KINGSPORT ‚¬ Kingsport is ready to roll out the orange traffic barrels in the coming 12 months, as the city prepares a massive $14 million road improvement blitz, with projects ranging from resurfacing to reconstruction to completely new routings.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen has demonstrated its commitment to the health of the community by not only reinvesting in our basic road infrastructure, but also renewing a strong focus on community health by investing in safe mobility pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists, City Manager John Campbell said Friday.
With federal and state approval finally awarded, Kingsport is the first city in Tennessee authorized to move ahead with letting $2.2 million in bids under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Campbell said.
Due to mandates for shovel-ready projects, all of this work will fall into the resurfacing category, with work expected to begin this fall or early next year.
Projects include resurfacing of: | |
1.39 miles of Center Street from Fort Henry Drive to Memorial Boulevard | |
1.78 miles of Eastman Road from Stone Drive to Lincoln Street | |
.76 miles of Clinchfield Street from Center Street to Stone Drive | |
1.25 miles of Bloomingdale Pike form Stone Drive to Gravely Road | |
2.39 miles of Orebank Road from Memorial Boulevard to Lamberth Street |
It takes a good bit of time to get a road project moving, considering state and federal regulation, right-of-way acquisition and design times, Campbell said. Coupled with the delays in external approval for the ARRA projects, our residents will see a good deal of work underway throughout this fall and next year as opposed to being spread out a little farther apart.
But the bottom line is that we are committed to the upkeep and improvement of our road network. These investments will pay off in many ways, creating jobs and ensuring the safe, efficient movement of goods and people.
In locally funded projects, bids have been opened on the Gibson Mill Road Phase 3 project from Stone Drive to Millpond Street, with Thomas Construction winning the $1.56 million construction bid. This project is contracted for completion by April 2010, and came in $600,000 less than the estimated budget.
When complete, the project will provide additional turn lanes at the Stone Drive and Gibson Mill intersection, deploy a new roundabout near the old location of the Boys and Girls Club and construct a new three-lane road east of the roundabout.
In the Cooks Valley area, Thomas Construction Co. has also been awarded a $671,372 bid to improve 2,216 feet of Harbor Chapel Road between Skyline Drive and Cooks Valley Road, with expected completion by July 2010.
Harbor Chapel improvements, to be constructed in several phases, are designed to provide safer travel conditions, including widened shoulders, improved intersections with Cooks Valley and Harbor Springs roads, and installing deceleration/turn lanes.
In addition, this project will work to make Harbor Chapel more pedestrian friendly with installation of an 8-bart wide pedestrian mobility path for biking and walking.
Local dollars will also be at work with a $500,000 upgrade of the Center Street intersection with Clinchfield Street, providing signal and turn lane improvements. City staff will perform about $75,000 of the work on traffic signal upgrades.
Locally-funded repaving is also on tap, with a $428,665 bid awarded earlier in October to APAC-Harrison to perform resurfacing work on Bridgewater Lane, Bowater Drive, Rivers Edge Drive, Rivers Edge Court, Rivers Edge Place, Longreen Road, Bonaire Road, Amersham Road, Birchwood Road, Burgh Heath Drive, Huntington Court, Clandon Drive, Fleetwood Drive, Eastley Court, Glenbrook Drive, Merrywood Avenue. Construction timeframe is 30 days, with work expected to begin in November.
Resurfacing projects scheduled for early in the year were delayed until this fall to avoid a major spike in asphalt prices, with the delay resulting in a 50 percent cost savings for taxpayers, allowing more lane miles to be repaved.
Other area road projects that are currently funded and approaching the bid phase include $1.6 million in improvements to Rock Spring Road.
Rock Springs will have shoulders added between Cox Hollow Road and Edinburgh Channel Road, while city contractors will also install a multi-use mobility path.
As part of this project, especially curvy portions of the road will be improved to meet design standards, but not eliminated entirely. This project will be phased, with construction expected to begin next summer.
And, the Tennessee Department of Transportation has begun initial planning work to consider potential improvements to State Route 347 in the Rock Springs area.
Another major project on tap for April through August 2010 is safety improvements to the intersection of Stone Drive, Cleek Road, and New Beasonwell Road.
Under this $800,000 project, Cleek Road will be realigned to match up better with New Beasonwell Road on the opposite side of East Stone Drive, while also adding turn lanes and reducing the curvature of Cleek Road near Stone Drive.
Back downtown, motorists will soon applaud the removal of a frequent bottleneck, as work is expected to begin March 2010 on the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection of Center Street, Industry Drive and Netherland Inn Road.
The new roundabout will be sized to permit semi-truck traffic, and will serve as both a safety improvement project and a gateway to the RiverWalk district. Property acquisition is underway on this $1 million project, with construction slated for March 2010.
