POA Candidate Forum – Sponsored by the HOA

On Wednesday, October 30th, the HOA hosted the 2024 POA Candidate Forum at the Tellico Village Community Church.  Current POA Board Members, Bob Burnetti and John Arguelles, will complete their term at the end of 2024, making available two open Board positions.  Applying for the open positions are:

The forum began with HOA Chair At Large representative, David Warmbold, thanking residents for attending the forum and reviewed the agenda before introducing POA Chief Executive Officer, Chet Pillsbury, who provided an overview of what the position entails.  That was followed by each candidate providing information about themselves and reasons for seeking the position.  Each candidate had the opportunity to respond to 2 prepared questions, followed by a Q&A session with multiple questions from the audience.  It was a very informative session. 

If you were unable to attend this event, we encourage all residents to watch the recorded presentation on  Tellico Village Network – YouTube channel.  Each candidate’s presentation is available by clicking on their names above.  Additional information about each candidate is available on the POA Board Election website. 

The future of our community is in the hands of the residents that vote.  The HOA do not endorse any candidate.  However, we do encourage all residents to engage in the process of electing POA Board Members who will be responsible for aiding in the planning and management our community.  Do you part and get out and VOTE.  

Voting begins on Sunday, November 3rd, at midnight and ends at noon on Thursday, November 21, 2024.  Homeowners should have received in the mail their unique User Name and Password, which is required in order to submit a vote for your household.   Instructions for where to go to cast your vote are provided on the back of your letter, and your unique User Name & Password are located in the top right hand corner of your letter.  For assistance casting your vote, contact the Tellico Village Welcome Center at 865-806-0264 or bring your letter and proof of residency to the Welcome Center Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  

For more information on the POA Board Member election process, go to: https://www.tellicovillagepoa.org/board-election-information/.

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POA Candidate Forum  Follow up questions

One resident, Mark Zimmerman, asked all the candidate the following three questions: 

1) Have you donated personal funds to the effort to file a lawsuit against the POA regarding the water and sewer fees? 

2) If your answer to #1 is “no” do you, otherwise, support this lawsuit going forward?

3) Are you participating in, or support, an effort to determine whether it is feasible for Tellico Village to become a municipality as opposed to its current, private legal status?

These questions were submitted on the POA’s online Help Spot tool after the meeting was completed.  Three candidates chose to respond.  Below are their answers.

Kevin Ward:  No, No and No

Phil Brenner:  No, No and No

Lavonne Mitchell:  

  1. No, because I 100% disagree with the lawsuit. The primary reason is that the POA is us. I do not wish to suit ‘ourselves’.

2)   No, I do not support the lawsuit. 

  1.  No, I do not support the feasibility of TV becoming a municipality.  Tellico Village is within 3 miles of city centers; in Loudon County it is Lenoir City.  In Monroe County, it is Vonore.   This is a basic requirement to be considered when applying for incorporation. 

This information was gathered by the HOA’s POA Candidate Forum Moderator, David Warmbold.