CROSSVILLE FLASHBACK: Council Discusses Indoor Recreation Plan at October 2000 Meeting

Editors Note: In October of 2000 the Crossville City Council was looking at both an indoor recreation facility and soccer fields for Centennial Park.  Soccer Fields were eventually built near I-40.  An Indoor Recreational Facility has been discussed off and on a number of times since then. 

Crossville City Hall in 2000 (Photo by Jim Young)

Crossville city council commissioned feasibility studies on both an indoor recreation facility and new soccer fields as part of the Crossville Recreation Park expansion plans.

Council spent a great deal of time at their monthly meeting Tuesday night discussing the proposals and the recreation needs of the public. Council accepted a proposal from the architects and engineers Hart Freeland Roberts (HFR) to prepare a feasibility study on an indoor recreation facility for the city recreation park expansion. The study will cost $16,000 plus expenses. The Firm will hold several meetings for public input on the project as well as use a mail-out survey to gather information on community wants and needs.

A very preliminary estimate on the construction cost of an indoor recreation facility totaled $6.4 million. Councilman Wendell Kerley said several things could be removed to reduce that cost by up to $400,000. 

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As an example, Kerley said he felt the child care area was not needed and that other similar facilities the council visited did not find these programs successful.

Councilman Gene Turner said there was a lot of interest in the indoor facility, but he felt the council needed to stick with its priorities, specifically the ball and soccer fields then re-look at the indoor facility next spring during budget hearings.

Councilman Wyatt agreed with Turner saying, “We have a lot on our plate! We need ball and soccer fields. I would love to see this finished, but annual operating costs could be enormous.”

“I think the city can afford to do this,” stated Councilman Ronny Hill.

Hill explained he had asked the city finance director to run numbers on a $10 million bond issue to cover both the ball fields and an indoor facility and yearly payments would be $646,000 per year over 28 years at 4.5 percent interest. Hill added that he thought that the Lebanon facility broke even after one year of operation.

Mayor J. H. Graham III said he felt the public needed a chance to tell the council and planners what they would like to see in such a facility. Graham also wanted numbers on operating costs and break even numbers for the required number of members to make the facility self-supporting.

Graham added that an additional 25 percent of the construction costs would be needed to equip and furnish the building along with a number of employees needed to man the facility.

Councilman Turner cautioned that the city had many expensive projects it was considering including some $30 million in water improvements and another $10 million for recreation.

“Our children and grandchildren will pay for this. It will take a long time and may require a tax increase,” cautioned Turner. He added, “It would be bad to have two swimming pools and not have water to put in them.”

Councilman Kerley reminded council that water and recreation are not funded out of the same revenue. Sales tax cannot fund the water system improvements and water revenue cannot go into the general fund. Kerley added that he has had more response from the public on the indoor recreation facility than anything council has considered before.

On a motion by Kerley, seconded by Councilman Hill, approval of a feasibility study by HFR at a cost of $16,000 was approved unanimously.

Once the report is put together, the council and the design firm will meet to look at what facilities and amenities are needed in the project.

Council also approved HFR to conduct a second feasibility study for three planned soccer fields. Council commissioned the study based on preliminary plans for soccer fields to be located on vacant land in the city industrial park. The location is between the offices of Middle Tennessee Gas and Volunteer Electric Cooperative.

Council also approved the low bid of J. Paul Smith for site preparation work on the planned four new ball fields in the recreation park expansion that the city hopes to have completed in time for next summers hosting of the Dixie Belles World Series. The low bid was $219,750.

TBI Releases Two New Crime Studies: Domestic Violence & School Crime

TBI Press Release by Josh DeVine

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released two new studies today, detailing the volume and nature of crime on school campuses and crime identified as having a domestic violence nexus. Both studies utilize data from the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS).

Among the findings of ‘School Crime 2018’:

• The overall number of offenses reported as having occurred on a school campus increased 13.9% from 2016 to 2018.
• Simple Assault was the most frequently reported offense, at 37.6%.
• The month of September had the highest frequency of reported school crimes.
• Females accounted for 53.3% of reported victims.