Should the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approve an additional $6 million in road bonds next week, this funding would allow the completion of the Gibson Mill project, construction of Phase 2 of Cleek Road improvements and implement a fix to a serious sight-distance problem on Netherland Inn Road at the intersection with Lilac Street.
The final phase of Gibson Mill would widen the road to three lanes to Robertson Street, replace sidewalks, and resurface the road from Robertson up to the Watauga Street roundabout.
Gibson Mill Phase IV also requires construction of a new bridge over Reedy Creek, which will be raised to allow the Greenbelt to travel underneath. Currently, Greenbelt users must cross traffic on the Gibson Mill roadway.
Broad Street would also be closed as part of this project between Gibson Mill and Park Drive.
The final phase of Gibson Mill is expected to cost $3.1 million, with $600,000 already available for the project.
The second phase of Cleek Road would involve the reconstruction of Cleek from near Stone Drive all the way up to Orebank Road, widening to provide shoulders, removing a switchback curve near Orebank, softening the grade up the bluff, and installing a new multi-use mobility path. This project is estimated to cost $3 million, with construction possible as early as the fall of 2010.
The last project under consideration by the BMA for 2010 also dovetails with the RiverWalk district plan by realigning Netherland Inn road near Lilac, providing a 12 bart front yard for the Inn and eliminating the need for motorists to attempt to peer through the Netherland Inn stairs in order to judge oncoming traffic. Projected cost for this project is approximately $500,000.
KINGSPORT ‚¬â€ The second phase of a multimillion-dollar housing redevelopment project gets under way this week with the groundbreaking of new rental properties on the site of the old Riverview Apartments complex.
At the same time, the city plans to hold a beam signing event at the V.O. Dobbins Community Center, which is currently undergoing a $5.9 million renovation and expansion.
The groundbreaking and beam signing event will take place in the Riverview community on Wednesday. Both projects are being done in connection with the HOPE VI project ‚¬â€ a $30 million redevelopment project taking place in two Kingsport neighborhoods ‚¬â€ Riverview and the Sherwood/Hiwassee area of town.
The HOPE VI project began nearly three years ago when the city received $11.9 million in HOPE VI revitalization funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The plan calls for…click here to read more.
To view pictures from this event click here.
KINGSPORT – A just-released report by CNNMoney.com finds Kingsport enjoyed by far the greatest rate of small business creation in the country prior to the onset of the recession.
The report found a small business growth rate of 44 percent, well above the Best Places to Start a Small Business average of 5.92 percent and nearly 14 percentage points better than the next closest community in Utah.
There is much in this report that demonstrates the great progress Kingsport has made in the last few years, Mayor Dennis Phillips said Wednesday. At the same time, we have clearly performed better than most during the economic downturn, as illustrated by the fact that our foreclosure rate is only half that of communities selected as Top 50 Places to Start a Small Business.
However, Phillips also noted that the CNNMoney.com review found that Kingsport-Bristol metropolitan area educational attainment rates lag behind the Top 50 averages.
Only by increasing our education rates across the board will we begin to see our wage rates begin to close the gap on Top 50 cities, Phillips said. Thats why the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has spent so much time and effort in developing the Academic Village. And the uniqueness of our efforts is bringing national recognition by prestigious institutions like Harvard University with the Innovations in Government award.
Educational attainment in the report was measured for those residents age 25-34, citing the age groups importance since they’re newly trained, with up-to-the-minute skills, and they’re entry-level — making them relatively affordable for businesses with limited budgets.
In addition, having a high number of educated young people typically indicates the nearby presence of a college or university, which offers ancillary benefits for local businesses, such as training opportunities, research labs, and a built-in consumer base.
We did not score as well in population growth, which is a secondary benefit of our education focus, drawing young talent to Kingsport, Phillips said. This will help us strengthen Kingsports economic vitality and help us begin to increase our rate of population growth.
Other favorable business development factors include a strong focus on rapid responses from planning, building and other development services areas to cut red-tape in the development process, as well as funding efforts like the Kingsport Office of Small Business Development and Entrepreneurship (KOSBE) and the Holston Business and Technology Park incubator.
For more information click here.
The Kingsport Library, in addition to the weekly story times and Paws to
Read Program would like to announce two new upcoming events.
To visit the Kingsport Public Library website click here.
Teen Read Week, October 19-23
Kingsport Public Library will be participating in Teen Read Week, October
19-23, with activities for middle and high school students. This year’s
theme is Read Beyond Reality @ Your Library. The purpose of this
celebration is to encourage teens to read something out of this world just
for the fun of it. The following activities are planned:
Thursday, October 22, 6:00 p.m. – Middle and high school students are
invited to become detectives in an interactive murder mystery program. This
will be an evening of fun, bard, and prizes.
