"SONGS BY THE BROOK"

CONCERTS IN THE PARK

AUGUST 17 & 31 & SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
6 - 9 pm
Admission FREE!
Food vendors will be availableon site for food purchases

A free summer concert series held during the months of August and September in Springbrook Park.

Since 2008 the City of Alcoa has been pushing and spending to develop a city center.

The city wants to use a 252 acre site that used to be the Alcoa Aluminum Company West Plant. However, it definitely would take some time to develop since the site is "Classified as a brownfield, the site has a limited number of known environmental constraints affecting development placement."

Fourteen years later and who knows how many millions of dollars the entire project is still in the development phase.

As a positive for the city, a Texas Roadhouse is being built on the site to replace a smaller Texas Roadhouse across the street. In addition, a Food City is being built to replace an existing Food City two miles down the road. And, then there is a new apartment complex in development to add to the tax coffers?

TDOT spent millions of dollars to build "better" access to the site, which is located just south of the Alcoa Highway/Hunt Road intersection.

"City Manager Mark Johnson said land preparation will be complete once Alcoa is returned a check for $2 million and approximately 30 acres within Springbrook."

In addition, as has been said over the 14 years, tax generation, tax generation, tax generation.

"Outlined in the original agreement [from 2016], Alcoa estimated investing $8 million that ACDP (Airport Center Development Partners, LLC) would pay back over time as it sold property to developers. However, ACDP has yet to pay the city back for the $6.5 million the city spent." ... "Alcoa paved Tesla Boulevard, installed street lights, provided utility access and fronted other development costs for which ACDP would reimburse the city."

So is that $8.5 million that the City of Alcoa has spent of taxpayer monies over the past 14 years that has not realized any return? I would almost bet that the city has spent more than that.

"ACDP signed over their monetary responsibility to another company — TN Alcoa Primary, LLC.Along with the debt owed to the city, TN Alcoa Primary acquired ACDP’s remaining land assets within Springbrook Farm."

Then there is a lawsuit filed by "Plaintiff NAI Knoxville, Inc" in December, 2021, "against ACDP and other interwoven LLCs for the anticipated agreement change that materialized April 22 in Alcoa’s commission chambers." The lawsuit apparently alleges that the defendants are trying to get out of paying approximately $900,000 in "sale commissions on Springbrook Farm land."

It appears the city claims that "Three apartment complexes, a townhome community and the Mills Street houses will add 1,072 tax-assessed properties to the city." Not all of these residences will be in Springbrook Farm. However, the city has yet to explain how the increase in citizens will be managed for the school system. The Alcoa Schools are already near capacity. Is any increase in taxes going to be offset by an increase in the cost for a bigger schools system?

"The City of Alcoa originated in 1918 as the first planned community in the State of Tennessee. A planned community is any community that was carefully planned from its inception. In the original plans, Alcoa, Inc., included one acre of park space for every 100 city inhabitants."

..."a 2-acre park to be named Centennial Park is planned for the middle of Springbrook Farms. "Johnson said each greenspace project will be completed as the city has room in the budget or receives grants."

That's 2 acres of park space for 1,092 residential units, not even city inhabitants. Whereas, to keep the City of Alcoa as desirable as it is now, there should be at a minimum 11 additional acres of park space.

We can only hope that some day this project will be a success and the City of Alcoa will continue to be an asset.

Someone set up a synchronized light show in the Springbrook neighborhood, Alcoa. It is at the corner of Wright Road and Alcoa Road. Tune your FM radio to 89.5 and enjoy the show.

They did a great job. We sat in the car and enjoyed the masterful light show and music.

Great job! Many thanks to the creator.

A free summer concert series held during the months of August and September in Springbrook Park. The series will focus on Americana, folk and blues genres featuring performances by regional and local musicians. Vendors will be on site.

Thursday, August 2, 2018 - 6-9 PM
Conservation Theory, Trisha Gene Brady

Thursday, August 23, 2018 - 6-9 PM
Daniel Kimbro, Drop Dead Dangerous, Jonah Riddle & the Carolina Express

Thursday, September 6, 2018 - 6-9 PM
RB Morris, Skinny Beaver & the Honeysuckle Playboyz

Thursday, September 27, 2018 - 6-9 PM
Tall Paul & Kristie Bobal, Robinella

As reported in the Maryville Daily Times.

Safety issues are a concern. Townsend has an all volunteer fire department, "which is responsible for rescuing tubers who are under distress on Little River." The department has handled more than 50 rescues in one season. A couple of years ago they had 11 rescures in 30 minutes. Suggestions to help alleviate the problems include requiring life jackets, not allowing tubing when the water is too high or too low, and requiring a specific size of tube.

Then there are the cost for "patrolling, rescuing and helping the tubers." "The City of Townsend charges $100 per calendar year for a permit that is required of any individual or entity operating a tube-related business within the city limits." Citizens with property along Little River are worried about the liability when a tuber gets hurt on their private property

Townsend property owners were hoping environmental concerns would give the city and county a foothold to regulate commercial tubing on Little River. A TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Water Resources) representative said that "baseline data "for years" shows that Little River is still at acceptable levels for recreational use standards for pathogens."