Among the findings of ‘Domestic Violence 2018’:

• A total of 73,568 offenses were reported as domestic-related in 2018, reflecting a decrease of 5.8% from 2017 to 2018.
• Of the reported domestic violence offenses, 49,455 of them were reported as Simple Assault.
• Females were three times more likely to be victimized than males, accounting for 71.1% of all reported domestic violence victims.
• Domestic violence was reported as a factor in 98 murders in 2018.

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“The issue of domestic violence is by no means a novel problem in American society,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “The persistence of domestic violence and the large number of related incidents reported to law enforcement necessitate continued awareness about this issue.”

Both reports are now available for further review and download on the TBI’s website: https://www.tn.gov/tbi/divisions/cjis-division/recent-publications.html.

Crossville City Council Work Session to look at Indoor Recreation, Airport Work and Purchases

The Crossville city council will meet in work session Tuesday, July 2 at 5 PM to prepare for their upcoming July meeting. 

Councilman Scot Shanks has asked to lead a discussion on a long-discussed indoor recreation facility. Such a facility could include an indoor pool, exercise equipment, and other amenities. The multi-million dollar facility would operate on a membership or admission basis. Citizens have previously expressed support for such an amenity but the financial cost has been difficult to justify.

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Council is expected to discuss a request for a variance to locate a mobile home over 10 years old in the city. The recommendation of the codes enforcement and planning commission is not to approve the variance. Such a variance is required to locate a mobile home over 10 years old inside the city limits.

Council will consider a request to close a block of Main Street for a block party for the second anniversary of the Grinder House Coffee Shop. The event would be July 19 from 5:30 to 9 PM.

A number of bids and purchases are on the agenda including a fire department support vehicle, defibrillators, a dump truck and asphalt walking trails at Centennial Park. Several items concerning the Crossville Memorial Airport are also up for discussion as well as the selection of an airport engineer.

Severe Thunderstorm WATCH for Crossville, parts of Tennessee and Kentucky from now to 8 PM Central Time

NationalWeather Service has issued a Sever Thuderstorm Watch for parts of

Middle and East Tennessee until 8 PM Central time and 9 PM Eastern Time. 

Much of Kentucky is also incldued.

Watch for storms passing thrugh. 

Thunderstorms are expected to strengthen this afternoon east of
I-65. The main concerns will be damaging wind gusts and hail.
Isolated flooding may also become a concern in areas that saw
rainfall last night.

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TENNESSEE COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ANDERSON             BLEDSOE             BLOUNT
BRADLEY              CAMPBELL            CARTER
CLAIBORNE            CLAY                COCKE
CUMBERLAND           FENTRESS            GRAINGER
GREENE               HAMBLEN             HAMILTON
HANCOCK              HAWKINS             JACKSON
JEFFERSON            JOHNSON             KNOX
LOUDON               MARION              MCMINN
MEIGS                MONROE              MORGAN
OVERTON              PICKETT             POLK
PUTNAM               RHEA                ROANE
SCOTT                SEQUATCHIE          SEVIER
SULLIVAN             UNICOI              UNION
VAN BUREN            WASHINGTON          WHITE

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED FOR CUMBERLAND CO. UNTIL 10:15 PM Friday Night

The National Weather Service in Nashville has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
  Southern Cumberland County in Middle Tennessee...
  Northeastern Warren County in Middle Tennessee...
  Van Buren County in Middle Tennessee...
  White County in Middle Tennessee...

* Until 1015 PM CDT.

* At 920 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line
  extending from 6 miles south of Monterey to near Sparta to 8 miles
  west of Spencer, moving east at 40 mph.

  HAZARD...70 mph wind gusts.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated.

  IMPACT...Expect considerable tree damage. Damage is likely to
           mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.

* Locations impacted include...
  Crossville, Sparta, Spencer, Fairfield Glade, Crab Orchard,
  Pleasant Hill, Doyle, Lake Tansi, Cumberland Mountain State Park,
  Indian Rock Lake, Virgin Falls State Natural Area and Rock Island
  State Park.

This includes Interstate 40 between mile markers 320 and 340.

