KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Knox County Commissioners will be presented with a lengthy agenda on Monday, with proposals ranging from a project to add more space to Hardin Valley Academy to an honorary designation for a fallen servicemember from Knox County.
The Knox County Commission will also consider a growth plan leaders have worked on for months. That growth plan is the result of the Advance Knox initiative and could guide land use decisions in the area for decades.
The meeting starts at 5 p.m. on Monday. More information about some of the different proposals on the agenda is available below.
County leaders will consider spending around $11.4 million on a project to build an addition for Hardin Valley Academy. The contract for the project would be given to Merit Construction Inc., after months of work preparing the project. During that time, the estimated cost of the project rose by millions of dollars.
The contract said on Dec. 12, 2023, the county received a second round of bids for the project after initially collecting bids in June 2023. Construction on the project was originally budgeted for around $9.5 million, according to the contract.
The county said the lowest and most-responsive bid it received was for around $11.4 million. So, the county had to find an additional $2 million in funding.
"It was determined that the only viable solution that allows the project to move forward is a fund balance designation," the contract said.
The contract also said construction work would need to be complete before 546 days from when it begins. It was approved on Feb. 8 by the Knox County Board of Education, according to the proposal. It passed on Monday.
After months of work, the Advance Knox initiative crafted a growth plan that may be used to guide decisions on developments and construction in Knox County for several years to come. The Growth Policy Plan calls for the development of single-family homes in many areas, and for some corridors in Knox County to support retailers and restaurants.
Commissioners voted to approve the plan, contingent on the approval of the Comprehensive Land Use and Transportation Plan.
Around 151 square miles of planned growth area is included in the plan, as opposed to around 201 square miles of rural area across the county. Around 40 square miles would be set aside as Knoxville's "urban growth boundary" too, according to an appendix of the plan — unchanged from the previous growth plan, according to the proposal.
"No recommended updates were made to any urban growth boundaries which surround the Town of Farragut or the City of Knoxville," it said.
According to the resolution, the county's growth plan was originally made in 2001. The new growth plan would update terminologies while also allowing for more future growth in specific areas.
"Knox County and Knoxville-Knox County Planning have acknowledged that there have been changed conditions requiring an amendment so to remove obstacles to smart growth and planning," the resolution also said.
The plan would allow Knox County to prepare for more developments in areas where infrastructure is already built, or will soon be built. It will not be effective until at least May 1.
County commissioners approved a proposal designating a part of East Emory Road after Jeremy Daniel Evans, who died in October 2023 near Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. He was from Knoxville and authorities said he died after a military vehicle wreck.
The resolution would designate that part of the road from Brown Gap Road to Beeler Road would be named "SPC Jeremy Daniel Evans Memorial Highway." The resolution now goes to the state Senate and House for approval.