Residents urge delay as Sevierville board approves Red Bank Road right-of-way exchange

The Sevierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved an agreement with Francisco and Jeannie Moreno to exchange right-of-way to relocate a portion of Red Bank Road out of the floodway.

City Public Works Director Doug Tarwater told the board the potential realignment would "improve long-term roadway resiliency and reduce flood impacts" and that the two-year agreement is contingent on development of adjacent land. Alderman Devin Koester moved to approve the agreement; Alderman Travis L. McCroskey seconded and the motion carried.

The proposal drew repeated public comment before the vote. Resident Kerry Jones asked the board to delay action "until additional information is made public." Other residents—Terry Saylor, David Rankin, Martha Madigan, Larry Egan and Larry Wood—asked for details about timing, approvals and setbacks, and several urged deferral pending further discussion. Carolyn DeMarco also said she had previously contributed to a legal fund organized by Dr. Moreno to oppose the DR Horton development and asked about the status of those funds; the board did not provide a response during the meeting.

Board members did not read a roll-call vote for the Moreno agreement in the transcript; the record shows the motion carried. The staff memo included in the meeting record tied the exchange to floodplain resiliency and to potential development but did not specify a construction timetable.

Next steps listed by staff are administrative: finalization of the agreement subject to city attorney review and any conditions tied to adjacent development. No schedule for public follow-up was announced at the meeting.