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Street resurfacing work begins in Orebank area

W-L Construction & Paving will start milling and paving select roadways in the Orebank area of Kingsport beginning on Friday (May 12). Street resurfacing work includes Edens Way, Exchange Court, John Gaines Boulevard, Coventry Wynde and Caintuck Road.

The $400,000 project will see approximately .64 miles of roadway being resurfaced. Work is scheduled to be completed by June 1.

The resurfacing will take place during the day and there will be temporary lane closures. Drivers are asked to use caution in the area and are encouraged to use alternate routes as much as possible during this time.

If you have any questions, please contact Public Works at 423-229-9451. Thank you for your cooperation during this improvement project.

For more information about Kingsport’s paving efforts visit www.pavekingsport.com.

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Bays Mountain Park launches visitor survey

For more than 50 years, Bays Mountain Park has been the premier outdoor destination in our region for hikers and bicyclists, school field trips, astronomy enthusiasts and nature lovers.

Over the past decade, the City of Kingsport has worked on improving many aspects and features of the park to ensure the visitor experience is the best it can possibly be. Bays Mountain Park’s 50th anniversary in 2021 gave us Moonshiner’s Delight trail and campfire tales program, with future projects including a new playground and otter habitat.

Now, we want to hear from you about what could make Bays Mountain Park even better.

The City of Kingsport is developing a Park Improvement Plan (PIP) for Bays Mountain Park and one key element of the plan is a visitor survey. The survey is live now and will be open through June 4.

The survey only takes a few minutes to complete. The survey will provide demographics on park visitors and ask such questions as how often you visit Bays Mountain Park, how easy it is to navigate and what new amenities you would like to see come to the park.

Participation in this survey will help decision-makers and planners determine future renovations, improvements, and new attractions.  

“A critical piece of our long-range improvement plan is this survey, which will give us a better understanding of what visitors and stakeholders enjoy, our opportunities for improvement and what folks want for the future,” said Megan Krager, Bays Mountain Park Manager. “Your feedback will greatly help and influence the future planning for Bays Mountain Park.”

To take the visitor survey, please visit www.baysmountain.com.

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Kingsport Aquatic Center celebrates 10th anniversary

The Kingsport Aquatic Center will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this month with a day filled with outdoor games, trivia and prizes and of course water park fun for the whole family.

The special 10th anniversary celebration will begin at 12:30 p.m. May 25 with a special proclamation and comments from city officials. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the celebration will be open for aquatic center members only, then from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. the facility will be open to the public.

Lawn games (giant Jenga, Connect Four and corn hole) will be set up in the grassy area of the lazy river, trivia questions will be asked throughout the afternoon and a live DJ will be rockin’ from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

All outdoor and indoor pools should be open to attendees. In case of inclement weather, the celebration will take place on May 26.

Admission will be $6 for seniors and people under 48 inches tall; $8 for people over 48 inches tall.

“We hope everyone is eager to get back to swimming, sunbathing and having fun this summer,” said Jessie Charlton, interim assistant aquatic manager. “It has been great to see our facility grow over the past 10 years to meet the needs of our community and our visitors.”

In addition, the KAC will open its Outdoor Water Park for the 2023 season on May 20. Individual season passes and memberships can be purchased on swimkingsport.com or in person at the KAC front desk.

The Outdoor Water Park will open daily beginning May 27 through July 30 and open weekends only in May (starting May 20), August and September, weather permitting. As in past years, season pass holders and KAC members will have early access to the park Monday through Saturday – 30 minutes before regular opening times.

2023 Outdoor Water Park Hours

  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
  • Wednesday and Saturday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Sunday: noon – 6 p.m.
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Kingsport celebrates Drinking Water Week

For more than 40 years the American Water Works Association and its members have used Drinking Water Week as a unique opportunity for both water professionals and the communities they serve to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.

This year, Drinking Water Week runs from May 7-13. The City of Kingsport is celebrating by encouraging the public to recognize and honor the critical work water professionals accomplish around the clock to deliver quality tap water while bolstering resilience for water in the future.

Many communities are fortunate to have reliable access to safe water when they turn on the tap. In large part this is due to the regular testing water utilities are required to undertake to ensure regulatory standards for water quality are met. In fact, every water system must publish a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) detailing its water quality.

