February 9, 2017
As we begin a new year that promises to be busy and productive at the City of Knoxville, we always find it valuable to look back at the year we just concluded. So I am pleased to present you with the detailed attached report, in which all of our City departments and offices have summarized their activities and accomplishments in 2016.
As you can see from the report’s 70+ pages, we have been busy! We opened the first new City park in a dozen years, Suttree Landing on the South Waterfront. We renovated the historic Administration Building at Lakeshore Park and moved our Parks and Recreation staff there. We opened a brand-new Public Works Service Center on Morris Avenue, modernizing and consolidating our service departments in an attractive new building with accessible public meeting space.
We continued our economic redevelopment efforts downtown and throughout the urban core, from Cumberland Avenue to Magnolia Avenue, Happy Holler to the South Waterfront. (We also opened brand-new public restrooms in the Market Square Garage! A much requested amenity.) We continued our efforts with our Save Our Sons initiative to build resources and opportunities for young men and boys of color in our community.
There’s an old political saying that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose. We had both this year. We celebrated our City’s 225th anniversary with a series of events, including a birthday greeting written for the occasion by our first-ever Knoxville Poet Laureate, R.B. Morris. On the prose side, we continued to provide and improve the crucial public services that are the core mission of any local government. Our Police Department responded to 250,000 calls for service, and their efforts contributed to declines in crimes against persons and property. The Fire Department answered 21,000 emergency calls, and both KFD and KPD provided officers and equipment to help fight the wildfires in Gatlinburg. Our Public Service Department, meanwhile, maintained 1,232 acres of City land, 52 miles of greenways and 20,000 trees on public property, while also collecting more than 30,000 tons of brush and leaves from neighborhoods across the City.
From new garbage carts for every Knoxville household to new, credit-card-friendly parking meters downtown and in Fort Sanders, we made investments to improve our quality of life and modernize our services. Our Engineering Department oversaw the completion of 30 capital infrastructure projects, including replacing a bridge on Holbrook Drive, rebuilding the 700 block of South Gay Street, and installing a new pump and circulation system at Fountain City Lake. And to make sure we are addressing the needs of all of our residents and customers, our 311 Call Center answered 155,000 constituent phone calls.
This was the first full year that all three of our Public Assembly Facilities – the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum, Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center and the Knoxville Convention Center – were managed by a single contractor, SMG. Their report on the increasing activity level at all three buildings is included here. You can also read about the accomplishments of Knoxville Area Transit, our bus and trolley operator.
As you read the report, I hope you keep in mind that all of this – from fixing the smallest pothole to providing parks and recreation opportunities to our major economic development projects – is part of a broader mission: to continually improve the quality of life for everyone who lives and works in Knoxville, as well as our many visitors from around the world. We have great momentum here, and we are working to make Knoxville a vibrant, welcoming, sustainable city for today and for many years to come.
The efforts and initiatives detailed here represent the hard work and dedication of many people. First, there are the nearly 1,600 City employees I am fortunate to work with, who impress me daily with their professionalism, commitment and creativity. Second, there are the many partners we rely on in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, all of whom play vital roles in helping move Knoxville forward. And most important, there is the public we all serve. It is only with your involvement, your support, and the high expectations you set for us that we are able to do what we do.
Thank you for another fantastic year. It is a privilege to serve as your Mayor. Here’s to a great 2017!
Madeline Rogero
Mayor
2016 YEAR IN REVIEW INDEX | PDF Format
311 CALL CENTER [Return to Depts. List]
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Answered 155,000 calls to the City’s 311 Call Center, and 13,000 calls to United Way’s 211 line. (On July 1, 2015, 311 staff took over operations of 211, a United Way initiative that connects people in need with services in the East Tennessee region. The partnership between the City of Knoxville, CAC’s Office on Aging, and the United Ways of East Tennessee is the first and only one of its kind in North America.)
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In December 2016, Knoxville 311/211 staff worked with leaders in Sevier County and the State of Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to assist those in need of services following the Nov. 28 Gatlinburg fire.
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Led 2nd Ambassador Class of front-line employees tasked with looking to innovate and improve City services to implement new, employee-driven programs, including:
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Reworking the employee onboarding process;
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Improving the Intranet; and
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Internal customer surveys on innovation and change.
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Renovated and moved into new, updated 311 Center for Service Innovation, on the 3rd floor of the City County Building. The Center’s focus is evolving to be more focused on customer interactions enterprise wide and the closure of requests and concerns. The Center also serves as the hub of internal and external communication and training on issues related to our customers’ experience. With technology upgrades including a new work order system, direct connection to TDOT Smart Ways and other services, 311 serves as the information hub and center of service improvement for city residents and visitors.
BUSINESS SUPPORT [Return to Depts. List]
Mobile Food Vendor Program:
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After a two-year successful pilot program for food trucks, a permanent Mobile Food Unit (MFU) ordinance was drafted in late 2015. Public comment was solicited, and thoughtful feedback from citizens prompted a series of amendments to the proposed ordinance, first by City staff and then by City Council. On April 26, 2016, City Council voted unanimously to adopt the permanent ordinance regulating food trucks.
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More than 60 mobile food units have been inspected and permitted. The Office of Business Support continues to work with City departments (Law, Plans Review and Inspections, Fire, Police, Public Service, Traffic Engineering and Downtown Coordinator), business owners, special events organizers and the public to coordinate and address matters related to the Mobile Food Vendor Program.
Business Advisory Council:
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The 12 members appointed to the City’s Business Advisory Council met every other month for feedback on City programs and policies and to foster good communications with the business community.
Business Assistance:
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Assisted business start-ups with information on training resources, permitting requirements, alternative and new business models, and networking/connection opportunities.
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Helped businesses connect and/or navigate requirements and challenges in various City departments, as well as with outside entities, like MPC, KUB and the Health Department.
Business Networking:
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Attended numerous business and professional association meetings, Knoxville Chamber and Knoxville Entrepreneur Center events, ribbon cuttings, public meetings and community events.
Boards and Committees:
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The Business Liaison, Patricia Robledo, represented the City on non-profit boards and committees including: Community Health Council, Family Justice Center, Mayor’s Maker Council, East Tennessee Quality Growth and East Tennessee Civil Rights Working Group.
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Robledo also participated in various internal committees, including: Consolidated Fundraising Campaign, Façade Grant Review, Short Term Rentals and Equity committees.
CIVIL SERVICE [Return to Depts. List]
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Civil Service processed 206 requisitions for vacancies in 2016. This resulted in the processing of more than 4,600 applications and the hiring of 63 new permanent employees and 54 new temporary employees, as well as the promotion of 175 existing employees.
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Included in the hiring processes for 2016 was the hiring of a new Police Academy class, which is set to start in early 2017, as well as promotional processes for Police Officer I – IV, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Deputy Chief.
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Civil Service created a new position of Training Coordinator in 2016 in order to provide comprehensive management of the City’s training efforts. This has allowed Civil Service to provide more training and to capture and document safety and equipment training provided by Public Service and Risk Management. Civil Service provided more than 1,700 training hours to City employees on topics like Personal Safety, Employment Law for Supervisors, Drug and Alcohol Training, and Preventing Harassment. Civil Service also documented 2,290 training hours provided by Public Service on safety and equipment use, 20 hours of OSHA training by Risk Management, and 908 training courses completed by employees online on various safety topics.
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Conducted the annual Salary & Benefits Survey, reporting the results to members of City Council and the Mayor; made recommended adjustments to the City’s classification and compensation plan; and administered the 2.5 percent across-the-board pay increase in July with notification to employees.
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Created 12 new job classes to meet the growing needs of City departments.
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Coordinated the City’s Summer in the City intern program. This year’s program included a group project that resulted in a mosaic honoring Zaevion Dobson, which was nominated by Parks and Recreation and won a Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association Four Star Arts Award.
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Participated in 10 community career fairs, including the Veterans Career Fair, Knox County Schools and Austin-East Annual College and Career Fair.
Special projects:
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Worked with Employee Benefits and the Ambassador program to develop a two-day new hire onboarding for new employees.
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Revised the job analysis and exam development procedures followed by the updating of the job analysis and examination for all jobs prior to posting effective Feb. 1, 2016.
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Assisted in the transitioning of Public Assemblies employees to Civil Service jobs or to continued employment with SMG.
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Prepared changes in response to Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act changes affecting exemption status of employees.
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Transitioned all remaining City employees to the timekeeping system.
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Conducted an employee retreat for Risk Management.
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Developed several new uniformed examination processes:
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Developed a new Police Recruit physical performance test;
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Developed a new Fire Assistant Chief promotional exam; and
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Began validation study for a new Police Officer Recruit written exam (estimated completion date in 2017).
COMMUNICATIONS [Return to Depts. List]
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Produced 222 media releases and 68 media advisories on City of Knoxville events, programs and projects.
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Prepared 119 Mayoral proclamations,186 Mayoral certificates, and 56 welcome letters for events and programs coming to Knoxville.
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Created 143 blog posts for the City website, along with hundreds of social media posts for the Mayor’s and City’s social media accounts.
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Webmaster managed the City of Knoxville website, which had more than 2.68 million page views during 2016.
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Webmaster trained 15 City employees on website operations this year so they can manage their own departments’ pages, and provides ongoing website assistance to 40 employees across multiple departments, in addition to posting daily updates to the website.
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Director served as liaison with City of Knoxville lobbyists and legislators to advocate for City priorities during the state legislative session.
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Worked with Engineering and the Downtown Coordinator to develop and roll out Downtown Parking Initiative, presenting a comprehensive strategy for public parking downtown.
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Created a new Social Media Policy to guide the operation of official City of Knoxville social media platforms, which was approved by the Law Department and the Mayor for adoption into City Administrative Rules.
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Worked closely with Community Relations and community members and provided communications support on launch of the Change Center project.
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Took photographs at dozens of City events for posting on the City website and social media.
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Worked with the Mayor’s Office, Special Events, Parks and Recreation and other City departments in planning City events and programs, including the State of the City Address and the opening of Suttree Landing Park.
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Produced six issues of the bimonthly City Works employee newsletter.
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Led the successful application effort to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities program, resulting in a technical assistance agreement with the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. Serve as liaison for multi-departmental effort to create an Open Data Policy, an Open Data Portal and a Blight Abatement Data project.
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Developed a policy that established criteria for lighting colors for the Henley Bridge, coordinated requests from local residents and organizations, and posted the schedule on the City’s website (
www.knoxvilletn.gov/henleylights). Since April 1, the Henley Bridge lights have celebrated more than 50 festivals, public events, elections, holidays and public awareness campaigns – ranging from the City’s 225th anniversary to Vol football games to street opera and Dogwood Arts.
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Worked with Mayor’s Office to create new resource pages on the City website for LGBT residents and immigrant and refugee populations in Knoxville.
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Helped launch and promote the Poet Laureate program for the City of Knoxville.
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Worked with the Public Arts Committee to promote public arts initiatives and requests for proposals across the city.
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In collaboration with the Office of Neighborhoods and other departments, helped to initiate the Neighborhoods to Nature walking series, holding two thus far, in which more than 30 City employees walked with residents from four neighborhoods to a park at each event.
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In collaboration with East Tennessee PBS, Knoxville Area Transit and Knox County Public Library, hosted the “Ride Along with Daniel Tiger” event. More than 1,000 attended (including Daniel Tiger enthusiasts from out of state); it was the first partnership event between the City of Knoxville and East Tennessee PBS.
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Completed application to qualify the City of Knoxville (alongside Knox County) as a Let’s Move! All Star City, an honor for a small percentage of cities in the nation that have already achieved five gold medals in the Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties initiative.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [Return to Depts. List]
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The Community Development Department received approval from HUD for a $2.9 million Section 108 Loan to support the redevelopment of the Farragut Hotel and create 61 full-time equivalent jobs for low- to moderate-income persons. The loan closed successfully, and all funds have been loaned to the developer for the project.
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The 2015-2016 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) was approved, and HUD noted that the City of Knoxville CD Department is making “excellent” progress in meeting its goals.
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The former South High building was offered for sale through a Request for Proposals process, and a successful proposal was awarded to Dover Development, which has begun work on converting the building to a senior housing complex.
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The second year of the Historic Preservation Fund was implemented, awarding $458,890 to 10 projects. The Request for Proposals for the third year has been published. Proposals for this round are due in February 2017. Five of the six projects assisted in the first year are now complete. To date, a total of 16 historic preservation projects have been funded, and seven historic preservation projects have been completed.
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New infrastructure design and construction for Phase 1 and Phase 2, funded by the City, is underway at Walter P. Taylor Homes as part of the Five Points Revitalization project. Phase 3 conceptual design is complete.
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The CD Director chairs the Abandoned, Blighted and Vacant Properties (ABV) Committee, which meets monthly, and now also reviews properties nominated for Demolition by Neglect (DBN) and makes recommendations. DBN properties are reviewed every other month.
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A total of 29 blighted properties were remedied either by acquisition, repair, demolition or redevelopment.
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Eleven properties were acquired; three vacant lots, eight structures.
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Eighteen properties were sold through the Homemakers Program with three pending sale and two under review.
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The Commercial Façade Improvement program completed 12 projects. The City investment on these projects was $553,842, which leveraged $1,289,140 in private investment by the property owners. Six façade projects are under construction, and 10 applications have been reviewed and scored and are in process of starting construction. In 2016, 157 new jobs were created and 24 jobs were retained through the Commercial Façade Improvement Program.
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The CD Housing Division completed 19 owner-occupied rehabilitation projects, of which two were new construction replacement homes. Six projects are underway. Applications for the program have remained steady during the past year.
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Four rental rehabilitation units were completed. One additional unit is underway, and CD is reviewing an application at this time for two new construction projects totaling 264 units.
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The City’s Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) developed seven affordable homes for sale. During the year, five affordable homes (some built in the previous year) were sold to low-income home-buyers, with the City providing down payment assistance. Currently, three homes are being rehabilitated in East and North Knoxville. Two of the homes are pre-sold.
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Emergency and minor repairs were completed in 91 housing units.
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A total of 9,393 unduplicated persons were served through 16 agencies that provide homeless services in Knoxville.
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East Tennessee Community Design Center provided technical assistance to nine organizations utilizing CDBG funds through Community Development. Services include organizational planning, architectural design services, accessibility planning and facility renovation planning for non-profit organizations and community groups.
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During 2016, lead testing and remediation was completed in 164 homes. This was funded with the Lead-Hazard Control grant. This grant ends in July 2017, but Community Development anticipates applying for another LHC grant in 2017 to continue the program.
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During the year, the City spent $201,746 in federal funds with Section 3 businesses and employees.
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A new workforce development program through Neighborhood Housing Inc. graduated its first class of 10 participants with construction pre-apprenticeship training (PACT) certificates. This program is funded with CDBG funds.
Office on Homelessness:
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The City assisted the Knoxville-Knox County Continuum of Care (CoC) and applied for $1,460,560 in funding for CoC grantees. This year’s application seeks to renew the previous year’s $1,390,506 in grants, and an additional $70,054 in new funds for additional Permanent Supportive Housing.
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In cooperation with community stakeholders on the Mayor’s Roundtable on Homelessness, “Knoxville’s Plan to Address Homelessness” carried out its second year of implementation.
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The City provided local support for homeless prevention case management services in several public housing apartment sites, as well as support at Minvilla Manor and Flenniken Landing, which represents 105 units of permanent supportive housing.
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Homeless Programs Coordinator Michael Dunthorn represented the Knoxville area on the Tennessee Interagency Council on Homelessness, and helped create a new state homelessness plan.
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Supported KnoxHMIS at the University of Tennessee in order to create a new online “Community Dashboard Report,” which provides current demographics and statistics on homelessness in the Knoxville community. The report provides transparent information to policy makers and the general public on achievements and challenges regarding this issue. This dashboard is the first of its kind in the country and has received much positive attention, including from places like the City of Los Angeles and the White House.
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Worked with the State Department of Mental Health to support expansion of the Federal “Cooperative Agreement to Benefit Homeless Individuals” (CABHI) program into Knoxville, providing mental health outreach and case management through the Helen Ross McNabb Center.
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Worked with regional partners to continue the federal initiative to end veteran homelessness.
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Convened a new “Housing Brain Trust” work group to develop a strategy for expanding affordable housing opportunities in Knoxville.
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Worked with the Knoxville Police Department, the Public Service Department and with community social service providers to address the issue of homeless camps along Second Creek and in other public spaces.
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In cooperation with the Homeless Coalition and the Office on Sustainability, carried out the second Knoxville “Landlord Summit.” The half-day session was well-attended and well-received. Landlords were provided with information intended to both improve their bottom line and also to increase the availability of affordable housing opportunities in Knoxville.
Disability Services Office:
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Successfully managed or assisted with 12 employee accommodation requests.
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Answered and responded to approximately 220 constituent calls, emails and drop-in visits requesting information and assistance.
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Provided and participated in training on the ADA or accessibility specifically geared toward the audiences of: KAT bus operators; First Transit operators; CAC’s Leadership class; Disability Resource Center’s Live Out Loud Academy; members of the Pigeon Forge Chamber; MPI (Meeting Professionals International,) UTK Nursing students; UTK Social Work students; National Kitchen and Bath Association; and the East Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability’s Housing Forum.
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Collaborated with the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability to provide a session on “Liveable Communities” at the Tennessee Disability Megaconference.
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Worked with MPC and Engineering to update the parking ordinance, resulting in accessibility being better spelled out and increased.
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Worked with PBA to assess the current City County Building Emergency Evacuation plan.
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Managed successful placement of numerous job seekers with disabilities in various departments throughout the City in conjunction with national Disability Mentoring Day (each October).
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Co-chaired planning and implementation of the annual Equity Awards Breakfast.
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Managed all Mayor’s Council on Disability Issues (CODI) business and committee meeting logistics and produced minutes, with necessary follow up. Staff worked with all CODI committees, including:
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Transportation – focus on accessible public transit, downtown parking, demand response services (i.e., Uber), pedestrian safety and accessible taxis. Committee members have attended a number of webinars for training on accessible transit requirements and weighed in on the proposal to reduce trolley service hours to Summit Towers.
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Employment – focus on educating employers and employees on the ADA and opportunities to hire people with disabilities. Collaborated with Knoxville Area Employment Consortium (KAEC) on this. Created a sticker to recognize businesses that are committed to hiring a diverse workforce, including people with disabilities; created a flyer to address basics of ADA employment requirements – from both the employer and employee perspective; created 10 brief tapings on various topics related to disability employment to be aired on Community Television, plus one on-site video for Project SEARCH; hosted a job fair for people with disabilities with KAEC.
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Awareness/PR – focus on increasing available information on the City website and in the community that describes resources available, what the ADA is, who CODI is, appropriate disability etiquette, etc. Created new CODI logo and communication card for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to be used to increase communication amongst citizens and first responders.
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Making Knoxville the “Most Disability Friendly City.” A survey was created to determine the community’s definition of “most friendly” city for people with disabilities and seniors. The survey went live December 2016, and as results come in, CODI will consider ways to improve areas deemed to be deficient by those who completed the survey.
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Assisted Engineering with several project issues concerning TDOT’s ADA requirements.
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Assisted Risk Management and Law to deal with a complicated Worker’s Comp case.
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Assisted the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority with planning for accessibility during the 2016 Smoky Mountain Air Show.
