Press release...

NEW MEMBERS SOUGHT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY COUNCIL

The Office of Neighborhoods seeks applications from staunch supporters of neighborhoods for Mayor Indya Kincannon to consider for appointment to the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC). Seats open in December for three-year terms lasting from January 2021 to December 2023.

The NAC consists of 15 neighborhood leaders: two from each of the six City Council districts, plus three at-large representatives. Members meet monthly to discuss Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods and provide City staff and Mayor Kincannon with candid viewpoints on Office of Neighborhood programs and policies, local concerns and issues, proposed responses and solutions, and general discussion on ways neighborhoods can be maintained, supported, improved, rejuvenated and sustained.

“It’s important to remember that neighborhoods are more than homes,” says Matt McMillan of Adair Gardens Neighborhood Association, who vacates Seat 4B in December. “They are businesses, schools, social/cultural institutions, etc. that all share in making a neighborhood unique.”

McMillian describes the ideal NAC applicant as “a listener and communicator who can be a conduit for ideas and concerns from those various groups in the community to be brought to the council and, ultimately, the administration.”

Fellow member Jennifer Reynolds of Timbercrest Neighborhood Association was appointed to Seat 2B in December 2016.

“A strong NAC member is open-minded, diplomatic and passionate about his or her community,” Reynolds says. “It is important that we are aware of our individual strengths so that we can come together to…fully understand each neighborhood and council district's challenges and perspectives.”

McMillan says he leaves the council with a greater knowledge of community-wide issues like housing and infrastructure, and City services, like trash and brush pick-up, and 311, which he will continue to use in his efforts to support neighborhoods.

“Being able to point folks to the right person or resource goes a long way in building strong neighborhoods,” he says.

Visit KGIS.org to see a map of City Council district boundaries. Click on Maps, Political District Maps, and City Council. You can also input your own address to find out which political districts you live in.

Find additional information about the Neighborhood Advisory Council and application forms on the City’s website at (link...). Completed forms should be submitted to Debbie Sharp by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, via dsharp@knoxvilletn.gov or P.O. Box 1631, Knoxville, TN, 37901. Call 865-215-3232 to request to receive a paper form by mail.