Marion County Commissioner Gene HargisJASPER, Tenn. – Some Marion County residents have asked county commissioners to educate themselves on the Thrive 2055 program before voting on anything connected to it.
Thrive 2055 is a Chattanooga-based planning endeavor to create a 40-year growth and development plan for a 16-county area over the next three years.
Last week, Channing Kilgore, associate pastor at South Whitwell Baptist Church in Whitwell, Tenn., asked commissioners to “hold off” on approving anything related to the initiative until they fully investigate it.
He said local governments could accept grant money for various projects through Thrive 2055 with terms that include “small writing,” which eventually could cost the county board its governing authority.
“I hope that raises a red flag issue with [the board] because it does with me,” he said. “People want to move forward. It’s not that we want to stay backwoods people and not encourage any development. That’s not the issue.”