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Sullivan County Commission may vote to let Kingsport buy former Lynn View Middle School

BLOUNTVILLE — The Sullivan County Commission could vote Monday to “step aside” and let the city of Kingsport buy the former Lynn View Middle School.

The proposal looks to be headed for approval by the Sullivan County Commission.

It has gotten a thumbs up from all three of the commission’s primary committees during discussions earlier this month.

It needs 13 “yes” votes to gain full commission approval Monday.

The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman has agreed to pay Tri-Cities Christian Schools (TCCS) $190,000 for the former Lynn View Middle School property.

TCCS officials notified the county Feb. 5 that the private school system intended to sell the property, which it purchased from the county in 2005.

The contract between the county and TCCS for that property transfer gave the county first right of refusal on buying the old school if TCCS ever decided to sell it.

The Sullivan County Commission was set to vote at its March meeting on whether to buy the school back. But a few days before that meeting TCCS notified the county the property was “no longer available for purchase.”

It had been revealed during county commissioners’ discussions of the issue that the TCCS’s contract with the county could be interpreted to mean the county wouldn’t have had to pay TCCS any money to get the property back.

Kingsport officials had expressed interest in leasing or buying the property from the county, had the county repurchased it.

The city also wants to obtain athletic fields across the street, which have been owned by the Sullivan County Board of Education (BOE) and leased to the Lynn Garden Optimist Club for community use. The BOE recently voted to transfer ownership of those fields to the county’s general government. County Commissioner Wayne McConnell said earlier this month that the disposition of those fields will be a separate issue.

McConnell said the county will either give, or lease, the fields to Kingsport — and the city plans to improve the site to provide a park space.

“The best thing that can happen to that community is for the city to make a park,” McConnell said.

“Why can’t Kingsport buy it from us — with a little profit (for the county,” County Commissioner Moe Brotherton asked. “I’d like to have a little money out of that building over there.”

Also up for a possible vote by the commission Monday: a proposal to “freeze” county property taxes for some over-65 property owners.

It has not fared as well at the committee level.

The commission’s Administrative Committee and Budget Committee each deferred action on the resolution, while the commission’s Executive Committee endorsed the move by a narrow margin.

Larry Bailey, the county’s top finance officer, told the commission’s Budget Committee the tax freeze proposal, if approved, would not benefit any county property owners this year.

“If the tax freeze is implemented this year, we’d base it on 2009 taxes, which means this is the base year — no one would get any relief this year,” Bailey said. “It would be at one year away, at least, as a minimum. Or it could be four years away, if we don’t have a tax increase. If we do not have a property tax rate increase, there would be no benefits.”

Another option would be for the county to match an existing rebate program offered by the state.

The state administers that program, which benefits people with an income of roughly $25,000 or less, Bailey said.

That’s about $5,000 below the state-determined cutoff point for the potential property tax freeze, so not as many property owners would be eligible.

Budget Committee members said that figure — how many people would be eligible under either program — is among details they’d like to see before taking a vote on the issue.

The maximum rebate through the state’s current rebate program is $135, Bailey said, and the county could implement a program to match up to that amount. Doing so would provide immediate additional relief for those property owners, Bailey said.

And the administrative costs already are covered by the state.

The Sullivan County Commission is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the historic Sullivan County Courthouse.

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Wilbur, here's a little tax structure 101 for Sullivan County. The taxes paid each year by the residents of Sullivan County is a zero-sum game. The more the City of Kingsport annexes (business and residential) into the County, the higher percentage of tax dollars goes to the City and the less amount goes to the County. Both have budgets, and with the laws the way they are in Nashville...the County can't do much to stop the expansion of the City to the detriment of the County. Commissioner Brotherton is doing what he was elected to do for the voters of Colonial Heights, Miller Perry/Fordtown and Holston and that is to represent them. Nobody wants to see taxes go up, the solution I believe is a consolidated metro government for Sullivan County as there are too many expenses in running emergency, fire, police, education and administrative costs for Bristol, Kingsport, Bluff City and Sullivan County. If the region wants to grow and the County services and education system not be forced into extinction, that is the logical next step.

Matt Brotherton | 5/29/2009 - 10:39 AM - (Suggest Removal )

That sounds like Moe Brotherton, always looking to make a quick buck off the taxpayers of Kingsport. This guy should be defeated when he runs again.

Wilbur Rhoton | 5/17/2009 - 11:47 PM - (Suggest Removal )

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