Mayor W.T. Daniels began the brief meeting of the Greeneville Board of Mayor of Aldermen Tuesday afternoon in the G. Thomas Love Board Room with a report on the town government's recent strategic planning retreat.

The retreat, held on Wednesday, Sept. 12, was to discuss the town's mission, and priorities for the future.

The mayor publicly thanked the staff of the Clyde Austin 4-H Center Lodge, where the retreat was held, and town public relations specialist Amy Rose, who coordinated the event.

Members of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and many of the town's department heads convened for the all-day retreat to brainstorm a town mission statement and strategic priorities for the future.

At the board meeting Tuesday afternoon, City Adminsitor Todd Smith presented the board members with two proposed mission statements.

The board voted for Smith to prepare two more for the board to compare and consider.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen discussed the possibility of leasing a parcel of land near the EastView Recreational Center to the nearby medical office building that houses East View Eye Care, P.C. at 1000 Tusculum Blvd.

Currently, part of the office's parking lot extends into town-owned property.

The discussion centered around whether the town wanted to sell the property or lease it. The board took action to allow Smith to write up a lease.

Alderman Keith Paxton brought up the point that EastView Elementary School is nearby and wondered if it may be in the best interest of the town to keep ownership and merely lease the land.

"I'd rather lease it out due to the proximity to the school," Paxton said.

Paxton said it was important for the city to keep control of the land in case the school needed the property for any reason.

Mayor W.T. Daniels agreed.

"I don't think it is a good idea to release property we may need one day," he said.

Alderman Sarah Webster wondered if the lease could be written so as to allow the EastView Recreational Center to use the parking lot in question during evening hours after the business closes.

Webster said that the Rec Center regularly has parking issues during many of its night events and said the added parking would be beneficial.

The proposed area for lease will be about 0.34 acres. The current parking lot accounts for 0.19 acres, and the lease would include a green space for the parking lot to expand in the future.

The town ownership of the property was discovered when the building was recently sold.

The title search for the real estate transaction showed that the town actually owns part of the land on which the parking lot sits.

In other business, the board approved an application for a pool room permit for Jordy's Downtown Billiards, at 125 W. Depot St.

Police chief Terry Cannon reported that an investigation of the applicant showed nothing to be in conflict with the city ordinances regarding operating a pool room.

The board approved the application with little discussion.

The Town of Greeneville now has a social media presence, Smith announced at the close of the meeting.

"If you are a Facebooker, 'like' us," he said. Smith reported that the new town Facebook page had over 100 "likes" in less than 24 hours.

The Greeneville Beer Board convened after the Board of Mayor and Aldermen adjourned, to consider an application for a beer permit for on-premise consumption at Ricardo's Italian Village, 1240 E. Andrew Johnson Hwy.

The board approved the application with little discussion.