Church Hill votes to pull out of joint recreation board without warning

CHURCH HILL — The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to pull out of the Joint Parks and Recreation Commission in a year without notifying the other parties involved.The decision wasn't discussed heavily at last month's BMA meeting, and the only reason given pertained to a new municipal project."I make a motion for where the city's headed with our new park [at Holliston Mills], and as far as us being able to make our own decisions just the city itself, I'd like to make a motion that we go ahead and give our year's notice to get out of the interlocal agreement between Mount Carmel, Surgoinsville recreation park," said Michael Bell, the vice mayor.The motion passed 5 to 1.At a Joint Parks and Recreation board workshop meeting Jan. 19, tensions ran high as members talked about the unexpected decision and how they felt about the BMA's choice."I'd like to find out why [Church Hill Mayor Dennis Deal is] cutting our throat after all these years," said Chairman Doug Sawyer.Board detailsThe Joint Parks and Recreation board provides recreational opportunities to children in Church Hill, Mount Carmel and Surgoinsville. According to members of the board, Church Hill joined the interlocal agreement with Mount Carmel more than 40 years ago and Surgoinsville joined in 2011.Costs are divided based on population. According to Director Tim Wilson, Church Hill pays all the costs and then bills each town quarterly. Church Hill and Mount Carmel are responsible for 40% each, and Surgoinsville is responsible for 20%.At a Joint Rec workshop meeting, all seven board members in attendance, including one from Church Hill, said that they were not informed that the BMA would vote to leave the Rec Commission prior to the vote.Deal was not present at the meeting.Board members respondSawyer said he believes if he weren't chairman, things would be different. "They don't like the authority being pulled out of Church Hill."Other members of the board also shared opinions, including Surgoinsville Mayor Merrell Graham."I don't understand why any grown person would vote in any way to hinder a child from participating in sports," he said.Graham believes the rec league has fulfilled its mission well."It's been a very successful thing, and when you talk about the kids from these three towns, you're talking about a lot of kids that have an opportunity to participate in ball, not in just baseball or basketball but soccer," Graham said.Mount Carmel Mayor Pat Stillwell spoke about the importance of the rec league to local kids."These kids learn the fundamentals with you all as the coaches," Stillwell said. "They learn it when they're little; they learn the techniques of the ball-playing."Stillwell said the skills children learn in the league feed into the local schools and then to playing sports in college.Surgoinsville board member Josh Bellany spoke about being in the league when he was young."They turn you into a better person, a harder worker down the road, and you learn that stuff at a young age," he said. "So not only are your coaches teaching you ball, but they're teaching you life lessons, and it's all-volunteer; it's people that care."Jeff Gray, the vice chairman from Mount Carmel, spoke about why he joined the board."I thought there were some good opportunities to improve, but we haven't got to do that at all since I've been on here," he said. "It's always roadblocks in the way all the time, which is frustrating when you really don't care about nothing except trying to help the kids by making the program better. So it's just sad that you really don't even have that opportunity."Gray said he has rarely seen Deal."The mayors need to have very close contact with this board and to try to make decisions and try to make it better, but it just seems like there's so much division," Gray said.Deal said he believes it isn't his place to attend meetings. "That is why I appoint members to the board, and if they can't go, I will appoint someone else."Sawyer said he wants the people of Hawkins County to know that if the league disbands, it isn't the fault of Stillwell or Graham."And I'm really saddened, truthfully saddened, that us older people in our age in a small community or a big community can't get on common grounds with one another for our kids," Sawyer said.What's next?Now that the Church Hill BMA has voted to give notice that the town is withdrawing from the league, the two other towns will have to discuss how that will affect them and what they plan to do.Deal says that Church Hill officials don't want to hurt children with this decision.Sawyer raised the possibility of price increases for kids who live outside Church Hill, but Deal said that will not happen."Mount Carmel and Surgoinsville kids will still be able to play sports at the same price as Church Hill kids," Deal said. "That's what we want."While the future of the rec board is currently unknown, Surgoinsville board member Randy Collier said at the end of the meeting that it is important for the community to know that this is not the end of the rec program or sports in general.According to Wilson, the City of Church Hill obtained two grants from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation through the Local Park and Recreation Fund to build recreation facilities in 2014 and 2016. They received $183,000 in 2014 and $500,000 in 2016. This money has been used to build the Holliston Mills facility.