Townsend officials have agreed to put just under $100,000 toward planning the city’s future, as members of the Community Plan Advisory Committee requested consultant funding from the Board of Commissioners last week. In the first item on an otherwise crowded budget, committee members said bids for consultation had been limited, leading them to propose a hybrid approach.
If the plan goes forward as proposed, the East Tennessee Development District will split the work with consulting firm SE Group, guiding the committee as it drafts the document that will define Townsend in the coming years.
David Hoque, committee chair for the CPAC, told commissioners he was excited for the future during their May 21 meeting. The city, he said, is growing, and needs a way to ensure that growth happens the way residents want.
“I’ve been a resident for over 30 years and I’ve been coming to these meetings for two years,” he said. “I’ve heard stories of one or two people coming to these meetings, and now we’re setting up extra chairs and we have microphones and new buildings.”
Costs
Hoque said he wished the committee had received more bids on its request for quotes. SE Group was the only group to send a complete quote by the deadline, but he said the committee had been pleased with their performance and professionalism.
The range of quotes the committee received ranged from $100,000-150,000, he told commissioners. ETDD, which already works with Townsend in other business, will receive a smaller portion of the funding with the hybrid approach, while SE Group will take the lion’s share.
Commissioners voiced concerns over the price tag, saying they wished the committee had been able to obtain grant funding before signing a contract, but ultimately gave the request unanimous approval. Townsend Mayor Don Prater, who is also on the CPAC, said $100,000 is a large portion of the city’s budget. A proposed 2025 budget presented at the city’s first budget workshop this year anticipated just over $1.4 million in expenses and $899 in annual income left over.
In response to questions about whether the cost would be due up front, Hoque and his vice-chair Houston Oldham said SE Group has been “very accommodating” about its costs.
“The simple fact is that this is not a single-year budget,” Oldham told commissioners. “It’s going to stretch over more than one fiscal year, and the SE Group is amenable to working out a payment plan that works for the city.”
Hoque told commissioners he felt local businesses and people in the community might be willing to chip in to help cover the cost.
Practices
Townsend isn’t the only local government to hire consultants. In February, for example, Maryville unveiled the results of its new downtown master plan — a study that involved several groups under TSW Design Consultants at $168,000.
Townsend has been in the process of drafting a new community plan for months now. Amid complaints of overdevelopment from outspoken citizens, the CPAC has been working to draw up a document that will control growth for the city’s future, with promises of soliciting public opinion down the road. Hoque and Oldham have previously told The Daily Times they want to create a plan that will provide the best version of Townsend without making compromises.
Both individuals are running for city commission seats this summer.
One of the benefits of hiring consultants, Oldham told commissioners last week, is the expertise they bring to the drafting process. Professional consultants are often aware not only of loopholes that must be addressed but also of grant opportunities for funding in the future — something the city could use.
SE Group’s website advertises the company has worked on community plans in Vermont, Arkansas and Colorado.
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