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The Hamblen County Commission’s Budget Committee discussed funding for E-911 and the City of Morristown Parks and Recreation Department Tuesday night.

Travis Barbee, Parks & Recreation director, presented a plan to the committee on what the department plans to accomplish in the next year.

“The city feels that it has made significant changes when it comes to recreation, especially with Morristown Landing,” Barbee said. “So now the focus is on the parks, which we have a significant increase for money in this budget.”

“The city has decided to make a big investment and we hope you all will be a part of it as well.”

He first discussed the Downtown Farmer’s Market and improvements planned to allow it to host larger events.

“We are looking at energizing the green so it is able to host better events,” he said. “We are looking to upgrade the farmers market with an electronic kiosk and wayfinding signs so we can support our local farmers.”

He mentioned Jolley Park and the need to staff it to manage the increase of attendance at the facility.

“We now have to staff that park,” he said. “There is no other park like it that has caretakers in it 8 to 9 hours a day. It is being loved to death; it is an outdoor amusement park.”

“In the month of May it had over 100 bookings and 50 of those were school groups.”

Talley Ward is the major focus for the department and he explained the repairs being made to the facility.

“We have roof repairs and window repairs,” he said. “The windows were replaced about 8 years ago and since then the building has settled and all the windows have been broken.”

“We are also working on plumbing. Right now our summer camp people are having to deal with it, but that’s the tradeoff to have summer camps because we didn’t want to delay our summer camps anymore.”

Barbee discussed the several camps taking place at Talley Ward and the success he is seeing.

“Right now our volleyball camp is at capacity and we actually added a few more spots to add more students. The baseball camp was almost at capacity last week.”

“The goals in Talley Ward have been there for several years and we can’t move them for our volleyball players and they won’t lower for the youth who are the largest number of participants.”

“We have 120 basketball teams and that is the only gym we have full control over, every other gym we are guests of, so anything we can do to update Tally Ward is important to our operations.”

Barbee discussed an outlying park receiving much needed attention in the next year.

“Wildwood Park is getting some attention it hasn’t received in a while,” he said. “If you’ve been to the park, the grass is dead all over and there are sticks in the ground where people have made their own goals.”

“The tennis courts which quite frankly need to be torn down have soccer goals on there. That park is being loved to death by the soccer community so we are adding an outdoor mini pitch lighting. This isn’t a park we would usually go to, but this is a park that the community is using.”

The newest park, Fulton-Hill, is also receiving upgrades to its location.

“Fulton-Hill Park is getting some considerable upgrades,” he said. “It is getting two pavilions and potentially some pickle ball courts.”

Barbee then discussed the upcoming plans for the ‘heart of parks and recreation.’

“Frank Lorino Park is the heart of the park’s system. There are thousands of people there on Tuesday night,” he said. “There is baseball, softball, tennis and soccer all being played, so it is a full park.”

“In this year’s budget we are including irrigation for the five ball fields. We are bringing in lights and we are hoping to get those tarps off the dugouts and finally make those whole. In addition to all of this we are redoing the infields of all the baseball fields.”

“We have two football fields that are 80 yards and in the next year we’ll be looking at combining to one full size field with lighting because it may have the worst lighting currently.”

“We also have the opportunity to add pickle ball courts to break the peace between the tennis community and the pickleball community.”

Commissioner Kyle Walker asked if the department had any plans to put money into the soccer fields at Frank Lorino.

“I see that you are putting all this money into football, baseball, and pickle ball and one of the biggest things being used are the soccer fields and they are in horrible shape,” Walker said. “You talk about the baseball fields, when it rains the soccer fields have water and mud holes and there are times when the kids are playing soccer in a dustbowl.”

Barbee explained that the soccer fields do need work, but the other fields are in worse shape.

“We are not more worried but the soccer fields have irrigation already and they have Bermuda grass which allows them to be cut by a real mower,” Barbee said. “I will agree they need work and we are addressing that too but the things are further behind are the baseball fields.”

“I would disagree, as a parent who has dealt with Frank Lorino for several years.” Walker said. “We have few bleachers and that field is used tremendously and not just by AYSO.

Barbee explained that he has received complaints about the holes in the soccer field and to solve those issues, 3 out of 4 fields are closed to allow the grass to recover and anything that is not recovered will be replaced by sod.