Photo from Lake Tansi Area Thursday Evening of Storm Cloud that spawned Tornado Warning.

Thursday Evening, the southern portion of Cumberland County was under a Tornado Warning.  GInger Ann Zasimowich took this photo from the Tansi area toward Crossville at about 5:13 PM during the warning.  The warning was canceled at 5:25 PM. 

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Severe Thunderstorm Watch in Effect for Cumberland County until 1 AM

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Cumberland County and Crossville along with a number of other Middle and East Tennessee Counties until 1 AM Central Time (2 AM Eastern Time).

TENNESSEE COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ANDERSON             CAMPBELL            CANNON
CHEATHAM             CLAIBORNE           CLAY
CUMBERLAND           DAVIDSON            DE KALB
FENTRESS             JACKSON             MACON
MORGAN               OVERTON             PICKETT
PUTNAM               ROBERTSON           RUTHERFORD
SCOTT                SMITH               SUMNER
TROUSDALE            UNION               WHITE
WILLIAMSON           WILSON

Rain and thunderstorms, some strong to severe, are possible Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning. Damaging winds will be the main concern, along with hail and an isolated tornado. Heavy downpours may also lead to minor flooding.

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Cumberland Co. Mayor Allen Foster's Report for June 2019

This report provided by Cumberland Co. Mayor Allen Foster

The Tennessee County Services Association held the annual Legislative Conference in late May.  One of the issues discussed that will be of consequence here in Cumberland County is that of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan.  The plan is a federal requirement and is due to the state by the end of this year.  The County is required to have every building assessed as well as any roads with sidewalks.  A plan is then required for transitioning to compliance with ADA regulations.  This assessment and plan will likely be done by a third party.

Cumberland Co. Mayor Allen Foster

 The first meeting of the Complete Count Committee for the upcoming Census was held.  Every 10 years, the US Census Bureau undertakes the mammoth task of counting all the people residing in the United States.  This count affects the allocation of funding for our community’s public resources (roads, schools, etc.), how we plan for the future and our voice in government.  You can learn more about the importance of the 2020 Census and how to participate at www.2020census.gov.

I was honored to speak at the Cumberland County Memorial Day service which took place at War Memorial Park.  Those interested in viewing the video may do so at:
 https://www.facebook.com/mayorallenfoster/videos/442030446373514/.  I also spoke in Pleasant Hill on June 6^th, where we talked about how county government functions. 

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The June 17^th meeting of the full County Commission was held with all Commissioners in attendance except Mike Speich.

The meeting began with Dr. Mark Hendrixson detailing the intake/quarantine/holding facility that FOCCAS has built to complement the new Adoption Center that the City and County partnered on at the Animal Shelter.  The new 3,200 square foot facility is scheduled for an open house celebration on July 27 from 2:00pm until 6:00pm.  I thanked Dr. Hendrixson, FOCCAS, and the people of Cumberland County for supporting the animal shelter and providing this building.

The first item on the agenda included the following policies:

• Cumberland County Assessor of Property Employee Personnel Policy
• Cumberland County Election Commission Employee Personnel Policy
• Cumberland County Trustee Employee Personnel Policy

The County Commission does not have the authority to approve or make changes to these policies but they do have to be entered into the official minutes of a meeting after review by the County Attorney.  A motion to place the policies into the official minutes was unanimously approved.

Resolutions
The following resolutions were approved (resolution sponsor in parenthesis):

RESOLUTION 06-2019-1 To approve communications funding agreement between Cumberland County Emergency Communication District, the City of Crossville and Cumberland County Tennessee (Jack Davis).  This agreement replaces the interlocal agreement between Cumberland County, the City of Crossville, and the Cumberland County Emergency Communications District, known as the CCC Agreement.  This agreement detailed how dispatch services would be handled in a consolidated manner by the CCC.  A few years back, the Emergency Communications District pulled out of the agreement.  The new agreement turns dispatching services over to Emergency Communications District instead of the CCC Board.  The agreement calls for the City and County to contribute $550,000 each toward the dispatch operations for the duration of the contract, which is two years with a two-year renewal.  The resolution was approved 17-0.

