CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City Council has approved a plan for the city to purchase the Clarksville Speedway. The council voted for an ordinance Thursday that allows Mayor Joe Pitts, through the city attorney or his designee, to enter into an agreement for purchase of the property at 1600 Needmore Road.
The expectation is that buying the Speedway, at a proposed cost of $7 million, will allow for a realignment Needmore Road and for building the Hazelwood Recreation Complex on the Speedway site.
Before voting on the ordinance, almost every council member spoke on the hope for this deal to go through, including councilperson Wanda Allen, who represents Ward 8 where the Speedway is located.
Allen said this is kind of development that Ward 8 has wanted for quite some time. She said most of the families in her ward have to travel across town to participate in sports such as football, soccer and baseball. Allen said it may be a long process, but she believes they need to begin the process now.
Need for soil samples
Councilperson Karen Reynolds said while she wants to move forward with the purchase, she does have some concerns. She brought that no soil samples were provided during the initial Level 1 environmental assessment, which led her to propose an amendment.
“I’m not asking for us not to purchase it, I’m not asking that we don’t move forward; I’m just asking that before we finalize the deal, we have a completed Level 2 environmental assessment, which requires soil sampling,” Reynolds said.
Councilperson Stacey Streetman said that David Smith, who serves as Street Department director, told her there will be a Level 2 environmental assessment completed as the process continues.
“However, if I understood correctly, before you perform the Level 2 (assessment), everything will have to be moved off of the property in order to be able to do that,” Streetman said. “That is not going to occur until the two years are up, because it’s going to continue to operate as a racetrack.”
The council voted down the amendment 12-1 (with only Reynolds voting for it) with the understanding that a Level 2 environmental assessment will be performed later.
The ordinance itself, it passed by a 12-1 vote, with Wallace Redd voting no.
Hazelwood Recreation Complex
Street Department Director David Smith offered the council a review of the situation. In 2019, the City Council created a Capital Project for the purchase of land for a new recreation center. The City included it in their FY23 budget, and the amount available stands at $8.5 million.
The City is now proposing a new “Hazelwood Recreation Complex” that could include these features:
- Permanent indoor pool, to replace the seasonal domed pool that was destroyed by a storm last spring.
- New Blueway canoe/kayak/raft access point to replace or add to the overcrowded Billy Dunlop Park access point.
- Recreation center with a gym, meeting space and fitness center.
- Multi-use fields.
- Accessible playground.
- Walking trail loop.
Buying the Speedway would serve another purpose for the City: It would greatly reduce the cost of widening Needmore Road. The City plans to widen Needmore to five lanes with sidewalks on both sides. But there is barely room between the Speedway and the houses on the other side to do that.
The city will hold a second vote on the Speedway at the Council meeting next month.