Crossville CIty Council says "No" to 7 members unless public approves via referendum

Expansion of Crossville City Council to 7 members turned down by the council as the majority want to see the matter decided by public referendum.

Council member Pamala Harris, who originally proposed the change that would increase the number of council members from the current 5 to 7 mad the motion to approve the matter after it was approved by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year. Mayor Jame Mayberry gave a second on the motion to allow for discussion.

Council discusses the possible expansion of the council from

5 to 7 members.  L-R J.H. Graham, Danny Wyatt,

Mayor James Mayberry, Pam Harris, and Scot Shanks.

Councilman Danny Wyatt said he did not plan to support the motion but added, “I would support this on a referendum to let the people decide.”

Councilman J. H. Graham advised that a majority of his constituents felt the city did not need 7 council members because of the expense and he added that there was concern about more members creating civility problems within the council.

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Comments by council member Scot Shanks indicated he had originally supported the idea but after hearing some of the concerns shared by Mr. Wyatt, Shanks said he tended to agree. Shanks added that the current ratio is one council member per 2500 citizens and most other cities the size of Crossville have 5 members of council too. The contacts that Shanks said he had received indicated the city should stay with 5 council members.

Mayor Mayberry explained that his plan was that if the expansion was approved that the city looks at setting up districts similar to how the county commission and school board are elected. He suggested there could be four council districts with 2 members elected at large for the entire city. Mayberry concluded that he agreed with Mr. Wyatt in the need for putting the change on a referendum.

To make the changes discussed or to put the matter on a referendum would require the matter to be voted on by the council and then sent back to the legislature for approval during next year's session.

The motion on the expansion to 7 members failed with 4 votes opposed and council member Harris the lone aye vote.  

New Council Candidate takes out nominating papers while council expansion to 7 members looks unlikely

One new Crossville city council candidate has taken out nominating papers for the November city election.

Longtime local businessman Glenn McDonald picked up papers to run but has not returned them yet. McDonald is a real estate broker for First Realty in Crossville as well as an auctioneer.

Glenn McDonald

Previous candidates that have qualified for the council race include Rob Harrison and Art Gernt. In addition, incumbent Mayor James Mayberry has qualified to run for Mayor. The mayor and council positions are voted for separately.

Currently, the city election in November will include the office of Mayor and two seats on the city council. Based on discussion at the work session June 5 it looks unlikely that the council will be expanded with two additional council members this year.

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The resolution to expand the council to 7 members (Mayor and 6 council members) has been approved by the Tennessee General Assembly and returned to the council for final approval. The matter would have to pass with a supermajority by a 4 to 1 vote and two council members indicated during the work session that they would only support the change if it was voted on by the public in a referendum. The initial request to have the change sent to the State Legislature only passed with a 3 to 2 vote. Council members Graham and Wyatt opposed the matter when the vote was taken to send the request to the State Legislature. During the work session, Mr. Wyatt and Mayor Mayberry said the matter should be voted on by citizens of Crossville.

The proposal was brought to the council in January this year by council member Pamala Harris who said she felt the change could give the council a different dynamic. Harris added that it could give more people a chance to be represented as well as giving more women a chance to serve on the council.

Crossville City Council set for Called meeting and work session Tuesday June 5 on budget, expanded council and more.

With the addition of a special called meeting before the June work session at 5 PM on Tuesday, June 5 it appears the Crossville City Council will approve the budget and city property tax rate by the regular June council meeting June 12.

With the first reading completed and the second reading on the agenda for a called meeting, Tuesday, June 5 the third and final readings are expected on the agenda of the regular June meeting on June 12. The city's budget is expected to be approved at $1.1 million in the red with some 10 times that amount in the city's general fund balance.

Other items on the called meeting agenda include the first reading of a budget amendment of year-end adjustments to bring the budget to actual expenses, third reading of the ordinance reimbursing the BOE for expenses of the CCHS drainage project and purchases of public works uniforms and a commercial mower.

Following the called meeting at 5:05 PM the council will go into the monthly work session in preparation for the June council meeting. The first item for discussion is a presentation from County Mayor Ken Carey and County Commissioner Wendell Wilson on a proposed expo center. The County is seeking help from the city for the construction costs estimated at $3.8 million. The proposed location for the expo center is between the current Farmer's Market and the Community Complex.

The area in red is the approximate location of the 

proposed County Expo Center.

Council is also scheduled to hear a presentation from Co. Sheriff's investigator Bo Kolloros and police chief David Beaty on a program to train city employees on what to do in the case of an active shooter. The training is called CRASE for civilian response to active shooter event.

Two city charter changes are up for consideration as well. Both have been approved by the council once, approved by the state legislature and each now faces a super majority vote becoming part of the charter. One change would add two additional members to the city council increasing it to 7 total members with a mayor and 6 council members. If the matter is approved it will affect the number of races for the city election in November with one additional 4-year term and one 2 year term on the ballot.

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The other charter change would approve the institution of a 2 percent hotel/motel tax.

Council will discuss a request from businesses on Thurman Avenue between First and Second Street to make the road two way from the current one way. The road was previously a two-way road and was changed to one way several years ago. While the lanes would be narrow, the city street department said there is adequate space though the planning commission has recommended leaving the street as one way.

The area in Green is the section of Thurman Ave

proposed for returning to two-way traffic.

Also on the agenda is the request from the County for waiver of building permit inspection fees on the Crab Orchard School project, installation of a water line on Fox Den Drive, and approval of road closures for the July 6 Rock the Block festival.

A discussion on a proposal of perks and rental fee adjustments for softball, baseball and soccer tournaments is on the agenda and a discussion on paying off water fund loans of about $1.4 million. The loan payoff proposal will save about $14,400 of cash flow each month along with a savings of interest of some $200,000 over the current terms of the loans.