Who plans to build an industrial park on a giant block of limestone karst?

In planning isn't someone supposed to look at the cost benefit ratio?

In other words, after the taxpayers spend $30 to $50 million dollars to build the sewer plant and install the sewer pipes in the giant block of limestone karst, is there any financial return for the taxpayers in terms of taxes and fees from said industrial park? Will the project break even or lose tens of millions of dollars?

Well giant brains? You still haven't figured out how to pay for the sewers. You don't have an industrial park until you do.

Even junior high school students can understand this. So why do the giant brains have such difficulty? Perhaps politics is the problem?

This has now transcended from tragedy to comedy. The desperation to save this failed project is so great they have gone Al Gore. The inconvenient truth is there is no break even for this project. It is just the wrong location. By the way, it is on the wrong end of the world compared to Oak Ridge. Try using a map.

Carry on.

but has a geological assessment been done on the proposed area and what does it say?

If you had watched the final County Commission meeting where the project was approved you would know that a geological assessment was presented to Commission along with a 30 minute Power Point presentation they slept through.

Of course you can install sewer pipe in karst. You should line it to prevent sinkholes, but that makes it really expensive. Chipping limestone cost big money and time.

So to review, it's about the Benjamins. The money.

Just saying that it is a karst landscape isn't enough to preclude uses.

Why are there no big ass subdivisions out there? Because there is no sewer. Why is there no sewer? Because no one has enough money to put it in. Like most things, it is about the money.

From planning 101, you build anything if you have enough money. ROI is your friend.

Look at the closing statements, see who got real estate commisisons, finders fees, option fees, etc. and you'll know all you need to know about the midway industrial park fiasco.

Roane County announced a huge coup in landing a new Crete Carrier trucking terminal in their industrial part, wonder why the Midway facility didn't get a sniff and certainly didn't compete for the location?

Let's call it what it is, our superchamber is routinely outrun, outfoxed, and out hustled by business recruiters in Roane County, Anderson County, Blount County, and we get our head kicked in by Hamblen County and Greene County.

Rice and Edwards can spin it any way they want to, but they can't land a single business in Knox County which employs more than 50 people and pays them more than strip mall retail wages. Are they in over their heads at solid six figure salaries? The recruiters in the adjacent counties don't make near the money our superchamber throws around, what gives?

I think the Midway debacle reflects more systematic problems with growth management in Knox Co.
My very first post on Knoxviews was on this exact subject.
(link...)

-Sugarfatpie (AKA Alex Pulsipher)

"X-Rays are a hoax."-Lord Kelvin

The "green" version of that park has on-site wastewater management, so it wouldn't be the sprawl engine developers want. Either TDC has given up on bringing sewer with the park and is merely looking for some return on the land they already bought or there is a bait-and-switch behind the sales pitch.

The land there has a limited capacity for absorbing water. The geological study may indicate how much wastewater can be processed on site. A tenant with high water usage could overwhelm the on-site system and force installation of sewer pipes.

I would be more comfortable with TDC's intentions if they included the capacity of the on-site system in promotional materials and made it clear that water-intensive manufacturers would not fit at Midway. The absurdities Lisa already pointed out suggest that considerable skepticism is warranted.

Lisa,

Whatever happened to that lawsuit? Was an appeal filed? Is it still hanging out there?

Thanks, Lisa, for bringing up the rest of the story. Local government (anywhere) seems so incestuous and developer driven.

This is the same park that was a HOT topic during the last election for 8th district county commission. Where does Bud Armstrong stand now? Better yet where are Leon Daugherty and Russ Huckaba standing?

Dupicate.

While I was very pleased to hear that the proposed Midway Industrial park is now better recognized for the ruse that it was and is, even now with the new “Green” Super Chamber spin, there is so much more to the issue. For many of us the challenge has always been the water and how to conserve, preserve and enhance the lower French Broad watershed for the future generations that will inherit it.

Let us not forget, we are just the current generation of stewards responsible for this critically important and irreplaceable life-sustaining resource.

The French Broad River has been the primary sustainer of human culture for this region for thousands of years. The sustainability of future generations will also depend on the French Broad. As it has been for thousands of years and hundreds of previous generations of people, their health and quality of life will be determined by the quality and quantity of the water that flows through French Broad River.

Please take the time to consider some of the issues addressed in this Frontline documentary on PBS called Poisoned Waters. (link...)