RESOLUTION 06-2019-2 For Cumberland County, Tennessee to adopt the Americans
with Disabilities ACT (ADA), ADA Coordinator, and Procedures (Foster).  Cumberland County is required to name and ADA Coordinator, adopt a grievance procedure for resolving complaints, and post the ADA coordinator’s contact information and procedure on our website.  This is another part of the ADA Transition plan discussed earlier in these notes.  The resolution to make the Director of Human Resources the ADA Coordinator, and to approve the grievance procedure was approved unanimously.

RESOLUTION 06-2019-3 To approve license agreement between State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and Cumberland County (Wilson).  This resolution was a standard lease renewal between Cumberland County and the TDEC for office space for the Ground Water Inspection Staff in the courthouse.  The lease was approved 17-0.

The following resolutions are routine budget adjustments and annual cleanup from various officials and departments.  They were unanimously approved by the Commission with the exception of Resolution 06-2019-7, $14,000 for repairing the Community Complex restrooms.  Commissioner Blalock voted against the resolution.

RESOLUTION 06-2019-4 Budget Amendment, Drug Fund, $150.00 (Hyder)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-5 Budget Amendment, Debt Service Fund, $5,000.00 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-6 Budget Amendment, Highway Fund, $8,541.00 (Cooper)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-7 Budget Amendment, General Fund, Community Complex, $14,000.00 (Patterson)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-8 Budget Amendment, Sheriff-Jail, $29,881.00 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-9 Budget Amendment, Sanitation Fund, $34,482.00 (Cooper)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-10 Budget Amendment, General Fund, $399,796.00 (Cooper)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-11 Budget Amendment, Central Cafeteria Fund, $1,600.00 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-12 Budget Amendment, Central Cafeteria Fund, $5,000.00 (York)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-13 Budget Amendment, Central Cafeteria Fund, $68,675.00 (Hyder)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-14 Budget Amendment, Central Cafeteria Fund, $105,135.97 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-15 Budget Amendment, Central Cafeteria Fund, $135,500.00 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-16 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Pre-K Instructional Materials, $3,850.00 (Hyder)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-17 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Non-Recurring School Safety Grant Adjustment 2, $32,815.00 (York)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-18 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Replacement Bus, $96,234.00 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-19 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Audit Adjustments for Payables, $417,700.60 (Blalock)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-20 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Additional Year End Clean-up (Blalock) 
RESOLUTION 06-2019-21 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Reserve Funds Clean-up (Hyder)
RESOLUTION 06-2019-22 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Year-End Allocations, Multiple BOE Departments (Blalock)

Financial Report
Sales tax collections through May were $7,982,563.  The May receipts were $815,144 which is above budget by $15,661.  For the year, collections are approximately $224,659 above budgeted projections.  Property tax collections are at 100.9% compared to 101% at this point last year.  Hotel/Motel collections are $653,672 year to date compared to $673,163 last year.  That is 73.9% of the annual Hotel/Motel budgeted income compared to 83.1% last year.  Prisoner boarding, which is received sporadically from the State of Tennessee, is at $615,264 for ten months which is 99.2% of budget.  Ambulance collections for the month were $329,455.  Year to date we have collected in excess of budgeted projections by $153,331.  Gasoline was budgeted at a $2.25 per gallon and diesel was budgeted at $2.50 per gallon.  Currently our weighted average cost for gasoline is $1.82 and diesel is $2.13. 

East Bound I-40 Traffic backed up due to Cargo Fire Thursday

Interstate 40 eastbound in Cumberland County 

I-40 Eastbound traffic at

Genesis Rd. Exit

Vehicle - Cargo Fire at MILE MARKER 327 (Mile Marker: 327) reported at 5:55 AM 6/13/2019 and estimated to be cleared by 3:55 PM 6/13/2019 (Central Time Zone). 

The backup is from just west of Crab Orchard back to Crossville's Genesis Rd. Exit.

Eastbound traffic is affected with right lane blocked. Westbound traffic is affected with no delays.