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Assisted Community Development staff with façade program’s accessibility on various project sites.
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Met with project management teams to discuss accessibility to Market Square restrooms, the Public Works Service Center, Lakeshore Park and the Administration Building, Suttree Landing Park, the Riverwalk, and new Henley Street pedestrian bridge.
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Worked with SMG staff to update the event guide for the Coliseum/Auditorium and to look at placement and design of accessible parking. As a result, some spaces were re-striped.
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Explored placement of accessible parking in new Summer Place garage after complaint was received. Discussed complaint with Downtown Coordinator, Engineering and Plans Review and Inspections.
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Attended regular meetings of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, Disability Rights Tennessee, Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee; chaired meetings of the Knoxville Area Employment Consortium (KAEC); attended the Project SEARCH steering committee and chaired the meetings of the Project SEARCH Employer Advisory Committee.
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Worked with KAT, Engineering, CODI and TDOT to address concerns of Summit Tower residents regarding trolley route changes and to create a brand new accessible walkway from Summit Tower to a new stop on Summit Hill Drive.
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Assisted KAT with handling several passenger behavior issues and issues of concern over new LIFT scheduling software.
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Participated in various trainings: Tennessee Department of Transportation’s ADA Training, the National ADA Symposium and Wimberly Lawson Employment conference.
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Staff continues to work with Parks and Recreation to consider ways that programming can be increased to offer more recreational opportunities to people with disabilities. (Demonstrations of power wheelchair soccer and numerous sports for people who are blind or have low vision occurred to gauge interest in additional types of programming; hand cycling and/or wheelchair basketball may be the next program to explore.)
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Collaborated with the Knox County Health Department to create a video for the National Association of Counties, discussing the importance of walkable communities for all people.
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Worked with Law to update the City’s ADA notice, grievance procedure and Administrative Rules as they pertain to the ADA.
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Citywide training on the ADA and employment obligations has been created. Training will be offered in 2017.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS [Return to Depts. List]
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The director serves as the liaison between community organizations and the City; Community Relations is responsible for managing the Save Our Sons initiative; administering the City government's equal employment program with the objective of ensuring compliance with applicable laws, as well as overseeing the Police Advisory and Review Committee office and the City’s Title VI programs.
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2016 was a transition year for Community Relations. Longtime Director Thomas “Tank” Strickland retired Jan. 29, and Mayor Rogero promoted Dr. Avice E. Reid, who served as executive director of the Police Advisory and Review Committee (PARC) since 2007, as the new Community Relations Director. Clarence Vaughn was hired as PARC Executive Director in May; and Tatia Harris transferred from Communications to serve as the Title VI manager and TCCRP grant manager in November.
Save Our Sons (SOS) initiative:
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Knoxville’s Save Our Sons initiative works with community partners to eliminate violence-related deaths among boys and young men of color while helping to increase opportunities for their success.
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Expanded the Summer in the City internship program to provide more internships and more hours per week.
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Increased City agency grants and capital funding to youth-serving groups.
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Expanded Knoxville Police Department engagement with young men, community groups, and churches through activities such as community clean-ups, summer basketball program, and skating parties.
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Applied for and received a 3-year TCCRP grant to reduce violence among boys and young men of color.
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Announced the creation of the Change Center – a multi-use community facility to be built in East Knoxville with a skating rink, climbing wall, movie wall, basketball courts, Hard Knox Pizza, DJ booth, video games, a Jobs Initiative, and more. A Change Center nonprofit board has formed, and money is currently being raised to build the facility.
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In partnership with Courage Inc., provided three mental health workshops for youth who participate in the after-school program at the YWCA’s Phyllis Wheatley Center.
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Conducted the Discovery Lab Virtual Reality internship program in partnership with Discovery Lab Global, Project Grad, Pellissippi State Magnolia Campus and Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.
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In partnership with the Tennessee Department of Workforce Development and Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation, conducted seven career fairs at various public housing developments.
Police Advisory and Review Committee (PARC):
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Received, investigated and documented 85 new cases made by citizens alleging misconduct and/or policy violation by KPD officers; resolved and closed 94 cases, including 10 cases pending from 2015.
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Reviewed 19 Knoxville Police Department (KPD) Internal Affairs Unit cases.
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Conducted a PARC public meeting each quarter to share the work of the committee with the community and provide the community with a platform to voice concerns/accolades about KPD and community safety. Also, the Knoxville Police Department provided training sessions during each of the quarterly meetings.
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Prepared and conducted a day-long education session for all PARC members, which included presentations by KPD and the Knox County District Attorney’s Office.
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Networked with officials with other cities to promote civilian oversight and share lessons learned by attending the 22nd annual conference of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and being appointed to serve on the planning committee for the 23rd NACOLE annual conference.
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The Executive Director was a member of the Knoxville Police Department’s 58th Citizens Police Academy to become more familiarized with KPD’s policies, procedures and operations.
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The Executive Director and Executive Administrative Assistant were members of the inaugural Knox County District Attorney’s Office Citizens Academy Class to become more familiar with laws that govern citizens of Knoxville.
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Proactively promoted community involvement by:
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Meeting with numerous community members and community groups outside of the PARC office to discuss concerns and complaints and proactively strengthen the relationship between the KPD and citizens;
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Participating in monthly meetings of the East Tennessee Civil Rights Working Group; Knoxville Community Forum; East Knoxville Community Meeting; Community Defense of East Tennessee; and Knoxville Community Step-up;
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Conducting a training session on PARC for the KPD Citizens Police Academy.
Title VI:
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To ensure that the City is inclusive in its hiring, contracting and decision-making processes, the Community Relations Department coordinated with other City departments, agencies, boards and commissions to prepare the City of Knoxville 2016 Title VI Annual Report, which was presented to the Mayor, senior staff and City Council.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS [Return to Depts. List]
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Successfully completed annual enrollment, with 97 percent of employees logging into PeopleSoft to elect benefits for 2017.
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Implemented a new Medical Services Provider and added additional staff, including a full-time physician, a part-time physical therapist and a licensed practical nurse, to be able to better assist employees in their paths to healthier lifestyles.
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Completed move of the City’s Health and Wellness Center from its temporary space on Mineral Springs Avenue into the newly constructed space in the Public Works Service Center with the help of Public Service.
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In effort to provide better communication to City employees, the Mayor’s Office and Employee Benefits reconstituted the Benefits Advisory Committee with representatives from most every department and a strategy to communicate with those not represented.
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Added a key topic of mental health to the City’s My Health quarterly education program.
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Produced Compensation Statements for all full-time employees that illustrated total compensation to each employee that included benefits, educational reimbursement, holiday pay, and overtime.
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Offered three all-day seminars to City employees contemplating or approaching retirement filled with information and guest speakers on what to expect after retirement.
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With the help of Consolidated Charities, Special Events, and Parks and Recreation, Employee Benefits coordinated a successful Mayor’s Employee Appreciation Picnic and Benefits Fair that included a new program – Battle of the Bands!
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Complied with requirements of the Affordable Care Act, including timely distribution of 1094-C data to the IRS and 1095-C Forms to employees covered under the City’s health plan for 2015 with the help of Information Systems.
ENGINEERING [Return to Depts. List]
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30 capital construction projects were completed this year:
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2016 Alley Paving;
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Ed Shouse Drive Bridge rehabilitation;
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2016 Curb Cuts;
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700 block South Gay Street;
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Hill Avenue Viaduct Expansion Joint Repair Project;
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Holbrook Drive Bridge replacement;
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Henley Street island and pedestrian crossing;
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West Jackson Avenue sidewalk rehabilitation;
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Kirkwood Street KAT Superstop;
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Marble Alley Streetscapes;
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2016 Street Resurfacing;
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Suttree Landing Park and Waterfront Drive;
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Downtown brick sidewalk repairs;
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Fort Sanders sidewalk improvements;
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2015 Sidewalk Replacement;
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Lakeshore Central Service Building Roofing Project;
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Lakeshore Park Site Demolition Project;
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Knox Blount Greenway, Phase 1;
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Will Skelton Greenway stabilization;
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Cross Park Drive drainage Improvements;
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Westland Drive drainage and bridge improvements;
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Phase 1 of parking meter deployment;
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Three railroad crossing safety projects;
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Two stream restoration projects (Banks Avenue and Cavalier Avenue);
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Fountain City Lake outlet structure, pump and circulation system, algae control, and signage;
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Selma Avenue floodplain restoration;
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River’s Edge Apartments public improvements; and
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Replaced more than 170 linear feet of collapsed pipe in Chilhowee Park.
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Sixty-five additional projects are in various stages of development or construction.
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Construction projects by the numbers:
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74.95 equivalent miles of asphalt street resurfaced;
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12,264 linear feet of sidewalk replaced;
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7,616 linear feet of new sidewalk installed;
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326 curb cuts constructed; and
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1.9 miles of buffered bike lane added.
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Operations:
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South High School resubdivision;
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Supreme Court redevelopment site resubdivision;
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234 surveying requests investigated;
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Designed and deployed temporary traffic control plans for more than 100 City events;
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Optimized traffic signal timing on four project areas with in-house expertise;
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Responded to and closed 1,139 Traffic Engineering requests for service and 300 after-hour or holiday trouble calls;
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Installed custom street signs in two historic neighborhoods;
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Completed review and planning process for 40 school zones;
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Planned, manufactured and deployed wayfinding systems for eight destinations throughout the city;
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Completed specialized safety-driven sign and marking plans for five areas of concern;
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Preventive maintenance on 386 traffic signal cabinets and associated communications;
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Programmed and maintained 143 school zone flashers;
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Responded to 11,000 Tennessee One Call requests;
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Manufactured 3,500 signs;
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Painted 400 miles of yellow and white lane lines and 4,634 feet of parking stall lines;
o
Inspected 6,476 feet of underground stormwater pipe;
o
Inspected 180 detention ponds;
o
Inspected 200 outfalls;
o
Reviewed permits:
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1,450 site development permits
-
67 right-of-way permits
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15 floodplain development permits
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130 Special Pollution Abatement permits
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831 Temporary Traffic Control Permits
o
Microfilmed and digitized more than 16,000 images;
o
Processed more than 184 plats and 28 partial plats and updated applicable layers on KGIS;
o
Provided mapping and data management support for Engineering projects and other City projects;
o
Responded to more than 110 sinkhole/cave-in requests, including significant failures located in the downtown area that resulted in emergency closures and infrastructure repair and/or construction;
o
Organized and coordinated Knox County Sherriff’s Office volunteers to remove trash and debris from waterways, removing more than 76 tons of material;
o
Deployed new management tools:
-
Adopted Accela work and asset management systems in Stormwater and Traffic
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Developed guardrail inventory and maintenance program
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Updated sign inventory and assessment system
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Developed tracking system for Temporary Traffic Control Permits
-
Developed inventory systems for signals and signs
-
Created parking management system
Civil Engineering Division:
•
$24,216,116 – Total construction cost of capital projects managed;
•
35 – Capital construction projects administered;
•
21 – In-house design projects;
•
53 – Professional engineering design contracts managed;
•
74.95 – Equivalent miles of asphalt street resurfaced;
•
12,264 – Linear feet of sidewalk replaced;
•
7,616 – Linear feet of new sidewalk installed;
•
326 – Curb cuts constructed;
•
234 – Surveying requests investigated;
•
831 – Temporary Traffic Control Permits issued/inspected;
•
$91,980 – Right-of-way permit fees collected;
•
$1,800 – Utility site development permit fees collected; and
•
Capital Improvements Projects webpage monthly updates
Roadway Improvement Design and Construction Projects include:
•
2016 Alley Paving Project;
•
Amherst Road Slope Stabilization Project;
•
Bridge Rehabilitation Project at Ed Shouse Drive;
•
Bridge Rehabilitation Project at Sutherland Avenue;
•
Chapman Highway at Stone Road Intersection Improvements Project;
•
Cumberland Avenue Streetscapes, Phase 1 and Phase 2;
•
2016 Curb Cuts Project;
•
2017 Curb Cuts Project;
•
Fence along Central Street project;
•
700 Block of South Gay Street Improvements Project;
•
Grainger Avenue Bridge Repair Project;
•
Hill Avenue Viaduct Expansion Joint Repair Project;
•
Holbrook Drive Bridge Replacement Project;
•
I-275 Business Park Access Improvements Project;
•
Jackson Avenue Ramps Project;
•
James White Parkway guardrail;
•
Jim Sterchi Road Improvements Project;
•
Improvements on West Jackson Avenue and on Henley Street;
•
Kirkwood Street KAT Superstop Project;
•
Marble Alley Streetscapes Project;
•
Mineral Springs Bridge Replacement Project;
•
Mynderse Avenue Roadway Improvements Project;
•
Pleasant Ridge Road Phase 2 Project;
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2016 Resurfacing Project;
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2017 Resurfacing Project;
•
Sevier Avenue Improvements Project;
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Suttree Landing Park Roadway Improvements Project, Phase 1A;
•
Washington Pike from I-640 to Murphy Road Project;
•
Wesley Road Sinkhole Repair Project; and
•
Wilkerson Road Bridge Replacement Project.
Multimodal Transportation Design and Construction Projects include:
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Two citywide sidewalk replacement projects;
•
South Castle Street Sidewalk Project;
•
Cedar Lane Sidewalk Project;
•
Downtown Sidewalk Repairs Project;
•
Fort Sanders Sidewalk Improvements Project;
•
Gay Street Brick Sidewalk Repair Project;
•
Gleason Road Sidewalk Project;
•
West Jackson Avenue Streetscapes;
•
KAT Employee Parking Lot Project;
•
KAT Summit Hill Drive Transit Stop Project;
•
Kingston Pike Complete Connections Project;
•
Liberty Street Multimodal Project;
•
Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes;
•
Merchant Drive at Clinton Highway Intersection Improvements Project;
•
North Central Streetscapes;
•
Old Broadway Sidewalks Project;
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Old City Streetscapes, south side of West Jackson Avenue;
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Pleasant Ridge Road at Wilson Road Sidewalk Project;
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Ray Mears Boulevard Sidewalk Project;
•
Woodlawn Pike Sidewalk Project; and
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West Young High Pike Sidewalk Project.
Facility Construction, Renovation and Demolition Projects include:
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Cal Johnson Recreation Center Renovation Project;
•
Caswell Park Storage Building Project;
•
Deane Hill Recreation Center Roof Project;
•
Fire Station No. 18 (Bearden) Roof Project;
•
Fire Station No. 9 (Fort Sanders) Floor Modifications Project;
•
Lakeshore Central Service Building Roofing Project;
•
Lakeshore Park Site Demolition Project;
•
Prosser Road Impound Building Project;
•
South High School resubdivision; and
•
Supreme Court redevelopment site resubdivision.
Recreation Design and Construction Projects include:
•
First Creek Greenway Project;
•
Fort Dickerson Gateway Park Project;
•
Knox/Blount Greenway Project, Phase 1;
•
Northwest Greenway Connector Project;
•
Suttree Landing Park improvements, Phase 1B;
•
2016 Trail and Parking Lot Resurfacing Project;
•
Western Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Project; and
•
Will Skelton Greenway Stabilization Project.
Drainage Improvement Design and Construction Projects include:
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Cross Park Drive Drainage Improvements Project;
•
2014 Neighborhood Drainage Project – Phase 1;
•
2016 Neighborhood Drainage Project;
•
2017 Neighborhood Drainage Project; and
•
Westland Drive Drainage and Bridge Improvement Project.
Stormwater Engineering Division
Qualified Local Program:
•
The City continues to be a Qualified Local Program by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which allows the Engineering Department to issue the state’s Construction General Permit. This prevents the need for developers to submit plans to two different agencies, which helps create a more unified plans review and approval process.
•
In 2016, the City reviewed 38 Notices of Intent for coverage, issued coverage for 35 new construction projects, and terminated coverage for eight projects.
Permits:
•
Stormwater Engineering performed 1,450 site development permit reviews and issued 1,146 site development permits in 2016. These permits included 471 commercial projects and 675 single-family residential projects.
•
The City also received 67 new right-of-way permit applications and issued 53; received and issued 15 new permits for floodplain developments; and received 130 new special pollution abatement permit applications and issued 117.
Significant projects permitted:
•
New Tiger & Primate exhibits at the Knoxville Zoo;
•
Student housing and retail shops at 1830 Cumberland Ave.;
•
Walmart Neighborhood Market at Western and McKamey;
•
KCDC Five Points Housing Development Phases I & II;
•
Lakeshore Park Phase II;
•
Public Works Service Center Phase II; and
•
SEDA redevelopment project of the Baptist Hospital site on Blount Avenue.
Project management and coordination:
•
Design and construction of a total stream restoration by daylighting a 48” CMP downstream of Banks Avenue;
•
Restoration of 580 feet of channelized stream at Cavalier Avenue, contributing to nearly 1,000 feet of stream restoration on Williams Creek just upstream of the Urban Forest;
•
Sims Road stream restoration under construction; and
•
Public improvements and CEI work at River’s Edge apartments.
Development Certification:
•
The City of Knoxville received 47 new Development Certification submittals; 144 reviews were performed, and 34 projects were certified and released in 2016.
Streetlight projects:
•
RFQ for LED Street Lighting Conversion;
•
Creekhead Cove subdivision;
•
The Standard apartments at 17th Street and White Avenue;
•
Public Works Service Center; and
•
Jackson Avenue Streetscapes.
Technical Services:
•
Microfilmed and digitized more than 16,000 images.
•
Processed more than 184 plats and 28 partial plats and updated applicable layers on KGIS.
•
Provided mapping and data management support for internal Engineering projects, as well as private and other municipality support.
•
Supported MPC, City Council and the Law Department for closure of approximately 14 public rights-of-way and legal deed preparation for transfer of properties.
•
Provided mapping services and support for major projects such as annexations, traffic sign inventory, visual aids for ribbon-cuttings, neighborhood meetings, building inspection zones, new solid waste contracts and carts.
•
Provided support to the University of Tennessee and the National Flood Insurance Program to provide continuing education credits to professional land surveyors.
Water Quality and Drainage:
•
Coordinated Fountain City Lake restoration plan, which included completing an operational Pond Management Plan, installing public education signage, replacing the pump and circulation system, altering the fountain head and modifying the outlet structure. Helped Lions Club with critical maintenance activities, including algaecide treatments, algae removal, trash removal and education. Held public meetings and initiated a constructed wetland project.
•
Coordinated with KUB projects to restore infrastructure damage in the ROW.
•
Responded to after-hours spills and coordinated remediation as needed.
•
Maintained the Tennessee Qualified Hydrologic Professional certification and performed hydrologic determinations as needed throughout the City.
•
Design, promotion and installation of green infrastructure projects to resolve stormwater flooding and improve runoff quality.
•
Coordinating restoration efforts at two of the largest city stream erosion sites at a Fourth Creek tributary and along the First Creek Greenway.
•
Inspection of 6,476 feet of underground stormwater pipes.
•
Management of approximately 800 stormwater quantity calls for service and 200 stormwater quality calls for service.
•
Inspection of more than 180 detention ponds to insure proper operation, management and flood control.
•
Completion of approximately 200 outfall inspections to find illicit dumping and comply with dry-weather screening requirement.
•
Completion of 142 Special Pollution Abatement Permit site inspections to insure proper management and stormwater quality control.
