The only no vote was from councilwoman, Robin McNabb. Ms. McNabb asked mayor Aikens why Casey's wanted the property annexed. The mayor said he had no idea. Council member Jennifer Wampler said everybody wanted to be in Lenoir City. Councilman, Eddie Simpson, who also sits on the Lenoir City Planning Commission who recommended the annexation, said he felt this was a very good use of the property. He went on to say, the new station wouldn't add any to the school traffic. Councilman, Todd Kennedy also said a new station wouldn't add any traffic. Kennedy even posted to his Facebook page about his decision. (See Below)

While the plat shows no direct entrance to Hwy. 321, there will be access from the road between the property and  Dollar General. But the main access will be from Hwy. 70.

Some had asked, this is a legal annexation by the city, The property is entirely within the city's Urban Growth Area, UGB. Unlike the two illegal annexations that were both entirely outside the UGB.

Of course the addition of another gas station in that already congested area will make things worse, but hey, that's Lenoir City, what else would you expect.

Lenoir City Councilman Todd Kennedy

Regarding the proposed annexation of potential Casey’s site at Eaton’s Crossroads:

I’ve seen some information swirling around on social media regarding this annexation, and I wanted to make sure the entirety of the story is told and not just the parts that make the splash headline and stir people up.

1. If approved, the site would not have any additional access points on Hwy 321. There is an existing road between this property and the Dollar General that would be utilized for Hwy 321 traffic. There is a proposed access point on Hwy 70.

2. The developer will be required to have a traffic study completed.

3. As a service type facility that you’d pull into as you drive by and not what I’d consider a destination, I don’t see how this would add additional traffic. I don’t see people driving across town to shop at this Casey’s when we have one on the other end of town and other branded stations along the way.

4. This is a commercial corridor, so a gas station is an appropriate use of the land, from a planning standpoint.

5. Preventing the construction of a Casey’s will not reduce beer sales in the community when a Weigel’s is literally next door.

6. The City cannot maintain reasonable property taxes (and even reduce taxes like we recently did) without tax revenue from businesses like this. When we discourage business growth, the tax burden falls on the citizens.

7. A new business will create local jobs.

There are always multiple factors at play when making decisions like this. This is why I took a wholistic approach to this topic and voted in favor of the annexation. Just wanted to get my thought process out there (whether we agree or disagree), because with only part of the story, it paints distorted and unfair story.

Always feel free to contact me with any feedback or questions you may have.

thkennedy@gmail.com