Final Approval of 18-19 City Budget and Hotel/Motel tax expected at Council's Regular June Meeting

Crossville City Council should give final approval to the 2018-19 fiscal year budget during the meeting Tuesday, June 12 and approve the new hotel/motel tax as well.

Crossville City Council members L-R: J.H. Graham,

Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry, Pam Harris

and Scot Shanks.

The schedule for council's regular meeting night starts at 5 PM with the audit committee, a public hearing on the 2018-19 city budget at 5:30, beer board at 5:35 and the solicitation board at 5:55 PM. The regular agenda gets underway at 6 PM.

The third and final reading of the budget is expected to pass easily. The budget shows revenue totaling $19,425,353 and expenses of 20,597,073 with a final deficit for the year of $1,171,720. The city holds a fund balance of over $12 million dollars to cover the additional expense over revenue.

The city's property tax will remain unchanged at 59 cents per $100 of assessed value.

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The council is expected to approve the new hotel/motel tax by the required supermajority as those funds have already been incorporated into the budget. The city originally requested a 3 percent tax on hotel rooms in the city over and above the county's 7.5 percent hotel/motel tax. That would have made Crossville one of the highest taxed in the state. The matter had to be approved by the Tennessee General Assembly and they reduced the tax to 2 percent before sending it back to the city council.

In other matters on the council agenda, they will consider a waiver of fees for inspections on the Crab Orchard School construction, consider contracts for the sale of 11 acres in the Interchange Business Park to an industry identified as “Project Colony” and a lengthy list of annual purchase bids.  

Additional Story on June's city council meeting at this link.

Crossville Council May Agenda looks at accepting BOE sewer lines, CCHS drainage Project funding and Airport engineering.

The Crossville City Council holds its regular May meeting Tuesday, May 8 and the agenda could be a fairly short one.

Crossville City Council members

The meeting of the audit committee will be held at 5:15 followed by a meeting of the beer board to consider a beer license for Mr. Zips at 5:45 PM and the regular agenda starts at 6 PM.

During the council's work session held April 30, the members discussed items, most of which will be decided under the consent agenda of the regular agenda, including agreements to take over the three Board of Education (BOE) sewer lines. City manager Greg Wood explained that one of the changes that will happen under the new agreements is that the schools will start paying the outside city limits rates that are higher than they had been paying when they maintained the lines themselves. City Attorney Will Ridley said the BOE had already approved the agreements. Ridley also pointed out that the South Cumberland Utility District also had to approve the agreement for the Brown Elementary School line but he added he understood there was no problem with that and he expected it would be approved at the utility district's next meeting.

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Other items discussed at the work session and under the consent agenda will name the Eastern Bluebird as the official bird of the city of Crossville. A petition was presented to the city requesting the action and it was mentioned that the state president of the Eastern Bluebird Association lives here.

An application to the Boyd Foundation for funds to improve the Crossville Dog Park is also expected to be approved. The Boyd Foundation is a new funder under the control of current Tennessee Republican Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd and his wife. Council is also expected to approve a contract for the engineering of the Crossville Memorial airport runway and taxiway sealing and striping project and approval of a Department of Justice grant to help pay for police protective vests.

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Council will also consider a request from the Board of Education for reimbursement for part of the CCHS drainage project. The total project is $435,000 and parts of the project requested for reimbursement by the city include the storm inlet structure and the mainline storm sewer are broken out separately at $10,000 and $133,000.

The city's director of engineering Tim Begley has recommended the city reimburse the schools for the inlet structure as the city's drainage pipe connects to one side and the schools to the other side. In addition, it is unclear who owns the current structure that is partly in the city's right of way plus the current grate is substandard and would not support a vehicle if one left the roadway Begley said there could be a liability to the city. The discussion at the work session did not indicate the council would reimburse the higher amount for the drainage line that was entirely on the CCHS property.  

April Regular Council Meeting to look at Property Purchase, SCUD merger and Crab Orchard water sales.

After a work session and a special called meeting last week, the Crossville city council meets for their regular April meeting Tuesday, April 10.

