vote again to Nov. 25, after election day.
That said, Kincannon added in her statement that she still plans to pursue projects in East Knoxville.
“While I respect tonight’s outcome, this administration will not back down from continuing to invest in East Knoxville and our young people,” she said. “Right now, we will continue to focus our efforts on other investments and projects in East Knoxville like, the Burlington Fire Station and Streetscapes, the Muse expansion, the Magnolia corridor, and ongoing infrastructure studies.”
