Kingsport BMA approves reimbursement for fire department's mutual aid efforts

KINGSPORT — At Tuesday's voting meeting, the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman approved $43,306.82 of reimbursement funds to the Kingsport Fire Department for the mutual aid provided to Washington County during Hurricane Helene.The resolution states the mission was completed through a mutual aid agreement through the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. In order to be eligible for reimbursement, KFD was required to submit a cost estimate to TEMA by the end of February detailing the personnel and equipment costs.According to the resolution, the city will likely need to submit additional documentation for reimbursement for helping other surrounding counties during the disaster. A similar resolution was passed at the Jan. 21 BMA meeting to reimburse the KFD $51,747.71 for mutual aid provided to Unicoi County during Helene."As you know, we had a pretty significant presence within Washington County," Kingsport City Manager Chris McCartt said at the meeting. "A lot of work was based out of that area. Our chief was there, numerous members of our fire department were there for an extended period of time. Received a tremendous amount of praise from the mayor of Washington County for the work that the fire department did."That brings the department's reimbursement total for mutual aid to $95,054.53 across the two Northeast Tennessee counties. The cost estimate form breaks down that KFD was deployed in Washington County for 11 days (from Sept. 27 through Oct. 8) and Unicoi County for 20 days (from Oct. 3 through Oct. 23).Kingsport Fire Chief Scott Boyd said that reimbursement will come back to the city of Kingsport through payroll and the equipment that comes with it. He said that 2,100 man hours were put in by KFD members for those counties."Those counties, the destruction that went with it, we also provided roughly about $10,000 worth of in-kind service so they can take that off their total bill for what will cost those particular counties," Boyd said. "So it's been a good neighbor to help them out as well."Capt. Chris Lowe previously told the Kingsport Times News that the department aided these counties in air operations by using drones to map flooded areas, assess debris and guide rescue efforts. One small DJI drone was lost during search and rescue operations in Washington County, Lowe said in a January interview.Kingsport PavilionThe BMA also unanimously approved a resolution that would authorize a financial contribution to the Industrial Development Board of Kingsport, also known as the Kingsport Economic Development Board, for $1,250,000 plus any incurred interest.Dry Creek Capital Partners, owners of the Kingsport Pavilion, were said to have met the requirements established in their development to be eligible for the incentive package voted on at the Jan. 26, 2024, Kingsport BMA meeting.McCartt explained that pushing for redevelopment and growth at the Kingsport Pavilion has been a project more than five years in the making. He called the Kingsport Pavilion a "healthy investment" for both city residents and visitors alike."If you go back to February 2020, a conversation with the board during a budget planning session, we talked about the desire to begin aggressively going after and recruiting businesses to come into some of our legacy power centers," he said."Kingsport Pavilion was one of those that was advertised. We began conversations with the then current owner, that then translated into conversations with a new owner and a desire that you all came to us with each year was, 'How do we make this center viable again?'"Academy Sports + Outdoors opened in September 2024 in its completely renovated space, with new developments like Burlington and LensCrafters on the way. Burlington is being built out next to Dollar Tree; LensCrafters is going in the former Which Wich space.According to the resolution, the Kingsport Pavilion has achieved 95% occupancy at the site — which is the highest occupancy the center has held, including when it first opened.Steven Bower, economic development director for Kingsport, said at the March 4 KEDB meeting that the Pavilion has two spaces left, with one that has a letter of intent filed for it. He called the opening of Academy Sports at that space a "home run" for the property.Park improvement grantsThe board approved a resolution to allow the city to apply for and receive a Land Water Conservation Fund grant totaling $3,250,000 from the state.This includes proposed grant projects that will provide enhancement at Brickyard Park and Bays Mountain Park. The projects would overall cost $6,500,000, with the city covering the rest through a 50/50 funding match.Applications for the grant are due March 31, with no released timeline of when funds would be awarded. Grant contracts are for a period of three years, according to the resolution.