The regular agenda starts at 6:00 PM and is preceded by the Beer Board meeting at 5:45 and the Audit Committee meeting at 5:15 PM.

Several items on the agenda have been on the council's agenda a few times recently including the proposed purchase of the old handle mill property between Thurman Avenue and Webb Avenue, a proposed merger of the city water department with the South Cumberland Utility District and sale of water to the Crab Orchard Utility District.

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The city has been looking at the possible purchase of property in the downtown area for additional parking for some time and seems that the first choice is the remaining portion of the old Turner Day and Woolworth handle mill next to the library. The city is looking to purchase the property currently owned by local resident Ronnie Webb along with the railroad right of way that runs through the property.

While several offers have been discussed, during the work session the offer appears to be that the city would offer $250,00 for the property including the railroad right of way that Mr. Webb has already been negotiating to acquire.

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Council will consider beginning negotiations toward a merger with the South Cumberland Utility District (SCUD). The city council has discussed the merger possibility for the last several months and what benefits might be realized to the SCUD customers and the city. The action proposed on the agenda is to approve the city manager, council member J. H. Graham and the city attorney to begin working with the utility district's board on a possible merger.

The council has also been discussing the possibility of selling water to the Crab Orchard Utility District as their water demand approaches the production capability. Because a connection between the two systems was taken up many years ago, the city is looking at the expenditure of $2,100 to tie the systems back together and allow for the sale of water.

Also on the agenda is a report from city manager Greg Wood on the progress of the retail development consulting firm r360 that the city has contracted with hoping to attract new business to Crossville. Council will also discuss the city manager's annual performance evaluation.   

Tuesday City Council meeting takes up Raw Water Supply, Special Census and BOE Sewer lines

Crossville city council holds their regular February meeting on Tuesday the 13th and will hear the results of the citywide census taken late last year along with making possible decisions on the next move for expanding the raw water supply and taking over the ownership and maintenance of sewer lines to three county elementary schools.

Crossville City Council members L-R J.H. Graham

Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry, Pamala Harris

and Scot Shanks 

The council's evening starts at 5:15 with the audit committee meeting followed at 5:45 by the beer board meeting with one application for Paparitos Southwest Grill on the agenda. The solicitation board meets at 5:55 PM and the regular meeting agenda starts at 6:00 PM.

The contractor who performed the special city census Arnold Harbolt will be presenting the results of the census count to the council during the meeting. The census may give the city additional funding from the state shared taxes that are distributed to cities on a per capita basis. The city has been successful in gaining additional revenue over the cost of the census for the last 20 years between the regular federal census.

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Council will also determine a direction for the city's push to increase the raw water supply for the plateau. During last weeks work session, the council discussed the results of a study of previous reports and estimates of demand prepared by engineering firm J. R. Wauford.

Wauford's report recommended looking at 4 options including, Raising Meadow Park Lake Dam and continuing to harvest from Lake Tansi, Raising Meadow Park Lake Dam and harvesting from Lake Tansi and Caney Fork River, Raising Meadow Park Lake Dam and harvesting from Lake Tansi and Holiday Lake and Harvesting water from Watts Bar Lake.

The engineering firm recommends the city plan a meeting with representatives of the US Army Corps of Engineers on the next steps toward the water supply expansion.

The council will also consider the request of the Cumberland County Board of Education that the city take over the responsibility for maintenance of sewer lines that serve North, South and Brown Elementary schools. The lines were built to hook the schools up to the city sewer service and all repairs and maintenance has been done by the school system.

At the work session, Councilman J. H. Graham said he was in favor of the action and felt it was something the city could do for the BOE. City manager Greg Wood said the line to South was about 20 years old and if the city planned to add more capacity to the Brown line at least one lift station would be required. In addition the city would map the location of the line once they take it over.

Council's November Meeting could be a Short One Based on the Agenda

Crossville city council's November meeting looks like it will be a short one.

The council's evening starts Tuesday at 5:20 PM with the audit committee and then at 5:50 a public hearing on the annexation and plan of services for a property on Lantana Road and 11 acres of an expansion of the Gardens.

