Town Council Hears From LRPC and Public

The Town Council  specialmeeting  for the Long Range Planning Committee to make a presentation for its  request to continue the second phase of its planning process. It was the second time in eight days the committee had made its presentation to the council. The second meeting was scheduled after the council had changed a previous meeting date without enough public notice.

Five things to know about Thursday night's meeting:

1.  After a formal presentation by Chair Christine Wagner, Perkins Eastman consultants Herve Hamon and Melissa Kaplan-Macey, and Town Planner Steve Kleppin, seven residents addressed the room. Members of the LRPC responded to each speaker after he or she spoke.
2. Wagner said the plan will help the town make better decisions as they assess pressing facilities needs. “House needs $2 million in repairs. The floor of the Power House Theater is caving in. There's ‘Who makes the decision about what gets fixed?’” she asked.
3. Resident Philip Clay said, “I would like the group to consider things more outside the box. Give up traditional thoughts. 'What do I really really need as opposed to what I would like to have?'”
4. Resident Skip Hobbs said the Tennessee Gas Pipeline runs through , and the town “could save hundreds of thousands of dollars if we tap into that pipeline.” Wagner said both the and the have been looking into tapping into the gas line.
5. Hobbs asked, “Will this $165,000 be a master plan with all the schematic drawings or are we looking at a future Phase 3 and 4, and if we are at what ultimate cost?” Perkins Eastman's Hamon said the second phase will provide conceptual drawings, but not schematics. The difference, he explained, is that conceptual drawings are “more like a sketch,” and schematics are “the elaboration of what it is to make it work.”