What do you think of spending $10 million of tax dollars a minute? This is the potential cost of the PPE -- $100 million to shorten drive time by ten minutes, but no improvement in traffic congestion or levels of service on our area roads even with three new highways (PPE, Southern Loop and Alcoa Parkway). Readers will be interested in the substance (not just the soundbites in circulation) of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The material below quotes directly from the DEIS (available on line at Link... and in hard copy at the Blount County Public Library and Chamber of Commerce) and from supporting Technical Memoranda, available upon request from TDOT but not currently on the TDOT webpage.

There is much, much more information in the 370-page DEIS and 900+ pages of supporting material that demonstrates the PPE will not satisfy the purposes and needs in the official description in TDOT materials.

This is no longer a matter of opinion:

TDOT’s own data show the PPE will not improve regional mobility, will not reduce crash incidence, will not address traffic congestion, will not improve levels of service on most of our roads, will likely accelerate residential development that increases costs to the County for providing services like education, will displace families and take active farmland out of production, will substantially increase noise levels in residential neighborhoods, and will threaten our waterways and wildlife habitat.

Three examples, with page references to TDOT’s own materials:

“Little change is predicted in the level of service of existing roadways between the No-Build and Build Alternatives since the traffic volumes do not change substantially for most roadways among the alternatives.” (DEIS, 3-3)
“Overall, this analysis does not demonstrate that any of the Build Alternatives would substantially improve the level of service for the existing highway network.” (DEIS, 3-4)
“Sections of SR 33 and US 411/Sevierville Road would operate at a poor level of service (LOS E or F) regardless of alternative due to existing and projected high traffic volumes on these roadways that exceed the given capacity.” (DEIS, 3-4)

The DEIS shows that only two intersections in the entire study area are improved by Alternative A or C (DEIS 2-10; 3-4; Traffic Operations Report 43) despite such improvement being a major project purpose (DEIS S-2, 1-7).

The DEIS assumes that “when combined with appropriate land use regulations, the recommended transportation improvements need not contribute to urban sprawl.” DEIS 3-17 and 3-18) But the Economic and Fiscal Impacts Analysis acknowledges a different outcome from recent history: “a review of historical building permit trends between 2005 and 2007 suggests that despite the smart growth policies of the County, new residential growth outside municipal boundaries is occurring at a far more rapid pace than within those city limits. . . . on average about 75% of new development over the past three years has occurred in the unincorporated portions of Blount County as compared to Alcoa and Maryville.” (EFIA 18)

The Economic and Fiscal Impacts Analysis addresses the issue of declining revenues: “In both development scenarios, property taxes represent the smallest category of net revenues likely to accrue to the County, with the largest contributor being sales tax revenues from the expenditures of new residents and employees."(3) But sales tax revenues have been unreliable for recurring County expenses, and the commercial development anticipated at the new PPE interchanges has been or will be annexed by the cities of Maryville and Alcoa, meaning those new sales tax revenues will not go to the County, while education costs due to population growth will continue to be borne by the County.

More analysis using TDOT’s own data is now available on CAPPE’s webpage Link...

The public hearing on the DEIS is Tuesday, July 20, beginning at 5pm at Heritage High School. Come ask why proponents continue to advocate the expenditure of up to $100 million in taxpayer dollars for a project that, even according to TDOT’s own data, doesn’t fulfill the official purpose.

Tony Webb, candidate for County Commission District 10, Seat A has a new campaign website...

Wendy Pitts Reeves, incumbent running for County Commission District 4 seat C, has a new website...

Every Democrat running for County Commission in the Aug 5th general election has a last name that causes them to all be listed second on the ballot after their Republican opponents.

Blount Dems: Recruit more Aarons and Abbots.

Reminder: Early voting starts Friday, July 16th.

County Commission 6A candidate Gary Wynn now has a website and there's some very interesting discussion about energy and commerce in Blount Co. with some concrete numbers showing how local decisions can make a huge local impact.

In other election news, the Blount Co. Election commission has posted sample ballots for the Aug. 5th county general and state primary elections.

Early voting starts July 16th, just two weeks from today.

The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, July 6th.

The Blount Co. Election Commission has posted sample ballots for the Aug. 5th county general and Democratic and Republican primaries.

Daily Times:

What is your position on the proposed Pellissippi Parkway extension?