Crossville City Council

The regular council agenda is set for 6:00 PM and includes presentations for the student of the month and 12 items under the consent agenda. The consent agenda includes renewal of the parks and recreation concession contract, temporary street closing for the Christmas Festival and acceptance of the extension of Premier Drive.

Council will handle bids and purchases for volleyball court sand, a fire department generator, a car and truck lift and a truck for the maintenance department.

Also on the agenda is discussion and action on the sewer line and water line to Meadow Park Lake water treatment plant. The recommendation from city staff is for the council to approve moving forward on the project and hiring J. R. Wauford engineers to work on the project.

In addition, the city attorney and city manager reports will conclude the meeting.

October council agenda includes firetruck purchases and shooting sports park board appointments.

Crossville City Council holds their regular October meeting Tuesday, October 10 and will consider the purchase of two new fire trucks, one with a 107-foot ladder that fire officials say will reach all current Crossville buildings.

City hall is ready for fall.

The council's busy night starts at 5:00 PM with the audit committee meeting followed by a closed executive session at 5:30 PM and the regular council meeting begins at 6 PM in the council chambers at city hall. The only thing allowed in a closed executive session is for an attorney to provide information on lawsuits and council members can ask questions. Council members are not allowed to discuss or deliberate any action during a closed executive session.

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The 2 Fire trucks the department would like to purchase include a pumper truck that would replace a 24-year-old truck that would be traded in for a $12,000 reduction of the cost of the deal. In addition, the proposed ladder truck would replace a 1994 ladder truck with a 75-foot reach. The older ladder truck would be put in reserve as a backup truck to be used as needed.

Council will also consider using a Texas-based cooperative that allows governments across the country access to purchasing through the Texas inter-local cooperation Act similar to the Tennessee state contract purchases. This buyers cooperative that will reduce the price of the fire apparatus by some 10 percent as the cooperative bid contracts almost 2 years ago and the purchase must be completed by the end of the month when the new prices go into effect. Those savings will allow the city to purchase the necessary additional material to fully equip the trucks within the amount saved.

The cost of the two trucks with the cooperative pricing comes to $1,605,172.54 with the addition of $162,047 for equipping the trucks the total cost is $1,779,249.54. The city will pay for the trucks and then finance the purchase over 10 years.

Also on the agenda is the appointment of two members of the Shooting Sports Park board. As part of the agreement for the city to provide land for the project, the board agreed to allow the city to appoint two members to the board. The city will consider the four names the city has received so far and vote on the appointments at the meeting.

The request by the West Cumberland Utility District to purchase water from the city in the future has been under discussion and councilman J. H. Graham will report to the council on the status of those discussions.   

Regular Chamber agenda item removal hits a snag but expected to pass eventually

Efforts to remove the Chamber of Commerce report from the Crossville city council's monthly agenda hit a snag when one council member was a few minutes late to a short special called meeting.

Because changing the order of business on the council agenda requires an ordinance, it must be approved by council three times. The first reading of the change came during the regular August meeting and was approved by a 3 to 2 vote. Often called meetings will include the second or third readings of previously approved ordinances to move the process along.

Chamber of Commerce Office on Main St.

When the item came up as the first item on the called meeting agenda only four members of council were present as councilman J. H. Graham was delayed at the dentist's office. The motion to approve the ordinance on second reading came from council member Danny Wyatt with a second by member Pamala Harris. Harris and Wyatt voted in favor while member Scot Shanks and Mayor James Mayberry voted against as they did on the first reading. A motion fails when the vote ends in a tie and the the action can be brought back before council again but must start over back at the first reading at that time.

During the regular council meeting councilman Wyatt brought the issue forward saying that he felt the Chamber needed to go through the city manager with issues that arise, reports to make or items that need to be acted upon. The item was added to the agenda last year that allowed a report from either the County government or the Chamber or both. The Chamber has used the spot every month but the council has rarely heard from the county.

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During the regular meeting Mayor Mayberry described the Chamber as a vital partner in the promotion of Crossville and Cumberland County and he felt the communication they brought to the council was important enough to take the time to hear.