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Crossville Council Approves Budget and Unchanged Tax Rate During June meeting

Crossville City Council approved the third and final reading of the upcoming fiscal year budget and tax rate. 

Crossville City Council during the June meeting. L-R

J. H. Graham, Rob Harrison, Mayor James Mayberry,

Art Gernt and Scot Shanks. (Photo by Jim Young)

The city's property tax rate remains unchanged at $0.5905 and the general fund budget was approved with a deficit of $495,672.00.  Additional spending had to be added to the budget during the council's audit committee meeting as the city had received info on costs of program expenses shared with the county.  Both the operation of the animal shelter and the maintenance of radio equipment went up and had to be added to the budget. 

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Council was also informed that finance director Fred Houston said he expected the general fund balance to be some $13 million at the end of the current fiscal year.

A public hearing on the budget and tax rate was held prior to the council's meeting and no comments were received from the public.

The third and final readings of the actions were approved as part of the consent agenda. 

Without Information on Proposed Project, City Council takes no action on Retail Development Assistance

Without adequate information about the proposal, Crossville City Council did not feel it could approve a request for assistance from whoever plans to redevelop the former Ryan's Restaurant property. 

The matter has been discussed previously but when it came time to take action several council members said they did not have enough information to make a decision.  In addition, some council members complained that the city had no policy or criteria for such providing such help. 

Crossville city council during the June meeting. L-R

J. H. Graham, Rob Harrison, Mayor James Mayberry,

Art Gernt and Scot Shanks. (Photo by Jim Young)

Policy for assisting industrial locations in Crossville include information about the investment size, number of employees and average salary. 

No information about the proposal other than possibly two businesses would locate there and one would use enough water to need a large water tap was discussed at the June work session.  Currently, the property remains listed by the state as owned by the Community Bank of Raymore in Missouri.

Councilman J. H. Graham made a motion to waive the building inspection fee, estimated at $2,700 for the project in order for discussion to take place.  The promoters of the project had also requested waiving the cost of water and sewer taps, a cost that would have totaled about $10,000 according to the pervious discussion.

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Councilman Scot Shanks asked if there was a policy of standard for the assistance and City Manager Greg Wood said there was not for retail developments but he felt one was needed.

Mr. Shanks asked, "Do we know what kind of business this is that's coming in?"

Manager Wood responded, "Yes."

"Can we say?" asked Shanks.

Mr. Graham responded, "No."

Shanks continued, "I don't think I can support this.  I want to see businesses come in but I don't know who we are helping and is it just a competitor to businesses we already have here.?

Councilman Art Gernt said he agreed with councilman Shanks, "I struggle with this."  Gernt pointed out that someone just invested in a nice property on Main Street that really made that area look good without asking for help.  "It seems like it is hard to ensure fairness unless we set some sort of criteria," added Gernt.

Councilman Rob Harrison said he agreed with the previous comments and he felt some sort of policy was needed.

At this point in the discussion, Mr. Graham withdrew his motion on the matter ending the agenda item discussion.

City Manager Wood said the council could work on a policy for such assistance at a future meeting. 

TBI Reports both Hate Crimes and Crimes against Law Enforcement Increased in 2018

TBI Press Release by Josh DeVine

NASHVILLE – Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released two publications, detailing the volume and nature of hate crime in Tennessee and violence directed toward the state’s law enforcement officers.

Among the findings of ‘Tennessee Hate Crime 2018’:

• Overall, the number of incidents indicated as bias-motivated increased by 1.0%.
• Property-crime related offenses accounted for 24.9%, with the remainder of bias-motivated crimes being those designated as being ‘Crimes Against Persons.’
• Assault offenses were the most frequently reported bias-motivated offenses in 2018.
• Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry bias was the most frequently reported known bias in 2018 at 55.6%, with Anti-Black/African-American comprising 31.6% of the total reported number of hate crime.

Among the findings of ‘Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted (LEOKA) 2018’:

• In 2018, there were a total of 2,313 LEOKA victims reported across Tennessee.
• The number of reported LEOKA offenses increased by 27.6% from 2015 to 2018.
• The most frequently reported offense was Simple Assault, at 55.8%.

