The Knoxville Empowerment Zone: Update

On Thursday, March 1, Neighborhood Organizations of the North Zone Advisory Council (ZAC) met at Fulton High School to elect eight members to the ZAC Board of Advisors.  The North ZAC is one of six ZACs in the Knoxville Empowerment Zone (EZ).  For more information about the Empowerment Zone, its organization and its purpose, click here.

There are four Neighborhood Organizations in the North ZAC: Old North Knoxville, Fourth & Gill, Parkridge and the Fourth & Gill Housing Co-op.  A neighborhood organization must be a member of the Council of Involved Neighborhoods, or COIN, to qualify for membership.  In a previous meeting of the six ZACs, two At-Large representatives were elected to the North ZAC Board of Advisors, which consists of a total of fifteen members: Jeff Talman (Fourth & Gill) and Cathy Harthorn (Parkridge).  Since Fourth & Gill and Parkridge were already represented on the Board with their At-Large members, it was decided at the caucus meeting March 1 to let the three North ZAC neighborhood associations have a total of three representatives each on the Board.  Also, the Housing Co-op was given one seat on the Board.  (The Co-op just recently became a member of COIN.)

The following people were elected to represent the eight members of the Neighborhood Organizations stakeholder group of the North ZAC:

• Susan Hamilton (Old North Knoxville)
• Tom Brechko (Old North Knoxville)
• Tina Rosling (Fourth and Gill)
• Rob Frost (Fourth and Gill)
• Todd Witcher (Parkridge)
• Lula Williams (Parkridge area)
• Elijah Duncan (Housing Co-op)

The other representative of Old North Knoxville will come from Love Towers, since there must be one person from Section 8 housing included in the eight representatives.  Love Towers is the only Section 8 housing in the North ZAC.  Susan Smathers, the North ZAC organizer, has identified someone from Love Towers willing to be on the Board, but this person was unable to make it to the March 1 meeting.

Totally confused?  Then, for more information, contact the Center for Neighborhood Development at 522-5935, or write/visit them at 900 East Hill Avenue, Suite 400, Knoxville, Tennessee  37917.