The full RFQ and resources can be found at:

Call to Artists at www.PublicArt.KingsportTN.gov

KINGSPORT – Kingsport’s Livable Community Collaborative was presented an Award of Excellence in Program Innovation from the Archstone Foundation and the American Public Health Association at the APHA’s recent annual conference in San Francisco.

Founded in 1872, the American Public Health Association is comprised of 50,000 members from more than 50 public health occupations, and drew more than 12,500 attendees to its 140th annual conference.

Kingsport resident Dr. Kathleen Beine, longtime promoter of the positive physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and economic impacts of community design, accepted the award on behalf of the citys Collaborative.

“The award was presented for the Livable Community Initiative: A survey of seniors and community members, Kingsport, Tennessee,” Beine said Wednesday. “The components of this project included the 2010 AARP Livable Community Survey, the followup Mayors Blue Ribbon Taskforce, and a summary of what has since happened in Kingsport. The award represents a major confirmation of our communitys improvement efforts.”

The Archstone Foundations Award for Excellence in Program Innovation was awarded on the basis of creative design, documented outcomes, replication potential, collaboration, and dissemination strategy. The Archstone Foundation is a private grant making organization dedicated to preparing society to meet the needs of an aging population, and has awarded more than $77 million in grants towards that goal since it was founded in 1986.

In 2009 Kingsport, Tennessee was identified as a pilot livable community project by AARP. From this starting point, a collaborative effort evolved, including AARP, the City, local residents, and volunteer focus groups, to develop a survey assessing opinions and concerns of Greater Kingsport, Tennessee area residents in order to make the community more livable for persons of all ages.

“The survey covered aspects of community design and services, neighborhood issues, and personal concerns related to public health, aging, and livability issues,” Beine said. “The end-goal was to provide guidance for Kingsport in a manner that could also be used by other communities. A total of 1,439 surveys were completed and returned, for a phenomenal 43.6% response rate, which provided a broad-based sample of opinions on community conditions.”

In March 2010 the final AARP report was released. In follow-up, the Blue Ribbon Task Force reviewed the survey results and gathered additional information from city staff on key areas.‚  A report, including recommendations to the city, was issued in April 2011.

“The AARP survey helped us realize that we were doing a good job as a city providing a number of services considered necessary and useful by our residents, but we weren’t always doing the best job publicizing these services,” Assistant City Manager for Development Jeff Fleming said. “At the same time, several key areas were identified where we need to do some more work, particularly in areas of walkability and convenience to retail centers without having to get into a car.”

Since the release of the AARP survey and the Blue Ribbon Task Force report, Fleming noted that follow-up actions by the City have included improved communications efforts, enhanced local transit services, development of a Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, additional sidewalk construction, expansion of community centers and recreational opportunities, efforts to expand the local library, and developing a database of retirees with specific business backgrounds to assist with industrial recruiting.

Findings from the survey have been presented to city staff, local civic clubs, businesses, and non-profit organizations. In addition, findings have been used to advocate for healthy community design and in successful grant applications by the City.

Since the completion of the AARP survey and Blue Ribbon Task Force report, synergistic efforts with multiple collaborators have resulted in several initiatives to create a more livable community, including Kingsports first community garden.‚  Recently, an Active Living Workshop by national expert Dan Burden is helping the City refine planning and transportation regulations to encourage a community safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Beine said the Kingsport survey has been replicated in modified versions in several other communities. Her goal is to continue the Collaboratives efforts to build a model community in Kingsport that others will want to copy.

Past community program winners for the Archstone Award include: Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Minneapolis, Marquette, Michgan, Evanston, Illinois, Hartford, Connecticut, Westbrook, Maine, and Mountain Iron, Minnesota. Past university program winners include: Johns Hopkins University, University of Washington, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, and Boston University.

Dr. Kathleen Beine is a family physician, medical educator, and researcher. Over the past 20 years, as the principal in Beine & Associates, she has conducted extensive community-based research and advocated for improved community design with the recognition that a communitys physical design has significant impact upon physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and economic well-being of its citizens.

For further information contact:

Kathleen Beine, M.D., Beine & Associates, Kingsport, Tennessee, Phone: (423) 863-3304, E-mail: kbeine@tricon.net

Jeff Fleming, Assistant City Manager for Development, Kingsport, Tennessee, Phone: (423) 229-9381, E-mail JeffFleming@KingsportTN.gov

To learn more about the Livable Community Collaborative, please visit www.Development.KingsportTN.gov/Livable

KINGSPORT – KFD Station 8 has received Career Satellite Notable award from Fire Chief Magazine for architecture and design among fire departments in the United States.

We are very proud and honored to be recognized by the Fire Chief Magazine 2012 Station Style Design Awards as Career Notable.

This station came about through a lot of work with our Board of Mayor and Alderman and City Manager, and the hard work of our Fire Department Staff, Project Manager Captain Shea Payne, Assistant Chief Scott Boyd, Engineer Joel Moore and Engineer Jr. Swinney. They identified the needs of the department and our city and with the guidance of Beeson, Lusk & Street Inc. architects those ideas were incorporated those into this station.

The 7,414 square bart Station 8 was completed by Armstrong Construction Company in May of 2012 and serves the East Stone Drive, Preston Forrest, Crown Colony and Orebank corridors. This station is providing not only fire and medical response but also a substation for the Kingsport Police Department.

It is an honor just to be nationally recognized, especially for the second time. We put in a lot of work and effort and it will serve this city well for many years to come. Captain Payne said.

For more information contact Capt Shea Payne, 423-229-9441

KINGSPORT — West Valley Drive, Cleek Road and Sullivan Street will be closed beginning Monday, December 10, with the Cleek project requiring that road to be closed for up to one year.

Continuing sewer line construction project in the Rock Springs area will require the closure of West Valley Drive for up to 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, the Sullivan Street Improvement Project will require the closure of a segment of Sullivan Street from Sequoyah Drive to Revere Street. This closure is expected to last 3.5 months.

Clinchfield Street, which intersects Sullivan as it heads into the Downtown area, will be open throughout the construction project, with at least one lane available in each direction, excluding some temporary closures for utility construction.

Finally, Phase 2 of the Cleek Road Improvement Project will require the closure of this road from Orebank Road to Stone Drive.

While inconvenient during construction, each project is designed to offer improved services and safer traveling conditions for the motorists in Kingsport. In each instance, detour signs will be clearly posted in advance of these closures. Motorists are asked to plan ahead, and use the utmost caution in work zones.