The Knoxville City Council and the Marion County Board of Supervisors held a joint meeting Tuesday to discuss the VA Campus Project master planning. According to Knoxville Mayor Brian Hatch, a team of archeologists with the University of Iowa will be coming to Knoxville this month to conduct a phase one archaeological study at the campus with the deadline to complete the study by Friday, July 17th. If anything of interest is found a potential phase two study will also be conducted. The study was delayed due to the archeologist unable to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As part of the agreement when the county and city took over the property, the two oldest buildings on the property are required to be marketed for a period of 60 days. According to Knoxville City Manager Aaron Adams, the clock has started on the 60 days with the city planning an open house for potential investors only on July 15th. If no interest is shown for the buildings following the 60 day period the City of Knoxville and Marion County will gain authority over the buildings and can decide on how to proceed. The deadline for potential investors to show interest in the property is Friday, August 14th at 5 p.m. In addition to Tuesday’s meeting the Knoxville City Council and the Marion County Board of Supervisors also agreed to hold joint meetings once a month to continue to discuss and update each other regarding the property.