January 2026 - ONK Meeting Minutes

Date: January 26, 2026

Attendance

Board members: Joy Guilford (presiding), John Golliher (recording), Sean Bolin, Margareth Olson, Dustin Durham, Martin Cordell, Kelly Arsenault, Chloie Airoldi-Waters

Others attending: Drew Sparks, Xavier Bridges, Jessica Bocangel, Dave Ticehurst, Donna Spencer, Dave Booker, Officer Clemons, Kim Davis, Anne Marie Ullman

Officer Reports

President: Joy Guilford

Minutes Approval

Margareth Olson made a motion to approve the October minutes and Sean Bolin seconded. The motion passed.

Officer Clemens

There's been a few instances of "porch piracy" (i.e., stealing packages off of porches) and bike thefts. Officer Clemons urges residences to call 911 immediately if they see suspicious activity or someone actively trespassing. To help police identify repeat offenders and break their patterns, providing camera footage is highly encouraged. When in doubt between c911 and the non-emergency line, Officer Clemons recommends defaulting to 911 to ensure a timely response.

Committee Reports

President

Joy Guilford 

No new business.

Historic Preservation

Sean Bolin

Historic Zoning approved the enclosure of the carport and a small back addition at 241 E Scott. The former Y-Not Tavern was purchased for use as an electric bike company, and the old convenience store on Anderson will be converted into a violin shop.

The property listed for sale by First Lutheran is protected under the H-1 historic overlay.

Treasurer

Martin Cordell

• Account Balances: Both the checking and CD accounts closed the year with higher balances than in 2024.

• 2025 Expenditures: Overall spending increased significantly in 2025, driven primarily be a substantial rise in charitable donations. The neighborhood successfully exceeded its goal of directing 50% of Home Tour proceeds toward charitable causes.

• Operational Costs:

  • Social: Spending was slightly lower than the previous year.

  • General: Slightly higher due to a one-time website migration; however, the new site is now prepaid for three years.

  • Investments: A new CD account has been opened and is set to mature in June 2027, though it carries a lower interest rate than the previous term.

Beautification

Margareth Olson

The rent creek clean-up was successful and an upcoming clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, March 21. While the exact location is being finalized (pending a potential collaboration with Ijams Nature Center) Caleb and Allie have volunteered to lead the organization of the event.

As Margareth prepares to step down from her role, Xavier has volunteered to take over as the Beautification Chair. He will serve as the primary point of contact for the board and will coordinate closely with Caleb and Allie on future projects.

It was noted that the doggy bag station at First Creek Park has been overturned. The neighborhood needs to contact 311 to request a repair.

Joy shared an invitation from Keep Knoxville Beautiful for a clean-up effort of Greater North Knoxville on February 28. Volunteers are encouraged to meet at Northgate Plaza between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM.

Janice proposed starting a neighborhood gardening club. Janice will begin by adding home-grown seedlings to the park and neighborhood circles to enhance the local green spaces.

Public Works

Dustin Durham

Asked to remove Public Works for now. Wants to reevaluate and see where we end up.

Communication

Drew Sparks

Drew proposed renaming the "Victorian Home Tour" Facebook page to a more general neighborhood title, such as "Old North Knoxville". The goal is to establish a centralized page where the organization can host events like the annual Home Tour and post official updates directly from the page rather than from individual person profiles. This would align ONK with the digital presence of other local neighborhoods. No formal vote was requested during this meeting; instead, board members were asked to consider the proposal for future discussion.

Additionally, Joy initiated a reevaluation of the neighborhood's Facebook and "watch" page, specifically focusing on the current intake questions for new members. As Pete is currently the primary administrator, the board discussed ways to streamline the vetting process. Drew suggested implementing a "trusted member" flag as a way to validate participants.

Home Tour

Martin Cordell

The Home Tour saw a 41% increase in profits, driven by a new maximum headcount of 1,300 attendees. This growth in revenue was attributed to both the higher turnout and a $5 increase in ticket prices. Furthermore, the strategic tie-in with the Christmas Market proved to be effective.

Social

Kelly Arsenault  

Kelly is waiting for poll results to finalize a meeting time for the committee. The upcoming meeting will focus on organizing spring and summer activities, including the Easter Egg Hunt, the Porch Crawl, and brainstorming new ideas.

Donna recommended hosting the commemorative brick program at Beth Ann Booker Park as we have not done one recently. The program, through "Bricks-R-US" allows residents to purchase engraved bricks to honor past neighborhood presidents or neighbors who have passed away. With one brick already purchased last year and several recent presidents yet to be recognized, the board discussed "activating" the order page a few weeks prior to a dedication event. Joy suggested tagging the brick dedication onto the Ice Cream Social and the board agreed.

New Business

Happy Holler Project

Dave Ticehurst has stepped in as the primary liaison for the Happy Holler Project, which focuses on collaboration between the local business district and the neighborhood. The major upcoming event is Holleroo on May 9, and the business association has requested ONK's support ins staffing a "Kids Zone". Dave estimates a need for 5 to 10 volunteers to manage shifts throughout the day. To meet this need, it was mentioned that we could reach out to university fraternities or sororities for volunteer hours, noting that ONK must be properly registered for students to receive credit. Joy also shared that Andy Anderson established a "Historic Happy Holler" group with existing bylaws and tax-exempt status, which may provide a helpful framework for these collaboration efforts.

Beaumont Donation

The board discussed a sponsorship request for Beaumont Magnet Academy's "Beaumont Rocks" fundraiser, a student-led rock concert held at the Mill & Mine. Beaumont is currently facing several challenges, including a planned closure in three years and a high population of Hispanic families who require supplemental resources that the school district cannot always provide.

Drew motioned for the neighborhood to provide a $1,000 platinum-level sponsorship. The motion was seconded by Martin and passed. As a platinum sponsor, Old North Knox will also have the option to host a table at the event to engage with the approximately 500 attendees. The sponsorship will also be featured on the neighborhood's Facebook page to encourage more community attendance.

Upcoming Events

• Monthly Social: February 4, 2026