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1. Early Voting Starts Tomorrow!
2. West Haven Village Hosts 3rd District Candidate Forum
3. Leaf Collection Begins Nov. 3
4. Board of Zoning Appeals Meets Oct. 28
5. Local Option Sales Tax Supports Sidewalks in PRZ
6. Celebrate Walk and Roll to School Day!
7. KKB Hosts Saturday Spruce Up
8. My Travels Count Survey Underway to Improve Regional Transportation
9. Leave The Leaves!
10. October is Bat Appreciation Month
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1. Early Voting Starts Tomorrow!
The cornerstone of our democracy is in your hands as early voting for the upcoming election begins tomorrow, Oct. 15. This is your chance to help shape the future of our communities and city.
As of last week, the City of Knoxville has slightly more than 98,000 registered voters. We hope all will show up either during early voting or on Election Day!
Early voting is simple, fast, and efficient. A great way to fulfill your civic duty and avoid the potential lines on Election Day.
Early Voting Details:
- Dates: Wednesday, Oct. 15 – Thursday, Oct. 30 (Including some Saturdays!)
- What to Bring: Tennessee law requires a valid photo ID. A Tennessee driver's license or US passport are the most common forms.
- Downtown: City County Building, 400 Main St.
- West: Downtown West, 1645 Downtown West Blvd., Unit 40
- East: Eternal Life Harvest Center at Five Points, 2410 MLK Jr. Ave.
- South: Meridian Baptist Church, 6513 Chapman Hwy
- Northeast: New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Ln.
- Northwest: Knoxville Expo Center, 5441 Clinton Hwy (Opens Oct. 20)
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2. West Haven Village Hosts 3rd District Candidate Forum
The West Haven Village Neighborhood Community Association will host a 3rd District candidate forum on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. at 3622 Sisk Rd.
Residents of the 3rd District are invited to attend.
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3. Leaf Collection Begins Nov. 3
The City of Knoxville’s Public Service crews are wrapping up Brush Pick-Up with one last cycle that will start on Monday, Oct. 20. After that, crews will switch over to Leaf Collection on Monday, Nov. 3.
If you aren’t able to “leave the leaves” (see Article 9), you may rake them to the curb for collection.
Here are helpful hints for neighbors:
- The last scheduled brush collection will start on Monday, Oct. 20. So, gather the last of your garden stalks and tree trimmings and get them to the curb by Monday morning for your last scheduled collection until March 2026. Please limit it to one 6x6x6 pile.
- When you start placing your leaves out, they should be placed in windrows, or linear piles next to the street. Leaves should not be piled in the street as it causes safety hazards for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
- Please place only leaves in the piles – brush, litter, construction materials, and other contamination can plug the vacuum truck and also cause issues at the composting facility.
- Avoid piling leaves around mailboxes, parked cars, or on top of flower beds/landscaping, if you want them picked up. The truck drivers might not know that is a flower bet you are trying to mulch. It is best to do that away from the street.
- Leaf trucks will visit each neighborhood four times throughout leaf season – refer to the online schedule to plan accordingly.
- Questions? 311 is always happy to help! Call 311 or 865-215-4311
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4. Board of Zoning Appeals Meets Oct. 28
The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 4 p.m. in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building, 400 Main St. This meeting has been rescheduled from the usual third Tuesday of the month as a one-time change to the fourth Tuesday of the month.
View the agenda and application packets on the City’s website.
There is a Zoom attendance option available upon request. If you need to request a link, please do so before noon on the day of the meeting by emailing Jeff Herriot at jher...@knoxvilletn.gov.
The City of Knoxville ensures meaningful access to City programs, services, and activities to comply with Civil Rights Title VI and ADA Title II laws and reasonably provides translation, interpretation, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, auxiliary aids and services.
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5. Local Option Sales Tax Supports Sidewalks in PRZ
Over the past three weeks, we’ve highlighted several aspects of the Local Option Sales Tax referendum, which will appear on the ballot for the General Election, which ends on Nov. 4.
This week we are spotlighting an urgent safety element of the plan: accelerating the sidewalk study with a focused priority on Parental Responsibility Zones (PRZ). PRZ are designated areas around schools where the school district does not provide transportation, leaving families responsible for getting their children to and from school.
For parents without reliable transportation, this creates real barriers. For children, it can present serious safety risks.
To address this urgent need, the plan proposes an investment of $7.5 million per year, totaling $37.5 million over the 5-year investment plan. Without this funding, it would take nearly 25 years to complete the same amount of sidewalk miles.
This initiative is not just about neighborhood investments — it's about safety, equity, and supporting families in our community.
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6. Celebrate Walk and Roll to School Day!
