Cleveland businessman Dale Hughes, owner of Mountain View Inn and who also serves as chairman of the Cleveland Utilities Board, submitted a request for the City Council to authorize Mayor Tom Rowland to sign a Quitclaim Deed which effectively states the city has no need for the .42 acres of property.
Hughes co-owns an adjoining piece of property with Duane and Candace Goff.
The right-of-way abandonment request was approved earlier in the day in a called session of the Cleveland Municipal Planning Commission on a unanimous 7-0 vote.
No one attended the Council’s scheduled public hearing to support or oppose the abandonment request that was part of the formal session’s agenda. However, Councilman Richard Banks said he has been contacted by Cleveland attorney Ann McCoin, who he said feels Hughes and the Goffs should pay for the property instead of having it handed over by Quitclaim.
Banks said he has been contacted by another property owner who expressed similar feelings.
After questioning planning staff, City Council members were told the small plot’s value is about $42,000, but its uses are limited due to the presence of a gas line. The strip of property sits approximately 60 to 70 feet off Paul Huff Parkway and does not currently have access to Paul Huff Parkway or Frontage Road.
Jonathan Jobe, city storm water director and project development manager, said abandoning the right of way would not interfere with any future widening of Huff Parkway. Asked by Banks what happens if other developers or businessmen make similar requests, Jobe said the city would review them on a case-by-case basis.
Concerned about possible repercussions for the city and future abandonment requests, Banks favored inviting Hughes to the next Council meeting to allow him to better explain his intent and for the Council to receive more information.
“This doesn’t mean I oppose it ... I just want more information,” Banks said.
Banks made a motion to delay the abandonment request and was seconded by Councilwoman Bambi Hines. Council members supported the delay unanimously on a 7-0 vote. Also favoring the delay were Vice Mayor Avery Johnson, Bill Estes, Bill Robertson, George Poe and David May.
Hughes will be invited to the Council’s work and voting sessions Aug. 23.
In other developments during its 2 p.m. work session and 4 p.m. voting session the Council:
n Approved an increase in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System benefits from $8 to $20 monthly for each year of creditable service for members of the City Council. The increase is authorized through Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-36-209(a)(2). The TCA code states that the chief legislative body of any city, special school district or county may increase the minimum service retirement allowance payable.
n Amended the city’s lease with Cleveland Emergency Shelter, Inc. to allow the demolition of a nearby storage building on Wildwood Avenue. The building is currently used for storing property belonging to Cleveland Housing Authority. The purpose of eliminating the storage building is to construct a facility to provide additional housing for homeless and/or transient persons.
n Approved a change order increasing the cost of the Northeast Recreation Center remodeling and expansion by $10,043.73. This brings the total project cost to $363,419.40.
n Appointed Bernadette Douglas to the Parks Advisory Board; reappointed Judy Chandler, Dr. William Reynolds and Councilman Bill Estes to the Greenway Board; and reappointed Leroy Rymer to the Municipal Airport Authority.
n Approved an ordinance specifying two-year staggered terms for members of the Cleveland Mechanical Board and said the board will be comprised of seven members.
n Approved a $28,826 change order for the removal of trench rock as part of the Waterville Golf Course Pump Station project. This increases the project cost to $191,728. The Council’s approval came on a split 5-2 vote. Council members opposing it were Banks and Hines.
n Approved a motion authorizing the Cleveland Municipal Planning Commission to review a “Plan of Services” for proposed areas of annexation on the city’s north end. Motion was made by Councilman Estes and seconded by Councilman David May. Members passed it 7-0. At property owner’s request, the motion excluded the 700-acre Hardwick Farms which is still a live, working farm.
n At Mayor Rowland’s suggestion, authorized staff to contact Waste Connections about the viability of providing a recycling program for the downtown area because the existing vendor — Green Guys — has gone out of business.
n Authorized staff to revisit the feasibility of angled parking on Broad Street as requested by downtown businessman Joe Stamper. Councilmen Estes, Banks, Poe and Mayor Rowland endorsed the review.
n Councilman Poe said while on a recent visit to a Florida city he talked with traffic professionals who agreed to send him information about their municipality’s traffic light system, which he believes could benefit Cleveland traffic flow if implemented here. In an unrelated report, Poe praised the work of the Cleveland Fire Department. He also pointed out speeding motorists along 8th Street at Arnold Elementary School continues to be a problem.
n Mayor Rowland said city traffic engineers have been authorized to review a request for a traffic light on Stuart Road at the new Cleveland First Baptist Church. If approved, the traffic light would be paid for by the church.
n Councilman May asked about the status of the city’s review of the deteriorating Fletcher Park Springhouse. Staff reported the city is working on it now and will take action to stabilize it in lieu of a complete renovation.
n Councilman Banks reported an area businessman has praised the work of Cleveland Chief of Police Wesley Snyder for his department’s efforts in apprehending vandals of his business. He also said a Cleveland resident has asked for an increased police presence in the school zones now that the new school season is starting.
n Councilman Banks urged staff to continue their work on the 25th Street Beautification Project which has stumbled due to state-required permits as handed down by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Because 25th Street is a state route, it is subject to the jurisdiction of state roadway administrators. “This has been going on for years,” Banks said. City officials want to beautify the median space separating the 25th Street traffic lanes.
