Below is a note from Jeff Fleming. It will serve as the city’s press release.

I walked into City Hall as an ETSU intern in 1984. The city’s population was 32,027. I never dreamed I would meet and marry another intern and spend the next 35+ years with this wonderful organization — and certainly never  dreamed that I would become city manager. It’s been the honor of my life, especially to serve during the city’s 2017 centennial year. If you know me at all, you know I love this town. The only thing I love more is my family.

The Council Room has been so much more than a meeting room. It’s where we celebrated our wedding shower, baby showers, and so many of life’s milestones with co-workers and community. As much as I’m looking forward to the move to a New City Hall in the prominent location it deserves, it seems fitting that I close this chapter in the only City Hall I’ve ever known. I’ve worked for 6 mayors, 6 city managers, and more aldermen than I can enumerate. It’s time.

During my career, we saw global changes with profound impacts on our planned industrial city. But above all, our community is resilient. We came together and developed a plan to improve access to higher education, eventually building what we would call the “Academic Village” – and received national recognition from Harvard University for our efforts. More than 2,000 students attend classes on the blocks that formerly housed deteriorated buildings. We executed plans to redevelop Kingsport Mall (East Stone Commons), old Mason-Dixon (Crown Point Plaza), new Mason-Dixon (Kingsport Pavilion), Parkway Plaza, and Fort Henry Mall. When Kingsport Press closed, we developed a plan to build a downtown grocery, farmers market, and medical/professional offices. We transformed the public housing project in Riverview and set the stage for others to follow. I witnessed the vote to build MeadowView Convention Center and was assigned to facilitate the physical development of its surroundings for much of the next 20 years. We secured the corporate headquarters of Eastman and improved the signage, gateways, and presentation of our city. We did all of these things while attending to critical infrastructure needs. I’ve had the rare opportunity to live alongside the results of our collective labor and I’m proud of our body of work. There’s more on the horizon, but we have exceedingly capable people in place to get the job done.

I’m proud of the organization and culture we’ve built together. Our award-winning employees excel in their chosen professions. Many have received the highest possible honors from their statewide organizations – and some at the national level. They’ve embraced technology, driven efficiencies, and successfully pivoted any time that economic conditions required. Many can work anywhere they desire, but they choose to work here. I’ve tried to build a culture of respect and appreciation, never missing an opportunity to tell them how much I appreciate them. Let us never take them for granted.

You gave me the opportunity to advance within the organization and I am forever grateful. During the last five years, we grew the ‘rainy day’ fund by 33%, increased annual funding for paving by 400%, absorbed $12.8 million in State cuts, expanded the Greenbelt in both directions, remodeled Borden Park & Lynn View, expanded the Aquatic Center, and began the most substantial reinvestment in Bays Mountain Park since it opened. I’m also proud of the working relationship with Kingsport City Schools, which is the strongest I’ve ever known.

No person is an island. The people who did most of the heavy-lifting are still here. I hope you will afford them the same opportunities for advancement that I was afforded.

At every turn, God has opened doors, put people in my path, redirected me, and closed doors when necessary. I’ve learned to trust and see what the next chapter holds.

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Jeff Fleming

In partnership with Keep Kingsport Beautiful and its Clean Sweep Kingsport efforts, Bays Mountain Park invites you to begin celebrating Earth Day a few days early by joining park staff on April 19 for an Earth Day Clean-up.

Spending time outside cleaning up the environment and giving back to the community is the perfect way to celebrate this planet we call home. From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., park staff invites interested participants to come help remove trash along some of the trails in order to keep the nature preserve as pristine as possible. Groups will perform clean-up activities on Lakeside (2.75 miles), Lake Road (4.4 miles), and Fire Tower Trail (a round trip hike of 2.88 miles).

Earth Day takes place each year on April 22 to “mark the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970,” according to the Earth Day Network. It’s a day for people to show that they care about having a healthy and sustainable environment. The Earth Day Clean-up at Bays Mountain Park is a great way for park guests to help improve the environment they enjoy.

The Earth Day Clean-up is a great way for students to receive volunteer hours for school or scholarships.

If you’re interested in this volunteer opportunity, please pre-register by calling the Nature Center at (423)229-9447. Participants should plan to meet in front of the Nature Center at 9:30 a.m. Please bring drinking water, work gloves, and closed-toe shoes and dress for the weather.

The Earth Day Clean-up is a great way for students to receive volunteer hours for school or scholarships.

To learn more about Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, or for more information about the Earth Day Clean-up, visit baysmountain.com or call (423) 229-9447.