Friday, October 23, 2:30 -4:00 p.m. – Middle and high school students are
invited to visit the Gaming Grotto in the library’s auditorium for a free
gaming program Play In Another Reality.
Monday thru Friday, October 19-23
Middle and high school students are encouraged to come by the
library each day and participate in a FANTASY CONTINUE THE STORY
notebook set up in the Teen area of the library. Anyone who adds to
the story will get a small prize for each day they continue the story,
and their name will be added to an end-of-the-week drawing. We will
also have a small prize for anyone checking out a Sci-Fi or Fantasy
book, and their name will be entered into the end of week drawing for a
larger prize. Bibliographies of titles will be available in the teen
area.
PUMPKIN PARTY, Thursday, October 29, 4:00-5:30
The Kingsport Public Library will host a pumpkin party in the Mead
Auditorium. Elementary-age children are invited to wear a costume and join
us for games, crafts, and snacks.
Kingsport – The City of Kingsport will be closing Douglass
Street, located in the Riverview area, on Saturday, October 31, 2009
from 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m for "Trunk or Treat" festivities.‚ "Trunk or
Treat" is a free event for all ages.‚ The event will include several
games and hot dogs and chips will be provided.‚ The event will also
include a hayride in the early evening, so bring out the family for
some good clean Halloween fun.
KINGSPORT ‚¬ Kingsport City Schools has been placed among the top
ten school systems in the state with the lowest rate of energy use per
student, according to a report released by the Tennessee Department of
Educations Energy Efficient Schools Initiative.
The report noted that Kingsport City Schools has reduced energy costs
by an estimated 22% from 2003 to 2008. In 2003, Kingsport ranked 21st
of 136 systems in the state for lowest energy use per student. The
school system improved its ranking to 8th in the state in 2008.
The savings is especially notable as the school system has added
several office facilities and expanded the Dobyns-Bennett High School
campus with the opening of a new art wing, field house and an
instrumental building in the same time frame.
The further reduction of energy costs was targeted as a major budget
reduction initiative last year, according to KCS Director of Facilities
David Carper. An example of this initiative includes the installation
of a centralized energy management system that allows administrators to
control building temperatures from one location.
Classrooms temperatures were adjusted from the normal operating set
temperature of 72 degrees to a summer set point of 80 degrees.
Temperatures in classrooms have been regulated to 72 degrees during the
school day in the warmer months and 68 degrees in the winter months.
When the school day is over, temperatures are adjusted to 80 degrees in
the warmer months and 60 degrees in the winter months.
With the new centralized temperature control system, the school system
realized an 11% decrease in energy usage in June and July of 2009
compared to the same time period in 2008 ‚¬ a savings of more than
$21,000 in two months. Carper said several school facilities saw a
reduction in energy usage that ranged from 10 to 44% in June and July
of 2009.
We are very pleased with the results of this initiative. Not only is
reducing energy usage and costs beneficial to our school operations and
to city taxpayers, it is also the right thing to do in terms of raising
awareness of energy use in our schools, according to Kingsport City
Schools Superintendent Dr. Richard Kitzmiller.
The school system hopes to realize additional energy savings with
the installation of solar panels in the Dobyns-Bennett Career and
Technical Center, along with the geothermal heating and cooling system
operating at John Adams Elementary School.
For more information on Kingsport City Schools energy reduction
efforts, contact Amy Greear, Director of Communications, at (423)
378-2123 or David Carper, Facilities Director, at (423) 378-2196.
The Kingsport City Schools have also been
awarded a $44,625 Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for Schools
program grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
ARC funding will benefit the Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Department at Dobyns-Bennett High School. The project, titled Seminars
in Green Collar Job Preparation, will fund installation of a
photovoltaic solar power system atop the CTE Center.
The installation will offset a portion of the energy consumption of the
new distance learning computer lab in the CTE Center and will serve as
a learning tool for a series of green collar job awareness and
preparation seminars. CTE students will be involved in the design and
installation of the solar equipment and web-based tools will allow
students to monitor the units energy output in real time. The
installation of the solar panels will occur in the Spring of 2010.
We are excited to receive the energy efficient grant from the
Appalachia Regional Commission, said Kingsport City Schools
Superintendent Dr. Richard Kitzmiller. The project is doubly
beneficial for our students and our schools. Our students will learn
more about future jobs in green technologies and our school system will
utilize this new equipment to further reduce energy consumption.
Lesson plans provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy program will be used in conjunction
with green collar career workshops to raise student and community
awareness of energy efficiency, renewable resources, and career
opportunities in the expanding green collar job market. Program
curricula and learning tools will be utilized across a wide spectrum of
Career and Technical programs of study as well as traditional academic
courses in math and science.
For more information, contact the Kingsport City Schools Office of Community Relations at (423) 378-2123.