•
Continuing maintenance of the Priority Inspection Program, an assessment database of vital creek locations consisting of more than 200 ongoing priority inspection locations; each inspected annually.
•
Acquired two properties on Lay Avenue for repetitive loss flood evacuations in the Williams Creek floodplain.
•
Responded to more than 110 sinkhole/cave-in requests, including significant failures located in the downtown area that resulted in emergency closures and infrastructure repair and/or construction.
•
Replaced more than 170 linear feet of collapsed pipe in Chilhowee Park that resulted in dangerous soil collapses that impacted the public use of the facilities, and contracted to have an additional 870+ linear feet rehabilitated with cast in place pipe before eminent failure.
•
Contracted to have 660+ linear feet of dilapidated pipe in critical locations within the right-of-way rehabilitated with cast in place pipe before eminent failure and costly infrastructure repairs.
•
Identified and eliminated 4 major illicit sanitary sewer discharges into the storm drain in the right-of-way and 1 gray water discharge into Second Creek. Multiple enforcement actions to private property owners to repair sanitary sewer laterals and eliminate hazard to public health.
•
Resolved chronic complaints of fuel vapor odors near residences on Drinnen Avenue by coordinating with the new Weigel’s development and TDEC. All the old contaminated fill material was replaced and a new storm drain system was installed downstream of the Weigel’s at 3939 Chapman Highway.
•
Organization and coordination of Knox County Sheriff’s Office volunteers to clear trash, debris and vegetation out of creeks and waterways:
o
Saved taxpayers an estimated $13,600 in labor costs; and
o
Removed more than 76 tons of trash/debris.
•
Completed and resubmitted the NPDES Permit reapplication that includes improvements to the sampling requirements, runoff reduction/volume control, and mitigation banking opportunities for new development.
•
Water quality management, inspection and stormwater sampling of municipal industrial facilities to support other departments with NPDES requirements.
•
Operation, maintenance and upgrade of underground pipe inspection equipment, including crawler, push camera and a pole camera resulting in more than 150 pipe inspections. These technologies have resulted in the near elimination of the need to send employees into confined spaces; however, the Division maintains Confined Space Entry certification to use when necessary.
•
Training of two more volunteer groups as part of the Adopt-a-Stream program to protect and improve stream water quality.
•
A massive riparian buffer zone (RBZ) restoration resulted from a combined effort to remove chronic homeless camps along the densely concentrated area of Second Creek that extended from the 1982 World’s Fair Park to Bernard Avenue. More than 200 tons of debris and waste were removed from the RBZ and creek; remaining vegetation in the RBZ was trimmed or removed to discourage camping while still providing canopy and roots for shading and erosion control.
•
Sponsored River Rescue, which coordinated volunteers who removed 12.5 tons of trash and 78 tires from the shores of the Tennessee River and its tributaries.
•
Removed approximately 1,500 cubic yards of fill from 2623 Selma Ave. that was blocking the flow in the flood plain and displacing flood waters to adjacent properties along Williams Creek. This was a long-term goal to reduce flooding.
•
Stormwater and stream quality monitoring included collection of more than 40 samples with a dozen parameters, one full suite sample, and more than 40 bacteria samples.
•
Maintenance of eight monitoring stations to collect and report rainfall data.
•
Performed pipe inspections to determine infrastructure conditions and prepared maintenance or replacement work orders, in coordination with the annual paving program.
•
More than 125 ArcMap stormwater infrastructure map revisions have been investigated, drawn and updated in a comprehensive mapping effort to provide the most reliable drainage maps possible.
Traffic Engineering Division
Operations:
•
Worked with Information Systems to deploy Accela-based work order system. This system will enhance the flexibility of the group by increasing the efficiency of communications and reporting. This system also allows work order data to be more fully integrated with other City department processes, such as 311 and our finance systems.
•
Developed a Guardrail Maintenance and Installation Program:
o
Utilizing a georeferenced database, inventoried the operational fitness of more than 100 miles of guardrail; and
o
Developed Citywide Guardrail Systems database process to improve and maintain the operational fitness of these systems.
•
Roadway Safety System improved:
o
Created a Roadway Safety Crash Data Collection System to be used in validating and tracking the crash information for ongoing and future analysis; and
o
Automating the current Signal Indexing System to prioritize more quickly the ongoing signal warrant analysis.
•
Sign Inventory / Assessment System updated:
o
Prepared work processes to better document sign management system to include KGIS mapping tools;
o
Assessed and documented the condition and reflectivity of more than 50,000 signs citywide, utilizing established federal standards; and
o
Developed internally a Citywide Sign Maintenance System that records KGIS georeferenced locations, condition and reflectivity in the new Accela Work Management System. Developed a Work Order System by teaming with Information Systems and 311 using Accela data platform.
•
Developed new methods for tracking and monitoring Temporary Traffic Control (TTC) permits, including roadway closures:
o
Helped KGIS create database tools to allow dynamic web-based inquiry using KGIS; and
o
Created data forms and data collection processes for reporting TTC application information.
•
Designed several Temporary Traffic Control plans for Stormwater work orders and projects.
•
Designed and Deployed Temporary Traffic Control plans for over 100 City events. (See a general summary in Signs & Markings.)
•
Developed Traffic System Optimization with in-house Traffic Engineering staff along Westland @ I-140, Western Avenue, the entire Middlebrook Pike Corridor and Cedar Bluff Corridor, saving the City of Knoxville over $100,000 in engineering expenses.
•
Evaluated roadway and traffic control plans for more than 20 major city and private development projects for traffic engineering standards compliance and safety, including:
o
Cumberland Avenue Streetscape Construction Project;
o
Western Plaza at Kingston Pike;
o
SEDA / Regal Entertainment redevelopment along Blount Avenue;
o
Redevelopment at Five Points;
o
Redevelopment planning of several properties along Cumberland Avenue;
o
Riverwalk / Island Home Avenue redevelopment at River’s Edge apartments;
o
Magnolia Avenue Streetscape;
o
Central Avenue Streetscape;
o
700 Block of Gay Street;
o
KUB downtown roadway closures; and
o
Emory Road – Kroger development.
•
Evaluated roadway and traffic control plans for more than 15 major TDOT projects for traffic engineering standards compliance and safety, including:
o
Western Avenue Project from Ridgebrook to Texas;
o
I-640 / Broadway interchange improvements;
o
I-75 / Callahan Road interchange improvements;
o
I-140 / Westland Avenue interchange improvements;
o
I-40 / Cedar Bluff interchange improvements;
o
I-640 / Millertown Pike interchange improvements;
o
Lovell Road at Parkside Drive intersection improvements; and
o
I-75 / Emory Road interchange improvements (Concept Development).
•
Responded to and closed 1,139 requests for service.
•
Designed and worked with neighborhoods to install 52 historic street name signs in Parkridge and Old North Knoxville neighborhoods.
•
Completed Safety Reviews and prioritized work plan for all 40 of our school zones.
•
Planned, manufactured and deployed wayfinding systems for Zoo Knoxville, The Muse, Fort Dickerson, Pellissippi State Community College, Fort Sanders and Children’s hospitals, Knoxville Solid Waste Facility, Suttree Landing Park and Kerbela Shriners.
•
Addressed and implemented the recommendations of the ToWeR report, including various signage and marking improvements at Vine Middle, Sarah Moore Greene and Green Magnet schools.
•
Completed specialized safety-driven sign and marking plans for Broome Road, Cecil Avenue, Knox/Blount Greenway, Lakeshore Park and the new Parks and Recreation Department offices, and Busbee Road.
•
Assisted the purchasing team and KPD with automated red light enforcement program development.
•
Designed, manufactured and deployed specialized detour and guide sign systems for the Island Home Avenue detour, surrounding parks and businesses, as well as Work Zone Traffic Control for Sutherland Avenue and Henley Street.
•
Managed City’s railroad safety program that includes the design and deployment of projects on Sims Road, Candora Road and Buchanan Avenue. Seven more projects are still in process.
•
Managed City’s School Zone Safety Program, which includes partnership and coordination throughout the year with Safe Routes to School and Neighborhood Traffic Safety committees.
Traffic Engineering Operations - Bike and Pedestrian Planning, Construction:
•
Designed and installed (city marking crews) buffered bike lanes on University Avenue (0.4 miles).
•
Designed and installed (contractor) buffered bike lanes on Moody Avenue and Sevierville Pike (1.1 miles) and McCalla Avenue (0.4 miles).
•
Designed bike facilities for Western Avenue for TDOT to install through state’s Western Avenue resurfacing program.
•
Reviewed and made recommendations on private and public development site plans for pedestrian, bicycle and transit accommodation.
•
Collaborated with the MPC with the update of the City Parking Ordinance.
•
Assisted TPO with the development of the “I Bike KNX” app.
•
Managed TDOT local programs and projects (NEPA and PE Phase):
o
Liberty Street Multimodal Project (TAP Grant funded); and
o
Kingston Pike Complete Connections Project (Multimodal Grant funded).
•
Managed the Tyson Park to Fort Sanders Bike and Pedestrian Connection Project (City funded).
•
Managed the Preliminary Engineering Phase of the top 4 Bicycle Connections Projects (City funded).
•
Facilitated a workshop at the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Sister City’s Roadshow.
•
Made educational presentations for the local chapter’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for Emerging Bicycle Infrastructure.
Traffic Management Systems:
Traffic Systems is preparing for the future of traffic management by guiding the development of Advanced Traffic Management Systems across the city’s major roadway systems. Currently managing the design of a 25-mile transportation focused fiber optic system that will manage traffic in real time along Chapman Highway, Kingston Pike, and Broadway. This work includes a significant amount of coordination with other utilities and should be in construction phase in early 2018.
•
Completed and documented preventative maintenance procedures on the following:
o
386 traffic signal control cabinets have started next PM cycle;
o
228 traffic signal monitors;
o
20 traffic signals, which included overhead and underground cabling;
o
35 school flasher assemblies;
o
40 overhead signs;
o
5,200 feet of fiber optic communications cable;
o
15,600 feet of telephone twisted cable communication cable;
o
30 spread-spectrum communications radios;
o
10 roadway warning flashers;
o
143 school zone flashers; and
o
5 intersection flashers.
•
Installed and/or upgraded the following:
o
40 upgraded pedestrian push buttons;
o
2 solar-powered stop sign flasher assemblies;
o
7 new 16-phase control cabinets (5 at Cumberland project);
o
52 Naztec 980ATC traffic signal controllers along Clinton Highway, Merchant Drive, Cumberland Avenue, Westland Drive, Emory Road, Cedar Bluff and Turkey Creek;
o
56 new Ethernet radios;
o
15 AT&T Wireless Cradlepoint modems with a ATMS.now demo central with 38 live locals including 6 county signals;
o
36 Ethernet switches on Broadway, Cumberland Avenue, Kingston Pike, Emory Road;
o
Inspected 120 detector loop installations;
o
Removed graffiti at 37 locations;
o
Programmed 143 school flasher clocks for the 2016-2017 school year;
o
Programmed 30 school flasher clocks for the 2016 summer school program; and
o
Installed new historic neighborhood overhead signs at 5 intersections.
•
Other activities:
o
More than 11,000 Tennessee One Call requests to locate underground infrastructure;
o
More than 300 Tennessee One Call emergencies underground locate requests;
o
Addressed approximately 2,500 workday trouble calls;
o
Addressed 300 emergency after-hour/holiday trouble calls;
o
Installed signs and banners for 24 special events;
o
Designed and installed new banners for Suttree Landing riverfront park project;
o
Expanded areas to be decorated for Christmas in the City;
o
Traffic signal changes for 7 University of Tennessee home football games;
o
In support of Civil Engineering, provided major signal system modification along Cumberland Avenue;
o
Developed a traffic systems (field facilities) inventory system; and
o
Developed a traffic systems (operations facilities) inventory system.
•
Signal Systems - design and analysis - 12 traffic signal systems or major modifications including:
o
700 Block of Gay Street conduits / pedestrian control;
o
Washington Pike and Mill Road intersection improvements;
o
Middlebrook Pike Corridor System Optimization and Field Programming and Adjustment;
o
17th Street emergency vehicle pre-emption plan from Cumberland to Ailor Avenue; and
o
Fifth Avenue signal analysis from Hall of Fame to Broadway.
•
Other:
o
Revised Special Provision 730K Traffic Signal Specifications were approved by TDOT with signal equipment proprietary letters;
o
Management of Detector Loop Installation Contract; and
o
Revitalizing 3 programs related to training, safety and employee job descriptions.
Parking Systems:
•
Deployed Phase 1 of citywide program to modernize parking with a smart parking system. Replaced more than 900 on-street parking meters in Phase 1, which included nearly 100 new metered locations to promote turnover in the downtown business district while introducing convenient credit card payment options (decorative sleeves and bases, housings, mechanisms and dome sensors).
•
Improved reporting by receiving live data associated with financial controls, configurations, occupancy and payment information.
•
Designed and completed parking plan project for Tyson Street, Stone Street and Jennings Avenue.
•
Designed and completed parking plan improvements project for Church Avenue.
•
Installed thermoplastic parking stall markings on Market Street, Union Avenue and South Gay Street.
•
Assisted contractors with design and implementation of parking system on various projects (Marble Alley, UT projects, Children’s Hospital, etc.).
•
Collected revenues from approximately 1,300 meters.
•
Resolved 1,025 meter complaints generated by 311.
•
Completed 550 work orders generated by 311, projects, special events and reservations.
•
Refurbished 149 parking stalls – 4,634 feet of parking stall lines.
•
Developed and implemented new Temporary No Parking policy and procedure, displaying the exact dates/times that parking spaces are reserved.
•
Assisted with KGIS migration to new server.
•
Researched and designed new parking schedule signs.
•
Designed parking layouts for Gay Street, Market Street and Union Avenue for all new parking meter locations.
•
Evaluated Loading Zone needs for various businesses and residents downtown.
•
Coordinated and approved 430 Parking Permits.
•
Updated KGIS parking database with new parking meter changes.
•
Exported parking meter mapping to interactive Google Map and displayed data on City’s website.
•
Reorganized and rewrote the parking section of the City’s website.
•
Completed new Valet Parking Policy and processed 2 applicants.
•
Coordinated parking removals for civil projects (downtown paving, brick sidewalk replacement) and various special events (parades, etc.).
•
Teamed with parking committee members to develop and install a new innovative parking schedule signage along Gay Street that more clearly communicates when parking is allowed and prohibited.
•
Installed 1,535 Temporary No Parking signs.
Sign and Marking Systems:
•
Maintained signs and marking operations inventory database and management systems.
•
2,145 sign operations work orders completed.
•
487 pavement marking work orders completed.
•
Manufactured 3,500 signs.
•
Refreshed pavement markings and yellow curbing in the CBID, including Gay Street.
•
Painted 400 miles of yellow and white lane lines.
•
Coordinated with Public Service Department for deployment of street closures and parking removal for various projects.
•
Coordinated with the City’s ADA Coordinator, Stephanie Cook, to provide accessible parking for City functions.
•
Performed 116 road closures as requested by the Knoxville’s Public Service, Construction, Stormwater Engineering and Civil Engineering departments.
•
Provided traffic control for (27) 5K, 10K, Triathlon and Marathon races.
•
Implemented traffic-control and assisted KPD and Office of Special Events with:
o
7 University of Tennessee home football games;
o
30 Farmers’ Market events;
o
3 Holiday Market events;
o
6 Movies on Market Square events;
o
20 block party road closures; and
o
More than 40 other special events.
FIRE [Return to Depts. List]
•
Knoxville’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) was upgraded from a Class 3 to a Class 2 in September after the Insurance Services Office (ISO) completed its analysis of the City’s fire protection service.
•
Worked with the Public Service Department on several fire station remodeling and repair projects, including replacing the roof at Baxter Avenue Fire Station No. 3, reinforcing the bay floor at Fort Sanders Fire Station No. 9, and beginning the remodeling project at Lonas Fire Station No. 12.
•
Purchased a new E-One ladder truck for Fort Sanders Fire Station No. 9 (delivery is expected in February 2017).
•
Purchased two Kawasaki Mule UTVs for EMS Division to use at special events and for firefighters to use when responding to off-road incidents (such as those on greenways and urban wilderness trails).
•
Purchased 20 specialized mechanical chest compression devices for use by firefighters when performing CPR.
•
Purchased four vehicle radio repeaters to enhance radio communications at fire scenes.
•
Began docking KFD’s Fire Boat at Volunteer Landing Marina in order to improve response time to emergencies on the river.
•
Updated the reference library at each fire station with the latest fire service manuals.
•
Firefighting Division responded to more than 21,000 calls for emergency service, and EMS Division provided medical standby for 229 different special events.
•
Public Education Division taught fire safety education to 14,997 students and fire extinguisher training to 813 students. Also reached a milestone with the 100,000th student visiting the Fire Safety House on March 31.
•
EMS Division provided CPR training to 2,718 residents through American Heart Association Training Center.
•
Held fourth annual Citizens Fire Academy during April and May. The Academy provided participants with an in-depth look at many of KFD’s divisions and included demonstrations and hands-on activities.
•
Expanded KFD’s community outreach by hosting an “Open House” at five different fire stations during the spring and summer months and a “Fire Department Night on Market Square” during Fire Prevention Week in October.
•
Fire Prevention Division performed more than 3,300 inspections, completed 872 plan reviews, completed the last phase of a multi-family dwelling inspection program, transitioned to paperless inspection reports, and collectively participated in almost 400 hours of specialized training in Fire Prevention and Plans Review.
•
Fire investigators investigated 131 fires and collectively completed 328 hours of specialized training in fire investigations, law enforcement, case law and firearms.
•
Eighteen firefighter recruits completed Basic EMT training, and 13 firefighters completed Advanced EMT training.
•
Promoted six firefighters from Fire Officer to Assistant Chief.
•
Provided firefighting and logistical assistance to Hamilton County and the Tennessee Division of Forestry during the fall wildland fires in East Tennessee.
•
More than 100 KFD firefighters provided assistance to the Gatlinburg Fire Department and Sevier County Emergency Services during their massive wildfire in late November.
•
Hosted the Tennessee Commission on Firefighting’s East Tennessee Division Peer Review for the 2017 State Educational Supplement Program.
FLEET SERVICES [Return to Depts. List]
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Light Shop was recertified as an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Blue Seal of Excellence facility. This certification is awarded to facilities where at least 75 percent of the technicians have taken, passed and maintained certification on the Automobile/Light Truck series of tests.
•
Heavy Shop was certified as an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Blue Seal of Excellence facility. This certification is awarded to facilities where at least 75 percent of the technicians have taken, passed and maintained certification on the Heavy/Medium Truck series of tests.
•
Light Shop became Fiat Chrysler America warranty certified. The advantages of being warranty certified are: Repairs generate revenue for the City by doing warranty work, repairs are done in-house versus taking cars to the dealership, service is improved to customers by offering better trained team members and better diagnostic capabilities. The greatest advantage is the reduction of downtime to customers.
•
Fleet Services and KAT are leveraging strengths and opportunities to purchase parts, components and services via Purchasing Department.
•
Fleet Services has formed a cooperative relationship with KAT, KUB, Knox County and UT fleet departments, via a monthly get-together to discuss fleet issues and opportunities. The cooperative has created educational opportunities for training to be conducted in Knoxville versus traveling to providers, saving each entity travel dollars. The added benefit of staying in town for training was the availability of team members in case of an emergency.