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“I am very proud of the efforts of all participating law enforcement agencies, to provide the data necessary to produce these reports,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “Our combined efforts have resulted in a successful program that continues to give our state helpful insight on the volume and nature of crime.”

Both reports are available for review and download on the TBI’s website: https://www.tn.gov/tbi/divisions/cjis-division/recent-publications.html.

June Crossville City Council Meeting looks at Retail project and final vote on budget.

Crossville City Council is expected to approve the third and final readings of the upcoming 2019-20 fiscal year budget and an unchanged property tax rate during their regular June meeting.

Crossville City Hall (photo by Jim Young)

The city will hold a public hearing on the budget on Tuesday, June 11 at 5:30 PM prior to the council's 6 PM meeting. Council will also meet as the audit committee at 5 PM. All the meetings are open to the public.

The city's general fund budget stands at $420,000 in the red but the city has a large reserve balance to cover any budget overage and emergency. Finance Director Fred Houston said that typically more projects are included in the budget then the city can complete, often because the work is dependent on other agencies and the city rarely finishes a budget as far in the red as the starting budget numbers.

 

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A large number of bids and purchases always appear on the June agenda as annual bids for many regular purchases made for the year are approved.

Council will also discuss the request for assistance on a potential retail development on the site of the former Ryan's Restaurant property, a bid for painting the Homestead water tank and the caboose at the Crossville Depot. The paint for the caboose is not supposed to fade as previous paint jobs have done.

Friday at the Crossroads Cancelled and Relay for Life moved to Community Complex due to Weather

The Relay for Life events will be moved to the Cumberland County Community Complex due to the threat of inclement weather.

Outdoor events for Friday at the Crossroads have been canceled due to the threat of bad weather and the next Friday at the Crossroads will take place August 2, 2019.  "Our main interest is the safety of our vendors and attendees," said a statement on the Friday at the Crossroads Facebook page. 

According to organizers, Main Street will not be closed June 7, though many downtown businesses will be open as planned.  

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Council discusses request for help with former Ryan's Property--final decision at June 11 meeting

Crossville city council will decide on what assistance to provide to the re-developers of the old Ryan's Restaurant property during their regular June 14th meeting.

Council members L-R Mayor James Mayberry, Rob Harrison,

J. H. Graham and Scot Chanks met in work session

June 4th. Councilman Art Gernt participated in the

meeting calling in by phone. (Photo: Jim Young

The request from the unidentified developer was discussed during the council's work session and some council members wondered about the precedent that might be set by such an action. City Manager Greg Wood told the council that the existing building would be torn down and the first phase would include construction at the front of the property and the second phase would come at a later time.  The total investment is estimated to be around $2.8 million. 

Councilman Scot Shanks asked if such assistance really helps businesses to come to Crossville? 

Manager Wood explained that it was more like it gave the investor a "warm fuzzy feeling like we want them here."

Councilman J. H. Graham added that the practice was getting to be the norm based on conversations he had with other city officials at Tennessee Municipal League meetings. 

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Previously the council approved waiving the building permit fee for the Rural King store that is locating in the old K-Mart store but other requests by the developer were not approved.  This new development is also seeking to waive the fees for water and sewer taps but that affects the city water/wastewater program that is an enterprise fund and cannot waive fees like that.  If approved, the funds would have to come from taxpayers. 

Council will make a final decision on the request at the council's regular June meeting. 

Council took what appeared to be a final look at the 2019-20 budget and a public hearing on the budget and tax rate will be held prior to the June 11 meeting.  The budget stands with expenses over revenue at some $420,000.  The city has substantial funds in the general fund balance to cover any deficit. 

Deputy Crossville Police Chief Kendrick Graduates from Staff and Command Program

The City of Crossville Police Department is proud to announce the graduation of Deputy Chief Chris Kendrick, from the School of Police Staff and Command at the Northwestern Center for Public Safety, on Friday, May 31, 2019.

