Charter Revisions
Clarksville, TN – Late yesterday afternoon Mayor McMillan notified the council that work would resume on Tuesday, August 30th at 2:30pm at City Hall on the Charter Revisions. The Montgomery County Legislative delegation will be in attendance and all council members are invited to attend and participate.
City Legal Results: The city has won another court case. This case was Ken Moore (police officer discharged for violation of CPD policy) vs City. This was a federal court case and the jury found that the city had no violations or liability with any of the claims asserted by the Plaintiff.
Winn Marine Barge Point Rezoning
Yesterday evening Winn Materials held a public meeting for residents interested in the proposed expansion of the barge terminal operations for Winn Marine on Barge Point Road. The council had requested such a meeting be held to address the many issues that had surfaced about the project from residents. I attended this meeting and Councilman Harris was also present. Winn Marine had personnel on hand to explain what was being proposed and would answer questions one-on-one or in small groups as desired. Several large pictures of the proposed project and info on distances and other data were placed around the room and available for viewing and questioning.
Given the number of emails, calls and other correspondence from residents in the area I expected a very large turnout. Winn Materials had placed flyers about the meeting at all resident homes in the area. Perhaps 20-25 people came by during the hour I was there to observe and listen. Those that attended were very cordial and seemed satisfied with the answers and information given. Given the high levels of concern by residents I was disappointed that more did not attend.
If you will recall in my August 5th article I mentioned some of the main issues that had been raised and the research I had done. I have made several trips to the area and driven most of the streets in the nearby neighborhoods. I stopped at the end of the closest streets to observe what could be seen and hear any noises during quarry and barge operation hours. You cannot see the quarry through the woods and I could not hear any of the heavy truck traffic from any street.
The closest home to the current quarry fence-line is about 800 feet. The barge expansion property will be about 1,000 feet from the nearest home. Except for the closets homes, the majority will be separated by 250 wooded acres of land as a buffer. A TVA power line separates that wooded land from the area of the proposed barge point. The land used for the proposed project by the river will have to be leveled and lowered so much, if not all, of the site will be below the horizon from the neighborhoods cutting any noise and light concerns even further.
In my August 5th article, I stated I was leaning in favor of the proposal. I have only heard back from a few people from our ward on this topic and those comments were in favor too. Almost all of the issues and complaints that have been received are directed to the quarry operation. I did not receive any complaints/issues that I could trace to the current barge/marine operations that have been going on for years.
I do understand that truck traffic will increase because of this project, however, there is already a traffic light installed at the intersection of Barge Point Road and Dover Road. Also Dover (5-lanes) and Fort Campbell Boulevard (7-lanes) are as large as any road corridors we have in the city or county. They are far larger than the 2-lanes that make up the 41A By-pass where the last discussed barge point access would intersect. Based on my research, site and neighborhood visits, questions to those involved, issues addressed, aerial photos studied and the record of the current marine operations, I will support the marina project with a “yes” vote at the next council meeting.
Power Outage
The last numbers I heard had several hundred still without power. They are still working to get folks back on as soon as possible. CDE will work to make repairs to those sections of the grid that will bring back the greatest number of customers first. The example is if two repairs require 4 hours each and one will bring back online 500 customers and the other affects 20, then the 500 get first shot. Also, CDE knows when your power goes off. The fiber connection made to all homes during the Lightband upgrade a couple of years ago is also your electric connection and the system monitors any change.
Getting info out about repairs is an issue. I talked with a board member yesterday about the phones and accessing info via the Internet. As many of you have told me, and by my own calls to CDE, you cannot get through during one of these storm periods. The phone system gets swamped, however, they know you have no power by the connections feedback to your home.
I know many folks have smart phones or will be at work or elsewhere so they can access the Internet. I have asked that on the main/first webpage that you see if you go to the CDE website, they place a power outage info tab that is clear to see and easy to click on. That connection would list streets and areas offline and updates of projected repair completion. I was told that would be looked at and discussed at this morning’s Power Board Meeting. I’ll keep you posted on my request to them.
For related information from the August 5th Article, see: Council Session Results, August 4th
Editor’s Note: This article contains the view points of Councilman Bill Summers and may not represent the views of the rest of the City Council, the City of Clarksville or ClarksvilleOnline.
