The tug of war between the new and the
past continues to lead to discussion by the Crossville city council
and still no decision made yet on the redevelopment of Crossville's Garrison
Park on Fourth Street.
The council put off a decision on
approving contracts with the grant administrator and engineer until
they find out about the possibility of maintaining the current fence
around a portion of the park and the long time ball field known as
Field A. The grandstand structure is to be removed unless the city
refuses to accept the $500,000 grant from the Local Parks and
Recreation Fund and turning down the grant could negatively effect
the ability of the city to get any future money through that grant
program.
Garrison Park as it looks today
Tentative plan for the redeveloped park
The plan to redevelop Garrison Park was
originally part of the city recreation master plan developed by Lose
and Associates during 2014 and the mater plan was required to be
eligible to apply for the grant funds. The grant to Crossville was
announced in August 2016 and and the grant requires a 50 percent
match. The grant included a splash pad, redoing the basketball
court, new restrooms, walking trails, a playground and removing the
old grandstand structure as phase 1 of the project.
Crossville resident Vancienetta Wisdom
has spoken against removing the grandstand several times and
addressed the council during public comment at the start of the May
council meeting. She said, “Garrison Park is as much a part of
Crossville's history as the Palace Theatre, the depot and the old
Cumberland County high school building.” Mrs. Wisdom asked the
council to consider keeping A field and using B field for the planned
improvements.
City Manager and council discuss Garrison Park improvements
Crossville mayor James Mayberry moved
to approve the contracts involved in the project and approve the
necessary funds for the current fiscal year, expected to be $25,000.
When asked by councilman J. H. Graham to be specific about the parts
of the project, Mayberry said that he did not find anything in the
documentation that said the fence had to be removed or that anything
had to be done to the “A” baseball field. The grant does
specifically address the grandstand and it is to be removed as part
of the first phase of the redevelopment.
Mayberry's motion was seconded by
councilwoman Pamala Harris.
Councilman Danny Wyatt said that an
email from city clerk Sally Oglesby indicated the fence and field A
had to be removed. City manager Greg Wood said that he would fight
to keep the fence based on the amount of traffic on Fourth Street and
that it was needed to protect the children. Wyatt said, “I want to
know this before I support this.”
Ms. Harris asked Mayor Mayberry if he
would accept an amendment that the action was contingent on the
keeping of the fence and field A and he agreed to the change in
language.
Ms. Harris said that she understood
that the topic was emotional to a lot of residents and it was tough
to cope with change. She continued that if the fence and field A
could be kept that the other improvements would be nice for the park
and the community.
Mr. Wyatt again asked about the
approving the contracts and a budget amendment before knowing the
specifics. City attorney Will Ridley told the council that with the
amendment the mayor would not be authorized to sign the agreement
without knowing about the two items. After additional brief
discussion the motion was deferred, or as Mayor Mayberry said “kicked
down the road” until a tentatively special called meeting in the
next two weeks.
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