Roane County Commission Meeting - October 19, 2026

At the October 19, 2026 Roane County Commission meeting, the commission approved a settlement offer in the Novatech/Wells Fargo coffee-machine lawsuit after an executive session; the settlement amount was not stated. It also approved the location for a Sheriff’s Department storage facility and added five hours per day of on-site IT support to a maintenance agreement, with no cost or vendor specified. The commission approved $12,721 for cameras at Riley Creek and authorized additional funding to replace a totaled 2017 Tahoe: $15,847 in insurance proceeds plus $35,000, with the replacement vehicle estimated at about $37,000. Other infrastructure items included approximately $9,000 in county road-department work to install state-provided school-zone flashing lights and an appropriation of state aid for the FY 2026–27 highway fund; the amount was not stated.

Rome Alliance reported that the Industrial Development Board’s planned purchase of a 120-acre Buttermilk Road site had signed purchase-and-sale agreements and was undergoing environmental review and due diligence, with closing targeted shortly after the first of the year. Construction of the first National Security Prototype Center at the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center was reported ahead of schedule, with construction of a second center targeted to begin November 1; the facilities are intended to support testing advanced manufacturing processes. The commission also approved reappointments to the purchasing commission. Public comment raised concerns about subdivision rezoning, fire-service capacity, and local development, but the transcript does not clearly establish a related commission action.