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Work is under way on a draft lease between Townsend City Commission and Blount County School Board for Townsend Municipal Building.

This was a topic at the Townsend City Commission meeting Tuesday night.

The city has had an open-ended lease since March 1978, paying $1 for the lease. However, it is not legal now to have a lease with no ending date, explained Townsend Fire Chief Don Stallions, who is also risk manager for Blount County government.

The school board attorney informed the commission and Stallions that open-ended leases are illegal and now the school board and Townsend City Commission/Stallions are currently negotiating on a lease, Stallions said.

In other action, Townsend City Commission and Townsend Police Chief Ronnie Suttles commended the quick thinking of Policeman Frank Shearl for locking down Townsend Elementary School last month when officers were involved in a high-speed chase in the city.

Nobody was hurt and the culprit was later caught in Alabama, Suttles said.

Jennifer Moore, president of the Stonegate Mountain Community homeowners association, said she is attempting to get support to oppose the request of Wireless Properties to erect a 181-foot brown monopole cell tower atop Greystone Mountain, which is 2,500 feet from Townsend Elementary School on the highest ridge in Townsend.

The site is just outside the Townsend city limits in Blount County and the request is to come before the Blount County Board of Zoning Appeals at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Blount County Courthouse.