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The Grainger County Commission deadlocked 7-7 Monday on a proposed event venue to be located at Grainger County Park.

The deadlock, with Commissioner Anna Blanken absent, meant the resolution accepting the Appalachian Regional Commission grant for the venue is dead for now.

The county received the approval for the grant one day after the Feb. 13 commission meeting, meaning that the resolution had to be voted on Monday. The $1.4 million grant required a 30% match, or $400,000, if the full $1.4 million was spent.

Commissioner Wendy Noe explained that the county had applied for the ARC grant for park improvements.

“Included in the improvement were some Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades, as well as what I refer to as a ‘community center/community room’ all-weather pavilion,” she said. “It would enable us to have an indoor facility that can be used for a community center available to all residents.”

Noe said the proposed facility could be used for birthday parties, family reunions and church gatherings. The proposed facility could be used as a venue for weddings and receptions, an amenity, proponents said, that is lacking in Grainger County.

A possible amphitheater and expanded parking could have also be added to the project.

“It could turn a profit for the county and be self-sustainable with the fees collected on rentals,” Noe said. “We know that community rooms and event venues are in high demand. A lot of people are having to go outside of the county to secure facilities for rentals for things like this.”

Noe said that wedding venues start out at $2,500 and go up to $10,000 for a weekend. Noe rented a facility in New Market due to there not being an available facility in Grainger County.

“If you can find one for $2,500, you’ve really found a deal,” she said. “The sky is the limit on what we could do with a facility like this.”

Commissioner Justin Epperson asked if the proposed facility was like the enclosed facility that serves Washburn and Noe said that it was. Epperson said that the Washburn facility is usually busy every Saturday. The Washburn facility is owned by the Parks and Recreation Department.

“It’s rented right now to the end of April every weekend,” Parks Director Stacy Defrees said.

“This would give us the ability to have an enclosed facility on the north end (Washburn) and the south end (Bean Station) of (Clinch) mountain,” Noe said. “We’re using the park all the way from toddlers to senior citizens and all in-between. This is a real opportunity to invest in everybody within our county.”

At issue was the fact that the county has an extended 30-year lease of the park property from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“Do we want to spend a bunch of money on something that we don’t own?” Commissioner Darrell Stratton asked.

County Mayor Mike Byrd said that with any lease, the leaser has an opt-out clause. Byrd said that he didn’t anticipate TVA breaking the lease.

“I don’t either,” Stratton said. “You’re always changing boards. If you do this (construction), it might be a headache for them. I just can’t see building anything on something the county don’t own.”

Stratton also referred to a dugout built for a baseball field at the Grainger County Park that is not used because the field was never developed 15 to 20 years ago.

“It’s sitting over there and nothing done to it,” he said.

Epperson said that he doesn’t see TVA “pulling the rug out from under us.”

Commissioner James Acuff referred to the idea as akin to buying a “pig in a poke.”

“I really wanted to support this idea at Grainger County Park, but with so many unknowns regarding the design and construction of the building, amphitheater, and such it was like buying a pig in a poke,” Acuff said Tuesday. “Furthermore this was presented to us less than 24 hours from the deadline with no engineering drawings or projected cost of the construction cost.

“After dealing with the cost overruns with the Washburn ball fields, I’m not willing to jump into a similar situation again. Then there’s the surprise that we discovered tonight regarding the fact that there is a lease agreement on the property where the park is located,” he said. “Thus we do not own that property and there very well could be host of issues with building on the property that haven’t even been looked into yet.”

Voting yes were Ed McBee, Commission Chairman Andy Cameron, Tina Davis, Darrell Williams, Jennifer Holt, Epperson and Noe. No votes were cast by Darrell Stratton, Scott Wynn, Rodney Overbay, Luke Stratton, Jesse Cline, Mike Holt and Acuff.