“Drinking Water Week is an opportunity to recognize what most of us take for granted every day. That when you turn on the faucet, safe and clean water comes out,” said Niki Ensor, Kingsport’s Utilities Director. “And that’s only possible because of the continuous reinvestment in the infrastructure and the men and women who work every day to maintain the system.”

To commemorate the week, water utilities, water organizations, government entities, environmental advocates, schools and others throughout North America and beyond are encouraging consumers to learn more about the importance of water services and water infrastructure, especially in times of crisis.

“Access to clean, safe drinking water is vital to our daily health, hygiene and hydration,” said American Water Works Association CEO David LaFrance. “Professionals in the water sector work tirelessly to ensure we have affordable access to the high-quality water we need to strengthen our everyday life and broader communities today and in the future.”

Kingsport’s Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) can be found at https://bit.ly/3VEzbD3.

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Kingsport Farmers Market Celebrates Agriculture Literacy Week

In an effort to encourage students to learn where their food comes from and to develop an interest in agriculture, the Kingsport Farmers Market is hosting Agriculture Literacy Week this week.

On Wednesday (May 11), the Kingsport Farmers Market will hold its annual Kids at the Market event. Here, second grade students will engage in activities at various booths provided by the Dobyns-Bennett Agriculture class and Culinary Arts class, Kingsport Parks and Recreation, Healthy Kingsport and the Kingsport Farmers Market.

The Kingsport Public Library is also joining in on the celebration this week with their story time series. Staff will read agriculture themed book to preschoolers three times this week:

  • Preschool story time on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
  • Lap sit story time on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
  • Time for Two story time on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

All story time sessions last 30 minutes and are free and open to the public.

For more information on the Kingsport Farmers Market, or to sign up for the monthly newsletter, please visit kingsportfarmersmarket.org. For more information about programs at the Kingsport Public Library, please visit www.kingsportlibrary.org.

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Register now for Kingsport’s Outdoor Volleyball League

The Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting registration for its 2023 Outdoor Volleyball League.

Leagues offered include:

  • 12U Youth Triples
  • 13/14U Youth Triples
  • Women’s Triples
  • Men’s Doubles
  • Co-ed Doubles
  • Co-ed Quads
  • Senior Co-ed Quads (50+)

You can register by going to www.kingsporttn.gov and selecting the “CivicRec” link, then searching for “volleyball.”  The deadline to register is May 19. The youth age determination date is July 1, 2022.

Registration cost is $30 for doubles, $45 for triples and $60 for quads. There is a $2 non-resident fee for anyone who lives outside the city limits.

The 2023 season begins the week of May 30. All games will be played at Legion Field (next to the Civic Auditorium) on Fort Henry Drive.

For more information call 423-229-9460 or email debbiecutshall@kingsporttn.gov.

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Kingsport hosting Parent’s Night Out “Glow” Party

The Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a parent’s night out event next week at the Lynn View Community Center. Parents will be able to drop their elementary school-aged children off for a couple of hours to enjoy an evening of exciting “glow” activities.

The Glow Party will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on May 12 at the Lynn View Community Center (257 Walker Street). The event is for children ages 6 to 12 and the cost for admission is $5 per child.

Activities include “glow” dodgeball and kickball, so children are encouraged to wear neon or white clothes. The lights in the gym will be turned off, the black lights will be turned on and everyone will glow in the dark while playing dodgeball and kickball.

Registration is required and can be done so by going to www.kingsporttn.gov and clicking on the “CivicRec” link, then search for “glow party.” Parents will need to come inside to sign their children in and out of the event.

For more information about other events and programs offered by Kingsport Parks and Recreation, visit www.kingsportparksandrecreation.org.

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Financial assistance available for delinquent utility customers

The Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency will return to City Hall (415 Broad Street) tomorrow to help low-income households apply for assistance in paying their delinquent utility bills.

On Thursday, May 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., UETHDA officials will be in the lobby of city hall and in their RV in the city hall parking lot assisting residents.

UETHDA received federal COVID grant money to help low-income families pay utility bills through the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). Income limits depend on the number of persons in your household. For example, a household of 4 can earn as much as $50,902 annually and still qualify for assistance.

If you qualify, the LIHWAP grant will pay $250 to your account, even if you owe as little as $10. Some customers receive as much as $5,000.

