CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – At their formal meeting Monday, January 13, the Montgomery County Commission voted 16-4 in favor of the purchase of 15.3 acres of land for a new Animal Care & Control shelter.

The property for the proposed construction of the 35,000 square foot facility is in the 500 block of Needmore Rd. near Bell Rd. and will accommodate the growing needs of the department.

“We were looking at this site for the shelter, but we hope to expand in the future with amenities for the community like walking paths, playgrounds, a dog park and things like that, so it’s not just going to be an animal shelter,” said Montgomery County Animal Care & Control Director Dave Kaske.

The current site of the animal shelter at 616 N. Spring St. suffers from overcrowding, numerous issues with the building and no room for expansion.

According to Kaske, the land will be purchased this year with the building design phase coming next year and hopefully budgeting for construction of the actual shelter the following year.

CMCSS Spanish Immersion Program

The Commission also discussed a plan to purchase the Emmanuel Family Life Center at 303 Fairview Ln. and convert it into an educational facility to house the rapidly growing Clarksville-Montgomery County School System’s Language Immersion Program.

The program was created in 2018 at Barksdale Elementary School. The entire school has an enrollment of 608 students, 97 percent of the design capacity of the building. The program has grown from two classrooms to four classrooms and is expected to grow by two classrooms per year.

The Commission pulled the vote from the agenda, and CMCSS Director Dr. Millard House presented an alternate proposal.

House explained that Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett proposed the possibility of building a twelve-classroom addition at the campus of Barksdale which would be less expensive.

“Since this option had been placed out there it would save taxpayers dollars which we felt like was a responsible thing to do. We want to do what’s best for taxpayers for the long run and we know it could save considerably,” House said.

New Police Precinct

The Commission also voted unanimously to approve the donation of 0.13 acres owned by Montgomery County to the City of Clarksville to be used for the development of a Clarksville Police Precinct in the Industrial Park. The move is expected to help attract new industry and businesses to the area.

Montgomery County Commission Meetings can be viewed live though their YouTube channel: