2002 Candidate Position Questionnaire

Howard Kerr's Response

1. What is your occupation? (Please list both primary and all secondary.)

Research Engineer (retired after 38 years), State Representative (retired after 6 years by election process), Owner/Operator of Smoky Mountain Honey Co. (still producing honey and pollinating crops for over 30 years)

2. Please list all schools, colleges, and universities that you have attended and all degrees you have earned.

B.S. in Nuclear Engineering (1964) and extensive work on doctorate

3. Why have you chosen to run for office?

To serve the people and help improve our quality of life by assuring better government.

4. What do you see as the three most critical issues facing Blount County?

(1) Improving inter-governmental relationships (i.e. better State-County-City cooperation, eliminating duplication of services to reduce taxes and improving revenue sharing)

(2) Resolving growth related impacts (traffic congestion, loss of “green” space, air pollution, fragmented utility infrastructure, and obsolescence of long range planning strategies)

(3) Improving commercial and industrial economic base (keeping good jobs, attracting better jobs, and focusing on high-tech opportunities) to assure the continued prosperity of our community in a manner that protects and preserves our quality of life.

5. How do you propose to address each of these three issues?

(1) The basic strategy will be to identify areas where significant opportunities exist for improvement; build a consensus for a better way; and work vigorously to realize the consensus. One prime area for improvement is in utility services; another is finding a win-win approach to revenue sharing.

(2) Growth in Blount County results from several factors: having good jobs here for our children so they can remain here; longer life expectancy; attractiveness for retirees from other places; and attracting new businesses that import many of their staff. I will work to improve the vocational resources of our local people and to develop our local economy in a way that maximizes employment of local people. We must modernize our utility infrastructure. We can do some things as simple as coordinating traffic signals to minimize stop-and-go pollution. We encourage higher density residential developments such as the “Park” concept and more downtown residences. There are many ways to address growth in a proactive respectful manner with strong public participation.

(3) Good jobs follow good job skills. I will work to expand vocational training opportunities for all Blount County workers by judicious use of existing resources. This effort will include our young people as well as the present working population.

6. What is your vision for Blount County/Maryville in 5 years?

I envision a higher population of residents – more gray hair – living in concentrated residential areas with higher demands for services and a better quality of life. There will be more cultural and fitness activities, especially for our youth, and excellent health care facilities. Our local economy will continue to grow with a spectrum of jobs that improves as the talents of local workers are improved.

7. What is your vision for Blount County/Maryville in 20 years?

In 20 years I believe Blount County will have a population of over 150,000 people with a higher mean age living in high-density housing. We will have abundant green areas; excellent public transportation, and a strong high tech based economy derived in part from the operation of the Spallation Neutron Source in Oak Ridge. It will be a fun and healthful place to live – IF we elect leaders who will work for that purpose!!

8. Do you support the extension of the Pellissippi Parkway from Old Knoxville Highway (SR 33) to US 321?

c Yes or c No [Neither checked]

If you checked "yes", is it because (check all that apply):

c You believe it is a "done deal" with T-DOT, and that the County government cannot affect the outcome either way.

c It will benefit commuters to Knoxville, both for shopping and employment.

c It will enhance Maryville/Alcoa businesses.

c It will open up new areas for development, both because of access and because the sewer lines will follow the interstate.

If none of these apply, please explain why you support or oppose the extension.

I do support a network of transportation corridors that can safely and efficiently handle the volume of traffic. Such corridors must be planned well in advance of the need, and right-of-ways should be purchased years in advance. The corridors should be the logical result of a comprehensive long-range land use plan. Development along those corridors MUST be controlled. In effect, the corridors should result from good long range planning and not be a response to “current pressures”. As for my position on the Pellissippi Parkway extension to US 321, I believe such a corridor will be needed at some point in tme; I don’t know if we are now at that point. Where is the land use plan for that area? The same considerations apply to the “southern loop”. Develop the land use plan; plan the transportation needs; then design and build the corridors.

9. How do you intend to address the development pressures this extension will bring, including impacts on Blount County's secondary roads, schools, public services, air and water quality?

WHEN the Pellissippi extension and the other corridors are being considered, the related impacts on other infrastructure elements must be addressed. Existing roads must up-graded to be compatible with the traffic volumes, schools may need to be expanded or built, utility services must be available, etc. All of these considerations should be incorporated in the planning process. As County Executive I would strive to see that the process is put in place and fairly administered.

10. Would you support or oppose the Proposed Interstate 140 By-Pass (Southern Loop) around Maryville and within the County? Why?

See above answers!

11. What do you plan to do to prevent or encourage the completion of the Southern Loop?

Ditto!

12. Are you familiar with the County's Five Primary Planning Guidelines, which were formulated from a Land Use Study conducted in 1998? How would you incorporate the results into your own decision-making in your new or renewed position?

Yes! I have a copy in my office. I have lived in Blount County for 57 years and have witnessed phenomenal changes in land use, particularly in the last 20 years. Some good- some bad! During that time we desperately needed some sensible long-range planning for residential, commercial, and industrial developments, we needed to integrate utility services to assure high quality services at reasonable prices, and we needed to improve our roads. As early as 1990 I was giving public seminars on LUCAS - Land Use Conflict Avoidance System - as some people didn’t want to talk about zoning. My purpose was to explain the pros and cons of land use standards. I have a saying: “In a biological system, uncontrolled growth is called CANCER. In a community system, uncontrolled growth is called SPRAWL. Both are terribly destructive to the system!”

13. What is your position on the annexation compromise (Public Charter 1101)?

Generally it is good – I voted for it in the House because it forces local governments to negotiate some important issues. There are some provisions that I don’t like because they infringe on an individual’s rights, but I believe these issues can be resolved by future legislative actions.

14. What is your opinion of the Cities and the County working together in land use planning? (As the Knoxville Metropolitan Planning Authority operates.)

The only sensible way to do planning is to work with surrounding governments. Blount County is not an island in the pacific! What happens in adjoining counties clearly impacts us and vice versa. We need to cooperate - mutually.

15. What do you see as the best way to protect the rural nature of Blount County?

Do now what we should have done 40 years ago – develop a sensible long-range plan with strong public participation and live by it.

16. What do you see as the best way to protect the unique environmental features of Blount County (Little River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, etc.)?

[No answer]