•
The Vehicle Impoundment Facility safeguarded more than 3,500 vehicles, while releasing more than 2,800 vehicles back to the owners.
•
The Vehicle Impoundment Facility also continued to grow and develop its staff by having three team members promoted to Impound Assistant II.
•
The Vehicle Impoundment Facility team continues to cross-train on all aspects of the auction process. This past year, the team supported the Purchasing Department with six vehicle auctions.
•
The Vehicle Impoundment Facility had no accidents or lost time injuries.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS [Return to Depts. List]
KAT – ParaTransit Dispatching GPS System:
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The KAT Lift system is used to assist riders with transportation disabilities. Using a new computer system powered by Ecolane, riders can now schedule a trip online and get a reminder phone call of the pending KAT arrival time. Dispatchers use this GPS-based system to accurately view where the van/bus is located. Bus drivers use the GPS system for driving instructions. The Ecolane system has greatly improved schedule reliability and ridership.
Parks and Recreation online registration and payment:
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The public can now sign up and pay online for classes, leagues, facility reservations, and much more with the new RecPro system installed by Information Systems. The system accepts all major credit cards and has more than doubled facility rentals.
Work order system – Phase I complete:
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Phase I of this project partnered Information Systems, Codes Enforcement, Public Service and 311 to design and implement a consolidated work order system. Codes Enforcement and Public Service use iPads to enter and complete work orders or inspections while out in the field.
Recorder’s Digital Office:
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In a continued effort to go paperless and streamline record keeping, the Recorder’s Office worked with Information Systems to create electronic documents of all official records. This effort includes resolutions, ordinances, contracts and other documents officially maintained by the office. The office plans to digitize both current and archived documents.
Patrol officers issue E-citations:
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Instead of handwritten tickets, KPD officers now create electronic citations using tablets and printers located in each patrol car. The data for the ticket is stored electronically and is transferred to municipal court computers for court processing and payment.
Wi-Fi on KAT buses:
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What better way to be more efficient than reading email or surfing the web while riding a KAT bus? Each fixed-route bus now provides Wi-Fi access to all riders. KAT manages wireless access and has the ability to filter out certain web sites.
Public Works Service Center and Lakeshore Park:
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Many City departments, including IS, spent time and effort to plan the new network routing to the new Public Works and Lakeshore Park facilities. IS also moved and installed Public Service and Park and Recreation equipment (computers, printers) to these facilities.
KPD camera infrastructure upgrade:
•
Video cameras in every patrol car continuously capture both audio and video while the officer is on active duty. A replacement of the infrastructure to wirelessly upload the data at three locations occurred and has dramatically decreased the upload time from the cars to storage devices.
KNOXVILLE AREA TRANSIT (KAT) [Return to Depts. List]
Procurements, contracts and plans:
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Awarded a contract to CivicPlus for a new website.
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Implemented Google Transit, a trip planning feature, on the website.
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Began installation of Wi-Fi on buses.
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Made successful transition to Ecolane paratransit scheduling system and reorganized Transit Support staff to combine The LIFT and Telephone Information by upgrading phone system. The upgrade allows employees to be able to perform both tasks from the same work station. Additionally, the upgraded phone system has enhanced performance reporting to aid in measuring efficiency and effectiveness.
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Published an RFP to replace current camera system with updated high definition system. Review process began in December.
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Introduced new vehicle design (low-floor cutaway) to the fixed route fleet.
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Through collaboration with Fleet Services, completed three high-dollar repair part procurements, resulting in long-term savings.
Awards and grants:
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KAT brought home numerous awards at the Tennessee Public Transit Association (TPTA) state conference and Roadeo:
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Greg Davis, First Place, 40-foot bus competition
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Dean Pruitt, Second Place, 35-foot bus competition
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Mike McAmis, Second Place, Bus Maintenance competition
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Mike Bannon, Urban Employee of the Year
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KAT was awarded a Rides to Wellness grant to improve health access via KAT fixed route services.
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KAT was awarded a CMAQ grant to replace four diesel buses and two diesel vans.
Transit campaigns and additional service:
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Implemented a new Trolley System upgrade based upon public input from the Trolleys on Tap listening sessions. Includes later evening service and new service to the Old City.
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Began new, direct service to the City of Knoxville’s Public Works Service Center on Morris Avenue.
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Expanded Transit Bus Operators Appreciation Day with an art exhibit featuring photos of 23 bus operators and a quote from each.
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Conducted Try Transit Week in July, which included a State Legislator Day and luncheon, Free Rides Friday, and other events to draw attention to the importance of transit.
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Held a ribbon-cutting for the newly renovated Kirkwood Superstop, complete with new sidewalks, concrete bus loading areas, and new 16-foot-long shelters.
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Conducted a new, successful campaign to encourage regular, fixed route ridership to the UT home football games. (See “By the numbers” for ridership statistics.)
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Began a #katgoesthere campaign to continue through 2017, emphasizing various places that can be reached via KAT. Began with a video of Market Square Farmers’ Market.
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Conducted Transit on Tap outreach sessions in fall 2016 at eight close-in neighborhood locations. Input posted on blog to be used as a guide for future growth.
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Conducted customer appreciation events including Valentine’s Day rose hand-outs and the Thanksgiving Tree.
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Initiated “whole bus painting” program for buses reaching mid-service life.
By the numbers:
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Football Fixed Route bus marketing campaign resulted in ridership increases on game days. Specific routes emphasized in the campaign saw increases that averaged 33 percent over non-game days – some as high as 81 percent on game days.
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KAT staff conducted close to 100 outreach events, reaching more than 5,000 people in 2016. Events included Open Streets, Market Square Farmers’ Market, Senior Outings to Mighty Musical Monday via KAT, Public Library Children’s Reading events, regular City of Knoxville Onboarding of new employees, and neighborhood events.
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Miles between mechanical failures for buses was up 7 percent for the year.
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Zero preventable accidents during February inclement weather.
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Workers’ compensation claims were reduced by 50 percent.
Partnerships and participation in numerous initiatives and events (partial listing):
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Participated in Sarah Moore Greene School Transportation and Technology Day.
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City Employee Benefits picnic.
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Neighborhood Conference (bus booth; free bus pass home).
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Special partnership with Smart Trips during Try Transit Week.
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Worked with Knox County Library and East Tennessee PBS to present “Daniel Tiger rides the Trolley” event.
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Open Streets.
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Regal Celebration of Lights (origami Christmas tree ornaments made out of bus schedules).
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Partnered with Tennessee Valley Fair to host “Jasper Rides the Bus,” emphasizing the Route 31 to Chilhowee Park.
LAW [Return to Depts. List]
During 2016, the City of Knoxville Law Department continued and enhanced its role as general counsel to the City and its many departments, offices, committees, agencies and commissions. In addition to responding to countless legal questions from each of these entities, the Law Department also served the legislative body by preparing the agenda and the vast majority of the legislation addressed at each of the multiple City Council meetings throughout the year. Over the course of 2016, the Law Department prepared more than 700 separate items of legislation for consideration by City Council. Some of the more challenging legislative issues addressed by the Law Department over the past year included changes to the sign ordinance mandated by case law coming out of the U.S. Supreme Court, development of a new short-term rental ordinance, a new ordinance providing a more efficient process for sales of surplus City property, assisting in development of a new citywide parking ordinance, and in reorganization of the City’s public assembly facilities.
Over the course of a year, the City makes an incredible number of purchases and arranges for all types of services to benefit the citizens. Many of these services and purchases are accomplished by contract with outside entities who furnish the needed goods and services. More than 600 contracts and contractual amendments were prepared by the City’s lawyers in 2016, many of which were of a novel or complex nature. For example, Law Department attorneys were instrumental in preparing development and purchase agreements which will result in a new downtown Regal Entertainment Group world headquarters and general development of the South Waterfront area which is the former home of Baptist Hospital; in preparing a permanent conservation easement to protect Lakeshore Park; in crafting agreements for the redevelopment of old South High School; and in providing a new and extended lease agreement with Lincoln Memorial University for the Duncan School of Law.
The Law Department also continues to manage and resolve the vast majority of litigation in which the City is named as a party. Litigation handled by the Law Department over the past year includes cases involving contracts, land use, labor and employment issues, civil rights and torts. For example, during 2016 the City successfully resolved to conclusion more than 50 workers’ compensation lawsuits. The City also pursued litigation against those whose actions resulted in damage to City-owned property and equipment, recovering almost $45,000 for the City in various subrogation matters. City attorneys also were successful in collecting a $10,000 stormwater fine, the largest such fine collected by the City to date. In addition to handling an extensive load of litigation in which the City was named as a party, two City attorneys, Doug Gordon and Devin Lyon, drafted friend of the court briefs in two matters of significant importance to municipalities everywhere to aid the courts in understanding and appreciating the significance of the issues and the implications of the case beyond those impacting the specific parties involved. Both briefs resulted in decisions favorable to municipalities and, for his efforts, Devin Lyon was awarded the 2016 Amicus Service Award by the International Municipal Lawyers Association.
The Law Department provides legal services to the Knoxville Police Department and the City Court on a daily basis. Each of these agencies demands that those who administer and enforce the law have an up-to-the-minute understanding of the most recent legal developments which impact their actions, and the Law Department strives diligently to provide that service. Multiple attorneys in the Law Department also provide annual updates to each KPD officer in recent legislative and case law developments which requires hundreds of hours of attorney time in preparation and presentation of these annual updates. With new legislation authorizing the sale of wine in grocery stores, the Law Department has helped to develop a new application and documentation process for sellers, processing approximately 134 of these requests to date.
In conclusion, the City Law Department continues to provide an intensive and comprehensive number of legal services to the City of Knoxville on behalf of its residents and taxpayers. The attorneys and support staff who provide these services are highly trained, exceptionally competent, extremely diligent, hard-working professionals, and we are proud of the exceptional service they provide to the City.
NEIGHBORHOODS [Return to Depts. List]
Blighted Property:
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Continued the monthly meetings of the Neighborhood Working Group on Blighted Property, providing opportunities for neighborhood representatives and City staff to discuss individual problem properties, City policies and programs on blight, resources for neighborhoods, and related issues.
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Funded two neighborhood leaders to accompany City staff to the Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference in Baltimore, Md., increasing the capacity of the Neighborhood Working Group on Blighted Property to confront these issues.
Broadway Corridor Task Force:
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Staffed the Broadway Corridor Task Force and assisted that group (composed of neighborhood and business representatives) with its monthly meetings and speakers.
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Worked with the Broadway Corridor Task Force and the East Tennessee Community Design Center to complete a year-long process for the development of the Broadway Corridor Enhancement Plan, a vision concept for the corridor between I-640 and North Central. Progress was marked by a Nov. 1 public meeting.
Capacity building:
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Conducted four workshops on starting and sustaining neighborhood organizations, serving 35 neighborhood leaders.
Emergency preparedness:
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Worked with KEMA to expand the Neighborhood Emergency Contact Network and continued to promote emergency preparedness at the neighborhood level.
Neighborhood Advisory Council:
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Staffed the 15-member Neighborhood Advisory Council, which met 11 times over the course of the year to provide feedback and advice on Office of Neighborhoods programs. Topics included food trucks, short-term rentals, Great Schools Partnership, Police Advisory and Review Committee, neighborhood entrance signs, the work of the Public Service Department, and human trafficking.
Neighborhood Advisory Newsletter:
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Published 45 issues of the “almost weekly” Neighborhood Advisory and created a new online “Knoxville Neighborhoods” calendar, making it easier for readers to keep track of neighborhood and government events.
Neighborhood Awards Luncheon:
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Hosted more than 470 participants at the annual Neighborhood Awards Luncheon that included a keynote speaker, presentation of the Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year Award and Neighborhood Achievement Awards, networking among neighborhood leaders and City officials, and a pre-luncheon workshop in which nine speakers gave short presentations on a variety of city and neighborhood projects.
Neighborhood Small Grants Program:
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Awarded grants totaling $54,625 to 22 neighborhood organizations for a wide range of community improvement and capacity building projects, and continued to administer or close out grants from 2015 cycle.
Neighborhoods:
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Provided advice and consultation services to neighborhood groups on a wide variety of subjects, and attended or spoke at more than 65 neighborhood meetings.
Partnerships:
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Worked with Great Schools Partnership, Knox County Health Department, and other governmental agencies and nonprofit agencies with a mutual interest in revitalizing Knoxville’s neighborhoods.
Traffic Calming:
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Worked closely with the Engineering and Police departments to develop the first draft of a comprehensive Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program; presented the plan and obtained public comment at two public meetings; gained additional input from an online survey; and prepared recommendations for extensive changes to the draft plan for a 2017 launch.
PARKS AND RECREATION [Return to Depts. List]
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Working with the Office of Redevelopment, completed and officially opened Suttree Landing Park on the South Waterfront.
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Completed the Greenway Feasibility and Assessment Study and held a public meeting in July to unveil the study to the public.
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Working with TDOT, which has agreed to place a pedestrian bridge across Western Avenue at Ball Camp Pike, acquired property necessary to link the bridge with a future greenway running to Victor Ashe Park.
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Secured the services of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon to design the greenway segment from Western Avenue pedestrian bridge to Victor Ashe Park, known as the Northwest Connector.
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Working with the Aslan Foundation, began developing plans for the improvements to the Fort Dickerson Quarry area. Also acquired property necessary to create an access from Augusta Avenue into this part of the park.
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Took possession of the 70-acre River Bluff Wildlife Area in South Knoxville as a donation from the Legacy Parks Foundation. Began work to secure the property and make safety improvements.
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Held the 5th annual Let’s Move! Event at Victor Ashe Park on in early May. An estimated 2,000 residents participated in the fun, informative event.
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Accepted the 100-acre donation of the Baker Creek Preserve from the Legacy Parks Foundation. This property is primarily dedicated to mountain bike riders.
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Initiated a $25,000 contract with the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club to help maintain the city’s soft surface trails throughout the city.
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Coordinated a summit in October for groups and individuals who work closely with Knoxville’s disadvantaged youth, to try to determine common goals to work toward to better deliver much-needed recreation services.
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The Knoxville Community Band held seven concerts during the year, culminating with its annual Christmas Concert at the Bijou Theatre. Several hundred people enjoyed the band performance of much-loved holiday classics.
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Working with the Engineering Department and local residents, completed work on the renovation project of Fountain City Lake. Needed improvements were made to allow for a better system for filtering the water to help prevent algae and other aquatic plants from blanketing the lake.
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Awarded Challenge Grants to 13 different organizations totaling $25,000 to promote improvements to parks and other public spaces throughout Knoxville.
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Contracted with Bill Murrah and Homer Anderson to assist volunteer recreation commissions in Knoxville in getting better organized from the standpoint of developing organizational mission statements and bylaws, securing nonprofit status and putting together budgets.
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Officially moved into the historic Lakeshore Administration Building in Lakeshore Park in April. Twenty employees from Parks and Recreation administrative staff moved from both the City County Building and the Fifth Avenue office.
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Continued to work with Thomas Caldwell architect to design a new dog park that will be constructed next to the new K-9 Facility being built by KPD across from the Safety Building on Howard H. Baker Jr. Drive.
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Worked on making capital improvements at Inskip Pool, including rest rooms, volleyball court, shelters and outdoor showers.
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Allowed for UT football game parking at Tyson Park, where 1,557 tickets were sold over seven home games and brought in $15,570 in revenue.
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Funded a study by Equinox Inc. to determine a four-year funding plan for the Urban Wilderness in South Knoxville. Partnered with the Aslan Foundation, Ijams Nature Center, Legacy Parks Foundation, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club, and Knox County to study the existing amenities and survey interested parties to lay out future city priorities.
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Worked with KCDC and Gerdau Steel to develop plans for a new park in Lonsdale Homes that will honor Zaevion Dobson.
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Partnered with local veteran groups to rename “Sharp’s Ridge Park” to “Sharp’s Ridge Veterans Memorial Park” and worked with them to plan and implement needed improvements to the park including signage, picnic areas and cleanup efforts.
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Leased New Hope Recreation Center to the Emerald Youth Foundation to allow the foundation to expand its programming to area low-income families.
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Working with the Public Service Department, officially created a dedicated Greenways Crew whose main responsibility is to build and maintain greenway segments throughout the city.
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Hosted Knoxville’s first pickleball tournament in April at West Hills Park. The tournament included 150 players who competed in singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and/or the dynamic skills challenge. The dynamic skills challenge is the first known pickleball event that offered an opportunity for adults with disabilities the opportunity to compete.
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In July, the Parks and Recreation Department opened four newly constructed pickleball courts in Sam Duff Memorial Park and resurfaced the adjacent tennis court. These courts were the site of a fall tournament with 50 players.
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Completed our first full year with online registration system, which makes the process to reserve park shelters and recreation centers for events easier for citizens. Reservations increased 68 percent in 2016 compared to 2015. The online system is also used for adult sports teams, arts and crafts classes, special events, lifeguard workshops, and more.
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Employed almost 500 part-time hourly staff who assist in providing valuable daily services, such as lifeguarding, athletic game personnel, field maintenance staff, concession staff, summer program staff, bus drivers, and much more.
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Directed basketball, kickball, volleyball, softball, and baseball leagues for a combined total of 415 teams in adult recreational sports leagues.
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Assisted local youth sports commissions with youth rec leagues for 645 teams that participated in basketball, football, baseball, and softball leagues.
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Received the following awards at the annual Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association Conference held in Memphis in November:
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Four Star Arts Award – Zaevion Dobson Memorial Mosaic
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New Facility ($250,000-$500,000 budget) – Baker Creek Preserve
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Renovated Facility ($1,000,000+ budget) – Lakeshore Park Admin Building
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Participated in both Neighborhoods to Nature (#KnoxN2N) events at Caswell Park and Malcolm-Martin Park.
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Partnered with the Save Our Sons initiative and Eternal Life Harvest Outreach to offer “Safe Haven Gym” at Cal Johnson Recreation Center during the summer. Teens attended the 3-month-long program, which provided a safe location for teens to play basketball and learn life lessons. KPD officers joined the effort and competed against the youth group during this program.
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Numerous staff served local efforts, such as wildfire relief assistance and delivering baskets of food from the Empty Stocking Fund to residents in KCDC high-rise facilities.
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Organized “Secret Santa” efforts for City employees to give Christmas gifts to 61 children who attend the After School Program.
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Continued partnership with Eight Lane Consultants to provide cross-country programs to elementary and middle school students in Knox County. Total participation for 2016 for Eight Lane Consultants rose 6 percent to 10,900 children ages 5-18. Eight Lane Consultants also hosted a track and field day with kids in the After School Program in the spring.
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Continued partnership with Deidra Dunn to provide tennis services and programming at West Hills Park and the Kyle Testerman Courts at Tyson Park. These sites were host to many local adult leagues, elementary school league, middle school league, and summer Junior Team Tennis, three USTA Tennessee State League Championships, and various local and sectional junior tournaments, as well as available to the public for recreational play and lessons, clinics, and non-sanctioned leagues offered at both sites.
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Continued partnership with Golden Gloves Boxing to provide youth boxing to young people in Knoxville.
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Continued partnership with W.C. Two on the management of the Williams Creek Golf Course and the local First Tee Program. The First Tee’s learning program uses the Adaptive Recreation Center as its indoor facility for education.
