CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Last week, the City Council postponed the proposed purchase of The Well property to allow more time for community conversation and input. The City of Clarksville wasted no time following the postponement, as they set up a city public meeting for this Thursday, with a different format and different rules from the first public meeting earlier this month.

At Monday’s Clarksville Neighborhood & Community Services Committee meeting, Neighborhood and Community Services Director Michelle Austin spoke on the scheduled meeting and offered new details on city’s proposal to buy The Well property. This includes next steps if approved and additional financial overview of the purchase.

| MORE: 2nd public meeting this week to discuss The Well property for homeless outreach center

Upcoming meeting to be discussion, not debate

Austin said the city had originally planned to hold Thursday’s public meeting at The Well property, but due to concerns about how many people may attend, they plan on going back to Madison Street United Methodist Church.

“We’re going to do it a little bit different,” Austin said while speaking on the meeting. “We want it to be more productive, so we’re going to handle that a little bit differently. Maybe have tables set up where we ask people questions, such as what does an ideal service center look like for you? Then also, what does a 24/7 homeless shelter look like for you?”

Austin said Thursday she’s had several exploratory conversations regarding a future 24/7 shelter with multiple groups. However, while that work is continuing, that long-range vision does not include The Well property and that’s not the subject of the ordinance, she said.

‘I can tell you about my personal experience on this’

During public comments on Monday, Buck Dellinger spoke up as a concerned citizen, not as CEO and president of the Economic Development Council. “I don’t have 24 years worth of experience, but I have four years worth of experience doing this in Nashville-Davidson County,” he said. “I’ve got a perspective from my own view on what was a good way ahead, and a good way to communicate with the community when we were 100% in getting projects through.

“I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me, and the different hats that I wear, and say help us represent the business community on this. I’m not ready to talk for everybody in a recorded setting because no one has given me a set of guidelines. … Right now, I can tell you about my personal experience with this.”

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Dellinger said one area of focus at Thursday public meeting should be everyone putting themselves in the shoes of those downtown business owners, as well as the neighbors who would live near The Well property, if it were to have expanded services.

“You’ve got a good plan here, but if you’re Mrs. Smith looking at this project, how does Mrs. Smith take in this information and get comfortable with this?” he said. “What are her concerns, how do we mitigate those concerns? … How do we make things certain and mitigate fear? Security is part of that.”

Dellinger said the information that has gone out is great, however, it’s great for Urban Ministries and those who are being served, not for people who have businesses in the area of The Well. “It’s just being sensitive of how they see the situation,” he said. “So, I would tell you to change the narrative from a different perspective going forward on Thursday.”

New details about outreach center shared

In addition to the reasons why The Well location works, as well as city ownership, the agenda for the Clarksville Neighborhood & Community Services Committee meeting also listed the next steps if the proposal were to be approved, which are:

  • Final negotiation on pricing and purchase agreement.
  • Finalizing site plans.
  • Review of site plans with fire marshal and Building and Codes.
  • Draft of service agreement / lease with Urban Ministries.
  • The beginning of renovations.

The Well property was appraised at $1.28 million, but the proposition is for the city, using Community Block Grant funds, to purchase it for $750,000. Austin told Clarksville Now the city’s intention is to pay for the renovations and the property acquisition through Community Block Grant Funding as well. “Both align with the CDBG program mission, to expand services to the unhoused and those residents at risk of losing their housing,” she said.

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Under the financial overview of the project, $250,000 has been estimated toward improvement costs, and the operating and maintenance budget, which Urban Ministries would be responsible for, is listed as $680,696 annually.

What do you think about outreach center proposal?

Clarksville Now is conducting an informal online poll about the proposed homelessness outreach center. Readers can participate below (email required):