CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville mayor and half the City Council are up for election in November, and candidates are actively campaigning. To help voters with their decisions, Clarksville Now is publishing their written responses to a series of questions on key issues.

In Ward 2, appointed council member Eric Claunch is running for election against Bill Cody. Here are their responses on five key topics. Both candidates, presented here in alphabetical order, were asked to respond in 100 words or less. (Responses may be trimmed for length.)

1. Streets, sidewalks

Clarksville continues to play catchup in improving/constructing streets and sidewalks. What should be done to speed up the process?

Claunch: First we (elected officials) need to communicate with constituents what the city can impact and influence. There are a myriad of roads in Clarksville that are city, county, and state roads/ routes. The “education/ communication” piece is extremely helpful in the “who”. A comprehensive plan for streets and roads needs to be shared with all of Clarksville, with the associated timeline, financing plan, and expectation for completion. The City Council needs to then approve these plans and apply funding to these projects, not to be utilized for “all the other things”. We lack flattened communication within city leadership, city council, and the citizens and constituents of Clarksville.

Cody: Our main streets are at their max width and cannot be widened more than they are. One thing we need to work on is widening certain secondary roads to create a bypass to alleviate traffic on our roads. I propose a study to evaluate the best roads for this purpose. Along with the widening we place sidewalks. We could also sink all traffic lights so there is no getting a green light but then run into a red light. This would allow traffic to move more freely.

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2. City budget shortfall

Mayor Joe Pitts pushed for a large tax increase to cover what he called a revenue shortfall, then halted several capital projects when the increase wasn’t fully approved. What should be done to address this problem?

Claunch: An independent audit is necessary to truly create shared understanding of where we are currently. The “pet projects” have to halt. The city needs to triage critical infrastructure and life safety issues above and beyond anything else. Communicate that with the citizens of Clarksville and work with department heads, CCMs, to communicate that plan to the masses with their buy in. Please I challenge everyone to go watch the tapes (recorded city council meetings) and see what I advocated for, what I fought for, what I was against, and what happened during the voting process.

Cody: I believe this short fall is due to uncontrolled spending. I will personally go through each line of every department budget and cut out wasteful or redundant spending and hold accountable those departments to spend the taxpayer money honestly and efficiently. If this is done the city could possibly find the money to offer our firefighters a fair wage.

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3. Affordability

Costs of housing are rising dramatically in Clarksville. What should be done to address the need for more affordable housing?

Claunch: We have to stop the needless building in Clarksville, TN. There are generations who don’t want a single family home with a yard, they want amenities, shopping within walking distance, no maintenance, and a different model that what is currently being offered. Multi-use is rising in popularity for empty nesters, the younger generations, and the military. We truly have to change our thought process about housing and fulfill the need of the masses, not continue to build what isn’t attainable for most. I recently was involved in a conversations about COOP housing that has been extremely successful in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga.

Cody: The City of Clarksville owns a couple of properties that could be used for affordable housing. They own the old Frosty Morn property and the Speedway that they bought at above market value. These two Properties would be a good start to help with this issue. There are too many single parent families who must work two or more jobs to keep a roof over their family’s head and feed.

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4. Higher-paying jobs

Wages have improved in Clarksville but continue to lag other regions. What should be done to improve household incomes?

Claunch: The business that is moving to Clarksville needs to be held accountable to hire Clarksville residents at reasonable salaries. These businesses get all these benefits for coming to Clarksville (TIFF, PILOT), without the inclusion of the residents here needing better paying jobs. A more recent addition to better paying jobs is the inclusion of childcare within the construct of the organizational structure build into the “sweetheart deals” being done to recruit these businesses to Clarksville. Local is local – local trades in building these brick and mortar facilities, higher salaries at the jump for local residents, and the inclusion of childcare onsite or nearby – would be a start.

Cody: The City Government needs to work to attract more major companies, but not at the cost of major tax break some breaks needed to attract them these taxes are needed to run the city and prevent property tax increases, yet Clarksville sells itself as a great place to live and raise a family.

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5. Flood prevention

Several Clarksville properties flooded during recent rains. What should be done to address stormwater issues to prevent this from happening again?

Claunch: Let the flood prevention study be released, as we are currently pending its publication. Reevaluate subdivisions – locations – developer relationships – connections. Again, a very different approach needs to be applied to the planning and execution of building at the smallest and largest of scale/ scope. I sit in nearly all the Regional Planning Commission meetings and they are quite educational in relationships, … education, and information disseminated. … We have an inherent responsibility to do the right thing(s) for our constituents in our Wards, the city and future generations. Friendships, personal relationships, and campaign funding person(s) with influence over decision-making at the CCM level is WRONG. PERIOD.

Cody: There is this thing called the Flood Plain. A point at which the ground is lowered to and causing flooding. All new developments need to have a city engineer to survey the ground and set in stone the lowest the development can go. They must check it weekly and hold the developers to this standard if exceeded they must correct the violation or be fined.

| MORE: Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding

About Clarksville Ward 2

Ward 2 covers northwest Clarksville, bounded by Purple Heart Parkway, Fort Campbell Boulevard, Dover Road and the western city limits:

Clarksville City Council Ward 2 (Contributed, City of Clarksville)
Clarksville City Council Ward 2 (Contributed, City of Clarksville)

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How to register, how to vote in November

The State General and City of Clarksville election will be Tuesday, Nov. 3, with governor, Congress, General Assembly, city mayor and half the City Council on the ballot.

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. Early voting will be Oct. 14-29.

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Tennessee voters are required to show a valid photo identification. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee state government, or the federal government are acceptable, even if expired. College student IDs are not accepted.

For more information on voting, including registering to vote, go to the Montgomery County Election Commission website, visit their office at 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 404, email vote@mcgtn.net or call 931-648-5707.

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