Called meeting and work session keep Crossville council busy this week.

The Crossville city council has two meetings set up for this week. A special called meeting may 23 at noon to deal with a long running eminent domain matter related to the Northwest Connector and a request from the Crossville dragway for sewer service.

A work session later in the week to discuss retail consulting is scheduled for Thursday May 26 at 5 PM.

The case involves a property taken to complete the Northwest connector portion that is between US-127 and Sparta Highway. Property owned by John Turner and his wife Wynell was taken by the city using eminent domain to complete the project. In such a case, the property is taken and the amount of compensation is determined later usually based on appraisals. Rarely does such a case go as far as the Turner case has gone.

Because the Turners sought more money for their property then the city was willing to pay based on appraisals, the case seemed headed to court. The judge in the case ordered the two sides to mediation in an attempt to settle the case. The mediation was held last week on May 19 and an agreement was reached.

The proposed settlement still must be approved by the city council and more details of the proposal will be presented by city attorney Will Ridley during the called meeting.

Council member Pete Souza has previously stated that he and John Turner are close friends and he will recuse himself from any decision on the matter.

The Crossville dragway has requested to be connected to the sewer at outside rates. At the regular council meeting earlier this month a motion to approve the connection failed over lack of being annexed into the city. Discussion at the meeting said that the business was concerned about the city noise ordinance and the noise generated by their races.

The matter will come back before the council during the special called meeting Monday.

The work session on retail consulting will involve presentation by three firms that provide services to help the city land new retail businesses. The three firms include R360, Retail Strategies and Buxton Company. The firms also consultant with the retail businesses helping them determine good locations for new locations. When consulting with municipalities, the firms help with gap analysis, retail market studies and business retention.

The goal of the consultation is to bring new business, tax base and sales tax to the local area.