Clean Sweep Kingsport, an event organized by Keep Kingsport Beautiful, takes place on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to noon at seven locations throughout Kingsport. Designed as a community clean-up, Clean Sweep Kingsport efforts will take place in Downtown Kingsport, the Greenbelt (at PetSmart), Riverfront Park/Holston River, Riverview/Borden/South Central, Lynn Garden, Highland, and Madd Branch. For more information about Clean Sweep Kingsport, please contact Robin Cleary at 423-392-8814 or via email at rcleary@kingsportchamber.org.

Do you love the Kingsport Farmers Market? Would you like to put your creativity to use and show that love to everyone? We want to see your poster designing skills!

The Kingsport Farmers Market is hosting a contest to find the perfect design for its 2019 season poster. This poster will help promote the market not just as a place to find the freshest local produce, but as somewhere that allows people to connect with neighbors, support the economic viability of local farms and work to preserve farmland for generations to come. That’s a lot of power to pack in one poster, but we believe in you.

We’re looking for posters that depict a combination of engaging graphics, informative messaging (who, what, when, where) and market identity. If you win, you’ll receive some Kingsport Farmers Market swag, your name and design featured in the Kingsport Times-News and—best of all—your design will be our official poster for our 2019 season!

You have until Tuesday, April 30 at 5 p.m. to send us a design that meets the following requirements:

• Includes the Kingsport Farmers Market logo
• Includes our location, hours, and web address
  • 308 Clinchfield Street, Kingsport, TN
  • Wednesdays & Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., April – November
  • kingsportfarmersmarket.org
• High-resolution (300 dpi) PNG/JPG format and PDF format

For a digital copy of the Kingsport Farmers Market logo, contact hannahpurdy@kingsporttn.gov. All posters must be submitted through email no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30 to hannahpurdy@kingsporttn.gov.

From April 1 through 12, the city of Kingsport is holding its annual spring clean-up service for residents. Residents can place extra items on the curb for garbage crews to haul away at no extra charge. The city encourages residents to clean up and clean out their yards, garages and basements. Every resident will receive two garbage and recycling pick-ups and one trash pick-up during the two-week period.

The city will pick-up: 
Appliances
Tires (only 4 per household and off the rim)
Furniture
Small amount of building materials (drywall, carpet, scrap lumber)
Yard debris
Mattresses
Bagged grass
Bagged or loose leaves
Brush
General junk

The city will not pick-up: 
Paint
Liquids
Hazardous material
Propane tanks
Tires on rims
Contractor generated building materials
Contractor generated tree debris

During the clean-up weeks, the city will accept items outside the garbage can. A leaf truck will also run during this time. While the spring clean-up service is free for residents, the city will still charge for contractor-generated waste and tree debris during these weeks.

Computer items, such as monitors, keyboards and hard drives, can be taken to the Sullivan County Transfer Station on Brookside Drive.

Sullivan County will hold its annual hazardous material collection on May 4 and October 5  at Sullivan Central High School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call 423-323-6439 to learn more.

For more information about Kingsport’s clean-up weeks, please call 423-229-9451 or visit www.kingsporttn.gov.

City Manager Jeff Fleming has appointed Sid Cox as Kingsport’s new City Recorder and Chief Financial Officer.

“I’ve served in this capacity before for my hometown of Elizabethton, so I know the territory and I feel comfortable with it,” Cox said. “This is a great opportunity for me to step up, and step into what I think will be a very professionally rewarding position. I’m really looking forward to working closer with the city administrative team and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to continue the success and progress made by the City of Kingsport.”

Cox has worked for the city since starting as a senior accountant in 2010. He’s also served as an accounting supervisor, and most recently was the business manager for the Community Services Department. But his life as a public servant goes back much further than that. After graduating from ETSU in 1988 with a degree in accounting, Cox worked for Sullivan County, where he climbed the ladder before eventually serving as Elizabethton’s Director of Finance.

Though he’s had forays into the private sector, Cox was always drawn back to local government.

“I began my career with local government“, he said. I think that there’s a lot of opportunity and satisfaction with helping people in public service.”

The role of City Recorder/CFO is to head the Finance Department, which oversees the security and management of the city’s financial assets, as well as the collection of most revenues. Cox will be over the accounting, customer service and records management divisions that make up the department. Kingsport’s Finance Department has won the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 18 years in a row. With a seasoned city employee at the helm, the department hopes to continue its trend of excellence.

When he’s not at work, Cox likes to spend time with his wife of 33 years, Cindy, and his two grown daughters, Chelsie and Courtney. They have dinner together most Sundays. Cox is also a huge fan of college football—particularly the team at his alma mater, ETSU.

He says he’s very excited about this next step in his career, both for him and his family.

“Professionally and personally, it’s a great opportunity and great timing for me,” Cox said. “I’m really looking forward to serving the citizens of Kingsport in a different role.”