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The undeveloped property at the corner of Walters Drive and Cherokee Drive, adjacent to TerraBella Senior Living, received approval from Morristown City Council during its recent meeting for an amended site plan.

Guzman Construction is seeking to develop residential units on the 32-acre property that was originally subdivided into four lots in 1998. The assisted living facility was built in 2000 and has gone through several name changes over the decades.

The intersection is being considered by the city as the site of a roundabout, featuring a slip ramp for a continuous right turn from Cherokee onto Walters. Noting potential for the increase in residential growth in the area, council discussed the roundabout at its Aug. 4 work session.

Site plans for what is now the Guzman property were approved in 2007 for a multiuse development to consist of medical offices, townhouse residential and commercial retail, according to information provided by city planning staff.

“Unfortunately, construction never began. Since that time, the property has changed ownership,” Senior Planner Lori Matthews said.

“The plans as of June of this year show the omission of the medical offices which were to be located on Lot No. 2, behind the assisted living facility, and the construction of a 24-unit apartment complex. The amendment was voted on by both the planning commission and city council and was approved.

“The applicant in the past month has asked to go through the Mixed Use Development process again in order to add an additional 12 apartment units for a total of 36,” Matthews said. “Plans will still meet all Mixed Unit Development requirements which include 20 percent of open space and a 50-foot vegetative perimeter against existing residential housing. The 36-unit apartment complex will be three stories, or 32 feet in height, and just over 100 feet from the lot to the northern property line.”

Supply chain issues continue to crop up with regard to local entities, and the city is not immune.

The budgeted purchase of a 2023 Ford F-250 crew cab 4-wheel-drive pickup in the amount of $50,382 for the Public Works department was sidelined despite a contract in place.

“This is becoming a well-worn story,” City Administrator Tony Cox said, “but unfortunately we have been informed by the manufacturer that they are not confident that there will be trucks available under this contract. At point in time, Ford is not sure there will be any available or the price that they will be. Based on that, until we get better information on the availability and the price from the manufacturer, we would recommend that you take no action at this time.”

The city’s police department, however, fared better thanks to their in-house expertise.

Council authorized the purchase of a Ford Transit Van for $51,743.98 from Duval Ford via an open governmental agreement between Duval Ford and Bradford County, Florida.

“You’re beginning to see a theme with regard to purchasing vehicles in this market,” Cox said. “We have been struggling trying to find this van. We’ve identified through a vendor in Florida and are able to piggyback on their purchasing system. This van is for the police department’s special response department. For those of us who are a little older, we used to call it S.W.A.T. teams.”

The purchase was originally planned in the 2022/23 budget, but the van was not available from the manufacturer. Funds were set aside that will need to be appropriated to the current budget, according to Cox.

“There’s been a lot of scrambling by the police department, in particular by Sgt. (Diana) Morgan, in terms of trying to identify this vehicle. We are very pleased to have found one we can get. We recommend jumping on it as soon as possible,” Cox said.

Council also authorized the purchase of nine Ford Interceptors for the police department in the amount of $517,666.57, also via an open governmental agreement between Duval Ford and Bradford County, Florida.

“These vehicles are included in this year’s budget,” Cox said. “We hoped to be able to purchase 10, we’ve identified the nine here … again we’re lucky to get them … and we commend the hard work of MPD for identifying the potential source for getting these vehicles.”

Change Order Number 2 to the contract with Eskola, LLC was approved by Council for a temporary roof solution and exploratory work in the amount of $5,600 for the Rose Center Roof Replacement project. City staff identified additional problems beyond the work on the turrets that was originally contracted.

“At this point in time, we’re still trying to assess the extent of the problem and come up with a game plan. Using the folks that are on site will be to our benefit,” Cox said.

Council authorized Cox to execute a task order with HB Clark Signature Disc Golf Course Design (HBC Group, LLC) in the amount of $3,325 for the assessment of potential impacts of road access improvements to disc golf at Frank Lorino Park.

“At our recent work session on the fourth of this month, we discussed some potential entrances into Lorino Park,” Cox said. “At that time, Council expressed some concerns about the potential for impacting the disc golf courses. Mr. Clark is the designer of the courses in our parks. He is providing this proposal to give us some feedback in terms of how the courses might be adjusted or might need to be adjusted if we move forward with the driveway projects.”

According to information provided by staff, Clark will look over the plans provided by LDA Engineering (as presented to Council on Aug. 4) and provide recommendations, or the pros and cons, of the roadways and driveways as they relate to the existing disc golf courses.

The plans include a short roadway from Thompson Creek to Lorino that would run adjacent to the future site of MFD Station No. 3. Discussion during the Aug. 4 work session had indicated land would need to be purchased from property owners in order to complete the project and that perhaps that option should be abandoned.

Council Kay Senter questioned whether that plan should be reviewed by Clark.

“I don’t think we ought to take that one out of the options unless the people are not willing to sell the property next to it,” Councilmember Tommy Pedigo said. “I agree we don’t need to encroach on the fire department property, we do need to see whether or not they’ll sell.”

Councilmember Chris Bivens concurred – “Don’t take it plumb out of the equation, because it might be the best way to come, if we can buy the property,” he said.