The paving of roads is a consistent top priority for our citizens. Under the city’s hierarchy of needs, roads are a foundational fundamental, a basic need that is important to maintain to keep all traveling safely and effectively. Paving, as it relates to transportation infrastructure, is critical in supporting and obtaining economic growth and development.
Kingsport is now ready to embark upon a sustainable paving plan to address the needs of our current roads. Typically, the paving rotation for a road is every 20-25 years, and over the next five years, the city will work towards establishing this length of paving cycle. In the past, paving has been severely underfunded, almost double the recommended cycle, and now the city has the opportunity to appropriately take care of an essential service.
Currently, Kingsport is conducting a paving test on every street. The paving test, being completed by Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, is set to take place this month. Using radar, the paving tests will result in an assessment of all city-managed streets, showing their condition and determining the level of repair needed. A master roadmap will be developed from the tests to create and implement the sustainable paving plan.
“The need for paving is something we hear often from citizens, and we finally can start to address the issue,” said city manager Jeff Fleming. “I do believe the sustainable paving plan is a game changer for Kingsport and will increase the potential to attract and retain residents, visitors, businesses and developers.
In addition to standard paving, a concrete crew will be dedicated to the construction and repair of concrete assets, such as sidewalks, curbs and concrete streets.
An enhancement crew will also be used, and this crew will maintain and elevate the level of service at the city’s key areas, such as gateways, downtown areas and major intersections.
Finally, a mowing crew will provide finished mowing and a higher level of landscape maintenance along I-26 from Rock Springs to MeadowView in an effort to improve one of the main entrances to Kingsport.
The sustainable paving plan for Kingsport is made possible through the American Electric Power (AEP) franchise fee. A power franchise fee is an industry standard payment common to most cities.
The City of Kingsport had a 99-year agreement with AEP, and since 2011, the city and AEP have worked together to formulate a plan moving forward, as the original contract ended this year. A committee was formed to investigate and research other franchise fees.
Companies, such as AEP, providing residents and businesses a service in a specific geographic area that have been granted the right to serve, are able to provide a funding source back to the community through the city. AEP and the City of Kingsport have a 20-year agreement at this time.
We look forward to evaluating this program over the next few years to see the much-needed improvements that have been made to our roads, rights-of-way and sidewalks.
On June 27, 2016, the Kingsport Water/Wastewater Distribution and Collection Division had worked an impressive 1000 consecutive work days without a lost time incident and they’re still going strong today. A lost time incident is an incident that occurs at the place of employment that results in at least one full day away from work duties.
“Considering the work that is completed by these crews on a daily basis, this is a huge accomplishment,” said Water/Wastewater Distribution and Collection manager Chad Austin. “We practice the safe way, every day.”
‘The Safe Way, Every Day’ is the message created by the Public Works department to remind city staff and city residents that the Public Works department is constantly practicing and improving their safety practices.
Examples of the work completed on a daily basis in this department are installing and repairing water and sewer pipes, traveling on roadways, setting up work zones, working in trenches, lifting large parts, placing concrete, installing large concrete vaults, flushing water lines, and lifting sewer cameras and maneuvering them into pipelines. All of these activities are possible scenes for accidents, but the employees have developed work practices that allow them to remain safe and free from injury.
The Kingsport Water/Wastewater Distribution and Collection Division is just one department within Public Works that is providing daily maintenance to our city’s high quality water service.
Recycling is a free benefit to city residents.
Recycling is just one small way residents are able to impact their city. Not only does it help the environment and save energy, but it also reduces waste at the landfill and creates local jobs. Recycling just one aluminum can, like a Mountain Dew or Pepsi can, saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, the country would save about 25 million trees a year!
The City of Kingsport curbside recycling program began with 3 trucks, 3 truck drivers and a handful of blue 18-gallon containers for recyclables. The immediate response from residents was overwhelmingly positive and soon, extra crews and trucks were being dispatched to assist with recyclable collection. The program progressively continued for several years leading the way for automated recycling.
On June 1, 2013, an automated recycling program was implemented. A change was needed with how the city collected recyclables, a determination was made that the best solution would be a single source system with automated trucks.
Residents who actually participated in recycling (approximately 10,000 residents recycled at least once per month) were able to trade in their 18-gallon container for a 96-gallon cart, the same size as the garbage can. The ease of use of the 96-gallon cart contributes to requests of residents desiring to be added to the recycling program. Public Works has added over 3,500 residents since the inception of the 2013 program, and the recycling program has seen a significant increase in the amount of tonnage per household.
Currently, there are over 13,500 residents participating in the recycling program. The program is free to participate in and your new recycling can will be delivered to your house at no cost. Your recyclables are picked up on the same day as your garbage. No sorting is required. If you’re interested in taking part in the recycling program, please call 423-229-9451.
Dogs aren’t just great companion animals, they’re also great listeners! In 2015, 316 children participated in the ‘Paws to Read’ library program. We have 14 Certified Therapy Dogs in our program where children read aloud to our volunteer dogs. Reading sessions are one-on-one with the dog (the trainer is also present) and last 20 minutes. The program is free and is for independent readers in grades 1-5. Parents will need to sign a registration form. Children may bring their favorite book or pick one from the library. Studies have shown that reading to dogs helps children improve reading skills and build self-confidence. It’s fun and children do not feel judged by the dog. If the child misses a word, the dog just listens and wags his (or her) tail.
For more information, please visit www.KingsportLibrary.org or call 423-229-9488.
3D printing is the process of making a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, meaning you can turn any object design into an actual object.
Have you heard of 3D printers but don’t know what they are or how they work? Now you have an opportunity to see one in action at the Kingsport Public Library (KPL), which has recently joined the ranks of over 250 public libraries in the U.S. who offer access to 3D printing. Library 3D printing yields many benefits: provides opportunities for children to experiment with new technologies, encourages new technology-based innovation in small business, and helps people of all ages build cutting-edge skills for the innovation economy.
Children (and adults!) are able to learn about the 3D printing using a program called Doddle3D. Doodle allows the user to create drawings that can be created into 3D objects!
Patrons who have a KPL card and are in good standing can bring print files to the library in .stl format, or use the scanner or Doodle3D box. Library staff or trained volunteers will actually print the object. A minimal fee of $1.00 per print job and $.15 per gram of filament used will be charged.
KPL’s 3D printer station includes an Ultimaker 2+ printer, a Matter and Form scanner, a Doodle3D box and a laptop. With the Matter and Form scanner, you can scan a small object, save the file and print it using the 3D printer. The Doodle3D allows you to draw your own design using a smart phone, tablet or the library’s laptop and print it to the 3D printer.
The printer will primarily use nGen filament for printing. nGen is produced with Eastman Amphora™ AM3300 3D polymer, has good opaque quality, the highest possible brightness, is low-odor and styrene-free. Amphora AM3300 is more workable at a wider breadth of temperatures, producing reliable results and resulting in less waste.
The 3D Polymer can be made into high-quality filament that exhibits advanced overhang ability, excellent looks, and large printing temperature range—empowering users to create durable and useful items.
For more information about how to get started, please contact the reference staff at 224-2539 or visit www.kingsportlibrary.org.