Join students and families around the world by walking to school! Knox County will celebrate Walk and Roll to School Day on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
This fun annual event celebrates the benefits of active transportation, including:
- Student pedestrian safety skills
- Community engagement with the local transportation network
- Reduced traffic congestion and driver speed near schools
Even if your neighborhood school is not hosting a walking event, we encourage you and your student to walk and/or roll to school and join in the fun.
For more information, visit Bike Walk Knoxville’s website.
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7. KKB Hosts Saturday Spruce Up
Keep Knoxville Beautiful (KKB) will host its October Saturday Spruce up on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m.-12 noon at Beaumont Magnet Academy, 1211 Beaumont Ave.
You will need to register prior to the event.
KKB will be removing litter from the area around the school. They highly recommend wearing long pants and all volunteers must wear closed-toed shoes for this event. Also, bring your own water.
Supplies being provided are safety vests, pickers, gloves, and trash bags.
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8. My Travels Count Survey Underway to Improve Regional Transportation
The survey period has begun and continues through Monday, Nov. 17, with several mailings of invitations being sent out during that timeframe. The invitations are being mailed to a random selection of households, and only households that receive the invitation can participate. All participating households will receive up to $10 per person to compensate them for the time and effort needed to join the survey. Any household that received the invitation during the spring survey period and did not respond at that time is eligible to participate during the fall survey period.
This is a rare opportunity for households to provide vital information that will help set transportation priorities for many years to come. The survey asks questions related to daily travel to understand where people go, how they get there, and how much time or effort it takes them. Those insights will allow planners to prioritize local transportation projects to reduce congestion, improve safety, and increase mobility options in our community.
Each household will represent thousands of other households with similar characteristics in our region. A prompt response to the invitation ensures that each household’s experiences are reflected in the results and is the best way to help the survey succeed.
CTR and C-TIER conduct periodic surveys throughout the state and in neighboring counties in Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Virginia. The information provided will be used in conjunction with traffic counts and travel information collected from local businesses. It will be converted to statistical data and used only for study purposes. As required by the Privacy Act, any information obtained during this survey will be kept confidential, and no personal contact information will be shared or sold.
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9. Leave The Leaves!
This is a movement to leave the leaves where they fall or at least rake the leaves into your flower beds to create habitat for some important critters.
While we commonly call it yard waste, it is actually an incredible and valuable habitat for wildlife and can break down into nutrients for plants. Keeping your leaves can bring many benefits.
Did you know that the fallen layer isn’t dead? It is full of life! Wildlife like butterflies, bumble bees, fireflies, and salamanders depend on the leave layer for their homes. When you throw out the leaves in your yard, you could throw up to half of your springtime butterflies away.
Here are some tips for Leaving the Leaves:
- Avoid smothering your lawn or covering pathways
- Add to garden beds for extra benefits to the soil
- Place leaves under native trees to provide prime habitat for wildlife
- Pile up extra leaves and turn them into leaf mulch
- Go beyond leaves by leaving the sticks, logs, and stems too
- Use a rake, not a leaf blower
- Make your leave layer 3-5 inches thick
- Keep them from blowing away by watering them
In the springtime, you might get to see butterflies, fireflies, and more.
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10. October is Bat Appreciation Month
Did you know that there are over 1,400 bat species worldwide, with 47 found in the United States and Canada? These remarkable fliers help control mosquito populations and pollinate night-blooming flowers, making them essential to our ecosystems.
Unfortunately, 52% of North America bat species are at risk of population decline within the next 15 years.
Here are some Bat Facts:
- Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight
- White-nose syndrome is a serious threat
- Most bats do NOT carry rabies
- Bats are not blind; they use echolocation to navigate their environment
- Bats live on every continent except Antarctica
- Bats can screech up to 120 decibels, but it is out of our hearing range
- Some can live up to 20 years
- Humans can help bats thrive
How do you create a bat-friendly habitat? Here are some things you can do to help in the support of bats in your area:
- Plant native plants, native plants create the habitat for the native bats
- Leave the leaves, that is where the bats will find their food
- Turn off unnecessary lights, or use red lights if illumination is needed
- Avoid using harmful chemicals
- Provide or build a bat house
- Mount it at least 15 feet above ground level
- Make sure the area gets at least six hours of sunlight per day
- Be sure there is a water source nearby
- In cold climates, choose darker colored paint for the outside of the house to help retain heat
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11. Knoxville Neighborhoods Calendar (click link for online calendar)
To add your neighborhood event or meeting to the Google calendar, call 865-215-3232.
Other Calendars
Additional online calendars that cover events outside the neighborhood realm include:
The City of Knoxville requires a permit to operate a short-term rental property. Details and a list of short-term rental permits are located on the City’s website here.
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