CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett and Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan spoke Thursday morning to a group of around 300 business and community leaders at the Mayor’s Power Breakfast.
Both Mayor’s made presentations on what’s taking place in the city and county as well as what the future holds. Mayor Durrett began by saying Montgomery County is the third most diverse county in Tennessee and proudly claims 26 nationalities as residents in the county.
“We’ve grown to a community of almost 200,000 people, we’re served by award winning educational institutions like Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools and Austin Peay State University and we are home to the best military installation in the whole wide world,” said Durrett.
Durrett talked about the new Emergency Medical Service training facility near Tennova Healthcare set to open later this year and the new Downtown Commons. The Mayor also highlighted industrial recruitment centering around Hankook Tire, LG and Google.
Mayor Durrett also mentioned a proposed multi-purpose event center pointing to a study showing the center would work and help increase downtown development, saying a team was in place to move the project to the next phase.
Durrett also mentioned the Charter Commission that was formed in 2017 to form a new charter for consolidated government for Clarksville-Montgomery County and added the community will have an opportunity to vote on the issue in November. For issues to be taken up in the future, Durrett said the growth of the school system and transportation infrastructure are at the top of the list.
Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan then took the podium and spoke about some of what she referred to as the city’s vision to be the best city in America to live, work and raise a family. McMillan said that in 2016 the U.S. Census Bureau released figures showing the population of Clarksville is at just over 150,000 and is a younger city with a median age of 29.7.
“All told, counting our general operations, our enterprise departments such as CDE Lightband, Clarksville Gas & Water and the Clarksville Transit System, the City of Clarksville is a half-a-billion dollar a year enterprise,” said McMillan.
For 2018 McMillan said a key quality of life project is the Clarksville Family Athletic Complex at Exit 8. The city council has approvd funding to purchase land and to continue the work on the complex with the vision of youth league, high school, college baseball and soccer games and tournaments on a year-round basis.
The Mayor also talked about growth in the Clarksville Parks & Recreation Department and plans in the midtown area for an urban wilderness park. A performing arts & Conference Center for downtown was also mentioned. Other projects coming up for the year include renovation for the Swan Lake Pool, a band shell for the Liberty Park amphitheater, and the Pat Head Summit Plaza.
The Mayor’s Power Breakfast is hosted each year by the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce.
