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The Morristown City Council voted on various ordinances at their meeting on Tuesday night and approved some measures related to upcoming park improvements.

Some grading challenges have been discovered at Frank Lorino Park due to soil quality issues that were unanticipated.

“Unfortunately, the soils on site that were intended to be used elsewhere on the site were determined to be unsuitable, particularly for the fill required underneath driving surfaces and the (new) pickleball area that needs to be brought up to elevation,” Morristown City Administrator Andrew Ellard said. “The change order is $287,740.”

The major facelift and upgrade project at the park is a $3 million project that will add new pickleball options for the community, consolidate football fields into a regulation size field for the sport and upgrade site infrastructure.

Further west work for the new pavilion at Fulton Hill Park was approved as it approaches its completion in an effort to improve amenities at the north-central location.

The Council approved a zoning request to change nearly 12 acres of land along Veterans Parkway near Alpha Valley Home Road from Agriculture to Heavy Industrial to make way for office space and storage for Phillip Carlyle’s businesses.

They also changed the zoning of a lot next to the “old phone company building” at the corner of W. 2nd North to make way for a parking lot to be placed next to the structure. It will be zoned “central business district.”

Planner Sabrina Seamon Tomassonin said the owner is refurbishing the building into an 11 unit apartment building.

The future parking lot has been empty for over 10 years and will have to meet landscaping and other zoning requirements to lessen impact on nearby residential lots.

After a recommendation for dismissal was presented by Chief Brian Shepard, the Council took action to approve the firing of a Morristown Fire Department firefighter.

Council had information in their packets about the maneuver and approved the dismissal unanimously after inquiring about the Civil Service Board process.

Two grant applications, a Byrne Justice Assistance Grant for $15,369.00 and a Tennessee Highway Safety Office Grant for $24,000, were approved.

The grant money will be used, if awarded, by the Morristown Police Department to help fund a tactical entry robot and proactive traffic enforcement along with two speed display signs.