Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
Clarksville, Tenn. – Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of the Clarksville Rotary Club Wednesday, October 8. Durrett told Rotary that he was on day 27 of his new job as mayor and he presented updates on some of the projects the county is working on.
Durrett taked about the meetings he’d had with Montgomery County department heads and elected officials as he works to streamline processes to save money. He also talked about the county not having a vehicle maintenance facility for county vehicles and discussions on ways to again save county money.
The former Bank of America property in downtown Clarksville was addressed by Durrett who said he supported something happening in the downtown area that will drive redevelopment and he feels the county should be a big player in that.
Durrett also talked about the remodeling that is being done on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) stations in the county and plans for the new EMS and fire station in the Industrial Park near the site of Hankook Tire.
An update on improvements to county parks was offered by Durrett which included Civitan, Rotary and the new RichEllen Park. He also talked about the Spur Trail in downtown Clarksville and the South Guthrie Community Center. Another project Durrett mentioned was the Veterans Nursing Home which he said he expected it to be at capacity when it opens in 2015.
Many people have noticed the work on the R.J. Corman Bridge and Durrett talked about a couple of past delays and said another situation has arisen that involves the paint used on the bridge was stored in the R.J. Corman facility in Guthrie, Kentucky that was destroyed by fire October 5. The bridge project is set to be completed in spring of 2015.