Councilman Wyatt said he felt the Chamber should go through the city manager who he added was doing a good job of keeping the council informed of items needing their attention. Councilman Shanks wanted to make sure that if the Chamber needed to speak before the council they could but was still opposed to removing the item from the agenda.  

Crossville council waiting on Chamber approval of contract changes, removes chamber report from agenda

A majority of the Crossville city council agreed to remove the regular monthly report by the Chamber of Commerce from the council's agenda but the chamber could still speak at the council meeting if needed.

The council also briefly discussed the contract for services with the chamber after some proposed changes suggested by the city are under consideration by the chamber's board. The council also approved the chamber report card to be used to report to the city.

Chamber President Brad Allamong, right, addresses the Council.

The chamber report has followed the city's marketing report where a slot for Cumberland County government or the Chamber could report to the council. The county government has not taken advantage of the opportunity but the chamber director/president Brad Allamong has.

At that point in the agenda, Mayor James Mayberry called for the chamber report but council member J. H. Graham said the next item on the agenda was a discussion of the chamber's contract. Allamong took the podium to present the chamber's new scorecard that will be used to report to the city on activities and progress toward goals. Allamong also presented council with copies of the new Lifestyles magazine that he said the Chamber uses to raise funds making about $14,000 from the publication. Copies of the magazine are sent to those inquiries about visiting, retirement and moving to the area and industrial prospects.

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Allamong pointed out some numbers from the report card including 412,000 website hits for the month. The chamber has several contacts in progress with potential new businesses prospects.

The chamber board will discuss the city proposed changes to the contract and will get back to the city at a future date. The council unanimously approved accepting the chamber report card to be used for reporting to the city.

Councilman Danny Wyatt addressed the monthly chamber report saying that the report card needed to go through the city manager who would provide information he thought important to the council members. Councilman Scot Shanks sought clarification to make sure that the council could still speak before the council if they needed to.

Council discussion on Chamber part 1

Council discussion on Chamber part 2

Wyatt said that the manager was doing a good job of keeping the council informed and as the CEO of the city, he needs to be in the loop to know what information needs to be sent along to the council.

Mr. Wyatt moved that the item be removed from the council agenda on the first reading of an ordinance the council must approve three times to make the change. The motion, seconded by Mr. Graham, was approved with three votes in favor from Wyatt, Graham and Pamala Harris. Mayor Mayberry and Mr. Shanks voted no.

Graham returned the discussion to the contract requesting that a clause be added to inform the city manager of the details of any prospective industrial prospect. Ms. Harris also clarified that the contract would not automatically renew each year but come back before council.  

July City Council agenda covers solid waste contract as well as Garrison Park and downtown Sidewalks

Crossville city council meets for their regular July meeting on Tuesday July 11 and will discuss a budget amendment for Garrison Park improvement work, downtown sidewalks and a possible grant as well as potential industrial expansions.

Meetings start with the council's audit committee meeting at 5:15, the Crossville beer board meeting at 5:45 and the regular agenda meeting starts at 6:00 PM.

L-R Crossville city manager Greg Wood and council members

J.H. Graham, Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry,

Pamala Harris and Scot Shanks.

After failing to approve the third and final reading of a budget amendment to pay for work already preformed during the 2016-17 fiscal year, council will address the topic again during their regular meeting. The motion by councilman Danny Wyatt approved at the called meeting late last month called for tabling the matter “until someone can tell us why we have to take the fence down.”

Garrison Park

At the called meeting several council members expressed unhappiness with removing the fence and later putting it back up. Mr. Wyatt estimated that cost at around $100,000. The $500,000 state department of environment and conservation grant that the city agreed to requires that the old grandstand and the perimeter fence be removed. The redevelopment plan includes a new water feature splash pad, a playground, replacing the basketball court and constructing a restroom building in the park. The grant requires a $500,000 match from the city.

The city council will look at possible grant funding from the state for downtown sidewalks. The city has talked about improving sidewalks downtown fro some 14 years now but can't seem to get the project underway. The state TDOT grant now called Transportation Alternatives Program. The program was previously known as the Transportation Enhancement Program and was part of the funding in place previously for part of the downtown project. City manager Greg Wood and councilman J. H. Graham will discussion on the grant that can be used for sidewalks and pedestrian lighting.

