Councilwoman Amelia Parker

Tomorrow, Thursday May 7th, City Council will host Legislative & Public Hearings on the mayor’s proposed budget, with the public hearing beginning promptly at 5pm. This is the only opportunity on the budget calendar for the public to weigh-in on the mayor’s proposed budget before it heads to a final vote on May 26th.

If you’d like to share your thoughts on the mayor’s proposed spending priorities, you must sign up to speak by 4pm Thursday, the day of the hearing. See instructions on the attached agenda.

If you are not able to attend, the hearings will be broadcast live on Knoxville Community Media beginning at 8am. Watch online at https://www.knoxcm.org or the KCM YouTube channel or on the following cable channels:

* Xfinity (Comcast) – Channel 12
* Charter (Spectrum) – Channel 193
* WOW! (Knology) – Channel 6
* KUB TV - Channel 1019
* AT&T U-verse – Channel 99
* Roku and Amazon Fire

Thursday is a time for council members and the public to ask questions. Following the hearing, I will host a public discussion of the budget. Time and location TBD.

Tonight! Register at the link below to participate remotely.

588d4f39-4bca-431c-a6b6-d6ce51b8dce5@2031e6f3-9d08-4573-985f-96986308dce3?fbclid=IwVERDUARUKqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe0DhOeIER4o3ggCHq8-IgWtPctKYmZXxJDDbgNXyPG8C-y_lzvG3gT90mKJA_aem_ZXG6G8wz-rhBwZCvTq5-fg" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/588d4f39-4bca-431c-a6b6-d6ce51b8dce5@2031e6f3-9d08-4573-985f-96986308dce3?fbclid=IwVERDUARUKqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe0DhOeIER4o3ggCHq8-IgWtPctKYmZXxJDDbgNXyPG8C-y_lzvG3gT90mKJA_aem_ZXG6G8wz-rhBwZCvTq5-fg

Knoxville and Knox County, please call Representative Tim Burchett early today and ask him to vote "NO" on the American Broadband Deployment Act! Residents of other counties and states do the same! This affects you as well!

TOMORROW: Tuesday, April 21, 5:30pm, the public is invited to the city’s Public Works Service Center (3131 Morris Ave).

The City's Housing and Neighborhood Development department will host a public meeting to review the final draft of the Annual Action Plan, which outlines how the City plans to spend its annual allocation of federal HUD funds on local projects related to affordable housing, homelessness prevention and services and other non-housing community development.

Read the draft plan linked below and plan to join us tomorrow for the public meeting either in person or online.

Report:https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_109478/File/CommunityDevelopment/AnnualActionPlan/Final%20Draft%20PY2026%20AAP.pdf

Remote participation: Visit the link below to register and receive a Teams link to access the meeting. 588d4f39-4bca-431c-a6b6-d6ce51b8dce5@2031e6f3-9d08-4573-985f-96986308dce3?fbclid=IwVERDUARUKqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe0DhOeIER4o3ggCHq8-IgWtPctKYmZXxJDDbgNXyPG8C-y_lzvG3gT90mKJA_aem_ZXG6G8wz-rhBwZCvTq5-fg" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/588d4f39-4bca-431c-a6b6-d6ce51b8dce5@2031e6f3-9d08-4573-985f-96986308dce3?fbclid=IwVERDUARUKqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe0DhOeIER4o3ggCHq8-IgWtPctKYmZXxJDDbgNXyPG8C-y_lzvG3gT90mKJA_aem_ZXG6G8wz-rhBwZCvTq5-fg

If you are unable to attend the meeting, your feedback is still appreciated. Please send your comments/questions to Linda Rust at [email protected] or P.O. Box 1631, Knoxville, TN 37901.

City of Knoxville African American Equity Restoration Task Force Meeting

Monday, April 13 at 5:30pm at Knoxville Area Urban League, 1514 E. Fifth Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917

The public is welcome to attend, but may only observe. If members of the public wish to speak at public forum at the end of the meeting, with a limit of three minutes, they should use this form to sign up: https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=109562&pageId=18168626&fbclid=IwZnRzaARCNaZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEedFuzUG4Gyt0GFzG4IjSWElXiDhot27xEiOehD__SJXGCpqUg1Bz1HXWbgzo_aem_NkY2rrAaxK4OZUO8N1EqRA

No agenda is yet available on the City of Knoxville’s website.