Citizens at the workshop worried about the health of Little River and described changes they have seen in the water. The citizens commented on thousands of tubers going to the bathroom in Little River in addition to all the suntan lotions being washed into the river. There were complaints about the disturbances of the sediment by the tubers. Late in the day you cannot see the bottom of the river. Then there are the people moving rocks to create flumes for tubers. TDEC tried to address this problem in 2008, but have found it hard to enforce since they have to see the activity themselves.

The large presence of tubers negatively affects fishing. "You can’t fly fish, said one resident. "I’ve hooked tubers before, and I’ve been told I’m a horrible person for standing on my own property and fishing."

Then there are the abandoned tubes along the river. Property owners don't want the tubing companies on their property retrieving tubes, nor do they want to go out of their way to return them to the companies. What do they do? Shove them back in the water for the next property owner to handle?

These problems may sound small and petty if you address each individually. But, if you look at the big picture tubing on Little River in Townsend is a growing issue and should be addressed. Maybe someone should build a fake river somewhere close by (like a theme park) and remove tubing from Little River completely. Just a thought.

A free summer concert series held during the months of August and September in Springbrook Park. The series will focus on Americana, folk and blues genres featuring performances by regional and local musicians. Vendors will be on site.

Thursday, August 3, 2017 - 6-9 PM
Karen Reynolds, Angela Easterling, Robinella

Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 6-9 PM
The Dirty Dougs, Wild Blue Yonder, Chuck Johnson and Charlyhorse

Thursday, September 7, 2017 - 6-9 PM
Tommie John Band, Jesse Gregory King, Sam Lewis

Thursday, September 28, 2017 - 6-9 PM
Kirk Fleta, Red Shoes & Rosin, Ian Thomas & The Band of Drifters

Check it out.

Summer on Broadway in Downtown Maryville and FreedomFest in Alcoa at the Duck Pond.

The weather will clear up. Enjoy the day!

Little River Trading Co. had their official season grand opening today at Louisville Point Park. They have a nice assortment of kayaks and stand up paddle boards for rent, including tandem sit on top kayaks, and the rates are reasonable.

Details at KnoxViews

Raccoons with either distemper or rabies are a problem in Blount County, primarily in the City of Alcoa. Local officials think the problem is distemper, but it hasn't been confirmed.

According to Alcoa animal control, seventeen or eighteen raccoons have had to be euthanized in March. In the past, they have only had to euthanize two or three raccoons a year.

The strange behavior of infected raccoons includes being out in the day, walking in circles or lying on the ground. They might also be foaming from the mouth, even if suffering from distemper and not rabies, Harrison said.

Many of them will no longer act afraid of humans.
...
Residents who encounter them are asked to stay away from the animals and call the Blount County Communications Center non-emergency dispatch number at (865) 983-3620.

Be careful out there.

Alcoa's Public Works and Engineering Department will start installing the new sidewalks between North Linden Drive and the red light at the Hunters Crossing/Louisville Road intersection today, Jan. 24, and will continue for four months, the city announced in a press release Friday. The scheduled completion date is May 26.

This is wonderful news. The greenbelt and sidewalks currently deadend at this location. Many bike riders and pedestrians who want to go to the shopping center have a treacherous section to traverse. Many thanks to the city for this project.

TVA's Little River boat ramp has been shut down. We have seen no notice as to why it is shutdown, but we have a good idea.

NOTICE - Area and Boat Ramp Closed to Public Use -
DO NOT ENTER - TVA

According to a report in the Maryville Daily Times, in October, 2016, a Knoxville man was "cited after performing public sex acts at Louisville boat ramp." A man fishing near the boat ramp was very upset after being approached by a man who exposed himself and was masturbating as he continued to walk closer.

We used to go to that boat ramp a lot when we were young. We haven't been there since we've returned to Tennessee because of these kinds of problems. The boat ramp is quite secluded and cannot be seen from the road. It's sad that the fix is to close the boat ramp.

An intense thunderstorm with high winds rolled through last night causing downed trees, power outages and some structural damage.

Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks & Rec presents a free summer concert series held during the months of August, September and October in Springbrook Park. The series will focus on Americana, folk and blues genres featuring performances by regional and local musicians. Springbrook is a beautiful park in the Alcoa community featuring nearby trails, playgrounds and indoor facilities (in case of rain). A perfect setting for outdoor summer concerts! You can relax and enjoy the music, then walk around and visit with some of our onsite vendors like Maryville Farmer’s Market and more.

I attended the first hour of the August 11, 2016, concert. It was very enjoyable. I loved the Drop Dead Dangerous musical artists.

Upcoming concerts:

September 8, 2016
Musical artists include: Kirk Fleta, Scott McMahan, Tommie John, and Robinella

September 22, 2016
Musical artists include: The Dirty Dougs, Jesse Gregory Keen, and EmiSunshine

October 6, 2016
Musical artists include: Ryan Sheley, Count This Penny, Chuck Johnson and Charleyhorse

Concerts are held from 6 PM to 9 PM.
Parking is available on either side of the Springbrook gym.
Local barbecue is available. Southland Books usually has food. I bought locally grown strawberries at the first concert.

Bring a chair or blanket. Sit around and enjoy the beautiful evenings of music.

Maryville dogs and dog-lovers gathered Saturday, May 14, in Bicentennial Greenbelt Park to celebrate the grand opening and leash-cutting of the long-awaited PetSafe Dog Park at Pistol Creek.

Can't wait to check it out.

It's nasty outside. The weather is beautiful. It'd be great to go out for a walk, jog, or bike ride. But, is it safe? No one knows.