Hall of Fame Weekend Events

There are numerous activities planned for the Hall of Fame Weekend.
A special Coffee with the Coach will take place at 9 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Blue Chair Tavern. Everyone is invited to join the conversation about Sewanee Athletics with a number of former and current Tiger coaches and student-athletes in attendance.
The event is open to the public and there will be free coffee.
Five individuals and one team have been selected for induction into the Sewanee Athletics Hall of Fame. The class will be introduced at halftime of the Tigers’ first home football game of the season Saturday, Sept. 10 against Washington & Lee.

Community Chest Applications Due Sept. 16

The Sewanee Community Chest fund drive announces the beginning of the 2016–17 fund-raising campaign. Sponsored by the Sewanee Civic Association, the Sewanee Community Chest raises funds for local organizations that serve the common good. The deadline for submission is Friday, Sept. 16.
Contact <sewaneecommuni​tychest@gmail.com> to have an application either emailed or mailed to your organization. A downloadable request for funds form is available at https://sewaneecivic.wordpress.com/.
Nonprofit organizations serving the Plateau are encouraged to apply. The Sewanee Community Chest does not allocate funds to organizations discriminating on the basis of race, creed, sex or national origin.
Last year, the Sewanee Community Chest was able to help 25 organizations with a total of $100,000.

Sewanee Village Plan: Ambitious Goals, Long Range Vision

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
“This is just a plan. Bulldozers are not perched to come in,” said Frank Gladu, University Vice President of Administrative Services, welcoming more than 80 people who came to hear an update on the Sewanee Village Implementation Plan, Aug. 25, at the American Legion Hall.
The Sewanee Village concept grew out of the 2011 University master plan, which included a vision for downtown Sewanee. “Only a few of the proposals in the Implementation Plan will likely be accomplished in our lifetime,” said Gladu.
“The Sewanee Village Plan is based on four core principles that make a great village,” said Brian Wright with Town Planning and Urban Design Collaborative (TPUDC), retained by the University to implement the Sewanee Village vision. “The village should be walkable, include a mixture of business and residential properties, be compact, and reflect diversity by being attractive to people of all ages and lifestyles and offering diverse housing types.”
With these goals in mind, the University received approval for rezoning 67 acres in the downtown vicinity from agricultural and general residential use to mixed-use, allowing for commercial development. The Franklin County Planning Commission also agreed to zoning amendments reducing the setback distance to as little as zero feet; allowing for smaller lots; and allowing for a wider variety of uses including businesses such as a market, inn, grocery and microbrewery.
The plan addresses the need for housing with small cottages sharing communal space, affordable single-family dwellings, and apartments, including apartments on the second story above commercial buildings and 300 square foot micro-housing units.
For the past year, TPUDC has taken on design and architectural review services for buildings on leaseholds within the village boundary. Wright and his team are in the process of creating an Architectural Pattern Book to guide those considering building homes and businesses in the village area.
The pattern book identifies four residential styles. “We want to capture the character of the place and still allow for creativity,” Wright said. “We want people to have a sense of comfort about what to expect.”
Central to the plan’s vision is the transformation of Hwy. 41A to accommodate accessibility to proposed amenities on the non-campus side of the highway. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is considering the University’s request to narrow Hwy. 41A to two lanes (without the previously proposed roundabout). The plan calls for sidewalks with tree lawns on Hwy. 41A, as well as street-side parking.
TDOT rejected the request for a crosswalk on Hwy. 41A, Wright said, because there wasn’t sufficient pedestrian traffic. Instead, TDOT proposed a HAWK-style signal activated by a pedestrian pressing a button at the crossing, which sets off flashing yellow lights, then flashing red lights, and finally a solid red stop light.
Questioned about semi trucks navigating the transformed highway, Wright pointed out Cowan and Winchester both offered street-side parking on portions of Hwy. 41A.
Wright said plans did not call for bike lanes on Hwy. 41A, but talks were underway with the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance to incorporate the Mountain Goat Trail into the downtown area.
In the core of the village, the plan proposes parking behind the businesses and other buildings lining the street. Asked about parking for a Senior Citizens’ Center, Wright said parking ease would be incorporated into the design plan, without steps or ramps needed to access the facility.
One visitor argued parking behind the building wouldn’t adequately address parking needs and suggested subsidiary parking facilities. Wright said satellite parking and some sort of tram system were both being considered. “I hope we have a parking problem so these ideas get prioritized.”
Another visitor stressed the need for supporting existing small businesses and spoke out against businesses being required to modify the structure of their buildings. Gladu insisted this, required modification, was not the case.
Renovations and additions to existing businesses and homes will be required to follow the Pattern Book guidelines, according to Wright, but everyday maintenance and repair will be exempt from the Pattern Book criteria.
“We’ve totally failed if existing businesses go out of business,” Wright said.
Addressing concerns about where the money would come from to implement the changes proposed in the plan, Wright said, “We’re not proposing something be built. We’re just setting the framework for it, setting the stage. This is a 100-year plan.
Gladu said addressing housing needs and modifying the Hwy. 41A intersection were top priority. Wright also cited the need for a full-service grocery-type market in the village.
The University has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) with the intent of qualifying development teams to pursue projects identified in the plan. Priority will be given to RFQs received before Oct. 1. Guidelines and more information about the Sewanee Village Implementation Plan are available at sewanee.edu/village..

