There Really Are Some Easy Answers

Lots of stuff that could seriously impact JeffersonCounty took place this week. Some, like the Megasite funding that was approved by the County Budget Committee by a slight margin, have the eye of most of the public. For it or against it, most JeffersonCounty residents are aware of it. It is the hot button issue of the day-week-month and maybe even year (depending on continued funding) and has spurred the emotions of much of the County. I find it a little unsettling how emotional this issue is for many people on both sides of the issue. There is a lot at stake for everyone that lives in this County. Of course, property owners in the footprint have the most personal stake in the project but the economic impact of the project ( both good and bad) have driven the stakes higher than they have ever been in Jefferson County. Every JeffersonCounty resident needs to inform themselves about the project by seeking credible information. The rumor mill is working overtime and there are a lot of “facts” that simply are not true, in both support and opposition of the project. I, personally, have been investigating the pro, cons and neutrals of the Megasite for several weeks now and I am not ready to declare a position on the issue. I feel for the property owners and believe in their right to fight or sell, which ever they choose. I also see daily the need for economic relief in a County that has 74% of the student population on free and reduced lunch and very limited opportunities for employment. Arguments can be made that jobs will or will not go to JeffersonCounty residents but until or unless there is a taker on the Megasite there are only assumptions on the number of jobs that could be available to locals. Eminent Domain is ugly. Poverty is ugly. Which is the most repugnant?  One is about the right to truly own your own property-the homes that you create and land that you value. The other is about the need to have a minimum standard of living-a warm place to sleep, enough food to feed your family and the frill less necessities. Is the responsibility of the government to protect the rights of the individual or to promote the greater good? I simply don’t have the answer to that question.

As big as the Megasite is, other impacting things happened in the County and State this week. The Jefferson County Planning Commission is working on groundbreaking guidelines for Cadaver Research Site (body farm). The eyes of the academic and scientific communities will be on JeffersonCounty as we set precedent in this issue. On the State level, Governor Haslam used the “V” word-vouchers. Actually, he is touting a voucher program for 5,000 low income students to use at private schools as scholarship program. Though JeffersonCounty students will not be a part of the initial 5,000 they may very well be a part of the 20,000 in the next four years. That means State funding cuts to public education in the County and the trickle down of the voucher program could be one of the scariest things in public education in decades. Within the Republican Party there are serious questions about the program and the “V” word has even some hard core GOP representatives shuddering quietly in the corner. And finally, to the dismay of many Dandridge residents, Dandridge may end up with low income housing adjacent to their Field of Dreams and new multi million dollar ActivityCenter. Wow. Was everyone asleep at the wheel on that one or what? I am not against good, affordable housing but there are issues associated with some low income housing. It seems to me that the Town’s (read taxpayer) investment should have been a consideration. Dandridge proper enjoys a much higher median household income than most of JeffersonCounty and the apartments are not rented exclusively to JeffersonCounty residents, though the Development Company assures me that their market study is centered in the greater Dandridge area. Of course, somehow the low income part of the tax credit housing program was not clear to several local officials at the meeting. Hmmm…I suppose that Dandridge really meant it with the new branding slogan We saved a place for you.  The question of the Megasite may be complex but putting Section 42 housing next to a multi million dollar taxpayer investment is eyebrow raising at best. See, there really are some easy answers.