Knoxville City Council Meeting - June 23, 2026

This meeting of the Knoxville City Council on June 23, 2026, addressed a range of items including the appointment of a council representative to the African American Equity Restoration Task Force, approval of multiple funding agreements for homeless services, greenway projects, and venue management, as well as a public forum expressing strong opposition to the restructuring of the city's disability services office.

Consent Calendar

• The consent agenda was approved as adjusted, with items 13W (ordinance appropriating community improvement funds) and 12R (resolution for a victims of crime grant) removed at the request of Councilmembers Honeycutt and Parker respectively. All other consent items were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Yvonne Newbert (representing National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Chapter) spoke against the dissolution of the disability services office, arguing that the restructuring lacked stakeholder input and that programs like disability training for police recruits would be jeopardized.
• Vivian Scheife (3615 MLK, 37914) criticized the Mayor's Council on Disability Issues (CODY) for having only five members instead of the required minimum of nine, stating that the council had been directed not to meet for two years and that meeting minutes had disappeared. She called the decision to move disability services to HR discriminatory and demanded a reversal.
• George Childress (address not stated) expressed concern that adding disability services to HR's workload would cause issues to fall through the cracks, questioned whether the new HR director would be as visible in the community as the retiring ADA coordinator, and warned that the disabled community would become voiceless.

Discussion Items

• Item 12B – African American Equity Restoration Task Force Appointment – Councilmember Parker introduced a resolution to appoint a city council representative to the task force as chair, with Councilmember Grant nominated. An amendment by Councilmember Grant to clarify the financial commitment wording was approved. Discussion included whether the task force's bylaws should be revisited, and it was noted that the task force had recently elected Reverend Vincent Jones as chair, effective July 1st. The resolution passed unanimously.
• Item 12F – Liberty Street Multimodal Project – Approved a TDOT agreement amendment increasing total project funding to $2,332,342 and extending completion to December 31, 2026. Passed unanimously.
• Item 12G – Northwest Greenway Connector Phase 2 – Approved a TDOT agreement amendment increasing funding to $7,227,492 and extending completion to December 31, 2028. Councilmember Honeycutt noted that 80% of costs are covered by TDOT. Passed unanimously.
• Items 12H and 12I – Traffic Signal Detector Loops – Approved two one-year on-call service agreements (each up to $60,000 annually) with Davis H. Elliott Construction Company and Integrated Response Systems LLC, each with two optional renewal terms. Passed unanimously.
• Items 12J, 12K, 12L, 12M, 12N, 12O – Homeless Services Funding – Approved a series of agreements with the Salvation Army ($65,000 for Joy Baker Center emergency shelter), Catholic Charities of East Tennessee ($30,000 for Samaritan Place emergency shelter), Volunteer Ministry Center ($54,720 for dental clinic/resource center; $40,000 for rapid rehousing), and Knoxville Knox County Community Action Committee ($65,000 for rapid rehousing). Also approved $25,000 for Community Mediation Center for eviction mediation services to 300 individuals. Councilmember Honeycutt thanked partner organizations. The Community Mediation Center's executive director Jen Comiskey spoke in favor, describing the day-of-court mediation program. All passed unanimously.
• Item 12P – Security System at Samaritan Place – Approved $25,000 in CDBG funding for an updated security system at Catholic Charities' Samaritan Place facility (District 3). Passed unanimously.
• Item 12Q – Legends Global Venue Management – Approved a five-year agreement (with two optional renewal terms, potentially totaling 15 years) with Legends Global (formerly ASM Global) for full-service management of the Knoxville Convention Center, World's Fair Exhibition Hall, and Civic Auditorium/Coliseum at an annual cost up to $905,000 plus CPI adjustments. Mary Bogert (city official) answered questions about booking policies (expanded to 18 months), legacy events, and collaboration with Visit Knoxville. Passed unanimously.
• Item 12R – Victims of Crime Grant – Authorized application for a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (no required local match) to support victim service programs including an overdose death advocate and a violent crimes unit advocate. Councilmember Parker questioned a reference to a match in the routing form; staff clarified no match is required. Passed 7-0-1 (Councilmember Parker abstained).
• Item 13S – Street Closure for Glen Oak Missionary Baptist Church – Approved closing the southern portion of East Oklahoma Avenue adjacent to the church property and authorizing quit claim deeds. One speaker, Jesse Ursari (515 East Oklahoma Avenue), initially opposed but changed to support after learning the right-of-way for a future sidewalk would remain. Passed unanimously.
• Item 13T – Capital Improvements Program (FY2027-2032) – Approved on an emergency basis (single reading) the capital improvements programming and budget for FY2027. Passed unanimously.
• Item 13W – Community Improvement Fund Appropriation – After removal from consent, Councilmember Honeycutt moved to amend the allocation amounts: increasing South Doyle Middle School PTSO from $250 to $750 and adding $500 for the Knoxville Opera Company, revising the total appropriation to $46,214. The amendment passed, and the ordinance as amended passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• African American Equity Restoration Task Force: Councilmember Grant appointed as the city council representative and chair; an amendment refined the description of the administration's financial commitment.
• Homeless services funding: Seven agreements totaling $329,720 approved to support shelter, rehousing, and eviction mediation services.
• Victims of crime grant: Application approved for $500,000; passed 7-0-1 with one abstention.
• Legends Global contract: Approved for up to 15 years, with annual costs starting at $905,000.
• Disability services restructuring: The mayor announced that ADA coordination will move to HR under Betsy Cunningham, effective July 1, 2026. Public commenters strongly opposed the change, and Councilmember Parker asked follow-up questions about the Mayor's Council on Disability Issues and accessibility of the new system. The mayor affirmed the council would continue.