Request for Action to Support BMX Track in South Knoxville

Hi, my name is Wendy Edwards and I represent the group Knoxville BMX. My husband, John Edwards, is the president of Knoxville BMX. We both grew up in South Knoxville and graduated from South- Doyle. This community is dear to our hearts. As you may have heard in the news this week, the county mayor has stopped the BMX project at South-Doyle Middle School. Knoxville BMX is deeply upset at this outcome due to not only the nearly half a million dollars that will be wasted, but also the huge economic loss this will mean for South Knoxville. The BMX track was already invited to host national events through USABMX, which would generate 1.5 – 2 million dollars for the local economy for each single event. Knoxville BMX had plans for programs to reach underprivileged children, go into the local schools with STEM programs, Ride to Read programs, and bring Olympic athletes on Knox County schools campuses. Our mission is to get kids on bikes and bring families together through the sport of BMX. The benefits of this project were far reaching for children, families, residents, and small business owners in South Knoxville and Knox County as a whole. Unfortunately, the mayor shut down our project prematurely based on a bid from a General Contractor with no BMX experience. The bid was at least a million dollars to high and we attempted to have the project rebid with a contractor that had experience in BMX tracks and could do it within the designated budget. The mayor wouldn’t listen to our suggestions, but we think that he will listen to the people of the Sourh Knox community if we make our voices heard. Knoxville BMX will be speaking this Monday March 18th at the Knox County Commission Meeting at 5. Commissioner Carson Daily has encouraged all residents in South Knoxvillle and the city of Knoxville who want this project to move forward to come speak at the meeting. Citizens can call 215-2524 and request time to speak at the meeting. If you don’t want to speak, we still encourage people to show up in support of this project. South Knoxville shouldn’t get pushed to the side, for money to be spent elsewhere in the City. We invite you to share this with your neighbors and would love to have all the neighborhood association presidents or board members speak too. We want anyone who wants their voice to be heard on this matter to speak. Officials need to be held accountable for how our taxpayer dollars are spent. We appreciate any support!