Signal Mountain resident Cheree Dumas doesn’t want to take away the freedom of future generations. Fellow resident Ron Galante wants to make sure the green spaces that are a hallmark of Signal Mountain remain so for future generations.
On Oct. 13, the Signal Mountain Town Council will land on one or the other side of the debate that rages over the proposed conservation easement that would protect designated town park lands in perpetuity.
But first, the public will have one more chance to give feedback, and an opportunity to hear the town-appointed Conservation Easement Working Group discuss citizens’ comments made at a recent open house.
A special called meeting is scheduled for Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall for the town Parks Board and the Working Group to discuss comments made at the open house.
Residents crowded into Town Hall several weeks ago to see the latest draft of the proposed conservation easement agreement between the town and the Land Trust for Tennessee. Attendees were able to study all the details and personally discuss the easement with the Working Group as well as Councilwoman Annette Allen.
Allen said that since the first conservation easement open house in March, the town’s and Land Trust’s attorneys have been hashing out the legal details of the easement.
According to a brochure at the most recent open house, the town will continue to own the parks, maintain the parks and establish and enforce park rules, she noted.
“It’s still giving our land away; we won’t have any rights,” Dumas said at that meeting. “I feel like our future generations should have these choices and they are being taken away from them. I personally think it’s offensive that they don’t think we have enough sense to take care of our lands.”
Likewise, Joe Dumas said he doesn’t like the idea that the only way out of the agreement would involve expensive legal costs.
“There’s basically no way to change this … and you never know what the future is going to bring,” he said, naming things like cellphone towers that weren’t needed in the past but are now.
Allen said Town Attorney Phil Noblett was able to negotiate a limited liability to the town should the easement be violated. If the easement is violated, the town would be responsible for court costs and remediation of any land that is destroyed or developed.
“The likelihood is very low that the easement would be violated,” Allen said. “I think it’s very important that the land always be available as green space and for recreation use for future generations. I can’t imagine the town without these parks that are so essential to this town’s quality of life.”
“We don’t want anybody to rob our green spaces, so we are hiring a green police force [Land Trust for Tennessee],” said Galante, a member of the Working Group.