Follow-up meeting hosted by Dept of Tourism to learn more about rail-trail activities to date
November 19, 2024
As a follow-up to the very brief discussion of a rail-trail in Scott County brought up at the tourism meeting on October 9, 2024, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, hosted another meeting where the full agenda would be an update on actions taken and needing to be taken related to the trail idea.
The meeting was moderated by Jenni Veal, Rural Destination Development Manager for the TN Dept of Tourist Development. Also invited to share information were:
National Salvage representatives, who has begun the work of removing the rails and ties from the corridor,
Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning board members and executive director, the group who has filed for the right to convert the rail corridor into a trail,
Trust for Public Land representative, speaking to the nature of support this organization could provide as its done elsewhere throughout the country
McMinn County Mayor, speaking on his experience of building a rail-trail in his county.
The goal of this meeting was to share in-depth details of the proposed project with the Oneida tourism committee and city and county officials who had been in the October tourism meeting, allowing a chance for Q&A. In addition, County Mayor Jeffers made a public invitation at a recent commissioner’s meeting for other interested parties to attend, specifically landowners who have been or will be affected by the railroad abandonment.
It should be noted that there was no intention by the Department of Tourist Development to hold this meeting in secret, but their thought was that a smaller group would be able to receive all the information being shared and then determine how best to present the issues in a public forum. The fact that landowners attended the meeting and were able to voice their concerns simply helped to speed the process for public discussions to occur, and has lead to the creation of this website and the committee of local members looking to continue the conversation.
The meeting covered many opportunities and issues, which can be found on this site.