Meet the Commissioners

Johnson City Commissioner Marcy Walker, a former Johnson City Board of Education member, was elected to commission in 2007 and after 2 yrs on the job comments, "This is a big job. Very time-consuming. But it is also a very informative experience. One thing for sure... you learn that the squeaky wheel gets the attention."

Walker’s background and mindset suits her well for the city commission job. Very active in education in the region Marcy was on the Johnson City School Board for 8 years, Board of Directors for Junior Achievement, former Chairman ETSU Buccaneer Athletic Scholarship Association Board, and has held other board memberships at ETSU.

Walker’s husband is a well-known heart surgeon at Johnson City Medical Center and Marcy has been involved professionally and as a volunteer in medical organizations for a decade. Marcy has been and/or is Board Member of the Medical Auxiliary Johnson County Medical Society, Mountain States Health Foundation, Washington County/Johnson City American Red Cross, American Heart Association Gala, State AMA Foundation Chairman for the Tennessee Medical Association Alliance, and has been a board member of medical organizations in Memphis, TN her former home.

In 2003 she was appointed Chairman of the $25 million Capital Campaign to build a new Regional Children’s Hospital in association with MSHA in Johnson City. The campaign was successful and the new Niswonger Children’s Hospital opened this year.

“It was a fantastic challenge, and very rewarding for everybody associated with its success.”

Downtown Redevelopment

City Commissioner Walker is a member of the Downtown Flood Task Force, which is working on a proposal that includes a Downtown Area Flood Control program as well as redevelopment for the downtown area. The Downtown Flood Plan has some programs underway and others on the drawing board ready to launch. They are:

• A New Sports Stadium that will replace the Memorial Stadium on West Main Street. It has been approved by City Commission to be built on the Science Hill High School campus. The design of the new stadium should be finalized first of the year, construction will begin in March 2010, and the stadium should be ready for play in September of 2010;
• Memorial Stadium will be demolished and the land will become the site for a community center that would feature recreation and sports facilities, a swimming pool, and senior citizens center;
• Hands On! Museum will move to a site near the Johnson City Public Library downtown on land that has been donated by the City. In addition the City will give $1 million over a 10 year period to the Hands On! Museum's Capital Campaign and $30,000 for the matching portion of a grant that will address the planning and design. Hands On! Museum will need to raise $15-$18 million for the new building and program expansion;
• University Edge is a private development for student apartments that will be the centerpiece of a park area on the site of the former Johnson City Foundry. The area will be adjacent to the new ETSU baseball field and walkways and waterways that will link ETSU campus to the downtown area. The project, located in the Tax Increment Financing District, has qualified for TIF dollars that will be used to construct a multi-use Trail and Park, extra capacity in a water detention basin to help alleviate downtown flooding and street improvements.