L-R: Chief Jessie Brooks, Dep. Chief Chris Kendrick, 

City Manager. Greg Wood  

The School of Police Staff and Command is an intensive ten-week program that prepares law enforcement managers for senior positions by uniquely combining academic principles with practical applications.

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Many instructors are former law enforcement officers with an aggregate of over 200 years of enforcement experience. Guest lecturers, including several graduates, supplement the faculty and come from law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and national organizations.

Following his graduation, Deputy Chief Kendrick will continue to help improve the services of the City of Crossville Police Department and build relationships, within the community and with other agencies, that will help guide the department into the future.

Fairfield Glade Home Invasion Suspect Facing Attempted Murder Charges

Cumberland Co. Sheriff's Dept and Fairfield Glade Police Dept. Joint Press Release:

On June 3, 2019, at approximately 12:15 am a residence on St. George Drive in Fairfield Glade was burglarized. The residence was occupied by a male and female victim who were familiar with the suspected burglar.

The victims barricaded themselves in their bedroom when they realized an intruder was breaking into their home. The suspect tried repeatedly to gain entry into the bedroom but was unsuccessful. Sometime during the attempted intrusion, the suspect fired several rounds through the door of the victim’s bedroom.

The suspect then fled the residence and was observed by a Fairfield Glade Police Officer. The suspect vehicle then turned onto Peavine Road where the Fairfield Glade unit activated the emergency equipment of blue lights and siren and began a short pursuit down Peavine Road and on to I-40 which ended on the Genesis Road exit.

The vehicle came to a stop on the exit and the suspect was taken into custody. During the pursuit, officers observed the suspect throw something from the fleeing vehicle. Officers returned to the area and discovered a weapon at the location and another weapon was found inside the suspect vehicle.

Crossville Police Department, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and Fairfield Glade Police Department were all involved in the apprehension of the suspect. Two other Fairfield Glade units arrived at the residence and observed the bedroom door which had several bullet holes. The victims were unharmed in the residence.

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Sheriff Casey Cox stated that he believed the specific residents were targeted because of their familiarity with each other. Fairfield Chief Mike Williams stated that he was very appreciative to the Crossville Police Department and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the swift apprehension of the intruder.

Cumberland County Sheriff’s Investigators began an investigation assisted by Fairfield Glade Police. Charged in the crime is Andrew Nicholas Rich, age 29, of Blackbear Court, Crossville. He is charged with 2 counts of attempted 1st Degree Murder and 1 count of Aggravated Burglary. Rich is in the Cumberland County Jail on a $1,020,000.00 bond awaiting a June 24, 2019 court date.

Numerous City of Crossville meetings on the Calendar for June

June 3. 2019                           Airport Committee                              3:30 p.m.

June 4, 2019                           City Council Work Session                 5:00 p.m.

June 6, 2019                           Sports Council (CCCSEC)                 4:00 p.m.

June 10, 2019                         Crossville Tree Board                         3:00 p.m.

June 11, 2019                         City Council Audit Committee             5:00 p.m.

June 11, 2019                         Public Hearing                                    5:30 p.m.

                                                (FY19-20 Proposed Budget & Tax Rate)

June 11, 2019                         Crossville City Council                        6:00 p.m.

June Crossville Council Work Session includes Sign Ordinance Committee and Old Ryan's Location

Crossville City Council meets for their June work session on Tuesday, June 4 at 5 PM in the third floor conference room at city hall.

Items to be discussed in preparation for the regular June Meeting on June 11 including the committee to work on the revision of the city's sign ordinance, a request for assistance in redevelopment of the old Ryan's building on 127-N, and some final work on the 2019-20 fiscal year budget.

At the council's May meeting a motion was approved to appoint several members to the committee that will work on changes to the city's sign ordinance. The members include a number of city staff and citizens including Peter Nichols and Tom Flynn. Some additional members will be discussed at the June meeting.

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Two potential businesses are redeveloping the property that used to be the old Ryan's Restaurant on 127-N and they have requested some assistance as waivers toward the costs of development including water and sewer tap fees, a storm-water plat review fee, building inspection fees. Council will discuss the request during the work session.

Council will also look again at the numbers for the city's upcoming fiscal year budget.