Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Around 300 local business and community leaders filled the banquet hall at the Riverview Inn Tuesday, January 20 for the annual Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce Mayor’s Power Breakfast.
Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett and Clarksville City Mayor Kim McMillan spoke to those attending and shared details about plans and projects the county and city have in place to benefit citizens and improve the quality of life.
Durrett spoke first and outlined the work going on with RichEllen Park on Highway 149, saying most of the baseball and softball fields in the 50 acre park will be open this spring. Durrett said the painting of the RJ Corman Railroad Bridge is almost finished and the lighting on the bridge is expected to be ready by early this spring.
Durrett also talked about the Veterans Nursing Home in Montgomery County. The 108 bed facility located behind Wal-Mart on Fort Campbell Boulevard will open in phases and he said it would be opening soon.
From a technology standpoint an email contact project is underway for County Commissioners to keep in touch with their constituents and a smart phone APP is also being created for emergency notification from county services.
Durrett also praised Director of Schools, Dr. B.J. Worthington and the staff of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System saying we have one of the best school systems in the state.
Montgomery County’s $340 million dollar debt was another topic brought up by Mayor Durrett and he said he was concerned about it and wanted to get rid of as much of it as possible as soon as possible.
Mayor Kim McMillan then spoke about Clarksville, first mentioning public safety and how the city leads the state and cities its size in the south in crime prevention. McMillan said the citizens can be very proud of the Clarksville Police Department (CPD) for their many accomplishments.
A new Clarksville Police Department precinct is scheduled to open in October next to Minglewood Elementary School and new communication equipment for the police department and Clarksville Fire Rescue were also discussed by the mayor.
Several new vehicles have also been put into service by Clarksville Fire Rescue with a new fire station in the works for Tylertown Road. A new fire station in the industrial park is also planned which is a joint effort by the city and county along with other agencies.
McMillan talked about proposed work on a large number of street and road projects to improve traffic in the city involving Cardinal Lane, along with Rossview, Trenton, Needmore and Dunbar Cave Roads just to name a few.
Both Mayor Durrett and Mayor McMillan also talked about the listening session scheduled at Fort Campbell Tuesday, January 20. The session will allow the communities surrounding Fort Campbell to speak out against proposed cuts in military personnel and spending affecting Fort Campbell.
The mayors emphasized the importance of the military installation to the local community as well as the nation and encouraged everyone to attend the meeting which is open to the public and show their support for Fort Campbell.