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Council is expected to act on the the new solid waste collection contract. City manager Wood and street superintendent Kevin Music both recommend the approval. The new 5 year contract reduces the annual cost by some $121,000 annually and the city will take over the leaf and brush collection. The new contract uses the property appraiser's classification for residential and commercial and the question of mobile home parks is answered in the city's ordinance originally passed on 1973 and updated in 1998 requiring that they provide refuse collection in their parks.

CoLinx is asking to lease property next to it's expansion in the Interchange Business Park for parking for additional employees as the parking is not adequate. In addition, the city manager may have additional information on a potential industrial prospect for the community.

Other agenda items include Friends of the Airport memorial and the marketing report.  

Busy Tuesday for council. Discussions incldude sidewalks, Garrison Park and new animal shelter.

Crossville city council holds their regular May meeting Tuesday May 9 with a series of meetings starting at 5 PM.

Crossville city hall

The council will meet as the audit committee at 5 PM in the third floor conference room followed by a public hearing on the city's capital improvement plan at 5:30. Meetings starting with the public hearing will be held in the council chambers on the second floor at city hall. The council will meet as the Beer Board at 5:45 PM and a public hearing at 5:50 PM on the annexation of 6.3 acres at the Gardens. The regular council meeting starts at 6 PM.

Topics up for discussion on the council agenda include another run at the downtown sidewalk project following a lengthy discussion at their work session last week. (Link to story) In addition, council will take up the improvements planned for Garrison Park. The park redevelopment does include the removal of the old grandstand at the park as it does not meet ADA requirements and has other issues.

Vancienetta Wisdom discusses Garrison Park during

city council work session

The redevelopment decision has become a bit controversial and there are some in the community that would like to see the structure saved. Vancienetta Wisdom addressed the issue at council work session last week and talked about the history of the park seeking to convince the council to not tear down the grandstand. Crossville has received a grant to pay for the first phase of the redevelopment and the city has already signed the grant contract for the LPRF (Local Parks and Recreation Fund) money and it could be a problem for the city with future grants if they change their mind on the deal at this late date.

Garrison Park and grandstand

Contracts for the grant administrator and the engineering work must be approved for the grant to move forward.

The city continues to pursue a fuel truck for the Crossville Memorial Airport. The grant would cover half the $35,000 cost with the remainder coming from funds budgeted for the airport.

And council will discuss the request from county mayor Kenny Carey on the new animal shelter building. Carey is asking for the city to waive permit fees and to install sewer line to the location of the new building as well as providing a grinder pump to the project's contractor. The city has previously committed $90,000 toward the project and the cost of the material will come from that amount.

Tuesday Council agenda looks at rehiring retirees, solid waste contract and a report on downtown sidewalks

The April Crossville city council meeting is set for Tuesday April 11 and includes mostly items the council has discussed before.

One item not on the agenda for the first time in several weeks is the Shooting Sports Park and the sale of the land to the nonprofit is scheduled to be closed prior to this meeting.  This will also be the first real council meeting for new city manager Greg Wood who started one week before the last meeting.

New Crossville city manager Greg Wood

The Council's regular meeting starts at 6 PM and will be preceded by the monthly audit committee meeting at 5:20 PM and a brief public hearing on the annexation plan of services for two new annexations at 2496 Lantana Rd and 99 Grandview Dr in addition to a report on annexation progress for Orange Circle at 5:50 PM. The council also meets as the Solicitation Board at 5:55 PM to consider an application from the Crossville Lions Club for their annual white cane project.

Council meetings are held at city hall and open to the public.

The regular agenda includes possible action on the rehiring of retirees policy that council has been discussing for some time now. Councilman Danny Wyatt had requested some additional information on the cost and savings of the previous early retirement program. The spread sheet prepared by Leah Crockett shows an amount of annual savings totaling $282,708 for the current year looking at how much the retirees would be receiving compared to the cost of their current replacements.