Additional 2026 Meetings:
July 13, 2026
October 12, 2026

*Note: The city formerly held these meetings monthly, but abruptly changed to quarterly after the task force received some negative public feedback.

For additional information (limited to what the city wishes to share): https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/community_safety_and_empowerment/african_american_equity_restoration_task_force

‼️Knoxville - TODAY is the FINAL DAY for feedback on the city’s parks and rec master plan.‼️

I met with consultants last week to learn about the results of the study. The city has posted the study for one month, as required by TDEC for state funding, but I do worry that information is just starting to reach the public and I believe this is to come before city council in 2 weeks for approval.

Please share your feedback TODAY and help spread the word. Today is the final day to provide input!

The plan has 4 goals for our parks: revitalize existing parks, connect residents to parks, grow the park system, and collaborate to maximize environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Skip to page 159 to read through the city’s goals, objectives, and planned actions to revitalize and grow city parks. There are good and concerning parts to the plan.

Attached to this post is a map of the city’s vision found on page 199. What do you think? Does this align with what you feel is needed in our parks system?

One thing that pops out to me is the hole in the attached map where E Magnolia appears. I worry the city’s vision for Chilhowee Park does not align with the community’s as we see very little planned for the park under this master plan outside of adding a neighborhood park with no community center or other amenities.

Additional concerns:

The plan does not take into consideration complaints by community members regarding access to parks and rec amenities managed by third parties, treats access to city-managed amenities the same as those managed by third parties and non-profits, and recommends transitioning certain city facilities to third parties to manage without considering the impact on resident access or use of these facilities.

Additionally, this study focuses on recreational activities with a small focus on environmental benefits however our parks provide life-sustaining amenities like water fountains, public restrooms, and even access to fresh water for gardening and farming (which has been requested) that are not publicly accessible in other parts of town. These amenities attract individuals who do not have regular access to a restroom or clean drinking water. Let’s use this planning process as an opportunity to ensure our parks are managed in a way that we all feel safe and welcome to benefit from the amenities that our parks provide.

To read the draft plan & provide feedback, visit playknoxvilletn.com/ TODAY, 3/1, the final day!

Or skip directly to the feedback form by visiting https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=8-YxIAidc0WYX5aYYwjc4-07xT3lqm1Emc_m_vO2mMRUOURBVDJUUTRLUzk0MktTTlA1QUZVU1A4MC4u&route=shorturl TODAY, 3/1, the final day!

As temperatures are forecast to be below 25 degrees over the next several days, churches and nonprofits are standing up warming centers for our unhoused neighbors with the valuable help of volunteers and donations. Learn more about the individual locations and opportunities to help at https://knoxtnhousing.org/warming-centers.html

Due to inclement weather, KAT will be delaying the start of service on Monday, January 26. The first lineup will leave Knoxville Station at 9:15 a.m and will utilize Severe Snow Routes.

This will apply to fixed-route and LIFT service to ensure the safety of our passengers and operators.

Severe Snow Routes service the major corridors of Knoxville. The routes in service will be as follows: Route 11: Sutherland/Kingston Pike, Route 12: Western Ave, Route 22: Broadway, Route 31: Magnolia, and Route 41: Chapman Highway.

To view Severe Snow Routes, visit www.katbus.com/schedules-maps/snow-routes/.

During Severe Snow Routes, all passengers ride fare-free. Please note: KAT can return to regular Snow Routes before a passenger's return trip, and the passenger will be required to pay the fare for that portion of their trip.

Our Road Supervisors will continuously monitor road conditions and will make changes if needed. Please note that additional detours may be implemented as road conditions are assessed.

Please be aware that this plan is subject to change as the weather conditions develop overnight and roads are assessed in the early morning hours.

For the most up-to-date information, download our official app, Transit, visit https://katbus.com/, or contact Customer Service at 865-637-3000.