COMMUNITY ACTIVIST NICK DELLA VOLPE SEEKS CITY COUNCIL SEAT, DISTRICT 4
Nick resides on Crestwood Drive in Holston Hills with his wife Donna. He has been active in community service since the early 1970s and he is a member of Eastminster Presbyterian Church. He has served as President and on the Boards of Town Hall East, the Downtown Knoxville Civitan Club, and the Knoxville Public Assembly Facilities Board.
“I believe in strong, healthy neighborhoods and open, honest government. I want our City government to continue to work for rational growth and to attract good jobs to this area, while preserving and enhancing the livability of our City. Let’s keep it family friendly. Government must act in a fiscally responsible manner and be fully accountable to the taxpayers.”
I have been involved in a number of public activities over the years. As Chairman and a member of the Knoxville Public Assemblies Facilities Board, I worked for the $2.5 million restoration of the Jacobs Building at Chilhowee Park, a facility which enables our City to increase the number of year-round shows and tourist-attracting events booked there. I also pushed for the new ladies' bathrooms and other improvements at the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum as a part of that Board. As a member of the Knoxville Mayor’s Greenway Commission, I have worked for planning and, hopefully, building within a reasonable time horizon more greenways in every part of our City. We can do better. Greenways and sidewalks make our communities more livable, and provide opportunities for healthy outdoor activity. I was also an active member of the Mayor’s Citizen Task Force which reviewed and recommended limitations on new billboards in the City. Both business needs and community aesthetics are important concerns to be weighed in creating conditions for sustainable growth.
Hands-on community work is important to me. Over the years, I helped organize and have participated in volunteer citizen efforts to clear and develop the trails at the Holston River Park and the Spring Place Park, to build the Holston Middle School walking trail and gazebo, and to rescue and expand the Burlington Branch Library. Because libraries are important places to learn and self-educate, I helped raise contributions to purchase equipment for the branch’s computer learning center. Working with members of Town Hall East and other community groups, I spearheaded efforts to plant over a hundred and fifty magnolia trees along Magnolia Avenue, as part of its facelift. Magnolia Avenue is one of the gateways to our City and it needs to be revitalized to return to its full potential. Our community group is working with the MPC and local government to help spark that revival, along with the continued re-invigoration of the downtown, a place which every Knoxvillian enjoys. In July 2009, the final Magnolia Corridor Plan was adopted by MPC and will move on to Council.
As a member of Town Hall East, I am currently working with Knox County officials to establish a vest pocket park next to the Burlington library. Our volunteer group will help with the layout and landscaping efforts in the park. In an earlier period, I worked with other community groups to encourage City and County officials to rely on greater recycling rather than build a costly and potentially hazardous municipal waste incinerator.
I am a graduate of Villanova University (1970 with Honors) and St. John’s University School of Law (1973) and have been a practicing attorney in Knoxville, handling environmental issues, business disputes and commercial litigation in the state and federal courts in Knoxville and surrounding counties. I started my legal career at TVA in 1973, and in 1987 I joined and later became a partner in the Baker Worthington law firm. In 1997, I joined the law firm of Wagner, Myers & Sanger, P.C.. I have spent the last 8+ months winding down my law practice.
In the meantim, I have recently taken courses at UT in accounting, business finance, and creative writing. I am currently enrolled in, and half way through, the the Knoxville Police Department's 12-week course for the Citizen's Police Academy, so that I can better interface with our public safety team.
