Updated with responses from Adolph Dagan.

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville mayor and half the City Council are up for election in November, and candidates are actively campaigning. To help voters with their decisions, Clarksville Now is publishing their written responses to a series of questions on key issues.

The current Ward 1 councilman, Brian Zacharias, is running for mayor instead of re-election. The candidates for the open Ward 1 seat are Larry Allen, Adolph Dagan and Sabrena Gillespie. Here are their responses on five key topics. The candidates, presented here in alphabetical order, were asked to respond in 100 words or less.

1. Streets, sidewalks

Clarksville continues to play catchup in improving/constructing streets and sidewalks. What should be done to speed up the process?

Allen: The City of Clarksville is constantly playing catch up with infrastructure which in my opinion is due to prior administration / City Council failure to incorporate these projects into the budget. The City needs to be proactive in terms of sidewalks and streets instead of waiting around for these areas to get accomplished. This is going to require a balanced budget with reduced spending on non-critical items to fund these projects. We can also explore additional funding through grants, TDOT, and / or push for developers to foot some of the costs.

Dagan: To speed up sidewalk construction, funding sources must be expanded by pursuing more TDOT 80/20 partnership like the Rossview/ Dunbar cave project where TDOT covered 80%. We can also create “a dedicated sidewalk fund with predictable annual allocations. Finally, we may increase use of federal pedestrian safety grant (Safe streets for all, Transportation Programs). Subcontract more construction to speed up the construction. 3. Acquire easements proactively. adopt a transparent public project tract. Stop deferring sidewalks to phase 2.

Gillespie: Clarksville should accelerate street and sidewalk improvements by prioritizing projects based on traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, school access and areas like North Clarksville that are experiencing rapid residential and commercial growth. The city should increase dedicated infrastructure funding, pursue additional state and federal grants and coordinate closely with TDOT on state controlled roads. Developers should also contribute to road intersection and sidewalk improvements when new developments increase traffic demands, such as the residents in Ward 1 experience on Tiny Town on a daily basis. Clarksville should expand in-house construction crews when doing so could reduce project costs and completion time.

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2. City budget shortfall

Mayor Joe Pitts pushed for a large tax increase to cover what he called a revenue shortfall, then halted several capital projects when the increase wasn’t fully approved. What should be done to address this problem?

Allen: It is up to the City Council to work with not only the mayor but also department heads to ensure Money is either being adequately requested for operations or that the funds are being spent wisely. The city has made several bad purchases over the last few years without digging deeper into the end cost for those purchases. I also believe that citizens’ that reside in the City limits should not have to see their taxes increase but rather the City receives a portion of the County Property tax revenue especially for the City Limits residences.

Dagan: We need an independent financial audit by allowing a neutral third party to review the city finances. Also, the city needs a multi-year budget forecasting, a capital project reprioritization, a clear and transparent public communication and plan a council- Mayor Budget workshop.

Gillespie: Clarksville should address the budget shortfall through a transparent, multi-year financial plan rather than relying primarily on large property tax increases or stopping needed projects. The city should conduct department by department spending reviews, identify nonessential expenses and rank capital projects according to public safety, infrastructure needs, contractual obligations and population growth. Essential road, drainage and public safety projects should receive priority. The city should aggressively pursue federal and state grants, review development-related fees and establish dedicated funding for major infrastructure. Before proposing future tax increases, city leaders should publicly document the specific revenue gap, proposed expenditures, available alternatives and measureable consequences of delaying each project.

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3. Affordability

Costs of housing are rising dramatically in Clarksville. What should be done to address the need for more affordable housing?

Allen: A big driving factor can be associated with the influx of people moving to the Clarksville area from out of state and from other parts of TN. Couple that with Federal Interest rates / economy; you then get a bidding war on houses.  … This bidding / offer war Drives prices higher which in turn shows realtors, buyers, sellers, and builders that people are willing to pay the higher prices. I don’t feel that Clarksville alone will be able to combat this or reduce it however as a whole we can come together and see if there are ways that the city could do anything legally.