The county currently gives the city of Morristown Parks of Recreation $300,000 and the department requested an additional $200,000 to complete all the projects mentioned.

Commissioner Joe Huntsman asked County Mayor Bill Brittain how much the city pays to the department.

“I think he (Travis Barbee) mentioned the city has around $3 million allocated in their budget for them,” Brittain said.

“Well, if they city is paying that much and they’re only asking us for $500,000 then I think we’re getting a good deal,” Huntsman said.

Brittain reminded the commission that the county’s priority should be the justice center and paving.

“I’m not saying this isn’t important or a good thing, but those items should take priority,” Brittain said.

Commissioner Peggy Howell mentioned other services the city uses that the county funds.

“We educate every child and we don’t say ‘you city kids sit over here and you county kids sit over her’ or ‘you city inmates sit over here and you county inmates sit over here’ we do it all and that’s big money,” she said. “My family enjoys the parks but we have paving to worry about and other things to worry about.”

Commissioner Chris Cutshaw added how the commission has not approved an increase over five years.

“Five years ago we approved an increase from $200,000 to $300,000 and it has held steady since,” he said.

The committee ultimately voted to keep the budget for the city of Morristown Parks and Recreation Department the same at $300,000.

Brittain then discussed that the proposed budget increase of $109,631 for the Hamblen County Emergency Communication District. .

He explained how over the past 5 years the city has been paying for a position at E-911 and the county hasn’t.

“In 2017-2018 the City of Morristown funded a telecommunication position by the request of the E-911 Board,” Brittain said, “They asked the city to fund one and the county to fund one. The city did and the county did not.”

“The Municipal Technical Advisory Service model had already been implemented and there was an additional $61,000 the city has been funding since then.”

Brittain explained how the MTAS model has worked when E-911 requests money.

“The E-911 board says they need X amount of dollars and that the surcharge is going to supply this much and then the local bodies will supply the rest and it’s up to the local bodies to decide who pays what.”

“When we implemented the MTAS model we determined how to split the local funding for 911. Half of it is based on population and the other half is based on cost per service.”

He explained that the position was not included in the model and just added on top. That is why the county hasn’t paid, he said.

“The last 6 years the $61,000 the city has funded, the county has not and it has not been included in the MTAS model and has been separate and sat on top of the model.”

“Some on the city council are wanting the county to catch up and the way I countered that was over the last 6 years we have taken it on the chin and have been absorbing a deficit in the health insurance plan for covering the library’s employees which is funded by half the city and half of the county.”

Brittain said the county has had to pay for additional insurance costs from Morristown-Hamblen Library employees which has left the county at a deficit.

“Over the last 5 years our health insurance plan has lost $197,000 to the library’s employees which means that the claims surpassed the premiums paid by $197,000.”

“So I approached the city and said you want us to catch up and we have this deficit so let’s just put those aside and we’ll add the $61,000 to the MTAS model and call it even.”

Brittain explained that including the $61,000 will raise the 911 department’s requested increase from $81,499 to $109,631.

The committee then began discussing the raise for E-911 employees from $14 an hour to $18.

Commissioner Debbie A’ Hearn questioned if the commission could fund the raise half this year and half next year.

“I think from $14 an hour to $18 an hour is a 29% to 30% increase and what if we pay half of that his year and the other half next year,” A’Hearn asked.

“Now 911 has already given the raise but you could fund half of the requested increase this year and fund the other half next year and they would have to make up the rest using their general fund,” Brittain said.

Commissioner Joe Huntsman asked if the department would have enough in its fund balance to cover the other half.

“The 911 has over $2 million in their fund balance and they will pay $1.1 million for purchasing the health department,” he said. “They are very healthy and even after paying us for the health department, they will still be healthy.”

Several commissioners didn’t support the raise and mentioned how it isn’t fair to other county employees.

“We have been backed into a corner with this and it’s not fair to all the other county employees,” Commissioner Rodney Long said.

“We need to give the raises to the people that need it, not to everyone across the board,” Commissioner Kyle Walker said. “We need to get people who are below the poverty level above that level, not people who are already above that level and give them even more.”

The budget committee voted 11 to 1, with two members absent for the vote, in favor of funding half of the raise for 911 employees. The commission will pay a total of $242,789 to the Hamblen County Emergency Communication District.