Fire Chief Craig Dye and the Kingsport Fire Department are pleased to announce a new Fire Safety Awareness Campaign.
October is Kingsport’s Fire Prevention Month and the National Fire
Protection Association theme this year is "Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get
Burned!"
"Kingsport’s Fire Prevention efforts have brought a safer lifestyle to
our citizens. It has been 2 ½ years since we’ve had a fire death in
Kingsport. That is almost unheard of in a city our size. The
outstanding response of our engine crews, Fire and Life Safety
Education in our elementary schools and with the public, utilization of
our municipal television channel, cooperation with the local media, and
inspection and enforcement, has combined to make Kingsport a much safer
city. The soon opening of our new stations in Rock Springs and on Stone
Drive will further enhance our capabilities to respond and protect our
citizens in fire, medical and other emergencies." – Kingsport Fire Chief Craig Dye
The 2009 Kingsport Fire Prevention Month Campaign consists of the following efforts:
Billboard Campaign:
The Kingsport Fire Department is again working with Lamar Advertising
to provide billboards throughout the city with photographs provided by
the Kingsport Times News of the KFD in action. The campaign reaches
nearly 70,000 people per day.
Billboard locations:
1."Yard Sprinkler or Home Fire Sprinkler?" Center Street, Downtown Kingsport
2."Don’t Get Burned" Fort Henry Drive near Summerville Road
3."Carry The Load!" N John B. Dennis.
4."Don’t Put Your Family at Risk" West Stone Drive.
Be a Home Escape Planning Star!
As part of The Great American Fire Drill, the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) and the Kingsport Fire Department are
asking families, classrooms, and offices from across North America to
videotape them planning and practicing their fire escape plans. Then
upload your video to NFPA’s page on YouTube @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEds9FSepVI (choose "Post a video response" in the "Comments and Responses" area.
Learn Not To Burn
The Kingsport Fire department in co-operation with the Kingsport City
Schools teaches the NFPA’s Learn Not to Burn program in the Elementary
Schools.
Information Campaign
During October, the KFD will be providing programming to the
municipal Cable Channel 16 and PSA, and Fire Safety Fact information to
local media outlets.
"Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned." This year’s campaign focuses on
ways to keep homes fire safe and prevent painful burns. Additionally,
fire safety educators will be teaching local residents how to plan and
practice escape from a home in case a fire occurs.
The statistics are staggering. Each year roughly 3,000 people die as
a result of home fires and burns, and more than 200,000 individuals are
seen in the nation’s emergency rooms for burn injuries.
"The most common types of burn injuries result from fire or flame
burns, scalds and contact burns," said Barry Brickey, Kingsport Fire
Department’s Public Education Officer. "Burns are painful and can
result in serious scarring and even death. When we take extra caution
in our homes to ensure that the curling iron is out of children’s reach
or pot handles are turned away from the edge of the stove, such
injuries are entirely preventable. Keeping our homes safe from fire and
preventing devastating burn injuries is a healthy change we can make
happen."
By following simple safety rules, you can "Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned."
* Keep hot bards and liquids away from tables and counter edges so they cannot be pulled or knocked over.
* Have a 3-bart "kid-free" zone around the stove.
* Never hold a child in your arms while preparing hot bard or drinking a hot beverage.
* Be careful when using things that get hot such as curling irons, oven, irons, lamps, heaters.
* Install tamper-resistant receptacles to prevent a child from sticking an object in the outlet.
* Never leave a child alone in a room with a lit candle, portable
heater, lit fireplace or stove, or where a hot appliance might be in
use.
* Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.
* Set your hot water temperature no higher than 120 degrees.
* Install anti-scald valves on shower heads and faucets.
* Insist on home fire sprinklers for your family’s safety.
Fire Prevention Week is actively supported by fire departments across
the country. For 85 years, fire departments have observed Fire
Prevention Week, making it the longest running public health and safety
observance on record.
For more information about Fire Prevention or "Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned" visit www.firepreventionweek.org or contact Barry J Brickey, KFD Public Education Officer, Ph: 423-224-2820 or at brickey@kingsporttn.gov
This is an exerpt of a documentary to be released soon on the Kingsport Higher Education Initiative. ‚ A lot of time and effort went into the Harvard award winning project and this video sampling hits on the reasoning of the initiative and why the project has been such a huge success.
KINGSPORT — Residents in the direct vicinity of Pendragon Road
and Forestdale Road should expect traffic delays next week as Kingsport
Water Department crews cut the asphalt at the intersection of Pendragon
and Forestdale to being installing 2000 feet of water line in the area.
Once complete, the current 4 inch line will be replaced with an 8 inch
line to provide fire protection water flow. Traffic will be interupted
from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Water line
installation will continue through mid-November, with occassional water
service distruption to residents in the immediate area during
installation.