CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City of Clarksville’s Neighborhood and Community Services Department held a public meeting Wednesday to provide additional information and receive community feedback on a proposed property acquisition at 1485 Golf Club Lane to create a community services facility.
The city is considering buying the property on Golf Club Lane for $400,000 using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The site is being evaluated for use as a community services facility, focused on addressing key gaps identified in Clarksville.
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Additional information shared, community member concerns
Director of the Neighborhood and Community Services Department Michelle Austin hosted the meeting alongside other members of her department.
“Tonight’s meeting is part of the city’s effort to provide transparency and gather input while we continue to investigate the potential purchase of 1485 Golf Club Lane,” Austin said. “It’s important to understand that the ordinance going before the city’s finance committee this month, and City Council next month, is enabling legislation. It allows the city to continue evaluating the property and complete the necessary due diligence before any final decisions are made.”
Austin said that at their current stage in the project, the city is conducting environmental review and testing at the site, while also reviewing fire safety and code considerations. She also said at this stage, they are reviewing operating feasibility, taking feedback and awaiting final appraisal of the property.
Austin said that the City has heard concerns about the age of the building, which was developed in the 1960s. Questions were raised about lead-based paint, as well as asbestos.
“Those concerns are valid.,” Austin said. “Just as we would with any (other) rehab project that we’ve undertaken by Community and Neighborhood Services, the city has scheduled environmental testing. The results of those tests will help guide future decisions regarding the property and any potential renovations or mitigation work that may be necessary.”
Austin later told Clarksville Now the testing will take place over the next few weeks.
Types of services explored for facility
“While we’re still awaiting the final appraisal, the current tax appraisal alone is more than $900,000. The church has offered to sell the property to the city for $400,000, creating an opportunity for the city to preserve funding for improvements, hire environmental mitigation and renovations depending on the final approved use of the site,” she said.
“Through our work, the Canopy Initiative, an ongoing community assessment, has identified significant gaps in services for this growing community. Those gaps include a central point of entry for services, coordinated entry and housing navigation, eviction prevention, financial empowerment and budget support.”
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Austin said another gap identified is case management services for families, seniors and other vulnerable households, as well as affordable childcare opportunities that support workforce participation and family self-sufficiency.
“These are the types of services the city is exploring for this location. It is very important to clarify what this site is not intended to be,” Austin said. “This is not proposed as a day center or congregation site, similar to the Old Firehouse facility that’s located just down the street. Individuals and families visiting the site primarily will do so for scheduled meetings with case managers, housing navigators, financial counselors or childcare-related services.
“These are families and individuals who often look no different from you and me. … Clients would come to the facility, receive services, then leave. The city has no intentions of allowing loitering or unmanaged congregation outside of this property.”
Austin said the city is also investigating the site to provide Severe Weather Shelter operations, offering temporary, life-saving overnight accommodations during extreme weather conditions only.
“To be clear, we do not intend to operate a 24/7 shelter at this location,” she said. “We recognize that Clarksville does need additional permanent supportive housing and year-round shelter options for unhoused residents, but this location is not considered ideal for that purpose, and it is not being pursued as such.”
Questions about Severe Weather Shelter
One of the first questions asked was for clarification whether the facility at Golf Club Lane would be the permanent Severe Weather Shelter location, or if the facility would take in overflow from Urban Ministries’ Emergency Warming Shelter on Madison Street.
“That is one of the things we’re considering. We’re working with our friends at Urban Ministries, who currently do a great job of leading that warming shelter,” Austin said. “And we are so thankful for Madison Street Methodist for allowing Urban Ministries to utilize their gym every year. That being said, it’s a big ask to pivot your ministries through the winter to use that space. And I know they are grateful to do it, but one of the things we’re considering is having a reliable spot where we can pull the trigger and open that immediately.”
Austin said with the Madison Street warming shelter’s current operations, they have to plan to open their shelter a week ahead of time to locate volunteers and have the gym set up.
Which nonprofits would work out of facility?
Another question asked was about which nonprofits would be working out of the community services facility. Austin said that once the facility’s operations have been finalized, the city would enter into a Request for Proposal (RFP) and wait for nonprofits to submit applications on how they would run specific programs. “Just like we would bid out any other service through the City of Clarksville,” she said.
Clarksville Now asked Austin how the community services facility would help support CMCSS families. She said that as part of a 100-day challenge through the Canopy Initiative, they’re working with a strategic goal of finding housing for a specific number of families with young children, as well as veterans and senior citizens.
“So, we’ve set a specific number for who is going to get in permanent housing, and who is going to get in case work,” she said. “We selected those three demographics, because those are demographics that are the most vulnerable right now in our community that are growing exponentially. Especially our children in the school system.”
Austin said that at the time of the Canopy Initiative’s 100-day challenge kickoff two weeks ago, 1,400 children in CMCSS were considered to have housing insecurity. “On that Thursday, we had 37 children that were literally homeless. That means they were sleeping in cars, they weren’t sleeping in hotels, they were in cars or places that were not inhabitable,” she said.
Austin said while there are a number of nonprofits located within the community to help lift up these families in need, they are still in need of wrap around services such as case management.
What’s next, where to direct additional questions
If you were unable to attend Wednesday’s public meeting and have questions, the City of Clarksville can be reached by email at community@clarksvilletn.gov.
The proposed property acquisition at 1485 Golf Club Lane will go before the City of Clarksville Finance Committee later this month before going to the full City Council. The next city Finance Committee meeting is Tuesday, May 26, at 4 p.m., at City Hall in the fourth-floor conference room. An hour later, a City Council budget hearing will also be taking place at City Council Chambers at 106 Public Square.
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