Mayor Madeline Rogero

Getting ready for today’s 10:30 a.m. Inauguration ceremony at the historic Bijou! If you can’t attend, you can watch it on Community Television of Knoxville, and it will be live-streamed on the City’s page.

It's been an honor and privilege to serve as your mayor for the past eight years. We have accomplished a lot together, and I look forward to the exciting growth and improvements ahead for Mayor-elect Kincannon and the residents of Knoxville.

Today is Mayor Madeline Rogero's final day in office as Knoxville's 68th Mayor. At tomorrow's inauguration at the Bijou Theatre, Indya Kincannon will take office. Additionally, four new City Council members will be sworn in. Join us in person or watch from the comfort of your home at https://www.ctvknox.org or the live stream at City of Knoxville - Government's page.

As plans get underway to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, we commemorated Tennessee's role in woman suffrage with the naming of the Woman Suffrage Centennial Plaza today.

The Plaza is from Union Avenue to Clinch Avenue on Market Street, which spans the area between the two suffrage statues that commemorate events and individuals who were key players in Tennessee ratifying the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Yesterday, elected officials, Chamber representatives and historic preservationists joined Rick Fox, Ralph Cianelli and their team to break ground on 220,000 square feet of new commercial space off Ed Shouse Drive.

But what was most noteworthy was the vision and careful planning that will assure that many future generations will be able to enjoy the beauty of Middlebrook, one of Knoxville’s oldest homes, dating back to 1795.

The Middlebrook home (for which the pike was named) has been in Fox's family for 75 years. The property includes a schoolhouse built in 1848; the house served as a Confederate field hospital for six months.

Developing the back end of the property preserves and screens all the historic structures, and the revenue generated will endow Middlebrook as a cultural center.

The City has budgeted funds to build a new commercial access road connecting this back part of the property with Ed Shouse Drive, so commercial traffic will not disturb the historic site.

Check out this WBIR Channel 10 video from yesterday's ground-breaking:

https://www.wbir.com/video/news/local/development-planned-for-historic-middlebrook-house/51-07555e3d-8840-4f96-bf71-dfd3ef441066

Extended hours for our Market Square open-air ice rink begin tomorrow.

If you think you’re seeing lots of people skating on the Market Square open-air ice rink this year, you’re right. The City’s Office of Special Events has the numbers to back that up.

Holidays on Ice, presented by Home Federal Bank, has done something twice this year that’s never happened in the nine years that the City has offered the ice skating rink. The milestone? Topping 1,000 skaters in a single day.

First, Holidays on Ice set an opening-day record on Nov. 29, when 1,038 people laced up their skates and hit the ice. That record was broken eight days later, when 1,054 people skated on Saturday, Dec. 7.

As of last week, the number of overall skaters was up by more than 1,200 compared to the same number of days that the rink was open last year.

The robust attendance is partly due to the recent clear and seasonally cool weather, says Elaine Frank with the Office of Special Events. Rain and abnormally warm temperatures can play havoc on the ice.

But there are other factors – all the special promotions being offered by the rink managers and the Ice Bears hockey team, and word-of-mouth referrals by skaters who thoroughly love the experience.

“Families enjoy the whole downtown Christmas in the City experience: Do a little shopping, enjoy the Peppermint Trail food and drink specials, take in all the lights,” Frank says. “But this year, a lot of people are making sure they get their laps in with the Ice Bears and do a few night-time skates under the stars.”

The Market Square rink will be open through Jan. 5, 2020. For more information, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/icerink. Check the Holidays on Ice page for updates on closures during inclement weather.

Meanwhile, the rink will offer extended hours beginning Monday, Dec. 16: Mondays through Thursdays, 1-9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sundays, 1-9 p.m.

Emerald Youth Foundation's Haslam-Sansom Ministry Complex will be a difference-maker in Lonsdale and a catalyst for continued community development and investment in the area.

