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Residents ask county to allow inmate crews, form litter-control committee for Highway 72
Summary
At the Oct. 20 Loudon County workshop residents asked commissioners to allow sheriff’s inmate crews to pick up litter on Highway 72 and to convene a multi-jurisdictional litter-control committee; letters from local businesses and the city were presented.
Residents and area businesses urged Loudon County officials at the Oct. 20 workshop to take immediate steps to address heavy litter on Highway 72, including allowing county inmates to work on a half- to one-mile stretch near the landfill and creating a joint litter-control committee with city partners.
Volunteer coordinator Lisa Benton said volunteers and businesses have picked up hundreds of bags of trash and that the stretch of Highway 72 near the landfill accumulates debris quickly. Benton said she had consulted Tennessee Department of Transportation and the state litter-grant program and read correspondence indicating inmate crews may be used on municipal roadway segments by mutual agreement with the county sheriff and municipal leaders. “It is not a violation of a litter grant for the inmates to be used on that stretch of road,” Benton said, summarizing the grant-program response.
Scott Benton read a letter from Joanna Mason, manager of Watts Bar Lake Jellystone Park, asking for coordinated cleanups and noting the roadside is visitors’ first impression of the area. He also read a letter from Loudon city Mayor Jeff Harris asking for assistance cleaning Highway 72 between Buzz Truck Stop and the Loudon County Center; the mayor’s letter described the city’s Looking Good Loudon campaign and said the city would welcome help from the county sheriff’s trustee crews.
Benton asked County Mayor Bradshaw to convene a litter-control committee involving the county and the four cities; Benton said she would participate and share ideas for coordinated cleanups, signage and volunteer recruitment.
Officials discussed jurisdictional and contract issues. Benton cited Tennessee Code 54-5-202 regarding TDOT responsibilities; she said TDOT has told her it is responsible for certain stretches and that municipalities have limited resources. County staff confirmed TDOT conducts periodic cleanups but that some stretches remain problematic. The county also noted that inmate crews may work on municipal segments by mutual agreement.
As a related operational step, county staff reported that public-services officials agreed to pave about 1,000 feet of the landfill interior from the road past the wheel wash; staff said the paving is expected to reduce debris tracked onto the roadway.
No formal action was taken at the workshop; commissioners directed staff to follow up and to consider the request for a coordinating committee.
