Community Guide - Union County
Knoxville, Tennessee - Real Estate Guide

Union County continues to draw residents, new development

There was good news in Union County over the past 12 months, according to its leading elected official, and that news can be summed up in one word: growth.

Union County, which is comprised of the county seat of Maynardville and smaller communities such as Luttrell and Sharps Chapel, has seen its population swell as high as 22,000 people over the past six years, according to County Mayor Larry Lay.

In contrast, the county's 2004 Census estimate was 17,808 people.
Private developments are springing up across the county, pulling in hundreds of new residents who want to take advantage of the community's scenic beauty, especially along the shores of Norris Lake, Lay said.

Along with the growth in population has come a proportionate increase in property-tax income, which allows for more investments in schools, roads and other essential government services.

"We're gaining from $10 million to $13 million per year on the tax roll," Lay explained.

The county's fiscal year 2005-2006 budget is a little more than $4.37 million, and the county is able to employ more than 400 employees, the bulk of them in the school system.

From the county's financial standpoint, the demographic makeup of Union County's new residents — mainly retirees — is ideal because it allows for higher tax rolls without causing an increase in school budgets, Lay said.

"In fact, this helps schools with more growth and more revenues," Lay said.

In addition to the largely rural county's landscape and proximity to Knoxville, recent investments in infrastructure have played a key role by opening the door to residential developers, he said.

"That's what has really made us boom in the past 6-7 years," he said. "We went after new utilities and water.

"We've got a big development at the Andersonville Boat Dock, and there's already been more than $2 million spent," he said. "And then there's Sunset Bay, they've been closing that out and they've sold all their lots. ? We've also got another big development on Hickory Valley Road with 200-plus homes."

Sunset Bay, an upscale subdivision on Norris Lake in the Sharps Chapel community, is built on a peninsula that juts into the lake across from the Chuck Swan Forest and Wildlife Management Area. The new subdivision offers residents dramatic lakefront views and easy access to boating, fishing, hunting and other outdoor pastimes.

It took a small army of construction workers to landscape the 1,000 acres of rolling hills and steep mountainsides to make way for the approximately 725 lots on the property.

Add on a $326,000 federal grant to erect a new building for the county's ambulances, Lay said, and things would be looking almost uniformly positive if it weren't for one key piece of infrastructure that may end up costing taxpayers a small fortune: the county's jail.

The county is facing the prospect of having to cough up well more than $2 million to renovate the dilapidated facility, which has been decertified by the Tennessee Corrections Institute for failing to comply with the state's minimum standards for local jails.

The county was recently hit with a class-action lawsuit in federal court because of overcrowding and other issues, Lay explained. The county has since hired an architect and hopes to renovate the facility and increase the number of beds, he said.

Lay, in fact, said he believes the county's plan to add beds to the jail and repair deficiencies may prevent the overcrowding lawsuit from moving forward.

"I don't believe we'll end in court," he said.

Union county
• Population (2004 Census estimate): 17,808
• Founded: 1867, formed from parts of Knox, Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne and Grainger counties. Theories for name include Union sentiment strong in the area during the Civil War; county was a "union" of five segments of other counties and residents were determined to unite as a county.
• County seat: Maynardville, population 1,826. Formerly the village of Liberty, renamed for noted statesman/politician/lawyer Horace Maynard, who led a two-year legal battle to establish the county.

Other towns

• Luttrell - Population 836. Known as Cedar Ford until 1890; noted for quarry that has produced marble used in construction of the Tennessee State Capitol building and some buildings in Washington, D.C.

• Sharps Chapel - Site of Chuck Swan Forest and Wildlife Management Area; rapidly becoming a resort and retirement community because of its seclusion and proximity to Norris Lake.

• Attractions:
Norris Lake
Big Ridge State Park
Chuck Swan Forest and Wildlife Management Area
Roy Acuff Museum