Community Council Votes to Continue Project Funding

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
At the Aug. 23 meeting, the Sewanee Community Council voted to continue the $10,000 project funding program indefinitely. The Council also reviewed protocol for the upcoming election and discussed the rational for and equitability of transfer fees.
In the summer of 2014, the Council approved the project funding program on a two-year trial bases. Under the provision of the program, the municipal service fee paid by leaseholders was increased to generate $10,000 to be used for physical improvements and amenities on the Domain, the funds to be disbursed at the council’s discretion.
In discussion about whether to continue the program, council representative David Coe asked if any residents complained about the increase in the municipal service fee. Superintendent of Leases Barbara Schlichting said one community member objected to the Council overseeing the disbursement of the funds and would have preferred the decision fell to the leaseholders.
In the two trial years, an appointed committee composed of both council members and non-council members reviewed projects and made recommendations to the council.
Council representative Pam Byerly said she preferred the review committee be composed entirely of council members. Other council members concurred, arguing an all-council member review committee could increase interest in serving on the council, which was the initial intent for establishing the program.
Vice-Chancellor John McCardell pointed out deferring the selection process decision until after the upcoming council election could be an incentive to a potential candidate who favored one mechanism over the other.
The council voted to continue the project funding program at the present level of funding indefinitely and to defer a decision on the selection mechanism until after the election.
The council also approved a motion by Coe that any proposed increase in the amount of funding be announced at two consecutive meetings to allow for community input.
Updating the council on the upcoming election, council representative and election officer Pixie Dozier reminded the council that to accommodate redrawing of district boundaries and restructuring of the council’s composition, all council representatives’ terms would end in November. “All seats are open for election,” Dozier said. In addition to electing three representatives in each of the four districts, the council will elect four at-large representatives.
To ensure continuity, half the newly elected representatives will serve two-year terms and the other half will serve four-year terms, with the candidates receiving the most votes serving four years. Beginning with the 2018 election, all representatives will serve four-year terms.
Candidates must be Sewanee residents for at least two years. All candidates must return a nominating petition signed by 10 registered-voter residents by Oct. 15. Candidates running for a district seat must have 10 signatures from residents of their district. See the district map attached for information on district boundaries. Nominating petitions are available at the lease office.
Voting takes place during the general election, Nov. 8. Early and absentee voting will be offered Oct. 25–Nov. 7 at the Lease Office.
Reporting on the University’s proposed intention to reduce transfer fees, Provost John Swallow said both the amount of the fee and formula by which it was determined were under review. The transfer fee is assessed when leaseholds change hands.
Echoing community complaints, council representative Drew Sampson expressed disappointment a $7,000 transfer fee was recently assessed the nonprofit Folks at Home. He argued the transfer fee was, in fact, a tax, not a fee, since no service was provided in return. He also argued the transfer fee was unfair, since it originated to offset loss of revenue when ground rent was frozen 30 years ago at a rate based on the assessed property value at the time; in 2011 ground rent was unfrozen for new leases and so increased with assessed property value, but the transfer fee continued to be levied.
Schlichting pointed out that since revenue from ground rent increased in 2011, the transfer fee was slightly reduced.
McCardell introduced the student council representatives for the 2016–17 academic year. College representative Abbey Shockley is a junior majoring in politics. Jeremy Carlson representing the School of Theology is studying to be an Episcopal priest.

