Juvenile service center splits commissioners
By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
The problems and the future of the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center consumed the majority of the Knox County Commission meeting last week and division among the members continued.
It began when the five-member Juvenile Service Center Board of Directors asked for an extension of their oversight duties until June 30, 2026. The board also requested Mayor Glenn Jacobs to hire a qualified interim superintendent to serve through that date.
Commissioner Angela Russell voted “No” on the mayor’s finding a new director and told her fellow commission members that the state should take control of the facility or an outside agency should be found to run the youth detention center. Commissioner Larsen Jay, chair of the juvenile board, responded that the state is not interested and does not operate such centers. He said the board will begin in December considering all the options for the future of the facility.
Russell also voted “No” on approving the extended life of the committee in an emergency ordinance sponsored by the board.
Much of the discussion and division revolved around the unexpected resignation of interim superintendent Brian Bivens, who quit three weeks after saying everything there was going well. Commissioner Andy Fox, who appeared at the last board meeting and threatened to subpoena Bivens to appear before the commission, repeated the idea.
Commissioner Courtney Durrett asked if adding the Fox subpoena to the agenda would require a 2/3 vote, and Deputy Law Director Mike Moyers confirmed it would.
The vote saw Commissioners Russell, Fox, Rhonda Lee, Adam Thompson, Kim Frazier and Shane Jackson voting “Yes,” while Durrett, Jay, Damon Rawls, Terry Hill and Gina Oster voted “No.” The six-to-five vote to add the subpoena to the agenda failed because the required majority was not reached.
Bivens may be asked to appear before the commission in December to explain his departure and if not, Fox said he will again ask for the subpoena.
Fox stated near the end of the meeting that his ideas were not an “attack on the board,” and Chairwoman Oster thanked the board and asked it to “continue in the direction you’re going, you’re doing good work.”
Knox County Chief Operating Officer Dwight Van de Vate told the commission that five decades of operation of the youth detention center cannot be unrolled in five months.
