by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

The agenda for the Sept. 13 Sewanee Community Council meeting called for updates on recycling, the cell tower, the community funding project, the parks committee and redistricting. The council, however, devoted most of its time to a single non-agenda item: the University’s COVID policy.

Council members cited the recent decision to discontinue weekly screening of students and the high number of students who recently tested positive. Several expressed concern area residents, especially the elderly and parents of unvaccinated children, needed data on COVID cases so they could make informed decisions.

“Now that we don’t know the status of the virus on campus,” council member Eric Keen said, “we don’t know the risk.”

In responding, Vice-Chancellor Reuben Brigety hammered home two points: “Vaccinations offer a substantial measure of protection,” and “We should assume the presence of the virus in our community.”

Referencing possible testing scenarios, Brigety asked, “What will you do with the information?”

“If we decided to isolate everybody who is positive, we would outstrip our capacity immediately,” Brigety observed.

The University has mandated vaccination for students, faculty, and staff, by Oct. 5, Brigety said. At present 95 percent of students and faculty and 66 percent of staff are vaccinated.

“Our first two obligations are to ensure continuation of normal University operations and to see to the safety of our community,” Brigety said.

“The interests of those in the community may not always align with the interests of the University,” he acknowledged. “The surest way” to prevent COVID “would be online education. The faculty would be happy ... but there would be outrage among the student body and parents.” He cited last year’s “bubble strategy” as a second way to reduce transmission but ruled it unfeasible due to its unpopularity. “The sheer level of anger is not sustainable. If we do that again, you can find someone else to be vice chancellor.”

Summing up, Brigety said, “We need to continue to interrogate. Given the data we have, do our decisions still make sense?”

Facilities Management administrator Rachel Petropoulos offered advice on making recycling more productive. She stressed the importance of careful sorting and the goal of “minimum contamination.” The University stopped offering curbside recycling, Petropoulos said, because “too many were doing it wrong.” She does not expect curbside recycling will resume. Too much contamination impacted the “commodity pricing” Franklin County received for the bales of recycled plastic, paper, and cardboard delivered. “What we can do is give them a product they can deal with easily,” Petropoulos said. She cited two recycling hurdles: educating people about sorting and overzealous recyclers who recycled things like the foil from yogurt cups.

Reporting on the proposed cell tower, Provost Nancy Berner said a mitigation MOU (memorandum of understanding) between the University, the State Historic Preservation Office, Vogue Towers and the FCC had been executed. All regulatory approval hurdles had been cleared, and the University was waiting for a construction schedule from Vogue.

The Sewanee Community Council Funding Project committee hopes to reinstitute the regular process as well as continuing with emergency COVID funding, chair Kate Reed said. Community Council Project funds financed a structure for outdoor learning at Sewanee Elementary School, cost $4,000, Reed said. A fall request for proposals is planned. Proposals put on hold in the spring of 2020 will be revisited.

Reading from the Parks Committee report provided by Stephen Burnett, Berner said all playgrounds had reopened after being closed since the spring of 2020. A backyard playground was moved to the ball fields, thanks to the generosity of the Sumpter family. Soccer registration and parent volunteering, supervised by Georgia Hewitt, was at an all-time high. A long unresolved issue still needed rectifying: restroom facilities in the vicinity of Elliott Park.

The council voted to approve a redistricting plan incorporating all of the 37375 area code within the boundaries of the region represented by the council.

Berner reported council member Mary Priestley tendered her resignation since she no longer resided in District 4. The council discussed the possibility of Priestley serving as an at-large member and an at-large representative residing in District 4 assuming Priestley’s seat.