Sports complex: Council approves buying 300 acres near Exit 8

The Clarksville City Council on Thursday night approved on first reading, buying 300 acres at Interstate 24's Exit 8 for the Clarksville sports complex.

The vote was 8-5 for the revised plan, and it came after two hours of wrangling over legal points and unsuccessful attempts at further postponement of the land purchase.

Just before the vote, about two hours into the meeting, an exasperated Mayor Kim McMillan told council members, "This is ridiculous ... y'all are all grown adults."

The land purchase proposal had previously failed in a 7-6 vote, when the deal was for 400 acres at $6 million. This proposal was for a revised 300 acres at just over $4 million. That was apparently enough to sway two council members who previously were "no" voters: Richard Garrett and Jeff Burkhart, for an 8-5 vote to approve.

Joining McMillan, Garrett and Burkhart in voting "yes" were council members Tim Chandler, Valerie Guzman, Geno Grubbs, Jeff Henley and Bill Powers.

Sticking to their "no" votes, but in Thursday night's minority, were council members Deanna McLaughlin, Ron Erb, Wanda Smith, David Allen and Mike Alexander.

The ordinance will require a second and final vote, which is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Prior to the land purchase measure, the council also approved 7-6 a resolution introduced by Burkhart stating: “... it is the sense of the council to invest equally, to the highest extent practicable, in both the construction of an athletic complex and roads and infrastructure throughout the city of Clarksville.”

Push to postpone

Some council members Thursday night questioned whether the land buy ordinance could be brought back up again this soon. McLaughlin brought up the city's "Redd Rule," which stipulates that failed ordinances have to be shelved for 12 months unless there has been a substantial change to the ordinance.

But City Attorney Lance Baker insisted that in his legal opinion, the new ordinance on the land purchase is "materially different" from the former, failed one, in that the new one calls for about 100 fewer acres and will cost the city about $1 million less. He thinks those differences "would hold up in any court you might take it to" should reintroducing the ordinance just days later ever be challenged.

After that discussion, some City Council members pushed to postpone the vote, chiefly McLaughlin and Garrett, while Alexander stuck to his constant stance that fixing roads must come before a sports complex.

Allen, in a lengthy line of questioning, asked how the city of Clarksville would pay for the sports complex beyond the land purchase. He and McLaughlin both argued the city doesn't have a financial plan for how to pay for it.

"I think it's been made very clear over and over what we intend to do," McMillan responded.

She has previously said that the city would build out the complex in phases over perhaps 20 years, and the debt would be paid for by additional sports tourism revenue.

More: Sports complex: Land buy cut by 100 acres to get council back in game

The council was taking up an amended, downsized version of an ordinance that had failed on second reading earlier this month, to buy property close to Interstate 24 Exit 8 for development of a city "Family Athletic Complex," as McMillan has formally described the vision for it.

The property owners are Lucien "Chip" Connell, III; Mary Ann Connell; Margaret E. Connell, and Steven Phillips. Chip and Mary Ann were in council chambers. Prior to the meeting, Mary Ann Connell told The Leaf-Chronicle, "We are most encouraged by this second opportunity to bring this before the city.

"The family farm has been going for three generations, and we see this sports complex as a wonderful way to keep the farm mostly intact where future generations can enjoy it."

McMillan and staunch "yes" voters on the council were hopeful and upbeat entering Thursday's meeting.

"I think we've got some forward movement on the sports complex, and I'm thrilled that we've got a second chance to vote on it," Powers said on entering Council Chambers.

As debate heated up during the meeting, Powers added, "If you are going to give me a choice between doing something for the kids in our community, and building roads, I will choose the kids every time. I do realize that we need to strike a balance between the two, but we have an opportunity to do something really special here."

After the meeting, McMillan told The Leaf-Chronicle, with one more vote on the land buy remaining, "This result is encouraging, I am excited for the people of Clarksville whom we serve. With this family athletic complex, we'll hopefully be able to do something here worthy of being called Tennessee's fifth-largest city."

City officials said McMillan's office felt compelled to come back quickly to the council with another take on the ordinance, in hopes of not losing the attention of the Tennessee State Soccer Association and baseball's Prospect League, both of which have said they want to bring teams and tourism deals worth tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars to Clarksville.

The land deal rejected by the council on May 3 could have only come back up within 12 months of that vote if there was a substantial change to the ordinance.

While the acreage and purchase price were, in fact, significantly reduced, the capability of attracting TSSA and the Prospect League as long-term tenants of the sports complex would remain, city officials have said.

The sports complex is designed to be both a community athletics venue and a tourism draw, featuring soccer fields, baseball diamonds, ice hockey rinks and tennis courts, plus a walking trail and water recreation connections to the Clarksville Blueway.

The complex would provide much-needed space for local youth leagues and teams, particularly the soccer fields.

TSSA would maintain some 16 soccer fields and coordinate tournaments that would generate enough tourism revenue and tax proceeds to pay off the debt from developing the facilities.

There has also been the possibility of developing a multi-purpose baseball stadium to serve as the home to collegiate Prospect League baseball.

Both partners have said they remain interested, and McMillan's quick action on revising the plan appears designed to keep them from straying elsewhere.

Reach Business Editor Jimmy Settle at 931-245-0247 and on Twitter @settle_leaf.