presidents desk

From the President’s Desk (October 2022)

The Challenge of Child Care

presidents desk

The growth experienced in our community in the past year with new housing development has been unprecedented seeing almost 1,000 new permits pulled in 2021 and we will be on pace for that number again in 2022. This is all from the 3rd smallest county in the State of Tennessee. An average year for our community would see us pull around 50 new permits for comparison.

This growth can be a positive stride for us as it helps spread our community’s tax burden and affords additional tax revenue to fund items of want and need in our community. With this growth also comes challenges that the Chamber is working to partner and assist in creating solutions.

One main issue isn’t a new one at all, but when we add this many more families, it quickly becomes more apparent and that is child care. Our community has a limited number of facilities that are currently stretched thin or at capacity and are also challenged with labor pains. In partnership with Hamblen County Schools, City of Morristown and Hamblen County, we are beginning to address that issue. This challenge is a difficult one when a community like ours has many 24 hour manufacturing and other commercial establishments, so our solution may look much different than many of our surrounding communities. These unique solutions have never been uncommon for our community and the Chamber will always try and assist with these challenges as we continue to see positive growth in our community.