Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The City of Clarksville will start the fiscal year July 1 with a nearly $370 million budget approved at the city council’s meeting Thursday, June 5. Passage of the new budget didn’t come easy as council members argued over a number of amendments to the just over $85 million General Government Budget.
One amendment that was approved included one from Councilman David Allen which added $995,000 to the budget to buy the former Bank of America property downtown.
An amendment From Councilman Jeff Burkhart to drop funds from the construction of Clarksville Fire Rescue Station 12 in the Industrial Park near the Hankook Tire Plant was approved by the council.
Council Bill Summers followed with an amendment to bring back just over $1 million for the planned Fire Station 11 at Exit 1 near I-24 which had been transferred to build Station 12. That measure failed to pass the council vote.
After the threat of being closed this fall because of lack of funds, The New Providence Community Policing Center will remain open for a time after Councilman Marc Harris made a motion to add $60,000 to the budget. The vote was unanimously approved.
In other votes that passed at the meeting, part-time Parks and Recreation Department employees will be getting a 25 cent step increase in their pay and the department received $40,000 for restroom facilities at Edith Pettus Park, the site of the city’s new Splash Pad.
The hotly debated issue of having honeybees in Clarksville was addressed at Thursday’s meeting after a number of people spoke to the council in favor of not placing more restrictions on beekeeping.
At the council’s Executive Session last week there was discussion about a text amendment for zoning to be sent to the Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission. It proposed Honey Bee Hives be placed at least 200 feet from the property line.
A new amendment taken up Thursday dropped that down to not less than 50 feet from the property line and listed the number of hives that would be allowed on a lot depending on the size of the property.
The resolution passed the council and will now go to the Regional Planning Commission who is expected to make a recommendation before it will come back to the City Council for a vote.
In other action Thursday the council voted to place the World War I Doughboy statue at the Tennessee State Veteran’s Home being built near Fort Campbell Boulevard and the 101st Airborne Division Parkway.
The statue has suffered a number of acts of vandalism at its present site downtown and is due to be repaired and stored until it can be placed at the veteran’s home once it opens early next year.