Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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Speech is Free, but Not TV

County Commission has been grappling lately with the problem of what to do about its public forum segment, which many commissioners believe has been abused lately by certain speakers with axes to grind. Once upon a time, the forum was held at the beginning of the afternoon meeting, so as to accommodate citizens who want to speak their minds but don’t necessarily wish to while away the day at the City County Building awaiting their moment in the bully pulpit that is Community Access TV.

City Council, on the other hand, has long observed the practice of placing public forum at the end of the meeting, often forcing those who want to be heard to wait until late at night to have their say.

After awhile, the commissioners got tired of listening to the citizens at the beginning of the day (which is now reserved for introducing resolutions honoring the dead and the politically-connected), and adopted the city’s strategy of moving the citizens to the back of the agenda. But now, even that is not good enough, and this week, County Commission voted 14-4 to study a measure that will, if accepted, cut off the TV cameras when Joe (or Jane) Sixpack steps up to speak. The measure passed without the vote of Commissioner Diane Jordan, who voiced strong objections to the no TV rule.

Rainy Day

Embattled 2nd District City Councilman Barbara Pelot won a narrow victory last week when Council voted 5-3-1 to approve the West Hills Community Association’s appeal of an MPC decision that would have green-lighted a proposed development that the WHCA is attempting to block. The neighborhood association claims the 12-home Stockton Place development will cause flooding, even though developer Chris Headrick has met all of the city’s stormwater ordinance requirements. Pelot was able to summon up just enough votes (thanks to Joe Hultquist’s abstention, which was tantamount to a “no” vote) to stymie Headrick’s plans, for now. Sources say community association president Joe Fuhr incurred the wrath of Pelot and her cohorts Jean Teague and John Bynon by attempting to work with the developer, who most observers believe will be able to overturn the Council vote on legal grounds.

Minvilla Re-emerging

The notorious 5th Avenue Motel might soon be getting a new owner, a local developer who plans to renovate the two buildings for mixed-income residential. Kim Trent, executive director of Knox Heritage, says the developer is applying for historic preservation tax credits as well as a city PILOT program. He is waiting on the financing to be approved before an official announcement is made. The project would be rental units for five years, after which some might be sold as condos. If all goes as planned, the building will be called Minvilla, restoring its original name. The 5th Avenue Motel for decades housed low-income residents and had a reputation for drugs and prostitution. It was condemned last year. The new version will include some low-income units, but mostly it will be aimed at middle-incomes.