You will need to bring a copy of at least one social security card for someone in the home, a copy of a driver’s license or an ID card of the person completing the application, along with proof of income for the last 30 days for everyone in the home over the age of 18.

During two previous visits to city hall in March, UETHDA officials processed 77 applications and approved more than $19,000 in assistance to residents. Since August 2022, the LIHIP program has helped 458 Kingsport customers with bills totaling $237,832.

UETHDA has a little less than $1 million in LIHWAP funds remaining for its 8-county service area. The program is scheduled to end September 30, 2023.

If you want to turn in your application or ask for assistance sooner, please go to UETHDA’s office at 301 Louis Street or call them at 423-246-6180.

If you have a delinquent balance and don’t qualify for federal assistance, you can make a payment arrangement with Customer Service, including paying the balance over a 12-month period to prevent your water from being cut off.

You can call Customer Service at 423-343-9860 or visit City Hall on Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Kingsport Fire Department reports fewer calls in 2022

The Kingsport Fire Department witnessed a drop in the number of emergency calls it responded to in 2022, while reporting fewer structure fires and vehicles fires taking place within the city. Unfortunately, there were three fire related deaths in Kingsport last year.

“We’re glad to see the number of structure and vehicle fires drop last year and are pleased we improved our average response time,” said Kingsport Fire Chief Scott Boyd. “However, those improved stats mean a little less when we’ve had fire related deaths. Any time that happens, it’s a tragedy.”

The Kingsport Fire Department recently issued its annual report, which gives a breakdown of the types and number of incidents firefighters responded to last year and how those numbers have changed since 2021.

The report also gives a brief history of the department, the highlights and major accomplishments of the previous year, along with the short term and long term goals of the department.

Major accomplishments by the KFD in 2022:

  • Held a grand opening ceremony for the department’s new Fire Training Facility.
  • Moved forward with plans to replace Fire Station 2
  • Purchased 60 SCBA units, 4 thermal imaging cameras and 52 sets of turnout gear using ARPA funds.
  • All firefighters completed training from the National Wildlife Coordinating Group.
  • Participated in a three-day Tennessee Homeland Security District One drill.

Statistical information:

  • Firefighters responded to 8,152 incidents.
  • Number of structure fires – 102 (estimated loss $1 million)
  • Number of vehicle fires – 41 (estimated loss $440,000)
  • Number of medical calls – 5,971
  • Number of fire related deaths – 3
  • Average response time – 5:15
  • Total fire loss – nearly $1.5 million

Kingsport is one of 32 communities across the state that enjoys an ISO rating of 2. Only seven communities in Tennessee have an ISO rating of 1.

As of December 2022, the Kingsport Fire Department had 122 personnel working in eight fire stations, serving a population of more than 55,400 residents living within 54 square miles. Kingsport’s ISO rating is 2 and 2Y.

For more information, please visit www.kingsporttn.gov.

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Bays Mountain Park hosts annual “Kids at Bays Day”

Turn off the screens, lay down the controller and put your phone on silent. It’s time to take your children outside and enjoy a fun-filled day with nature at Bays Mountain Park.

The park is hosting its annual Kids at Bays Day on May 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of paid and free programs are scheduled to keep kids engaged at the park all day long. All of the animal habitats, hiking and biking trails and the Nature Center will be open for discovery and exploration.

In addition, food trucks will be on site and located behind the Day Camp cabin.

“Kids at Bays Day is a great opportunity to get your children out of the house, away from their devices and to reconnect with nature,” said Megan Krager, Bays Mountain Park manager.

Kids at Bays Day is being held in connection with the nationally recognized Kids to Parks Day celebration. Now in its 13th year, Kids to Parks Day is an annual day of outdoor exploration at local, state and national parks and public lands across the country.

Organized by the National Park Trust, the mission of Kids to Parks Day is to foster future outdoor enthusiasts and help with developing the next generation of park stewards by engaging kids in memorable outdoor experiences. While discovering and exploring parks, kids learn about park stewardship, outdoor recreation, STEM, and the history of our country and its amazing national treasures.

For more information about Kids to Parks Day visit www.parktrust.org/kids-to-parks-day.

Link to: City of Kingsport
City of Kingsport, Tennessee