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Completed a successful season at Caswell Park with 26 weekend tournaments/events ranging from local youth tournaments to national senior events. Caswell was also home to adult softball leagues, youth rec baseball and softball in the spring, a girl’s middle school league in the fall, and recreational softball program for seniors offered on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings.
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Added an ADA accessible 20-by-30-foot picnic shelter at Victor Ashe Park adjacent to the disc golf course. Purchased and installed 18 new disc golf baskets throughout the course.
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Cumberland Estates and South Knoxville gym floors were sanded down and refinished.
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Cumberland Estates dance studio received a new floor, mirrors, paint and decor. Christenberry dance studio floor was sanded and refinished. E.V. Davidson game room and locker room were remodeled with new VCT flooring.
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Lakeshore Knox Youth Sports office received a new surface water drainage system to reduce flooding inside the building.
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The outside spectator area at Tyson Tennis Center was upgraded with enhanced landscaping and all new picnic tables, including one ADA accessible picnic table.
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Revenues collected by Parks and Recreation exceeded $675,000, the most ever collected in one year.
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Successfully transitioned 52 permanent employees from paper timecards to the City’s new online timekeeping system.
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Contracted with KCDC for the City to provide recreation programming and staff support in four of its senior living facilities and centers.
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The Sports Outreach Program connected 200 at-risk children to non-traditional sports, such as golf, tennis, cross country, swimming and soccer, through summer camps and after-school leagues.
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Partnered with Ijams Nature Center to offer two weeks of an outdoor and nature camp for community children. Participants were involved in numerous activities which included hiking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, standup paddle-boarding and educational nature activities and crafts.
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Continued programming with the efforts of a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist on staff and offered programming for adults with disabilities, including basketball, disc golf, power soccer, bocce ball, pickleball, kickball, bowling, BEEP ball, tennis, yoga, cooking, and arts and crafts.
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Partnered with local agencies to help better serve participants seeking adaptive recreation opportunities. These agencies include Sunshine Industries, Breakthrough Corporation, Sertoma Center, Cerebral Palsy Center, the Peer Support Academy, Open Arms Care, the Disability Resource Center, and Knox County Schools.
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Hosted a Special Olympics Tennis Competition.
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Provided 35 American Red Cross Training Courses (Lifeguard, Water Safety Instructor, Lifeguard Instructor, etc.) and Safety Training (Exposure Control, Hazard Communication, GHS, etc.) to City employees and the general public.
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Certified 119 lifeguards and water safety instructors.
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Attendance of 43,460 people at City’s four swimming pools and aquatics programs for the year.
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Offered swimming lessons at two locations and taught 742 children American Red Cross certified swim lessons.
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The Senior Centers continue to offer programs that focus on maintaining and increasing health through fitness and wellness screenings and also provide positive social experiences for older Americans.
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Applied for and received an Imagination Playground grant and Rigamajig grant through KABOOM! and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Health Foundation, totaling $25,000. The new equipment enhances exercise, play, and creativity for after-school children.
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Registered more than 850 children into seven-week “Summer Playground Program” at 10 different sites. The program offered arts and crafts, field trips, sports games and fitness activities.
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Continued to offer “After School Program” in 11 recreation centers. Average daily attendance is more than 400 children.
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Registered 82 kids from six different sites in the Kids Can Bike program. The program provides six classes of instruction for children on how to safely ride a bicycle and culminates with a 10-mile greenway ride in the city. Each child receives a free bicycle helmet.
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Offered over 100 classes and activities through the Knoxville Arts and Fine Craft Center, including crafts, photography, dance, pottery, painting, sewing and music. Participants range from preschoolers to adults. The KAFCC also continued a strong partnerships and outreach programs with the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and local youth groups and home school organizations.
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Continued successful recreation center programs, including yoga, Ca-La Fitness, chess (partnering with Urban Town Chess), swim classes, after-school and summer programs, and adaptive recreation opportunities. Have also added martial arts, reading, and soccer programs.
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Recreation Program Coordinator served as a member of CODI (Mayor’s Council on Disability Issues) and helped complete a Disability Friendly City survey.
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Hosted the 11th annual Dr. E.V. Davidson Teen Step Show at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium with five teams, 125 participants and 1,000 audience members. The event focuses on teens and not only encourages fitness and friendly competition, but gives students a glimpse of what to expect as college students. This event is partnered with the University of Tennessee.
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Hosted the 5th annual Doggie Dip day at Inskip Pool with 113 dogs and 231 humans.
PLANS REVIEW AND INSPECTIONS [Return to Depts. List]
What’s new:
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Brought Neighborhood Codes Division from Public Service Department into Plans Review & Inspections.
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Participating in What Works Cities, a Bloomberg Philanthropies national initiative that helps mid-sized American cities to enhance their use of data and evidence to improve services while engaging residents and informing policymakers. The City of Knoxville What Works Cities team’s purpose is to increase public access to City records and information related to blighted properties while providing easily understandable context for data.
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Improved cooperation on blight issues by participating in Abandoned, Blighted, and Vacant Properties Committee meetings monthly; connecting with other cities’ blight fighters in statewide land bank group meetings; and attending the national Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference.
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Participated in the Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project and attended the annual meeting to compare with other cities and ensure the City of Knoxville operates with the best practices across the state.
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Plans Review & Inspections began transitioning from Permits Plus software to the new “Knox Works” software package.
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Staff has increased the knowledge and versatility of the department by taking and passing certification tests. Fourteen employees passed certification tests.
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An Expedited Permit process began in October and is available to facilitate less complicated projects. One applicant submitted and received a permit with positive feedback.
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Implemented a proactive approach to enhance communication on larger commercial projects by attending on-site meetings with contractors, architects, engineers and developers.
Statistics:
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Reviewed more than 270 electronic plan submittals.
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Total valuation of all building projects reviewed exceeded $424 million.
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Plans reviewed and permits issued increased by 21 percent since November 2015.
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PR& I inspections performed increased by 20 percent since November 2015.
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Revenue increased by 37 percent since November 2015.
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Issued more than 2,000 permits for CAC/KEEM project (energy-efficiency upgrades for low-income households) and completed more than 884 homes since September 2015.
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Completed 29,422 Codes inspections, increased from 28,860 in 2015.
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Neighborhood Codes Division performed at a proactive rate of 68.96 percent, increased from 65.89 percent in 2015.
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Increased outreach to the public by performing three neighborhood sweeps, attending 20 neighborhood meetings or working groups, and staffing booths at both the Neighborhood Awards Luncheon and Landlord Summit.
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Form Based Code review process was streamlined, allowing projects to be reviewed by the Administrative Review Committee on an as-needed basis. Fifteen (15) new applications were submitted for Form Based Code approval. Ten (10) projects received Development Plan Review Certification, and seven (7) projects are in process of resolving comments to move forward with approvals.
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More than 60 Mobile Food Units have been inspected and permitted.
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Anticipate more than 1,200 licensed subcontractors, based on renewals sent out.
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Plans Review and Inspections led a total of twenty-four (24) Pre-submittal Conferences. This number increased 58 percent from 2015. Pre-submittal conferences help ensure successful projects when submitted for the official plans review. This service is provided at no cost to the applicant.
Staffing:
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Increased staffing with four (4) new employees, including a new Deputy Director.
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Four (4) employees are signed up for the DROP plan.
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Three (3) employees retired.
POLICE [Return to Depts. List]
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Answered more than 250,000 calls for police services.
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Issued 54,216 citations and made more than 12,000 arrests, which have played a role in ongoing efforts to protect property and lives in the community. There has been a 4 percent reduction in Crimes Against Persons and a 5 percent reduction in Property Crimes. Of the 76,216 possibly negative contacts (citations and arrests), officers had to respond to resistance with force on only 100 individuals. Officers did not have to use deadly force at all during this year. The last use of deadly force by a Knoxville Police Officer was in July 2014.
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Saved 36 lives using the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone.
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The Liaison Officer Program provided an opportunity for officers to engage the community by attending more than 40 neighborhood meetings a month working with 90 different community groups creating working partnerships to address crime and quality-of-life issues in neighborhoods through trusting relationships.
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The Repeat Offender Squad served one Nuisance Injunction on a business that was a dangerous location and shut down the operation and brought peace to those living in the area.
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The Neighborhood Bike Officers conducted eight graffiti removal operations targeting 27 different locations to eradicate unsightly blight.
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The Neighborhood Bike Officers partnered with the Officers in the Central Business Improvement District, CAC, the Public Service Department and the Office on Homelessness to address 70 homeless camp complaints, with one major operation on Second Creek to stop contamination and destruction of this waterway.
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The KPD Training Academy received its fifth accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) with the Meritorious Advanced Award with Excellence under the Gold Standard.
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The Training Academy held the 58th Citizens Police Academy.
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The Training Academy hosted two Summer in the City interns.
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Implemented an E-Citation Program, reducing the time it takes to write a citation and increasing the efficiency of the system.
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Implemented the “Handle with Care” program to notify Knox County Schools personnel of any traumatic event a child encounters where police are aware.
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Implemented “If You Can Read You Can Be …” literacy program for elementary school age students.
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Hired 17 new non-sworn employees to vital positions in the department.
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Promoted two Sergeants, two Lieutenants, one Captain, and one Deputy Chief.
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Completed new security enhancements for the Safety Building, adding a security fence.
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Added a miniature Neyland Stadium to Safety City structures.
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Received grant funding to continue the following programs:
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Elder Abuse Awareness, Prevention, and Response Program;
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ICAC Wounded Warrior HERO Program;
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Tennessee Crime Control Reduction Program to support the Save Our Sons program;
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Family Justice Center Statewide Initiative; and
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YWCA Advocate and Knox County Clerk Compliance Officer.
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Collected approximately 4,000 pounds of unwanted medications at the Safety Building and community collection events.
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Assisted the Chattanooga Police Department in development and training of a Volunteer Chaplains Corps.
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Created a new physical fitness screening test for new recruit applicants that is certified as job relevant.
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Violent Crimes Unit began using a Victim Advocate to serve families impacted by violent crimes.
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Violent Crimes Unit added a crime intelligence analyst to provide assistance during investigations.
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Violent Crimes Unit has contracted with Parabon Nanolabs to use a new investigative tool that uses DNA to create a descriptive profile of an individual based on a DNA sample.
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Special Crimes Unit presented a course on avoiding dating violence to more than 1,300 area high school students.
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The Internet Crimes Against Children Unit added three affiliate agencies to the Tennessee ICAC Task Force.
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The ICAC Unit hired a wounded U.S. military veteran under the HERO grant to assist in seeking out and finding suspects in child exploitation and pornography.
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Property Crime Unit recovered more than $160,000 in stolen property using Leads Online Computer Program.
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KPD crime clearance rate was 49 percent (well over the state average of 38 percent).
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Partnered with the White House Police Data Driven Justice Initiative to create justice system reforms in our community.
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Nine officers were recognized as Officer of the Month for exceptional work throughout the year, two officers received the Medal of Valor, and two officers were presented the Life Saving Award.
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY FACILITIES (SMG) [Return to Depts. List]
All venues:
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General Manager Mary Bogert received Service/Supplier General Manager of the Year from the Greater Knoxville Hospitality Association.
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SMG provided its comprehensive “k’nekt” customer service training program for all three venues, which provides tools and training on best practices to ensure the best possible guest experience. Additionally, all three venues participated in OSHA compliance, fire safety and active shooter training.
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Bookings have increased across all three facilities, and all venues completed the fiscal year, which ended in June, favorable to budget.
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Social media engagement has improved. In 2016, the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum has improved nearly 170 percent and now has more than 12,500 followers. Chilhowee Park & Exposition Center has improved its Facebook following by 136 percent, and the Knoxville Convention Center now has more than 22,800 followers on its page. All three facilities have added selfie stations to continue to improve and enhance attendee social engagement.
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SMG Knoxville management staff attended the EventBooking Live conference hosted at the Knoxville Convention Center. Knoxville-based EventBooking is the booking system used for SMG facilities across the world. This system allows SMG’s entertainment division to access the venues’ booking calendars to route major national touring shows to Knoxville.
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All SMG-managed facilities standardized and led training on security policies for public shows to ensure patron safety, such as bag checks and wanding.
Knoxville Convention Center:
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Hosted 198 meetings, conferences, receptions and other events in 2016 for a total of 513 days booked at the facility. More than 306,952 guests attended the events. Events in 2016 generated more than $4.8 million to supplement the facility’s budget.
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The Knoxville Convention Center sales team, in partnership with Visit Knoxville, generated more than $3.2 million in bookings during the last fiscal year. Future regional and national bookings include Bassmaster in 2017 with 2,500 attendees and the Global TapRooT Summit with 2,100 attendees. The sales team, in partnership with Visit Knoxville, has at least two citywide events booked every year through 2019.
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Completed fiscal budget ending 2016 better to budget by $89,000. Strategically positioned to book events that drive a higher economic impact.
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Selected for the 10th year in a row as a “prime site” by Facilities & Destinations magazine, a designation voted by national meeting planners.
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Staff honored with several awards and honors, including:
o
Preferred A/V provider M&M Productions USA won the Tennessee Hospitality Association’s Preferred Vendor of the Year, and M&M Productions USA’s Barry Dunford won Manager of the Year from the Greater Knoxville Hospitality Association.
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Hired and promoted several employees, including:
o
Kate Jackson, former senior event manager, was promoted to director of event services.
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Alphonse Stalliard was hired as a senior event manager.
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Andrew McNair was promoted to event manager from food and beverage manager.
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Meme Welch was promoted to assistant food and beverage manager from banquet manager.
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Partnered with Visit Knoxville to provide free wireless internet to all guests and visitors on the concourses, meetings rooms and ballrooms. Complimentary wireless internet is an essential amenity in attracting top meetings and conventions to Knoxville.
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Staff dedicated more than 1,722 community service hours volunteering and serving on boards of local nonprofits in the fiscal year.
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The second annual Tomato Crush event held in the Convention Center’s main kitchen was a huge success. More than 70 volunteers helped produce more than 1,100 gallons of healthy tomato sauce for distribution through Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.
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In regular customer service surveys, more than 98 percent of respondents said they were likely or extremely likely to recommend the facility.
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The roof replacement is 95 percent complete on the Knoxville Convention Center. Carpet replacement is moving forward in 2017. Project completion is pending availability at the Convention Center to ensure no interruption to events being held at the facility.
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A new wall mural was installed by Visit Knoxville to market the Urban Wilderness using a photo from Bruce McCamish.
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The upgraded pedestrian bridge across Henley Street and enhancements to Clinch Avenue increased connectivity and walkability to the downtown core. The Convention Center coordinates with the City of Knoxville to change the colors of the LED lights to coincide with City celebrations and events.
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Continued participation in TVA’s demand response program, which asks businesses to reduce electricity use during high demand.
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Continued farm-to-table program by purchasing the majority of food and beverage products within a 90-mile radius of the center. Convention Center staff assists in this endeavor by planting herbs in functional landscaping around the facility.
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Notable events included:
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96th annual Flushing Spaniel Dog Show, Jan 1-3 – More than 700 competitors and their trainers competed in the event.
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Ozone Invitational Gymnastics Competition, Jan. 15-18
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Scott Hamilton and Friends Celebration Dinner, Feb. 20 – Welcomed 800 guests for a seated formal dinner.
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Phoenix Rising Volleyball Tournament, March 5-6 – Welcomed 1,650 volleyball players and fans from throughout the region.
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Mary Kay Seminar, March 18-19 – More than 1,300 Mary Kay consultants from throughout the Southeast attended.
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Southeast Chapter of the International Association of Arboriculture, March 19-22 – Approximately 600 arboriculture enthusiasts attended educational events, keynote speakers, industry exhibitions and certification tests.
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Annual public show season, January-April – Welcomed nearly 90,000 guests to the facility. Events included Downtown Knoxville Boat Show, Knoxville News Sentinel Auto Show, Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show, Discover the Dinosaurs and Say Yes! Bridal and Beyond.
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Destination Imagination, May 23-28 –18,000 attendees.
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Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School, June 2-9 – 1,500 attendees.
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Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, June 6-10 and Nov. 6-10 -- 700 attendees.
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U.S. Trampoline and Tumbling Association Nationals, June 14-18. The competition had its largest participation and attendance number to date.
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Fanboy, June 24-26 and Oct. 19-30. The June Fanboy was the show’s most successful Knoxville show to date with 18,000 attendees. Social media posts of celebrity guests went viral, and the success led Fanboy to add an additional show in October.
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Phillip Fulmer Celebrity Roast to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, June 25 – 1,200 attendees.
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KY/TN Water Professionals Conference, July 17-20 – 1,450 attendees.
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CodeStock 2016 Annual Meeting, July 15-16 – 1,200 attendees.
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American Cornhole Organization World Championships, July 26-30 – 750 attendees.
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Arbonne International Impact Training, Aug. 13 – 1,000 attendees.
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Building Component Manufacturers Conference, Oct. 18-21 – 800 attendees.
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ETEBA Business Opportunities Conference, Oct. 11-13 – 500 attendees.
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Fantasy of Trees, Nov. 22-27 – 60,000 attendees.
Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center:
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Hosted 123 events with an estimated attendance of 259,907. The 2016 Tennessee Valley Fair attendance was approximately 132,000.
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Revamped social media presence and grew Facebook audience by more than 136 percent in 2016 through increased activity.
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Met with Knox Heritage and East Tennessee Quality Growth group to develop more community input and use for Chilhowee Park, including new project to bring mural to Chilhowee Park’s tunnel entrance under Magnolia Avenue.
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Tennessee artist Brandon Donahue completed a mural envisioned and commissioned by local neighborhood groups that features the history and culture of East Knoxville, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Sept. 9. The project was supported by grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission, the East Tennessee Foundation and the First Tennessee Foundation.
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Named Greg Mackay as director and hired East Knoxville native Michael Tarrant as event manager.
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On May 19, SMG staff participated in a Beautification Day with Keep Knoxville Beautiful to pull weeds, plant landscaping and clean up the park. Staff from all three facilities volunteered time.
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ROCCK Racing, a group of local radio-controlled car enthusiasts, held races and practices in the pavilion that drew participants from as far away as Pennsylvania.
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An initiative to collect historical photos of Chilhowee Park generated more than 50 historical photos that have been displayed.
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Generated almost 45 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity on Jacob Building solar array.
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Hosted and attended monthly Chilhowee Park Neighborhood Association meetings.
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Organized and attended Friends of Chilhowee Park meetings.
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Finalized the design, content and layout of a new event guide and website that will roll out in the first quarter of 2017.
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Event highlights in 2016 included:
o
Junior League of Knoxville’s 30th Annual Bag-a-Bargain, March 5.
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Tennessee Valley Cat Fanciers, March 25 – More than 200 felines competed.
o
Knox County Farm Day, April 26.
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Xtreme Air 5K, April 29 – About 500 individuals participated in challenging inflatable obstacle courses.
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National Street Rod Association, May 6-8 – More than 2,000 street rods, customs, muscle cars and street machines on display.
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RK Gun Shows – Multiple shows throughout the year.
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ROCCK Racing – Regular racing season throughout the fall and winter.