Kerr: "There is a fixed amount of dollars. Federal money is not infinite. ... We’ve got a certain amount of money, and I believe that Pellissippi should be delayed for a certain time." Kerr added that the money should be spent improving local roadways like Morganton Road.

Mitchell: "I’m for the extension of Pellissippi Parkway. It opens up a real avenue for resources to come in. ... We need some small commercial development."

TDOT has scheduled a public meeting for Tuesday, July 20, from 5-7pm in the Heritage High School Auditorium.

According to the TDOT Notice of Public Hearing:

This is a notice regarding the "Availability of the Approved Pellissippi Parkway Extension (SR162) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The purpose of the hearing is to provide the public an opportunity to comment on the findings of the EIS and the proposed project prior to completion of the final environmental document.

A formal presentation will be followed by a question and answer period.

Update: This will provide a TDOT 10/08 newsletter with a map of the proposed PPE routes. I'm not positive, but I believe route B is no longer a consideration.

Early voting ends today in the Blount County primary election. My ballot will be completely blank - no Democratic candidates filed to run for any office I can vote for.

It would be tempting to ask for a Republican ballot, but, a) I don't want to interfere with their primary, b) I don't want it on my record, and c) it's technically illegal.

That's right. See TCA 2-7-115 (B):

2-7-115. Residence requirements - Primary election voting requirements.

(a) A voter may vote only in the precinct where the voter resides and is registered, but if a registered voter has, at any time prior to voting, changed residence to another place inside the county, the voter must vote pursuant to the provisions of § 2-7-140. If a registered voter has, within ninety (90) days before a state primary or general election or federal primary or general election, changed residence to another place inside Tennessee but outside the county where the voter is registered, the voter may vote in the polling place where the voter is registered. If the voter has, within ninety (90) days before an election, changed name by marriage or otherwise, the voter may vote in the polling place where the voter is registered or is entitled to vote under § 2-7-140.

(b) A registered voter is entitled to vote in a primary election for offices for which the voter is qualified to vote at the polling place where the voter is registered if:

(1) The voter is a bona fide member of and affiliated with the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote; or

(2) At the time the voter seeks to vote, the voter declares allegiance to the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote and states that the voter intends to affiliate with that party.

Since a) I'm not a "bona fide" member of the Republican party (and state law is silent on what makes someone a "bona fide" member of any party), and b) I sure ain't going to "declare allegiance" or state any intent to affiliate with the party, technically I am not entitled to vote in their primary.

It occurs to me that if we're going to have state and locally run party primaries we should have party registration. This crossover stuff works both ways. Ask Rosalind Kurita.

Early voting for the county primaries starts one week from today on April 14th and runs through the 29th. Here are the early voting locations and times.

• Democratic primary ballot
• Republican primary ballot

Rep. Joe McCord Won't Seek Re-Election to House

UPDATE: Former Sen. Bill Clabough Eyes Run for McCord House Seat

Where the Dems at?

Check this out. (I know it looks complicated, but just stare at it for a while like I did...)

Nov. 2008 election results by county commission district and party (based on Obama v. McCain*):

Aug. 2006 county commission vote by district, seat, and party:

So what does this tell us? Beats me. Except that Republicans dominate Blount County. But we already knew that.

But what I do see is that a) turnout is pathetic in off-year elections (when we elect most of our local county government), b) Democrats need to run more opposition candidates , and c) in 2006 Wendy Pitts Reeves and Dr. Bob Proffitt turned out more than half the number of 2008 Democratic presidential election voters in their districts (although it's most likely that not all their votes were from Democrats).

That last one is interesting, considering that turnout was about 22% in the 2006 county general election v. 76% in the 2008 national election.

It should also be noted that Democrats won two of the three County Commission seats where they ran candidates. Maybe that's the takeaway.

Anyway, these charts clearly show there are enough Democrats (and I count a 2008 Blount Co. vote for Obama as a hard core, yellow dog Democrat vote) to elect Democrats in almost every County Commission district if Democrats turn out the vote.

But this isn't really about R v. D. It's about good government, and not just being a rubber stamp for the County Mayor, Sheriff, and developers.

(*Note: The by-precinct numbers are slightly but insignificantly higher and don't add up to the unofficial election totals posted by the Blount Co. Election Commission on their website. I've double and triple checked, so you'll have to ask them why that is. Probably my bad, if someone can figure out why I'll be glad to make corrections.)

