County slows traffic
New speed limits approved as officials address road safety
Phillips-Freels Lane in Anderson County will have a 20-mph speed limit after the Anderson County Commission unanimously approved new speed limits for several county roads at its July 20 meeting. The changes were brought forth by the Highway Committee following recommendations from Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief Deputy Kenneth Sharp. (photo:Ben Pounds )
New speed limits will be 20 mph on Mike Miller Lane and Phillips-Freels Lane, and 25 mph on Strawberry Lane.
The votes came at the recommendation of the Highway Committee, acting on initial advice from Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief Deputy Kenneth Sharp.
All of the roads are outside city limits, putting them under county jurisdiction.
Sharp said he drove all of the roads before recommending the changes.
He said he reviewed some of them after receiving complaints from residents about safety.
Some of the roads did not have posted speed limits before the new limits were approved.
Sharp told The Courier News that speed limit signs usually are installed on affected roads within five to 10 days of the commission’s decision.
Data centers and batteries
At the same meeting, County Law Director James Brooks confirmed that the county could legally impose a two-year moratorium on data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and battery storage facilities, as the commission approved at its June meeting.
The 24-month moratorium, dating from the commission’s June 15 meeting, will therefore go into effect.
Brooks said the temporary moratorium will allow the county to develop regulations addressing zoning for the facilities.
“There’s so much flux right now,” he said.
Brooks said the state of Tennessee has determined that counties cannot be responsible for the cost of improvements to the electric grid or water infrastructure required by data centers, but other relevant issues have not been addressed.
“It’s kind of a Wild West as far as what goes on with them right now,” he said.
Brooks said there were no applicants for any of the affected types of facilities in Anderson County when the moratorium passed, and there have been none since.
“We certainly have not put a ban [in place]; we’ve just put a pause,” he said.
However, Commissioner Michael Foster said the Planning Commission will discuss possible exceptions during the moratorium for certain types of battery facilities, particularly those connected to homes.
The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.
Foster’s comment came after Commissioner Robert McKamey said a Comcast employee told him the company already had a battery storage facility and was concerned about how the moratorium would affect it.
“It doesn’t affect what’s already in place,” Brooks said.
However, Brooks recommended that the Planning Commission discuss the issues in terms of the scale and types of battery storage facilities.
Planning
appointments
At Mayor Terry Frank’s request, the commission unanimously approved the appointment of Jason Hamock to the Planning Commission, and the reappointments of Harold Edwards and Benjamin Stephens.