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More than 1,200 people participated in the Flavor Run 5K Race on June 4.
o
The 28th annual East Tennessee All Mopar Car Show, which was a new event booking in 2016, brought a record crowd on June 25 and raised $1,000 for the Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad. Show promoters are interested in committing for several more years.
o
Friends of the Knox County Public Library Annual Book Sale moved to the Jacob Building on June 26 with its most successful year to date. The event is expected to return.
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The third annual Robotics Revolution, sponsored by The Muse Knoxville, featured vendors and students demonstrating the latest advances in the world of robots on Aug. 6 with great attendance and participation.
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Emancipation Day was held at the Marble Bandstand and the Jacob Building to celebrate African-American history and culture Aug. 13. The event was hosted by the Beck Cultural Center and featured live music, comedian Spanky Brown, children’s games, vendors and a parade.
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More than 132,000 visitors attended the Tennessee Valley Fair Sept 9-18.
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Hundreds of dogs competed at the Great Smoky Mountain Dog Show hosted by the Tennessee Valley Kennel Club on November 4-6.
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The American Cornhole Organization hosted the Tennessee Major Big South Conference Dec. 9-10 at the Jacob Building. The event had previously been held at the Knoxville Convention Center. The ability to check availability across all three City-owned venues is an advantage of consolidated management of all three venues.
Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum (KCAC):
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Hosted a total of 142 bookings in 2016, including 108 paid events and more than 34 civic events. Many of these bookings included multiple shows, performances or days at the facility, as well as move-in and move-out days. More than 165,421 people attended events at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum (KCAC) complex in 2016.
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Revamped social media presence and increased Facebook audience by nearly 170 percent in 2016 to increase the Facebook following to more than 12,500. Facebook posts in 2016 gained more than 52,000 likes and other reactions. This information is looked at by promoters when considering booking the facility. They want to know how the venue will help promote their event.
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KCAC beat its budget for the fiscal year 2016.
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KCAC launched a new website and has received great reviews from agents, promoters and guests.
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KCAC developed a new Promoter and Event Guide for events at the facility with technical details, marketing guidelines and rules for the facility.
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Additionally, KCAC launched a regular e-newsletter to promote events happening at the facility and sell tickets for upcoming shows. The newsletter subscription list now has more than 4,050 individuals.
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From Jan. 1 to June 10, 2016, KCAC had an event scheduled every weekend in the auditorium. In 2015, the auditorium had five open weekends in that time span.
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KCAC already has 79 events booked for 2017. This places the facility in excellent position to surpass these numbers next year.
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Six major concerts have been announced and are on sale for 2017, including Gabriel Iglesias, Kenny Rogers, Thomas Rhett, I Love the 90s, Sara Evans and Tim Hawkins.
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The general manager and assistant general manager attended the International Entertainment Buyers Association Conference in Nashville to meet with promoters and reintroduce the facility and the Knoxville market to the region. The general manager attended a national Pollstar conference earlier this year.
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Office Manager Jamie Cunningham was awarded statewide Service/Supplier Employee of the Year from the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association.
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KCAC hired and promoted several staff members in 2016:
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Hired Mitch List, a management professional with a strong background in event services, as assistant general manager.
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Hired Brent Lackey, an event professional with more than 13 years of senior level experience, as event manager.
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Promoted Jamie Cunningham, a six-year veteran of KCAC, to office manager.
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Promoted Phillip Crawford, former building superintendent, as stage manager.
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Served as a drop-off location for donated items for first responders and evacuees of the Smoky Mountain wildfires in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The staff and visitors to the facility brought in donations, and a full truckload of donations was delivered to the Gatlinburg evacuee distribution center.
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Hosted an intern this summer through the City of Knoxville’s “Summer in the City” internship program. The intern had a positive experience and has returned for an additional internship at the Knoxville Convention Center.
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Dressing rooms were updated with new carpet and furniture for a better artist experience. Carpets were cleaned, and theatrical curtains were repaired throughout the facility and replaced in the coliseum. New trash cans and stanchions were placed in the lobbies and on plazas. In partnership with Visit Knoxville, new banners were installed in the main lobby of the coliseum. All of these facility improvements will contribute to an enhanced guest experience.
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Restriped the top of parking garage C for RV users. The facility sold out season-long parking spots for the University of Tennessee football season, including 18 full hookups spots and spaces without hookups.
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Worked with in-house food and beverage contractor, Spectra, to add additional points of sale for large auditorium shows. This increases revenues and provides faster service to guests.
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Generated nearly 20 MWh on coliseum parking garage solar array.
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During a “Take Pride In Your Work Day” event, employees created a list of cleaning projects to complete this summer. The management team worked in the trenches, side-by-side with employees, which turned into a great team-building exercise.
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New VIP boxes for Ice Bears hockey games were created on the south end of the arena and have already sold out for the season. The facility upgraded the existing boxes with fresh paint, new pipe and drape, black leather cushioned chairs and food and beverage tables, as well as upgraded food and beverage offerings. This enhances the experience for the 2016-17 hockey season.
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For the first time, KCAC hosted the Ice Bears’ free agent camp at the coliseum in July. Additional summer ice time was filled with a youth hockey camp and private rentals. Summer ice is a great way to support the Ice Bears and introduce youth to the sport, while having increased activity in the facility during the summer months.
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Expanded Wi-Fi coverage to dressing rooms, merchandise areas and the ballroom to better serve needs of touring acts and events.
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Participated in the City of Knoxville successful grant application and planning process to place a KaBoom! urban slide outside of the KCAC parking garage.
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Represented KCAC with the RiverHill Gateway Neighborhood Association.
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General Manager Mary Bogert and Assistant General Manager Mitch List were both featured twice in 2016 in Pollstar magazine’s backstage photo pass with artists Jim Gaffigan and Alabama after sellout performances at the KCAC.
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Notable concerts and events included:
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Two sold-out shows for Tyler Perry’s Madea on the Run, Feb. 14.
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Scott Hamilton Ice Show, featuring music by Michael W. Smith, Feb. 20.
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Color Me Rad 5K Race, April 9.
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Valor Fights 32: Fighting for Autism, April 29.
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Sold-out Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Pops Series performances of Music of Led Zeppelin, Kenny G and The 5th Dimension.
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Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus, June 4 & Dec. 17.
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Sister Hazel, June 4.
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Air1 Positive Hits Tour, July 27.
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Slide the City, July 30.
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Sold-out show, Jim Gaffigan, Aug. 12 – More than 4,000 people bought tickets to two shows.
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NEEDTOBREATHE, Sept. 25.
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Sold-out show, Alabama “Southern Drawl Tour,” Oct. 21.
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Disney on Ice “Dream Big,” Nov. 2-6.
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Emily Ann Roberts, Nov. 4.
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The 1975, Nov. 30.
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Valor Fights 39, Dec. 2.
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Neal McCoy, Dec. 3.
PUBLIC SERVICE [Return to Depts. List]
Administration:
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Continued implementation of an Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) system. Public Service now has every vehicle outfitted with AVLs, allowing monitoring of the entire fleet. Implemented the new Accela software system on April 1, 2016, which drastically improved work order management and warehouse management software system. These major technology projects of Accela and the AVLs have significantly improved efficiency and accountability. The new system allows for more detailed reporting and tracking of daily production. Managers are now able to complete their daily paperwork themselves and review work orders on demand. With the new software, the office staff is now able to more frequently monitor production numbers, looking for discrepancies and correcting them.
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Moved all of Public Service into the newly constructed Public Works Service Center on Aug. 15, 2016. This project was years in the planning and a 20-month build. Continuing to make improvements on the lot with parking, storage, utilities, etc. The new facility has many needed upgrades over the previous location. Some of the upgrades include modernized conference rooms, a high-tech command center and assembly room. The new building is energy efficient as well.
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Participated in more community outreach programs this year. Visited 15 schools, educating children and demonstrating the equipment used by Public Service.
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Hired 37 employees to fill vacancies and promoted 48 employees.
Supply and logistics:
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Continued work with adult and juvenile Saturday program that allows for community service to reduce litter and perform other tasks for the City.
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Worked with schools and other community service programs to perform community beautification efforts involving school-aged kids, providing presentations on Public Works, and represented PSD at many special events.
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Received a much-needed software boost in the warehouse. The new software has a first-in first-out system, which allows for detailed pricing on all inventory. Items can be returned that were not used. Inventory can be directly charged to a work order for more accurate costs for each job. Installation of scanners and bar codes allow for items to be more accurately scanned out.
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Reorganizing of space in the warehouse has allowed for better inventory control.
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Inventory has been reduced over the year to only keep needed items in stock for each job.
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Overhauled warehouse in an attempt to obtain better and safer products to reduce injury risk to co-workers.
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Continued efforts to complete all other tasks: reducing vertical litter, dead animal collection, and the courtesy box program.
Construction:
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Placed more than 600 tons of asphalt while patching potholes and paving parking lots for KPD, Parks and Recreation, and Beardsley Farm.
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At or near the Baker Creek Preserve, constructed a new sidewalk, crosswalk, curb and gutter, asphalt area for accessible parking, fill dirt and topsoil for trails and maintenance, rock, boulders and timbers for new play area, bridge decking and trail connection to South-Doyle School.
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Collaborated with many other departments and outside agencies to complete the Beardsley Farm Outdoor Classroom. Some of these groups included Merit Construction, UT, CAC, architects, etc. The work included building an access road, drainage improvements, concrete pads for storage and access, sidewalk installation, grading and paving.
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Repaired a large sinkhole that formed in Chilhowee Park and required large-scale excavating and pipe replacement to enhance the drainage system and allow park guests to access the area safely. This work had to be expedited in order to allow a contractor to come in and make further repairs downstream prior to specific park events.
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Demolished a dilapidated mobile home park in East Knoxville (one house, one garage, 26 mobile homes and 125 loads of debris) and demolished 60 other houses, cleaned and boarded up more than 450 buildings, and mowed nearly 2,000 overgrown lots.
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Repaired the irrigation/holding pond berm which failed at Knoxville Municipal Golf Course, which impacted the headwaters of Grassy Creek. A construction crew was called in to repair the pond berm, fill the eroded void, and install preventive measures to reinforce the pond berm slope.
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Developed, graded and rocked a new access road leading to a new explosives bunker (also built by Public Service) at the KPD Training Facility. The new bunker was installed away from existing structures for safety and controlled access for KPD’s Bomb Team.
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Removed existing asphalt and concrete for new Parks and Recreation office building at Lakeshore Park. This included hauling and grading soil for new greenspace, repairing and regrading employee parking lots, and drainage improvements to alleviate flooding issues for the Knox Youth Sports building.
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Worked with the Museum of Science and Energy (MUSE) and other contractors to help install a new HVAC system. The project required construction crews to excavate areas in a vertical slope while maintaining the integrity of the slope, and then pouring concrete pads for the new HVAC units.
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Reconfigured the section over the railroad tracks on the Neyland Drive Greenway in order to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. This crossing had been the cause of numerous bicycle accidents and was in dire need of repair.
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Graded a new area for a shed to be built and also poured a turn-down concrete building pad for a new fertilizer building to be erected for Parks and Recreation at Ridley Helton Ballpark. This allows Parks and Recreation to store equipment and supplies the Construction Division. This turn-down pad was 48 by 36 feet and required more than 100 cubic yards of concrete.
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Worked with neighborhoods to enhance the walk to school for students at Green Elementary, Vine Middle, South-Doyle Middle and Fountain City Elementary schools. Tens of thousands of square feet of sidewalk was poured and a new concrete staircase was built to allow safe access up a difficult embankment. The concrete crew also poured new sidewalks and repaired existing ones throughout the City of Knoxville.
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Repaired several of the City's main stormwater thoroughfares throughout the year. These include the Kingston Pike roadway failure, Locust Street infrastructure failures in two locations, Henley Street overnight repairs, and more than a dozen cross-drain replacements ahead of the annual paving contract. In addition, 14 unpaved alleys were graded and rocked to be paved for maintenance and safety.
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Cleaned approximately 10,000 linear feet of storm drain pipe, more than 1,200 catch basins, and 7,200 feet of ditch lines.
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Constructed a new concrete pad for a new picnic pavilion at Victor Ashe Park. This included a new ADA accessible Frisbee golf area and a concrete apron for the dog park area.
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Worked diligently to reduce as much waste and landfill hauling as possible. Crews hauled more than 300 loads of top soil and fill dirt to be reused on other job sites, picked through debris piles to haul brush and limbs to mulching facilities, and delivered old concrete and asphalt to manufacturing plants to be broken down and reused. Hauling these materials to recyclers not only allows them to be repurposed, but also prevents the material from being placed in the landfill. This also saves the city from paying the per ton price of debris at the landfill. Any and all scrap metal found and hauled in was placed in Dumpsters and sent to metal recycling facilities, which generates revenue to be placed back in the City’s General Fund. We have also utilized crushed asphalt and concrete material on several parking lots and City construction projects throughout the year. This material has been recycled and is also significantly less expensive than purchasing crushed stone at a quarry. This material saved approximately half the price of conventional crushed stone.
Horticulture:
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Provided outstanding services for the community in a safe, responsible and efficient manner with well-trained employees.
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Provided grounds maintenance on 1,332 acres: mowing, trimming, litter cleanup, mulching, tree pruning, leaf/brush cleanup, erosion control, stump and invasive species removal.
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Maintained 462,980 square feet of landscape beds and 158 planters in a seasonally correct fashion: planting, watering, mulching, weeding, pruning, trimming and debris removal.
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Maintained 52 miles of City greenway walking trails.
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Managed six mowing and landscaping contracts for maintaining 310 acres located at 177 sites.
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Provided tree maintenance: pruning, mulching, removal and cleanup.
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Completed 280 “Requests-For-Service” calls with high-quality work, in a timely and professional manner.
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Provided 24-hour emergency assistance for weather-related emergencies. Assisted in the cleanup of several tree-related problems within the right-of-way during high wind and ice storms.
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Prepared soil properties for landscaping beds and lawn at the newly constructed Public Works Service Center. This 8.5-acre property includes 9,800 square feet of landscaping beds, 1.25 acres of lawn, a wildflower bed, a bio-swale and 1,100 feet of metal edging and river rock. In addition, mowed lawn, cleared underbrush, watered new grass and river oats.
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Supported construction efforts to improve Lakeshore Park by removing the fencing on the western boundary and taking down the construction and silt fencing left behind during Phase I and improving the landscaping and lawn around the new Parks and Recreation Administration Building.
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Renovated the Maintenance Administration Building at Lakeshore Park for temporary offices that Horticulture and Urban Forestry worked out of for most of the year. This involved building walls, painting and installing shelves.
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Assisted the Knox County Sheriff’s Office work crews at 62 sites, clearing acres of thicket and overgrown lots that included dozens of homeless camps. Three very large areas: I-40/Hall of Fame, Morningside Park and Dale Avenue/I-40.
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Assisted and supported volunteer groups in the cleanup of invasive weeds and overgrowth at Odd Fellows Cemetery.
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Removed invasive bamboo along the Third Creek Greenway and donated four truckloads to the Legacy Parks Foundation to use for a project.
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Cleaned out a stormwater detention pond along the James White Parkway that was filled with invasive trees and plants.
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Cleaned up a 1-acre overgrown area along the Mary Vestal Greenway extension by grading, planting grass seed and straw, then kept it mowed and maintained all summer.
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Coordinated and supported the invasive species removal of 6 acres at Fort Dickerson Park using goats, and coordinated the kudzu treatment at 29 large sites.
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Installed 22 bike trail posts scattered all throughout the wooded areas of Sharp’s Ridge.
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Ground and removed debris of more than 1,000 stumps.
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Cleared significant amounts of thicket at Babe Ruth Park and Milton Roberts Recreation Center, and along the Turkey Creek, Will Skelton, Gallaher View, Ten Mile and Third Creek greenways, which helped to improve visibility.
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Constructed a block foundation at Market Square/Krutch Park to place recycling and trash containers on.
Urban Forestry:
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Prepped and managed an urban forest of more than 20,000 public trees in maintained areas and thousands of other trees in natural areas and along the City right-of-ways.
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Responded to 228 tree-related emergencies during and after severe weather events; Urban Forestry contributed over 682 hours of overtime clearing trees from public streets including two major storm events in July.
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Removed 443 trees that were deemed significant safety or health issues for the public.
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Pruned 2,671 trees and picked up 2 million pounds of brush as the division transitioned to a proactive urban forestry model.
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Planted more than 600 trees during the 2015-2016 planting contract.
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Watered 9,642 trees during the 2016 growing season. This included keeping trees alive during the driest summer in recent history.
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Provided outreach and education to more than 30 different organizations, neighborhoods groups and institutions.
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Inventoried more than 4,200 trees, planting sites, or stumps located on public property.
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Hired a Tree Service Technician and began a second Urban Forestry crew dedicated to doing proactive work such as pruning established trees.
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Worked with Construction and Knoxville Botanical Garden to develop a Missouri Gravels beds for growing root systems on bare root trees and help minimize planting costs.
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Worked with prospective community members and organizations to help start a community nonprofit dedicated to increasing tree canopy in the City of Knoxville and Knox County. Trees Knoxville was officially launched in 2016.
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Planted 70 trees in the Silver Leaf Neighborhood in a partnership with Trees Knoxville, Knoxville Botanical Garden, and Habitat for Humanity.
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Assisted with all the downtown improvements by pruning all trees along Summit Hill Drive, Howard H. Baker Jr. Avenue, Locust Street, and other streets.
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Removed more than 50 ash trees along City right-of-way and within City parks as Emerald Ash Borer continues to kill Knoxville’s ash tree population.
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Mitigated improperly mulched trees along Cherokee Boulevard and conducted structural prunes on more than 600 young trees throughout the City.
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Worked with Engineering on overseeing tree planting on capital projects including Suttree Landing Park, River’s Edge, Marble Alley, and more.
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The City of Knoxville was recognized as a Tree City USA for the 25th consecutive year.
Facilities Services:
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Remodeled a 3,800-square-foot area of a building for the Police Department’s ICAC division, including an electrical upgrade for computers and equipment.
•
Painted the exterior of the Kerr Building.
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Finished the final build-out and construction of the Beardsley Farm Outdoor Classroom.
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Helped Fleet Department move its Heavy Shop and made numerous improvements to the rental building used during the building’s remodel.
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Started and still in the process of upgrading the power for the lights at the tennis courts at Harriet Tubman Park.
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Converted part of the procurement building at Lakeshore Park into a temporary fire hall during the remodeling of the historic Lonas fire station.
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Worked with a contractor to get the Lakeshore procurement building hooked up to the new underground power. This also allowed the old overhead power lines and poles to be removed.
Service Areas:
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Collected more than 53,014,673 pounds or 26,507 tons of brush and 11,521,217 pounds or 5,760 tons of leaves (32,267 tons total).
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Swept 24,263 lane miles.
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Plowed and spread salt on roughly 2,379 lane miles, successfully keeping the roadways passable and the public safe.
Service Area 1 (special events and downtown):
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Reformatted how homeless camps are cleaned by taking a more proactive approach and dedicating one day a week to working with KPD in removing homeless camps that pose health and safety threats. Have removed 271.86 tons of garbage and debris from the camps while getting the information to the campers about what help and programs are available to assist them in getting off the streets.
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Moved Parks and Recreation from the City County Building to their new location at Lakeshore Park. Also have worked with KFD in moving them in and out of temporary locations due to the remodel of two of their stations, No. 7 and No. 12.