Dagan: We need zoning reform and faster permitting by allowing duplexes, triplexes and small apartment buildings in more neighborhoods. We can also preserve existing affordable housing and incentivize affordable workforce housing development.

Gillespie: The city should leverage Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Community Development Block Grant funds, establish a housing trust fund and partner with private and charity developers to create mixed income and worker housing. Redevelopment of empty sites/lots should be allowed by the zoning ordinance. For more inexpensive homes, Clarksville should use its land bank plan to turn overtaxed and abandoned property into affordable housing and neighborhood redevelopment. More people should be able to receive help with their rent, home repairs and home ownership down payments. Builders receiving help from the city should also be pushed to include affordable units for demographics of the community that need it the most.

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4. Higher-paying jobs

Wages have improved in Clarksville but continue to lag other regions. What should be done to improve household incomes?

Allen: Clarksville – Montgomery County has been proactive in bringing in Major corporations, retail, and factories with higher paying jobs. Although many of these are in the County, workers do live in the city limits. Steps are being taken to increase wages and it does take time; however, with the increase in wages then the price of goods and services continue to rise with supply and demand.

Dagan: We need to expand higher wages, industries, upskill the workforce, reduce the local living wage gap that affects this city and others in TN. support.

Gillespie: Although wages may have improved in Clarksville they still fall short compared to the nationwide average Occupation groups with the largest population are often lower paying; production, food services and transportation. . Clarksville should tie economic-development incentives directly to wage growth. Companies receiving city incentives should be required to create full time jobs paying above the median wage, provide benefits and report wages annually. The city should partner with universities and colleges, local healthcare systems, unions and manufactures to create paid apprenticeships and accelerated credentials in nursing, advanced manufacturing, information technology, construction and skilled trades. These investments will help residents get into better paying jobs and raise households incomes.

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5. Flood prevention

Several Clarksville properties flooded during recent rains. What should be done to address stormwater issues to prevent this from happening again?

Allen: An issue is the civil plans from developers derived from Architects and presented to the RPC. State Law says that basic guidelines must be met and the plans can then be approved, in my opinion these basic guidelines are outdated and do not adhere to the growing communities. … We need to find a way that we as the City Council and the RPC can develop an ordinance that puts stricter requirements on developments, especially to address storm water / flooding. This will also need to have a strict oversight by the Street department instead of the typical “No Issues” comment.

Dagan: The City has to upgrade the drainage infrastructure, increase natural water absorption, strengthen land-use and development control. We need also to conduct terrain-based flooded susceptibility analysis and improve public cleanup and mitigation support.

Gillespie: Clarksville should move from being reactive to flooding to being proactive in preventing the flooding of neighborhoods. The city should map repeatedly flooding locations and immediately review the drainage pipes, culverts, detention basins, ditches and storm drains serving those areas. Clarksville should create a dedicated Storm Water Utility, increase inspections before heavy rainfall and require new developments to retain runoff without impacting flooding on neighboring properties. Funding ought to focus on neighborhoods with repeated property damage, including completing planned flood-mitigations projects. Finally, Clarksville should aggressively pursue FEMA and TEMA mitigation funding, including property acquisition for repeatedly flooded homes that cannot be protected.

| MORE: Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding

About Clarksville Ward 1

Ward 1 covers part of Fort Campbell and north Clarksville, roughly bounded by the Kentucky state line, Allen Road, Tiny Town Road and Jack Miller Boulevard:

Clarksville City Council Ward 1 (Contributed, City of Clarksville)
Clarksville City Council Ward 1 (Contributed, City of Clarksville)

| MORE: Who’s on November ballot for governor, Congress, legislature, City of Clarksville races

How to register, how to vote in November

The State General and City of Clarksville election will be Tuesday, Nov. 3, with governor, Congress, General Assembly, city mayor and half the City Council on the ballot.

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. Early voting will be Oct. 14-29.

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Tennessee voters are required to show a valid photo identification. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee state government, or the federal government are acceptable, even if expired. College student IDs are not accepted.

For more information on voting, including registering to vote, go to the Montgomery County Election Commission website, visit their office at 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 404, email vote@mcgtn.net or call 931-648-5707.

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