JC commissioners discuss alcohol ordinance, Flock cameras, outlook for 2026

Johnson City City Commissioners sat down with media representatives on Friday morning to share goals made and met by the city in 2025 and the outlook of 2026. Commissioners Joe Wise and Whitney Goetz, along with Mayor Greg Cox, were in attendance to answer questions, while Commissioner Todd Fowler and Vice Mayor Jenny Brock were not present. One of the topics brought before the board members regarded the alcohol ordinance change made in September and what effect it has had since its approval. Wise said based on what he has seen, safety concerns within downtown are one aspect that the ordinance has helped. "Anecdotally, it appears to be having the public safety effect that we wanted it to have," Wise said. "Even though the crimes and our concerns about those crimes was in that late-night hour, it was affecting the perception and reputation of downtown. It was suppressing visits throughout the entirety of the day." The data pulled to show the ordinance's effects on certain types of crime in downtown was taken over a two month period and compared to last year's crime in the same time frame. The sheet had statistics for aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, drunkeness, drug-related violations, weapon violations and DUI, all which were between 36% to 77% lower than the same two-month period in 2024. Simple assault was the only category higher, showing a 55.6% increase from 2024 to 2025. Wise added while it was still early to see how the sales tax for businesses have been affected, his "hunch" is it will be more compared to the previous year. "I think the number is going to be up because what you've done is you've created an environment where people feel safer throughout the entirety of the day," Wise said. "They come down and they visit our businesses, and they spend their money and it has the desired effect. It's probably six to 12 months before we're really in a position to say that, because sales tax is a lagging indicator." Along with the alcohol ordinance, the installation of Flock cameras and community pushback when the Johnson City Police Department refused to reveal the locations was also discussed. Wise said the cameras themselves weren't "a grand mystery" to find and called revealing the locations "counterproductive" in maintaining the safety of the community and officers. Cox added the cameras were not meant as a way to act as a "gotcha" to the community, but rather a measure taken strictly towards public safety. Goetz said she believed the cameras were beneficial for proper crisis response times because of their identification technology. "It's another tool for our officers to use in partnering with other organizations, businesses, ETSU – groups like that that already have some of this technology too," she said. "I think it's a win-win." Other topics mentioned in the meeting were accomplishments made throughout the year, such as the completion of the West Walnut Corridor, the beginning of redevelopment plans happening with Burlington Mills and the John Sevier Center, moving residents into The Tapestry before Christmas and the Ashe Street Courthouse redevelopment. Regarding plans for 2026, some of the projects the city will be looking at are the predicted completion of the First Fronteir Trail, installing a grant-funded Black Heritage Walking Trail, widening West Mountainview Road into three lanes and the expectation to attain the State Natural Area designation to Buffalo Mountain Park.