Roof rescue
Norris residents seek $6,000 for roof replacement for landmark
Speaking to the Norris City Council on Monday night (Aug. 11) is Jane Stribling, who along with her late husband, Charley Wells, donated the gazebo and the land on which it sits across from the Norris Town Center. She is part of a group raising funds to replace the gazebo’s roof. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Norris resident Cynthia Edrington told the City Council during its regular meeting Monday night that she’s leading a four-person group that has formed to conduct the fund drive.
Mayor Chris Mitchell told her and the interested crowd at the meeting that he had already made a donation.
But the campaign might not actually be necessary, Mitchell acknowledged, as the council has already said it would allocate city funds to pay for the new roof – and, in fact, had already put $5,000 in the capital-improvements budget for it two years ago.
Jane Stribling, who donated the gazebo and the land on which it sits to the city of Norris in August 1998, wrote on Facebook late last week that she and others are working with the Norris Lions Club to seek donations for the new roof. She also spoke during Monday’s council meeting about the fundraising effort.
“Please support the fund to replace the Norris Town Center gazebo roof!” she wrote on Facebook. “The gazebo has been a cozy gathering place in Norris since 1998.
“It was the [brainchild] of my late ex-husband, Charley Wells,” Stribling said. “He grew up in Norris, retired here, and we donated the gazebo for the enjoyment of Norrisonions and their guests.
“Please make a donation for a much needed roof replacement on the gazebo. The replacement will cost $6,000.
“Donations are MUCH appreciated. Please write your check to: Smoky Mountain Lions Charity. In the memo line write: Gazebo Roof Donation.
“Mail check to: Norris Lions Club, P.O. Box 22, Norris, TN 37828.”
The fundraising campaign is unofficial, however, as it was not initiated by or given the approval of the city, which owns the gazebo and its site.
City Manager Adam Ledford said Monday that the council had placed the $5,000 in the city budget two years ago to pay for a new gazebo roof.
But three of the four contractors the city had approached for potential bids on the project said the foundation under the roof also needed replacement, and subsequently the $5,000 allocation was removed from the budget and no action was taken, Ledford said.
Mayor Mitchell, Edrington and others expressed frustration with the city administration Monday night over its inaction on restoring the gazebo roof. So far, no new proposals have been brought to the council by city administrators.
“I’m still waiting for options [from city staff] to consider” for the roof project, Mitchell said.
During the meeting, Mitchell prompted the council to set a workshop meeting for 5:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, just prior to the next regular council meeting, to discuss the city’s organizational chart, with an emphasis on completing stalled projects.
“I would like to look at efficiency and how to get things done,” he said. He has cited projects such as the long-stalled sidewalk replacement in front of Norris Middle School and the gazebo renovations, among others, as points of frustration with the progress the city administrators are making.
Because the city owns the gazebo and the property, no work can take place on it without the city’s authorization, which would need to include approval by the City Council.
The council would also have to approve accepting the donations and allocating them through the city budget to pay for the project, Ledford noted.
Each Christmas holiday season, volunteers with the Norris Shines group put up about 10,000 lights on the gazebo, and decorate it with wreaths.