The total amount of the 6 months of salary buyout for the 18 employees who took early retirement was $446,275 so it appears the city has already made back its investment in the 28 months since the program was offered.

The issues that have cropped up with the rehiring of retirees include that they must be returned to the more expensive Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System and the 6 month salary buyout and other regular retirement incentives they received. Discussion by council has included whether the buyout payment should be paid back if a previous retiree return to work.

New city manager Greg Wood has recommended that such employees not be rehired unless there were “extraordinary circumstances.”

As the deadline nears for a decision on renewal of the city solid waste collection contract with Cumberland Waste Disposal the city has been looking at its options. One option is the city's purchase of a leaf vacuum truck to allow the street department to do some or all of the leaf pickup. Such a truck is estimated to cost around $40,000.

During last weeks council work session, Manager Wood suggested that the city renew the the contract for 12 months to give him time to come up with a plan and recommendation. Council did not seem to want to do that. Council must either renew the contract, rebid the contract or take over waste collection with city employees.

Council will receive an update on the status of the downtown sidewalk project and a proposal to replace the traffic signal at the bottom of Water Tank Hill. The sidewalk project may affect the state plans to resurface Main Street through Downtown.

Council will also consider a request from the Lake Commission for additional funds to pave additional parking at the park between the playground and the large shelter. The project will require an additional $5,000 added to the almost $10,000 the park has in their budget.

Council will consider 4 appointments to the Industrial Development Board, approval of several bids including repainting the Catoosa water tank in Interchange Business Park, and proposals for the next city financial audit.

City manager candidate Greg Wood has taken council's offer--final approval could come Tuesday night.

It appears that the City of Crossville's new city manager will be Greg Wood and final approval could come as soon as Tuesday's council meeting.

According to Mayor James Mayberry, tasked with negotiating with candidate Greg Wood who was selected in a special called meeting last Tuesday, Wood has accepted the offer and agreed to the terms of a 2 year contract proposed. The only contingency remaining is a background check though Mayberry said Wood had held a high level of clearance when he was in the military and it is hoped the results of that check will be available by Tuesday night.

Council makes offer to Greg Wood for city manager

A draft contract is up for review by the council though sources say Wood has already agreed to the terms and signed the contract. Mayberry said Wood had a few loose end to tie up before he would come to Crossville but information on the city's budget will be forwarded to him and he will start reviewing the budget right away.

In addition to the two year contract at a salary of $80,211 with a possible 10 percent raise in 6 months, the agreement includes a 6 month severance deal if Wood is not fired for cause. The effective date of the employment is March 6th and Wood will receive up to a $2500 moving allowance. Wood also receives health, disability and life insurance, a vehicle to drive and a $50 a month cell phone allowance.  Wood's resume is below.

Tuesday night's meeting schedule starts with the Audit Committee meeting starting at 4:45 followed by a closed executive session with the attorney at 5:15. The executive session could last up to 30 minutes and a beer board meeting will be held at 5:45 with the regular meeting to begin at 6:00 PM.

The council's agenda will take up operations of the new corporate hanger at the Crossville Memorial Airport. The hanger has been in use for a period of time but no discussion of fees, utilities and operational concerns have been addressed. Council is also expected to approve a final change order on the project, a reduction of $13,000 in the final cost.

Councilwoman Pamala Harris is expected to be appointed to a vacancy on the City Lake Commission and council is expected to handle two requests for sewer service out side the city limits.

Other agenda items council will consider:

• Changes to the public records ordinance and policy,
• Third reading on the property tax freeze,
• Loan agreement on Air Force jet Miss Nettie,
• Street closings for monthly cruise-ins,
• Property transfer for Shooting Sports Park,
• Quail Hollow airport property.

Crossville council meetings back on Tuesday evening, discussion on city manager hiring and land for animal shelter

The Crossville city council returns to holding their regular meetings on Tuesday evening January 10, 2017 and will consider the selection of a new city manager, donating land for a possible new animal shelter, and the possibility of a city special census among other items on the agenda.

