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Residents press commissioners to preserve county farm cemetery as commission approves allocation to highway and property sale
Summary
Public speakers urged the commission to preserve burials and the history of the county farm while commissioners voted to allocate a portion to the highway department and to accept a sale bid; the body also acted on multiple rezonings and zoning-regulation changes, including denying a Stockyard Road rezoning after planning staff's recommendation.
Public comment at the Washington County Board of Commissioners' meeting focused sharply on the future of the county farm and an on-site burial ground, as residents asked the commission to halt further disturbance and pursue additional ground surveying before debris or brush removal proceeds.
Shelley Vancamp told the commission she is "not happy" with the way the highway department cleared and fenced most of the county farm parcel and raised concerns about heavy machinery, barbed-wire fencing and possible contamination in brush slated for storage. Haley Williams, an independent researcher, recounted archival work documenting the county home cemetery and urged additional ground-penetrating surveys because older burials may lie outside the fenced area. Ernest McKenna, who said he is descended from someone buried on the site, asked the county to preserve the area as green space and treat remains with dignity.
Later in the meeting the commission considered two county-farm-related resolutions from the county property committee. Commissioner Tama moved to amend an earlier resolution to allocate a portion of the county farm for use by the highway department; the motion was seconded and carried with the clerk announcing "11 yes, 4 absent." Commissioner Tama then moved to accept a bid and authorize sale of a separate parcel at 115 County Farm Road; that motion likewise passed with an 11-yes recorded tally.
The meeting also included a contested rezoning on Stockyard Road (Res. 2604). The planning and zoning director explained that a permit process and later a neighborhood complaint led to a rezoning request from an applicant who said a manufactured home had been placed in good faith. Planning staff and the planning commission recommended denial because the proposed R3 zoning would allow densities and uses inconsistent with neighboring R1 lots. The commission followed that recommendation: a motion to deny passed with a recorded vote of 10 yes, 1 no, 4 absent.
Other zoning items and regulatory changes passed: Res. 2605 and Res. 2606 (other rezoning requests) were approved (11 yes, 4 absent each), and the commission approved Res. 2607 to amend accessory-structure rules (11 yes, 4 absent). Commissioners also approved a series of administrative and budget measures later in the agenda, including surplus-property disposal, memoranda of understanding with East Tennessee State University for clinical placements, a road-list revision to allow closure of part of Boat Dock Road with developer-funded work, school budget amendments, and an ARPA-to-capital transfer; most of those measures carried by recorded tallies of 11 yes, 4 absent where voting was recorded.
Speakers representing the applicant for Res. 2604 emphasized they obtained a permit and built a new manufactured home in good faith and urged the commission to allow the project to remain rather than remove the structure. Planning staff explained how a permit entry and a subsequent correction led to the code-enforcement letter that prompted the rezoning request. Commissioners repeatedly asked staff to limit the record to the zoning question and to avoid making statements that could conflict with any pending litigation.
Next steps: staff indicated they will process the administrative items and file required documentation; members of the public seeking preservation of the county farm cemetery asked the commission to consider additional surveying and to review the sale and allocation decisions for their impacts on unmarked burials.
Votes at a glance - Res. 2604 (Stockyard Road rezoning) — Motion to deny carried, 10 yes, 1 no, 4 absent. - Res. 2605 (rezoning – Malone) — Approved, 11 yes, 4 absent. - Res. 2606 (rezoning – Darnell) — Approved, 11 yes, 4 absent. - Res. 2607 (amend accessory-structure regulations) — Approved, 11 yes, 4 absent. - Res. 26-05-06 (allocate portion of county farm to highway) — Approved, 11 yes, 4 absent. - Res. 26-06-17 (accept bid and authorize sale of parcel at 115 County Farm Road) — Approved, 11 yes, 4 absent. - Multiple budget and administrative resolutions (surplus property, ETSU MOUs, road closure/turnaround, school budget amendments, ARPA transfer) — Approved, typically recorded as 11 yes, 4 absent.
The public raised concerns about potential disturbance of unmarked burials and neighborhood impacts from highway-department activity; commissioners approved the committee recommendations but did not take additional protective action on the cemetery during this meeting.