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Opening Celebration on Thursday, December 12 to celebrate the impressive new facility, health center, and sports fields.

We are grateful to the Haslam and Sansom families for their significant and ongoing investment in our youth, and to the leadership and commitment of Steve Diggs and the Emerald Youth Foundation's board and staff.

This morning, we cut a ribbon and celebrated the completion of the first phase of the $7 million Magnolia Avenue Streetscape Project.

While Phase 1 is substantially complete, work on the second phase isn't far behind. It is expected to be finished by springtime – just in time for the new street trees to leaf out.

We’ve added landscaped center medians and left-turn lanes. We have wider tree-lined sidewalks, bike lanes, and safer intersections with stamped crosswalks and pedestrian signals.

The transit experience has been enhanced, with safer connections. New shelters will soon be installed.

In a few months, work on this enhanced “complete street” between Jessamine Street and North Bertrand Street will be done. An additional $1 million is in this year’s budget for design work for Phase 3, which would continue this streetscape project eastward toward Cherry Street.

Congratulations to KPD's newest officers. Thank you for selecting the Knoxville Police Department - TN . We are grateful for your service!

On Dec. 11, 2019, sixteen recruits were sworn in as Knoxville Police Department officers after completing the 21-week Training Academy that began on July 22. The ceremony was held at South Doyle Middle School.

In this 2019 class there were three women, nine recruits with military experience, five with college degrees, and eight states were represented.

Congratulations to KPD's newest officers!

I appreciate all four of Knoxville's living former mayors for joining me this week at the ceremony to present my official mayoral portrait. It's been an honor to serve the City of Knoxville for the past eight years and to have my likeness, as painted by Carl Hess, hang in this gallery with 45 past mayors.

On Monday, December 9, 2019, Vice Mayor Finbarr Saunders led a ceremony to reveal the official mayoral portrait of Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. Guests included former Knoxville mayors Daniel Brown, Gov. Bill Haslam, Victor Ashe and Randy Tyree. Jack Neely of the Knoxville History Project revealed little-known facts about Knoxville mayors of yesteryear, and Andrew Hurst talked about the 1.5 year process of restoring 38 of the oldest portraits in the City's collection. It was also an honor to welcome back the portrait's artist, Carl Hess of Memphis, who painted Mayor Brown's official mayoral portrait, which will share a wall with Mayor Rogero's.

We have a great team at the City of Knoxville and we took time yesterday to recognize and thank two key individuals who will be retiring at the end of December.

Janet Wright joined the City in the late 1990s as the Director of Information Services, building on a successful career in technology and programming. In her role, Wright has overseen the technological growth and transformation of the City. Wright's team has brought about process improvement to all parts of government, including police, fire, and KAT.

Jim York, Senior Director of Finance, has been with the City for 31 years, 11 years as Director. The Finance Department has an unbroken 30-year string of national awards and the City’s bond rating is at its historic all-time best. York's attention to detail and consideration of the long-term financial health of the City will have an impact for years to come.

For their efforts and dedication, we say thank you.

HOPE for Victims gathered tonight at the City County Building for a remembrance service and to place ornaments on a Christmas tree in honor of lost loved ones and fallen officers.

HOPE for Victims is a non-profit organization founded in 2004 by Mike and Joan Berry following the death of their daughter, Johnia Hope Berry. HOPE for Victims advocates for anti-crime and victims’ rights legislation. It has held more than 300 support group meetings.

This year marked the 15th year of the Johnia Berry Memorial Toy Drive, which last year collected and distributed more than 3,000 toys for needy children in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

Among the assisting with tonight’s remembrance service were Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword, District Attorney General Charme Allen, Deputy District Attorney General Kyle Hixson, Sheriff Tom Spangler, local law-enforcement officers, and the Central High Choral singers.

One moving part of tonight’s service came when families placed ornaments on a tree, usually depicting photos of their lost loved one. For more details about HOPE for Victims and its support services, visit www.hopeforvictims.org.