Crossville city council will take up a
number of items at their regular August meeting Tuesday August 8 at
Crossville city hall.
Items on the agenda include a public
hearing and possible action on a TDOT grant to pay for sidewalk
improvements in the downtown area. Council will also consider the
contract between the city and the chamber of commerce and the
scorecard the chamber has developed to report their work and progress
to the city. Other items for discussion include the possible
reestablishment of an airport committee, the evaluation of the new
city manager Greg Wood's first six months, and a revised street
closing policy.
The evening starts with the monthly
audit committee meeting at 5 PM followed by a closed executive
session concerning legal matters with city attorney Will Ridley. A
public hearing on the TDOT transportation alternative program grant
takes place at 5:30 and the council meets as the beer board at 5:45.
The regualr agenda starts at 6 PM.
Downtown Crossville sidewalks
It seems that the council has talked
about downtown sidewalk project for years, and they have. The
council has made decisions and changed their mind over and over
again. The last decision was to have TDOT come and do the corners
they would do and the city would use the street department sidewalk
crew to do the rest of repair and patch work over a lengthy period of
time. Recently the city discussed a grant now called the
transportation alternatives program, a different name but a similar
grant that had been part of the downtown redevelopment program
canceled about three years ago.
The current grant program will fund 80
percent of the costs of the project with the city paying the
remaining 20 percent. The total estimated cost for the sidewalk work
is just over $2.6 million. The city's portion would be almost
$530,000.
The project was discussed during the
council's recent work session and the time line of environmental
work, approvals and bidding pushes the construction completion of
project back into the time frame of late 2020 when TDOT plans to
repave the downtown area after delays from the previous attempts to
complete the sidewalk projects.
The council needs to make a decision as
the grant is due to be submitted on October 1 this year but the grant
awards are not expected to be announced until October 2018.
A draft of a contract between the city
and the Chamber of Commerce will be considered by the council. The
contract has been under consideration as part of the city's funding
to the chamber. During the recent work session, council member J. H.
Graham asked that the contract address the inclusion of the city
manager and marketing director in the process of industrial
recruiting. Also discussed was the need to have agreements ready to
go on property purchase credits for new jobs. This has been used for
previous businesses with a lease and a purchase agreement.
Chamber of Commerce office
Council member Scot Shanks has brought
up a proposal to reestablish an airport committee after a business
that uses the airport brought some concerns to his attention. An
airport committee made up of local pilots and airport supporters was
abolished by the council in 2007 after some 50 years of existence.
Discussion on the matter at the work session did not indicate support
for the proposal but Mr. Shanks was unable to attend so the matter
will come up on the agenda.
City manager Wood has been in his
position for 6 months now and individual council members have
provided feedback through an evaluation. The overall score covering
10 areas of work came in with an average score of 4 out of a possible
5 and council has provided additional written suggestions as well.
The council could consider a salary increase.
Council will consider a change to a
recently adopted street closing policy. Those changes could include
no charge for joint or community events and a possible change in the
location for cruise ins next year to the road behind the courthouse
instead of Main Street.
With the C.A.T.S. Organization
relinquishing the lease to operate the Crossville Depot there are two
possible scenarios the city is looking at. One would let the local
Crossville Model Railroad Club use the facility for their model train
exhibit but that would not allow use of the facility for meetings.
The other option is for the Palace Theatre to oversee the depot
operation.
Crossville Depot