The council's schedule for the evening starts with the audit committee meeting at 5:15 PM, moves to the Beer Board at 5:45 PM and regular council meeting starts at 6:00 PM. Also for the first time, public comment from the public has been moved to near the start of the agenda.

Several of the agenda items were discussed at last weeks work session and the council was to have a list of their initial top picks from the candidates for city manager for tabulation by the meeting. Three additional candidates submitted resumes late last week. The council is accepting resumes through January 16 but is hoping to get a jump on possible interviews as soon as possible.

At the work session, councilman Scot Shanks said, I really feel like we need to move forward with interviewing for the city manager position.” Mayor James Mayberry agreed saying they could start interviewing finalists before the deadline by having each council member come up with a list of names and see how that narrows down the list.

Councilman Scot Shanks

Initial interviews may be done through the internet and city clerk Sally Oglesby said the city staff was working on setting that up for the council's use. There was some discussion of what kind of questions and how that would be handled. The main thing councilman Shanks felt was that the process needed to be started. He said he had a list of 6 or 7 names he'd picked out and other council members said they also had chosen names from the list.

Council was given a deadline of Monday to send in their lists and a breakdown would be available at the meeting.

During the work session, council also heard from Dr. Mark Hendrixson on behalf of the local group that wants to see a better facility for the city/county animal shelter. The group FOCCAS (Focus on Cumberland County Animal Shelter) is seeking to raise some $500,000 for a new adoption center that will be built next to the animal shelter but they are seeking a better location for the shelter then its current location.

Dr. Mark Hendrixson, standing, talks to the council about FOCCAS plans

for improvements of the city/county animal shelter during a work session.

According to Hendrixson, the county is planning to redo the animal shelter and FOCCAS is attempting to raise additional funds for the adoption center. Hendrixson described what a poor site for the shelter the current location is and is asking that the city donate 3 to 5 acres behind the current city dog park that a new shelter could be built on with the adoption center adjacent to it. The city and county have budgeted $180,000 together for building program of shelter in the current fiscal year.

FOCCAS had asked the county to delay the start of the project as they work to raise the additional funds but the county wants to get the project underway. The project would be in the location of the current shelter that FOCCAS describes as not community friendly while the location near Centennial Park would be more easily accessible and easier to get donations for. Council will consider the group's request at the meeting.

Based on discussion at the work session, it appears likely the council will put off a special census until next year. There are several time lines that must be met for a special census including a January first deadline to notify the state and a March deadline to have the census complete so it can be reviewed for certification. Dave Warner, who managed the last special census recommended that the city wait until 2018 to do the census.

Warner has said he does not want to do the census again and it may be difficult to find a firm to take over that work. The council had approved the first reading of a budget amendment for $30,000 to fund the census at the December meeting. It is unclear what action the council will take at the meeting.

Council will also consider providing sewer service to a property on Deep Draw Road that is out side the city limits and removing lumber on the city's Maryetta Road property being considered for an industrial project.

July Regular city council meeting to consider indoor recreation facility and hiring city manager

The Crossville city council meets for their regular July meeting Thursday evening and the schedule includes the audit committee at 5:30 and the regular meeting at 6 PM.

Crossville city council members, left to right, Pete Souza, Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry, Pamala Harris & Jesse Kerley. 

Council will discuss the indoor recreation center as they attempt to interest the county in sponsoring the funding for the project in a county wide bond referendum. The referendum would likely eventually lead to a 10 cent property tax increase and if the referendum was only voted on by city voters, the city tax rate could rise as much as 35 cents to cover the bond costs and possibly more for operations.

City representatives attended the recent building and grounds committee meeting but at least one member, while he said he supported the city doing the project, felt that there was inadequate information for the county to approve the referendum.

The city is working to put together a joint agreement between the city and county concerning the ownership and operation of the recreation center. The basic framework would be contained in the resolution adopted by both the City and Council so that, if the referendum is approved by the voters, both the City and County know how to proceed.  Language in the draft agreement

Without these basic questions agreed on in advance, an adopted county-wide referendum would make it totally a County facility and responsibility, with no involvement by the City. The County Commission meets on July 18. Their next meeting would be August 15, which leaves little time to get the proposed referendum question to the State Election Commission for approval to submit to the Cumberland County Election Commission by August 25.