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Completed the transition to the new Public Works Service Center, which was a huge accomplishment. In a two-week time frame, moved all of Engineering and Public Service. At the same time, also moved Fleet to its temporary location for the remodel of its facility that is currently in the works. The final part of this transition was moving The Center health-care clinic from Mineral Springs back to its new home in the Service Center in November.
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Continued to support more and more special events in Knoxville while still efficiently handling that demand and meeting City customers’ needs.
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Continued to grow trash and recycling sites as Downtown continues to grow. Continuing to make necessary adjustments to keep Downtown Knoxville one of the cleanest cities in the South.
Service Area 2:
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Completed several significant personnel changes with some core operators. Transferred Johnny Little to the Knuckleboom, promoted Danny McCoy and Casey Long to the Equipment Operator 1 position. Also added three new Public Service workers to our team: Marilyn Anderson, James Burress and Robert Stevens.
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Provided snow and ice removal services by working 24/7 on two separate occasions to follow the Snow Plan and keep our streets open for police, fire, ambulance service, KAT and the general public.
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Completed safety “toolbox talks” on a weekly basis. Safety training attendance has been up during the year. Our zone has a Commercial Driver’s License practice test book to encourage those without CDLs to get them.
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Provided litter and garbage removal along with street maintenance services for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and the Austin-East Homecoming.
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Expanded efforts of sweeping and maintaining the ever-expansive bicycle lanes for everyday use as well as for numerous events such as the Knoxville Marathon and other races within South Knoxville.
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Aided in brush and debris removal in conjunction with the Baker Creek Preserve and several other parts of the new Urban Wilderness areas.
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Assisted the Knox County Sheriff’s Office inmate work crews by removing debris from several sites, most recently from the fence lines around Sevier Avenue and James White Parkway.
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Participated in several community outreach events by doing multiple neighborhood walks with citizens as well as participating in National Night Out and various neighborhood and community meetings.
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Reorganized and reprioritized City’s Snow Plan and routes in South and East Knoxville.
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Assisted with the implementation and training of co-workers with the new Accela work order software.
Service Area 3:
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Cleaned 22 miles of alleys.
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Trimmed more than 1,700 visibility obstructions.
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Patched or filled 134 potholes using 47.5 tons of asphalt.
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Conducted multiple days of cleanup work for the Dogwood Arts Trail, including continual leaf, brush and litter collection daily throughout the event.
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Maintained the inside and outside of the fairgrounds during and after the Tennessee Valley Fair.
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Managed a crew from each service area to remove trash and debris from creeks and streams during the River Rescue event.
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Cut and removed all underbrush on the newly relocated property of the Fleet Services Department. This included the removal of two loads of bulk trash and six loads of brush.
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Sprayed 318 different job sites that included alleys, guardrails, and notorious sight distance problems.
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Removed illegal dump sites and other bulk trash on the right of ways totaling 221 loads.
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Collected 1,883 loads of brush.
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Swept 3,404 miles of right-of-way.
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Plowed 630 miles and salted 190 miles during snow events.
Service Area 4:
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Reported all downed or damaged street signs to Traffic Engineering.
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Worked proactively to repair potholes or report them to KUB.
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Cleaned several ditch line and wooded areas.
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Reconfigured sweeping routes to include all bike lanes.
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Cleaned all concrete medians that are highly visible in this service area.
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Worked with Horticulture on some of its special projects to cut trees and bushes from multiple Parks and Recreation sites.
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Supplied the litter crew with list of areas that need extra attention in some high-traffic areas.
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Worked with Keep Knoxville Beautiful in its effort to clean areas that need special attention by setting trailer for debris that is collected.
Service Area 5:
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Continued to support community by providing continual and efficient brush, leaf and pothole repair services.
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Provided leaves to Beardsley Community Farm for its composting efforts.
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Created and implemented multiple Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for routine tasks. The SOPs made Service Area 500 more efficient and therefore able to help other service areas in leaf collection.
Service Area 6:
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Worked with Forestry Division personnel to complete the clearing of many line-of-sight issues in the Sequoyah Hills area that had been in need of attention.
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Hired a Second Chance candidate and assisted him with obtaining his CDL. This new employee expected to contribute to the team immediately due to knowledge gained while training as a Second Chance candidate.
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Continued weekly Toolbox Safety talks/training, which contributed to a decrease in workplace injuries.
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Enhanced the beauty of Knoxville Dogwood Trails by continuously monitoring those specific areas and staying on top of any issues that arose.
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Cleaned drainage ditches of debris and trash after storms.
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Paid close attention to school zones by cleaning sidewalks, sweeping streets, etc., for the safety of Knox County students.
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Provided an extra service to the citizens in Zone 6 by picking up bulk trash when necessary and spraying herbicides to control undesirable vegetation.
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Helped three new employees obtain their CDL. This accomplishment, obtained in cooperation with the Master Equipment Operator, helps both the employee and the City. One of these three employees was promoted to the next level because he had already obtained the CDL.
Solid Waste:
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The Solid Waste Office has had a landmark year! Several major contracts expired, so the office has been very busy making updates and improvements to solid waste systems while saving the City millions of dollars in operating costs. This was all on top of managing day-to-day activities and continuing outreach and education efforts regarding responsible solid waste management principles.
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Negotiated a new yard waste contract with Nature’s Best Organics for significant cost savings to the City of Knoxville. The new contract features two existing locations (east and west) and plans for a third centrally located transfer yard within the first year.
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Negotiated a new residential garbage collection contract, resulting in a nearly $2 million annual savings to the City. The new contract is based on standardized 95-gallon carts to all eligible households. These carts were purchased and distributed throughout December for use in January.
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Purchased an additional 2,000 recycling carts to address the waiting list.
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Targeted communications to the recycling community to remove glass from single-stream recycling in efforts to keep the City’s successful recycling program sustainable.
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Continued outreach events such as Earth Fest, neighborhood or community cleanups, community meetings, etc.
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Co-organized and participated in five unused medication take back events, resulting in a cumulative total of 21,575 pounds of medicine being disposed of properly, 6,097 pounds of packaging being recycled, and 1,727 mercury thermometers being exchanged since starting the program in 2009. This program is a collaborative effort between the City of Knoxville, Knox County, several utility companies, and local nonprofits.
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Attended 30-plus neighborhood meetings in November to discuss upcoming changes to the City’s Solid Waste Program.
Solid Waste Transfer Station:
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Started the enforcement of “City Residents Only” rule for Amnesty Saturday. We have received numerous comments from City residents thanking us for enforcing the rules, which has made for shorter lines and quicker turnaround times.
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Installed a new compactor in April. This has decreased loading times and is more efficient than the old compactor.
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Completed installation of a new gate and in the process of improving the entrance to the facility. The new gate includes a card reader system, which allows staff to know who enters the facility and when they leave.
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Passed all of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conversation periodic inspections. The most recent inspection in November included written comments from the inspector: “nice facility” and “clean and contained.”
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Installed new software for the scales that allows customers to pay using credit cards and also captures every vehicle that crosses the scales.
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Improved facility lighting that makes it safer both for customers and staff. Vehicles begin arriving at 7 a.m. when it is often still dark, so the increased lighting has been a major improvement for the security of the facility and safety of customers.
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Reduced overtime by 156 hours per year by assigning each employee one week every three months to clean the office/break room building instead of paying one employee overtime to do the cleaning. This has also given each employee a sense of ownership, since he or she is actually involved in the cleaning.
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Hired one Household Hazardous Waste Technician and two Semi Truck Drivers.
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Installed new filter screens in the Washout Pit making it more efficient for employees to clean out the pit and decreasing the likelihood of injuries.
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Increased the number of loads hauled per day by revising driver schedules. By revising the schedules, there is no time wasted waiting for the landfill to open, and there is less time wasted on trucks waiting to be loaded.
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Served approximately 67,000 customers.
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Generated annual revenue of approximately $995,000.
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Hauled 29,630 tons of garbage/debris.
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Accepted 129 tons of Household Hazardous Waste.
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Recycled 167 tons of carpet.
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Recycled 118 tons of tires.
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Recycled 373 tons of scrap metal.
Planning and Safety:
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Facilitated the PSD Equity and Diversity Committee and managed the Second Chance program. Established partnerships with five local nonprofit groups to identify and develop promising individuals from disadvantaged populations in Knoxville for consideration in the program.
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Achieved the goal of having the Second Chance crew funded in the departmental budget and expanded to 12 participants per year.
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Managed the first-ever Second Chance crew, which started in August 2016. Hired a total of seven participants for 12-week Second Chance job assignments.
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Created and implemented a weekly training curriculum for the Second Chance program that integrates professional development and skill building for a more holistic educational approach. Two graduates finished the program with their Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs).
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Arranged and/or delivered 25 formal training programs to 642 participants for a total of 1,682 training contact hours.
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Expanded the role of Fleet Liaison to improve communication with Fleet Management and achieve a more collaborative approach to equipment purchase, repair and maintenance.
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Created more than 130 customized “Vehicle Packets” consisting of a daily Vehicle Pre-Operation Checklist and a set of SDS sheets for all hazardous materials an employee may be exposed to.
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Delivered a seminar at the TCAPWA State Conference on Integrating HR Concepts in Public Works Management.
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Published an article in TPW magazine trumpeting PSD’s diversity efforts and the Second Chance program.
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Elected Director of the Upper East branch of the TCAPWA.
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Improved working relationships as the department liaison with the Risk Management and Employee Benefits departments, which has led to greater input and engagement for PSD employees. This has vastly improved the process for handling worker’s compensation claims and accommodation decisions.
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Awarded employee of the quarter and employee of the year awards as part of the Public Service Department’s Employee Recognition Program, which is led and facilitated through the PSD Safety Committee.
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Successfully renewed certification as an NSC Defensive Driving Instructor and delivered the 4-hour defensive driving course to PSD employees.
PURCHASING [Return to Depts. List]
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Processed 701 requisitions into contracts and purchase orders for a total value of $69,880,007. This includes virtually all financially-related transactions that flow through Purchasing except grants, P-Card transactions and Quick PO’s.
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A few noteworthy procurement projects were:
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Development of the former Tennessee State Supreme Court site
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Management and operation of Public Assembly and Convention Facilities
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Mural for Volunteer Landing (PAC)
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Fountain City Lake Rehabilitation Project
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Carpet for Knoxville Convention Center
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Funding for improvements to historic buildings
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Consultant for zoning ordinance update
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Trash and recycling collection contract
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Roll-out carts for garbage
o
Marketing for expanded garbage and recycling collection programs
o
New restroom facilities at Market Square Garage
o
Sanitary Laundry site, 625 N. Broadway – new roof, brownfields cleanup
o
Automated Red Light Enforcement System RFP
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Yard waste disposal RFP
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Successfully managed the City’s P-Card program, which consisted of another $2 million worth of transactions with literally thousands of transactions.
Contract management:
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Closed 127 old purchase orders to de-obligate (free up) a grand total of $1,586,169.66 for use by the various operating departments.
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Processed 315 contract requests, which comprised 210 new contracts and 105 amendments.
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Implemented the new vendor registration acquired through competitive contract with Vendor Registry, providing the City with an updated vendor registration system that is anticipated to result in the City reaching more vendors, thus increasing competition and decreasing cost on procurements.
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Continued the process of cleaning up the vendor database, in conjunction with the IS Department, to remove duplicate vendors and improve the current database. Further cleanup is anticipated due to the partnership with Vendor Registry, but the City currently has about 5,000 inactive vendors identified in the Oracle system which need to be individually deactivated.
Diversity Program Office:
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Quarterly Small Business Connection Newsletter.
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Conducted Disadvantaged Business Enterprises face-to-face visits.
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Attended and participated in numerous local business association meetings and networking events, such as the East Tennessee Veterans Conference, Hispanic Chamber networking event, the Diversity Business Marketplace at the Convention Center, and the Chattanooga Chamber’s Business Opportunities Conference.
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Planned, coordinated and executed the City’s annual Business Breakfast to reveal the City’s procurement forecast for the upcoming year.
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Helped plan and participated in the East Tennessee Purchasing Association’s Business Matching & Tradeshow event to link up small businesses with governmental procurement agencies for potential future contracts.
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Planned, coordinated and executed the City’s first-ever DBE Business Awards Ceremony.
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Participated in ETEBA (Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association) at the Convention Center.
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Participated in ORNL Small Business Outreach Event in Oak Ridge.
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Attended the Scientific Sales Open House and Edwards Electrical Supply Vendor Fair.
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Worked in partnership planning efforts with UT, Knox County, Airport Authority, SCORE & TSBDC (Tennessee Small Business Development Center).
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Sent direct email notifications of numerous bids, RFPs, and RFQs to many minority-owned businesses to increase their interest in competing for City projects.
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Assisted several minority-owned businesses in understanding the City’s bid process, and two successfully won their first bid/contract as a result.
Surplus property:
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Sold 603 vehicles/pieces of equipment at live auctions for a total value of $313,820.
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Completed approximately 456 surplus property sales transactions, via online auctions, for numerous and varied types of equipment and supplies, for a total value of $668,402.
REDEVELOPMENT [Return to Depts. List]
Downtown:
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Developed RFP for the former State Supreme Court site and in conjunction with the Purchasing Department put the property out for proposals; four proposals were received and evaluated, and negotiations commenced with the top proposer.
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Assisted the Public Building Authority (PBA) in providing parking enforcement on all new parking meters downtown and in the Cumberland Avenue area.
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Worked with downtown owners/residents/providers to better establish broadband internet service.
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Set the stage for the redevelopment of a number of buildings north of the railroad tracks along Depot Avenue through public/private partnerships.
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Coordinated with KUB on Century II upgrades.
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Coordinated with Engineering on resurfacing of streets downtown.
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Coordinated with PBA on lower level parking in the State Street Garage.
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Executed a contract for the construction of a new restroom facility in the Market Square Garage. Restrooms opened in December 2016.
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Assisted the Public Art Committee on development of park and art on the 200 block of South Gay Street.
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Coordinated design of Promenade roof and refurbishment of the Promenade deck.
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Completed construction on 700 block of Gay Street, which included the reconstruction of intersection medallions at Church and Clinch along Gay in addition to enhanced sidewalks and on-street parking.
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Executed a contract for the construction of Marble Alley Streetscapes project to include new sidewalks, street lights and landscaping on State Street, Central Street and Commerce Avenue to support the new Marble Alley Lofts.
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Constructed the south side streetscape as part of the Old City streetscape plan from State Street to Central Avenue, adjacent to The Daniel.
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Continued coordination of design and implementation to construct the north side of East Jackson Avenue from the Jackson Avenue ramp to Central.
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Coordinated with Public Building Authority for downtown parking needs for new developments, including the Farragut Hotel.
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Applied for and received a license agreement with the Tennessee Department of Transportation for additional green space along South Central Street.
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Maintained lease with property owner of 30 Market Square for storage of City equipment for events on Market Square.
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Coordinated issuance of several new patio use agreements including the use of a portion of Krutch Park extension.
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Began Strong Alley renovations.
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Coordinated brick replacement on South Gay Street with Engineering Department.
South Waterfront:
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Coordination with TVA for annual review of the Programmatic Agreement for South Waterfront projects.
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City’s IDB purchased the former Baptist Medical Office Tower from Southeastern Development Associates (SEDA). Regal Entertainment Group is updating the office building for its corporate headquarters on the South Waterfront.
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Demolition on the former Baptist Hospital site is completed. The site has started construction for a 300-unit residential apartment complex. Estimated completion is late 2017.
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Construction on the 134-unit luxury style River’s Edge Apartments is substantially complete. The project includes the realignment and new streetscapes for Island Home Avenue with bike lanes and on-street parking adjacent to the 800 linear feet of public riverwalk.
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Worked on initial Department of Transportation (DOT) 2016 TIGER Grant VIII for South Waterfront Pedestrian Bridge. Unfortunately, not a recipient, but a conference call with USDOT was held to gather input on the 2015 submitted document. It was determined that the project needs to complete final design.
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Continuing environmental documentation as part of TDOT Local Programs Process for construction of Sevier Avenue Streetscape Improvements and completion of park roadway network. Environmental approval anticipated in the first quarter of 2017.
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Advertised for right-of-way services, appraisal services and appraisal review for the acquisition of easements and right-of-way for the Sevier Avenue Streetscapes Improvement Project.
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Construction of Waterfront Drive completed as part of the Suttree Landing Park roadway improvements (Phase 1A). The project is substantially complete; ribbon-cutting was held Nov. 16, 2016.
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Construction of Suttree Landing Park (Phase 1B) substantially completed; ribbon-cutting held Nov. 16, 2016.
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Handed off management of the South Waterfront Administrative Review Committee to Plans Review and Inspections Department.
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In conjunction with the Law Department and Plans Review and Inspections, modified South Waterfront Form-Based Code to address needed changes for the code; public meeting held in October and comments followed.
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Continued coordination with Plans Review and Inspections on applicants for the South Waterfront Form-Based Code process on three existing sites for an adaptive reuse in the Sevier Avenue (SW-3) district; continued to meet with prospective property owners to guide them through Form-Based Code process.
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Maintained the South Waterfront Blog with the City’s Communications Department to replace the former South Waterfront Newsletter.
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Assisted South Knoxville Elementary School on design of school library access to Sevier Avenue; coordinated with East Tennessee Community Design Center. Construction was completed summer 2016.
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Facilitated the Community Development Department with coordination of the Façade Improvement Program with South Waterfront business owners.
Cumberland Avenue:
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Completed Phase I, Alcoa Highway to 22nd Street, on time and under budget; ribbon-cutting was held Jan. 6, 2016.
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Started work on the Phase II portion of the project, from 22nd Street to 17th Street; completed northern side of Cumberland Avenue, including: utilities, silva cells, new sidewalks, planter areas, decorative brick pavers, and installed pedestrian and vehicular lights. This work has been a team effort with Engineering and Redevelopment co-managing the prime contractor, Southern Constructors Inc., and continuing work with prime consulting engineers, Vaughn & Melton.
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Maintained, in conjunction with Vaughn & Melton, the website www.cumberlandconnect.com and app for smartphone users with push notifications for project information, merchant information, construction updates and traffic changes. Project communications have been very well-received.
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Managed the removal of the old trolley tracks on Cumberland Avenue from 22nd Street to 17th Street.
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Maintained a Google map on Cumberland Connect to log and track all requested road closures in and around Cumberland Avenue and the Fort Sanders neighborhood, including City projects, KUB projects, University of Tennessee projects and private development requests. At one time, there were more than 30 points of information on this map; on average, there are half a dozen items on this map at any time.
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Handed off management of the Cumberland Avenue Administrative Review Committee (ARC) to Plans Review and Inspections Department. Continue to assist the department with ARC review and coordination with applicants.
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Continued publication of Cumberland Avenue Connections Blog, publishing more than 20 posts in 2016.
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Continued coordination with Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association (CAMA) and stakeholders.
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Facilitated first-ever “Battle at Cumberland,” a social media scavenger hunt in conjunction with the Battle at Bristol UT football game. Forty-five teams of participants took fun-filled photos of the Volunteer spirit on Cumberland Avenue the week leading up to the game. Three teams were selected for prize packs worth $5,000. Sponsors included Merle FM, Regions Bank, CAMA and the City of Knoxville.