We were fortunate to have lunch with Democratic gubernatorial primary candidate Kim McMillan and Blount Co. Commissioner Wendy Pitts Reeves today. Our full report, with photos...

UPDATE: Maryville Daily Times on McMillan visit...

The Blount County Election office says they are finalizing certification of petitions received as of yesterday's deadline and hope to have it completed this afternoon.

It appears that ten elections are already decided with candidates running unopposed (all Republicans). Five more elections will be decided in the Republican primary, with the winners running unopposed in the general.

In the remaining six competitive races, three Republican primary winners will face independent candidates in the general. Although independents do not traditionally do well, Howard Kerr could be the spoiler in the County Mayor's race.

Democrats put up a respectable roster of candidates for County Commission, including three incumbents. All are unopposed in the primary and will advance to the general.

It appears Republicans are not happy with some of the incumbents. County Mayor Jerry Cunningham drew a primary challenger, as did County Commissioners Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, Gary Farmer, Steve Hargis, Holden Lail, and Mike Walker.

Here's how it stands at the moment:

ELECTIONS DECIDED:

Incumbent Mike Lewis (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 2B.

Incumbent Ron French (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 9A.

Incumbent Monika Murrell is running unopposed for County Commission seat 9B.

Incumbent Kenneth Melton (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 10B.

Incumbent Tom Hatcher (R) is running unopposed for Circuit Court Clerk.

Incumbent Robert Headrick (R) is running unopposed for Genera Sessions Judge Div. 4.

Phyllis Crisp (R) is running unopposed for Register of Deeds and will replace Penny Whaley who is retiring at the end of her term.

Incumbent Bill Dunlap (R) is running unopposed for Road Superintendent.

Incumbent Scott Graves (R) is running unopposed for Trustee.

Incumbent Jim Berrong (R) is running unopposed for Sheriff.

ELECTIONS DECIDED IN PRIMARY:

Mike Caylor and Jimmy Melton will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 3B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Mark Hasty and challenger Kimberly Russell will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 4B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Scott Helton and challenger Homer Sauls will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 6B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Steve Hargis and challenger Jim Folts will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 7A and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Roy Gamble, James Taylor, and John Templeton will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 8A and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

PRIMARIES DECIDED:

Incumbent Tonya Burchfield (R) and challenger Brandon Cook (D) will advance to the general for County Commission 1A.

Incumbent David Ballard (D) and challenger Shawn Carter (R) will advance to the general for County Commission 1B.

Incumbent Brad Harrison (R) will face independent challenger Everett Hoy in the general for County Commission 2A.

Incumbent Steve Samples (R) will face independent challenger Richard Hutchens in the general for County Commission 3A.

Incumbent Peggy Lambert (R) will face independent challenger Izaak Stanridge in the general for County Commission 5A.

Incumbent Bob Proffitt (D) and challenger Richard Carver (R) will advance to the general for County Commission 5B.

Independent challenger William Hill will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 4A.

Incumbent Wendy Pitts Reeves (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 4C.

Gary Wynn (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 6A.

Linda Jo Dees (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 7B.

Independent challenger John Polk will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 8B.

Tony Webb (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 10A.

Independent challenger Howard Kerr will face the Republican primary winner for County Mayor.

COMPETITIVE PRIMARIES:

Incumbent Jerry Cunningham will face challenger Ed Mitchell in the Republican primary for County Mayor. The winner will face independent Howard Kerr in the general.

Incumbent Gary Farmer will face challenger Jerry Harvey in the Republican primary for County Commission 4A. The winner will face independent William Hill in the general.

Jerome Moon and Billy Gribble will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 4C. The winner will face incumbent Wendy Pitts Reeves (D) in the general.

Incumbent Holden Lail will compete with challengers Steve Hicks and Sheri Turner in the Republican primary for County Commission 6A. The winner will face challenger Gary Wynn (D) in the general.

Tom Greene and Tom Cole will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 7B. The winner will face Linda Jo Dees (D) in the general.

Incumbent Mike Walker will face challenger Gordon Wright in the primary for County Commission 8B. The winner will face independent John Polk in the general.

According to the Maryville Daily Times,

A Health Care Reform discussion forum will be held at the Blount County Library on January 26th at 6:30PM.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College, the Blount County Ecumenical Action Council and the nonpartisan Tennessee Health Care Campaign.

The groups "advocate for health care reform as a moral imperative regardless of the current national political debate."

Previous events by the groups were held in September, 2009, and January 3, 2010.