Council will consider the request for the $40,000 from the Chamber of Commerce as part of the fund raising that includes $120,000 raised by the chamber and another $40,000 from each of the city and county that would total $200,000 to be used for a target industry analysis, workforce development strategy, feasibility study for a multi-year fund raising campaign and operations of a basic economic development office.

The letter from the chamber requesting the release of the funds indicates that the industry target analysis would be a companion study to go along with the property evaluation program awarded to the community by the state late last year that looked at potential industrial sites.

Councilman Jesse Kerley has requested that an item concerning the hiring of a full time city manager be placed on the agenda. Council had previously voted in April to put off hiring a regular manager until after the November election and to use the help of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) in seeking candidates for the position.

Kerley's request for the city manger action came out of series of emails in which Kerley accused Mayor James Mayberry of violating the city charter over asking council members to share their thoughts on hiring now former interim police chief as the regular police chief. Story on emails between council members over Shoap hiring 

Once again, an item to discuss rescinding the last changes to the council's standing rules has been requested to be placed on the agenda by councilman Pete Souza. This itme has been on the agenda for the last several months and councilman Souza has stated he will out in on every month until the rules are changed or he is no longer on the council.

Council will also consider authorizing repairs to Crossville fire engine # 18 that was damaged in a wreck while responding to a fire recently. The repairs are estimated at $29,367.37 and insurance will cover all but the $5,000 deductible.

Under the council's consent agenda, items to be considered include approval of payment for the sponsorship of the Tennessee Women's Open golf tournament, approval of $1.2 million in capital outlay notes for the radio system upgrades along with several upcoming road closures for downtown area events.

It appears that discussion on the downtown sidewalk project may be put off until a future work session on the costs of having a contractor do the work versus hiring additional city employees for a dedicated sidewalk construction/repair crew. 

June Regular Crossville City Council Meeting includes discussions of Public Comment, APEX Wind Farm and More

The Crossville city council has their regular June meeting scheduled for Thursday June 9 and agenda items include the council's standing rules once again, public comment and first amendment rights as well as a discussion on the Apex wind farm proposed for Crab Orchard.

In addition, a public hearing is scheduled for 5:30 pm prior to the regular meeting as well as the second readings of the budget and tax rate ordinances leaving one final reading for final approval expected to come later in the month.

The schedule for the evening includes

5:00 pm Audit committee meeting

5:30 pm Public hearing on proposed 2016-17 city budget.

5:50 pm Public hearing on annexation of 103 Meadowview Ln.

6:00 pm Regular Council meeting

The consent agenda includes the readings of the budget and tax rate unless a council member requests that they be pulled out for either discussion or separate vote. A long list of annual bids on supplies purchased for the upcoming year is expected to be a consent list as well and bids on several items including the infrared FLIR camera for the police department's drone are on the agenda.

For the third month in a row, councilman Pete Souza is asking the council to consider rescinding the council standing rules adopted March 10 this year that abolished the monthly work sessions and public comment except at the end of the council's meetings. The previous two times have been unsuccessful.

Another item requested for the agenda by Mr. Souza is titled “Discussion and possible action on failure to comply with the standard rules and Robert's Rules during the May 12, 2016 regular scheduled meeting, and violation of first amendment rights."  When asked about the item, Mr. Souza said it was about “the right for people to speak without being interrupted and the right of an individual to criticize public officials without abusive behavior. To be told that they couldn't say anything derogatory about elected officials is incorrect.” Souza continued by saying, “The council does not have the right to just blurt in and take over the council chambers without being recognized.”

Councilman Danny Wyatt has requested to discuss the impact of the Apex wind farm on Crossville. Wyatt also wants to discuss the proposed Crossville Memorial Airport Aviation Hall of Fame and recognizing former councilman, the late Boyd Wyatt, Sr. for his service and support of the airport.

Other agenda items include a presentation by Hospice, the city manager and city attorney reports, the marketing report and the final reading to approve the budget amendment to pay the severance package to former city manager David Rutherford.