Community Council Districts

Glacet Takes Helm of the Sewanee Children’s Center

by Kevin Cummings, Messenger Staff Writer
Carrie Mauzy swept pea gravel off the playground sidewalk as a pint-sized kid with spiky brown hair pushed a dump truck at her feet, spilling new gravel onto the sidewalk.
“She’s marvelous,” Carrie said about Sandy Glacet, the new director of the Sewanee Children’s Center, who had just helped a child off a fence and was now passing out toys on the playground.
Carrie is in her 31st year as a teacher at the Children’s Center, a parent-run school for kids ages 3 to 5 that a group of University of the South employees started in 1949.
“Sandy has a clear understanding of what young children need and what their strengths are,” Mauzy said. “She has a real vision for what’s current in education and bringing children back to nature and play-based learning. Children learn best through feeling, sensory and nature.”
Sandy, a Sewanee graduate, took over as director in August after Harriet Runkle stepped down. She started teaching at the center in 2012, but left for a year to return to her native France when her husband, Aymeric, the University’s chair of French and French Studies, was on sabbatical. The couple has two sons, ages 7 and 4.
“I want the community to know that the Children’s Center is a really great place for parents and children; we all work together to be sure the children have a good foundation to be ready for elementary school,” Sandy said.
She grew up two hours north of Paris and before moving to the U.S. was an assistant teacher for disabled children. Her parents still live in France; her mom is a nurse for elderly people and her stepfather works in the insurance business.
Genevieve Schutz, age 5, is a recent Children’s Center graduate and Sandy was one of her teachers.
“Miss Sandy is so understanding,” Genevieve said. “Whenever we needed help, she would understand. And she’s French and taught us French words like ‘bleu.’ She would give us challenges in French. I want to write a whole book about Miss Sandy!”
Genevieve’s mom, Regan Schutz, is former vice president of the Children’s Center Board of Directors.
“I can’t tell you how delighted—and excited—I am for the community’s preschool to be under Sandy’s guidance,” Regan said. “Coupled with the Rev. April Berends as board president, SCC is on its way to even more success.”
Sandy noted that the Children’s Center doesn’t pressure children to learn, but rather invites them to, creating special activities to generate a desire to learn. She smiles and her cheeks brighten when she talks about a student suddenly grasping a concept.
“Childhood is a childhood, we don’t need to hurry up,” she said. “They need to be ready and when a child is ready to learn, it’s so easy. You can see their face when they have that click. It’s just so great and it reminds me why I come to the center every day. I feel grateful to have my chance here.”
The Children’s Center, located at Otey Parish, is funded through money from the Sewanee Community Chest, school fundraisers and parent dues, and parents are also asked to participate in co-op activities, such as washing clothes or other work at the center.
“I’m really connected with the parents and the teachers,” Sandy said. “They are very supportive. The director needs to understand the routine in the classroom and to know the parents to have open communication. We have great teachers and we are all passionate and devoted about what we really believe is the right way to teach.”

Woman’s Club Reservations Due Today

The first meeting of Sewanee Woman’s Club will be noon, Monday, Sept. 12, at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle. The club welcomes all women to join. Dues are $5 per year and are used to support valuable community programs and charities.
Reservations due by today, (Friday), Sept. 2. To make a reservation call Pixie Dozier at (931) 598-5869 or email Marianna Handler at <mariannah@earthlink.net>.
September’s program is “The Dao (Way) of Civic Engagement on the South Cumberland Plateau, 2011-16,” presented by Jim Peterman, professor of philosophy and director of civic engagement at the University of the South.
Lunch ($13.75) for this meeting will be broccoli cheese soup, chef’s salad (without spinach), soda bread with butter and dessert. A vegetarian choice is offered; please request this when making a reservation.

Register for the Second Hunger Walk

There are numerous organizations dedicated to addressing the problem of food insecurity in the community, including Morton Memorial and the Community Action Committee. Through a joint effort in the second annual Hunger Walk, the Monteagle Sewanee Rotary Club hopes to raise awareness about these hunger issues as well as raise money to help end them.
The easiest way to help out is to register to walk. Registration is free for children under 12, $10 for students and $20 for adults. Register to walk at http://monteaglerotary.org/hunger.html.
Registration may also be completed on the day of the walk, Saturday, Sept. 3. Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the walk starting at 10 a.m. Each walker will receive a T-Shirt and a sticker showing “Hunger is NOT a Game 2nd Annual Rotary Hunger Walk.”
After the walkers complete the 10 K (6.3 mile) course from Angel Park to the old Pearls restaurant and back, they will be treated to a noon barbecue lunch.
For more information go to  https://www.facebook.com/SewaneeHun​gerWalk/.