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Construction of the Cumberland Avenue project is scheduled to be completed August 2017.
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Assisted with the private development located at 705 S. 17th St. and 1830 Cumberland Ave.
Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes:
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Hired an engineering design consultant to produce final detail design plans for the model block section along Magnolia Avenue from Jessamine Street to North Bertrand Street.
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Coordinated review with TDOT on final detail design of model block section.
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Created Magnolia Avenue Project webpage.
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Held public meeting on Jan. 21, 2016, to present preliminary streetscapes design and gateway monument.
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Responded to all public comments by email in addition to posting on City website.
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Met with interested citizens and property owners along Magnolia Avenue with regards to streetscape proposal and impact upon property.
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Monthly progress meetings are held with engineering design consultant and City Engineering Department.
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Detail design plans are currently 70 percent complete and are expected to be finished by January/February 2017. Right-of-way acquisition is scheduled to start by January 2017.
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Presented Streetscapes Plan at various neighborhood groups and organizations.
Old City streetscapes:
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Hired consultant to move forward into final design and construction documents for the area between Central Street and Patton Street.
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South side sidewalk of East Jackson Avenue streetscapes is complete.
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Invitation to Bid on the construction of the north side sidewalk has been advertised. Contractor selected. Construction should begin by March/April 2017 and be completed by September/October 2017.
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Continued assisting and meeting with the Old City Association.
Downtown North:
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Continuing work on Interstate 275 Business Park access road project from Baxter Avenue to Fifth Avenue, conducting Phase II environmental assessments as part of the right-of-way process.
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Proceeding with right-of-way process for I-275 Business Park access road project.
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Finalized detailed design of the North Central Street Streetscape Project from Magnolia Avenue to Woodland Avenue, an approximate 1.1-mile stretch of roadway. Submitted ROW and utility plans and have received TDOT Notice to Proceed.
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Anticipate bidding the North Central Street Streetscape Project by spring 2017.
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Contracted with Mallia Engineering and Benefield Richters Architecture firms to assess the structural issues associated with the roof of the former Sanitary Laundry; developed design plans; anticipate an invitation to bid in spring 2017.
Brownfield development:
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Applied for and received an EPA Cleanup Grant for the former Sanitary Laundry site to address issues found in the Phase II assessments, including lead-based paint, asbestos and vapor intrusion issues. Have submitted work plan to EPA and received approval of the work plan and a contract for the cleanup grants. The grant is for three years and is valued at $240,000 ($200,000 EPA, $40,000 local match).
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Applied for and received an EPA Cleanup Grant for the former McClung Warehouses sites to address issues found in the Phase II assessments, including heavy metal concentrations, asbestos and potential vapor intrusion issues. Have submitted work plan to EPA and received approval of the work plan and a contract for the cleanup grants. The grant is for three years and is valued at $180,000 ($150,000 EPA, $30,000 local match).
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The Deputy Director of the Office of Redevelopment was invited to speak at the second annual Southeast Brownfields Association and EPA Region 4’s Environmental Conference in Jacksonville, Fla., about the City of Knoxville’s work on brownfield properties.
Miscellaneous:
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Suttree Landing Park’s design was submitted to the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee for the 2017 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition.
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Mayor Rogero and Director of Redevelopment were invited as panel speakers for the 2016 Governing Conference held in Nashville to discuss private-public partnership in economic development.
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Created online story maps using ESRI Geographic Information Systems software that displays PILOT and TIF project information, location, and images using maps. For more information, see TIF or PILOT.
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Worked closely with City Engineering to determine and prioritize the list of projects for inclusion in the Knoxville Regional TPO’s Mobility Plan update.
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Worked closely with City Engineering to determine and prioritize the list of projects for inclusion in the Knoxville Regional TPO’s update of the Transportation Improvement Program.
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Assisted MPC and other City staff with the review and changes to the proposed parking ordinance update.
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Assisted Councilman Della Volpe with putting together the East Knoxville Economic Summit on Sept. 29, 2016.
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Redevelopment staff assisted in planning and participated as speakers and moderators during the statewide Tennessee Planning Conference (TAPA) in September 2016.
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Assisted the Engineering Department in discussions with TDOT on Chapman Highway issues.
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Staff served on the following boards and committees: Downtown Design Review Board, Knoxville Greenways Committee, Great Smoky Mountain Regional Greenway Coalition, Public Property Naming Committee, Public Art Committee, Dow Community Action Committee, East Tennessee Community Design Center, Knoxville Regional TPO’s Mobility Advisory Committee, Tennessee American Planning Association Fall 2016 Conference Planning, Employee Benefits Advisory Committee, Community Development Façade Design Review, the Great Schools Partnership and the United Way Income and Investment Committee.
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Continued coordination with regulatory agencies: EPA, TVA, TDEC, ACOE, TDOT, SHPO, etc.
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Continued partnerships and transparency with area organizations such as Legacy Parks Foundation, CBID, Market Square Merchants Association, Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association, Aslan Foundation, South Knoxville Alliance, South Knoxville Foundation, North Knoxville Business & Professional Association, Historic Old City Association, East Knoxville Professional Business Association, East Knoxville Business Alliance, Broadway Corridor Task Force and neighborhood groups, etc.
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Coordinated the annexation of a parcel of property in West Knoxville.
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Redevelopment staff participates in the annual Neighborhood Conference with booth display and information about projects within the City’s redevelopment areas.
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Established new development team to work in conjunction with the City’s local economic development agencies and private developers seeking development assistance through PILOTs and TIFs. This year, development assistance has helped support projects including: MEWS II, The Tombras Group headquarters on Gay Street, Regas Square, Pryor Brown Garage, 1830 Cumberland Avenue and the Dual Brand Marriott Hotels.
SPECIAL EVENTS [Return to Depts. List]
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The City of Knoxville’s Office of Special Events strives to make our community the best city in which to live, work and play. This office is responsible for all special events that happen within the City of Knoxville. Special Events staff plans and oversees a wide array of events and publicity efforts designed to promote various programs and initiatives; this includes public speaking engagements, celebrations, groundbreakings, ribbon-cuttings and festivals.
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More than 1,000 events go through the Special Events office each year.
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For each of these events, Special Events handles the road closures, forms, insurance and banner permits, as well as assists with map layouts.
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A community special events meeting is held on the fourth Thursday of every month at the Civic Coliseum Ballroom. Event planners are invited to come and meet with the City departments (Police, Fire, Public Service, KAT, PBA, Parks and Recreation) that can assist them and answer any questions. Also at these meetings, speakers are often invited to address the planners and discuss different aspects of planning an event – from recycling to food safety.
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In collaboration with the Law Department, Special Events is periodically updating the Special Events Guide and works closely with the Office of Business Support.
Sponsorships:
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Special Events raised $135,000 in sponsorships for Festival on the Fourth and Christmas in the City (Regal Celebration of Lights, Holidays on Ice, Christmas at Chilhowee and New Year’s on the Square celebrations).
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New sponsors for this year’s events include:
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Lloyd’s Electric Service Inc. – $5,000 for Sunsphere lighting and carousel, Festival on the Fourth;
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AT&T – $5,000 for ice rink and snow globe attraction, Celebration of Lights;
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Home Federal Bank increased its sponsorship an additional $1,000 this year for the ice rink;
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Holston Gases – $5,000 in-kind;
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SMG – $1,000 for children’s photos with Santa at Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center;
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All Occasions Catering donated ($500 in-kind) hot cocoa for Christmas at Chilhowee; and
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Lloyd’s Electric Service Inc. – $10,000 for New Year’s Eve on Market Square.
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This is a total of $22,000 in additional cash sponsorships for the year.
Concerts on the Square:
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Special Events continued to develop the Concerts on the Square series with an array of different musical acts, including the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, country, blues, rock and jazz as well as acoustic performances.
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The goal was to create and expand a special amenity to Market Square; attendance for both Tuesday and Thursday performance series continued to grow.
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An outdoor sound system for the Bill Lyons Pavilion was purchased and installed at a cost of $40,000 this year. Contracted with Stellar Vision and Sound as sound engineers. This has enabled us to control the sound level much more effectively, since the system is designed exclusively for the Square. The City charges $500 to each event that requires sound and have put into place a policy that restricts the use of any additional sound equipment. This enables us to keep the sound at an acceptable level for the Square. The cost will assist in helping pay for the expense of the sound system. The quality of the system is excellent and has been received very well by musicians as well as concertgoers.
Collaboration with partners:
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The Special Events team has cultivated a relationship with the Visit Knoxville staff, with communication through monthly meetings; the City and Visit Knoxville are working together on projects that enhance both the City of Knoxville and the East Tennessee region.
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Other partners include Downtown Knoxville (CBID), 100 Block Association, the Market Square Association, City People, Arts and Culture Alliance, and the Old City Association; when possible, the Special Events staff attend their monthly meetings.
225th Anniversary of the City of Knoxville:
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In honor of the 225th Anniversary of the City of Knoxville, the Special Events staff assisted Visit Knoxville and the Arts and Culture Alliance with several events surrounding the celebration.
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Acquired a sponsor (Lloyd’s Electric Service Inc.) to light the Sunsphere red, white and blue during the week leading up to the Festival on the Fourth. A press conference/lighting ceremony was held on Monday, June 27, at 9:30 p.m. to light the Sunsphere.
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Assisted Visit Knoxville with the unveiling at James White’s Fort of the 225th Anniversary poster that was designed specifically in honor of the anniversary.
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Special Events staff assisted the Arts and Heritage Fund with the planning and logistics for “Dinner on the Bridge: A Celebration of the City of Knoxville’s 225th Birthday” that was held on Oct. 2, 2016, for 250 guests on the Gay Street
Bridge. The proceeds went to the Arts and Heritage Fund.
Festival on the Fourth:
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The Fourth of July celebration brings close to 50,000 people to World’s Fair Park for a day filled with family-fun activities. Some of the new activities added in recent years are paddle boats on the “Lazy River,” miniature golf and a Water Challenge water balloon game.
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The KPD and KFD challenge was a paddle boat race that became quite a lively competition, with KFD winning for the first time!
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Acquired a new sponsor for the Festival for 2016, Lloyd’s Electric Service Inc. This improved the festival by adding a carousel to the free activities in the park as well as a light display on the Sunsphere the week before the Festival on the Fourth.
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Music was provided on both the Festival Lawn as well as the Performance Lawn with bands that Special Events booked for entertainment during the day prior to the KSO performing in the evening.
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Free handouts were provided at the Special Events booth, including Statue of Liberty hats, beach balls, Frisbees and Blue Lizard sunscreen samples received through a grant application. All of the City’s booth sponsors also handed out free items throughout the day.
Christmas in the City:
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The Regal Celebration of Lights was held on Nov. 25. The highlight of the evening was the Mayor’s lighting of the animated 42-foot Christmas tree in Krutch Park Extension. The evening consisted of family-friendly music, food and free activities at the “Christmas Village.” In the parking lot on Union Avenue, Home Depot’s “Santa’s Workshop” allowed children to create a special craft. The event also had a new sponsor, AT&T, which provided an additional $5,000 that enabled the celebration to add the AT&T Snow Globe attraction. Market Street was used for many other free activities as well as food vendors, all provided by partnerships with many sponsors.
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The traditional window-decorating contest continued with the assistance of Downtown Knoxville and Visit Knoxville. There were 40 window-decorating participants this year, a record number. The Special Events Office presented the awards for the best window design during the Tour de Lights on Dec. 16 at the Bill Lyons Pavilion and at the Old City Association meeting for the Old City winners on Dec. 14.
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The Christmas in the City mobile app was fully activated to connect with Apple and Google, and Special Events also maximized use of social media – Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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The WIVK Christmas Parade logistics are managed through the Special Events Office, in partnership with Cumulus. The 2016 parade was held on Dec. 2. Downtown Knoxville and Public Service assisted the Special Events office with creating a float to market the ice rink, the “Elf on the Shelf” Adventure and the Peppermint Trail. All of these events were created by CBID, Visit Knoxville and Special Events to market Christmas in the City. It was a great collaboration between the downtown organizations and was a very successful campaign, bringing a record number of people downtown for the holidays.
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Christmas at Chilhowee on Dec. 9 brought out many families to meet Santa, enjoy the music of the season, ride on miniature trains or take a hayride through the park to view the lights as well as enjoy hot cocoa (provided by a new sponsor, All Occasions Catering), all free of charge. The event acquired another new sponsor, SMG, which assisted the City in paying for the free Santa pictures.
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Holidays on Ice celebrated its 11th year of operation by the City of Knoxville. Clear dashers were added to the rink this year. In addition to 2015’s removal of the tent over the ice, it opened up the rink even more and was visually very attractive. The response to the open-air ice rink was very positive. A total of $35,000 was raised in sponsorships for the Holidays on Ice rink this year. This event has become a beloved tradition for the City, and each year, Special Events strives to make the experience more enjoyable. The City’s team works closely with Robyn Wilson (rink manager) in all aspects of the operations. More than 17,000 skaters and 20,000 spectators came to the Market Square rink between Nov. 25, 2016, and Jan. 8, 2017.
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The Tour de Lights bicycle ride was held on Dec. 16 with festively decorated holiday bikes and riders meeting on Market Square. This five-mile tour of downtown, Fourth and Gill and Old North Knoxville has become a favorite holiday tradition. Hundreds of bicyclists attended the event. Special Events handles the logistics for this event, and Kelley Segars of the Transportation Planning Organization does the planning and organizing.
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New Year’s on the Square celebration was held on Market Square, featuring a big screen on the stage showing images of 2016 highlights, a ball drop and fireworks show at midnight. This year, with a $10,000 sponsorship by Lloyd’s Electric Service Inc., the celebration was able to add music. The Temper Evans Band performed from 10:30 to 11:45 pm. Frank Murphy of 93.1 FM again was the emcee for the evening. In addition to the band, Pyro Shows designed a large 2017 sign to go over the Bill Lyons Pavilion that lit up at midnight. This event has become so popular that Special Events may need to consider moving to a larger area in the future.
Additional events:
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Assisted with the Mardi Growl dog parade on March 7.
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Helped plan and execute a number of festivals, including the Dogwood Arts Festival, the Rossini Festival, the Asian Festival, the Kuumba Festival, the Hola Festival and the International Biscuit Festival.
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Assisted with the Knoxville Marathon.
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Helped with the Veterans Day Parade.
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Special Events also assisted with organizing and implementing a number of events through the Mayor’s Office and other City departments:
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Assisted the Parks and Recreation Department with ribbon-cuttings, groundbreakings and park dedications as well as the open house for the grand opening of their new Lakeshore Park offices.
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Assisted Community Development with ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings for various projects.
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Assisted with public meetings for Policy and Redevelopment staff when needed.
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Organized and implemented the Mayor’s State of the City budget luncheon as well as a City Council budget retreat.
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Organized and implemented the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony.
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Assisted with organizing the Employee Benefits Fair.
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Organized and implemented a White House Task 21st Century Regional Policing Briefing on Nov. 29 at the Convention Center.
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Arbor Day Celebration on Nov. 4 at Mooreland Heights Elementary.
SUSTAINABILITY [Return to Depts. List]
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With the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee and Knoxville Utilities Board, implemented the Knoxville Extreme Energy Makeover program (KEEM), a $15 million program funded by TVA to support weatherization of lower- and moderate-income properties. As of Nov. 30, 2016, KEEM has:
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Provided comprehensive energy-efficiency upgrades to more than 800 local families;
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Created $8.7 million in direct economic impact to the Knoxville community;
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Reduced annual electricity consumption in upgraded homes by more than 3.8 million kWh;
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Educated more than 1,500 Knoxville residents on no- and low-cost ways to save energy through a series of 120+ free, educational workshops; and
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The Office of Sustainability’s KEEM Neighborhood Prioritization Mapping project, in collaboration with Alex Zendel of MPC, won “Best Analysis” prize from the East Tennessee Geographic Information Council.
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Began procurement of turnkey contract to upgrade the City’s 29,500+ street lights to LED technology. Initial estimates suggest that this project will save the City $2 million each year in reduced energy and maintenance costs for the street lighting system.
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Implemented new Energy Analysis Software to track utility consumption across 95 City facilities and identify energy- and cost-saving opportunities.
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Managed $240,000 Clean Energy Technology Grant to support the installation of a geothermal heat pump at the Public Works Service Center and assisted the development team in pursuing LEED-Silver Certification for the new facility.
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Supported Public Service in analysis and procurement of new yard waste, garbage and recycling contracts.
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Collaborated with SEEED on door-to-door outreach effort to inform residents in Vestal, Burlington and Mechanicsville/Lonsdale/Beaumont neighborhoods about new garbage carts and recruit 230 additional families to enroll in the City’s recycling program.
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Led City efforts to evaluate feasibility for a new bike-sharing program.
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Staffed the Food Policy Council (FPC) and helped organize a series of intensive meetings with FPC members and stakeholders about national and local food policy.
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Launched Community Garden Pilot to allow community groups to garden on city-owned properties.
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Initiated efforts to be designated a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Community (the first municipal certification in Tennessee). The City has already achieved the difficult task of registering the minimum amount of locations and is on target to achieve educational goals before May 2017.
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Organized and led Volunteer Training for Sustainability that was attended by seven local organizations interested in developing more environmentally-focused opportunities for volunteers.
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In partnership with Community Relations and The Change Center, developed successful application for $74,000 Partners for Places grant to support the Save Our Sons Jobs Initiative promoting workforce development for boys and young men of color.
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Partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop the Urban Climate Adaptation Tool (Urban-CAT), a software tool designed to build understanding of expected local climate changes and inform efforts to increase local resilience.
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Supported Mayor Rogero in preparing for and presenting at the Second U.S.-China Climate-Smart/Low-Carbon Cities Summit in Beijing, China.
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Completed semi-annual energy and greenhouse gas emissions inventory for municipal operations and the Knoxville community. Data analysis and reporting are expected to be complete early in 2017.
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Managed Knoxville’s commitment to the Compact of Mayors, including public disclosure of baseline energy and emissions inventories and summary of hazard mitigation plans.
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Sustainability Project Manager Brian Blackmon achieved Professional Energy Management certification and completed the CAC’s Community Leadership Academy.
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Sustainability staff represented the City on local, regional, and national committees, including:
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Transportation Planning Organization Mobility Advisory Committee;
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Tennessee Valley Authority Energy Efficiency Information Exchange;
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University of Tennessee Campus Committee for the Environment;
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ORNL’s Urban Dynamics Institute Scientific Advisory Board;
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U.S. Green Building Council’s Tennessee Market Leadership Advisory Board;
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Urban Sustainability Directors Network;
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Southeast Urban Sustainability Directors Network;
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Steering Committee for the Knoxville Regional Food Hub Feasibility Study; and
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Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance Policy Committee.
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Showcased Knoxville’s sustainability efforts at 16 local, regional and national conferences and meetings, including:
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East Tennessee Quality Growth PlainTalk Conference (Maryville, Tenn.);
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Tennessee Renewable Energy and Economic Development Council Annual Conference (Cookeville, Tenn.);
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U.S. DOE Better Buildings Residential Network Peer Exchange;
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Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance/ Association of Energy Services Professionals Southeast Annual Conference (Atlanta);
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Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change Conference (Baltimore); and
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Urban Sustainability Directors Network Annual Meeting (Toronto, Canada).