I attended the special session of the Clarksville Tennessee city council tonight. I was interested in hearing the councils debate over the creation of a Sports Authority. It was easily approved. Since it was one of the first items which was dealt with, I could have gone ahead and left. I decided to stay.
I learned several things this evening, from the way the sessions are handled, to the specific interests of several council members. I also saw confirmed, the fact that there are many different views of what Clarksville, TN should be, should become. This is something I feel the city government needs take long hard to look into.
What should Clarksville’s goal for the next 5, 10, and 20 years be. Mayor Trotter said that is a goal the city is already trying to accomplish.
I did not get the feeling from the council meeting tonight that we were all reading from the same page. Some council members seem to feel that we should attempt to become another Nashville, that we should emulate them in all things. Others feel that we are a small town and should stay that way, that if they wanted to live in Nashville, that they would move there.
We need to find out what the majority of the residents of Clarksville think on the matter and then aim to find a happy medium. If a significant percentage of the population wish to duplicate Nashville then lets look at and invest in the civic and economic infrastructure that we need to accomplish this.
If a significant portion of the residents feel we should remain a small town with our charm and innocent ways then we should redirect our efforts as a community into preserving that and limiting our growth while improving lives of current residents.
I think after all is said and done, that you will find a happy medium located somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.
How do we encourage growth, attract better jobs to the community, develop new opportunities for ourselves and our children, and support a first class education system, while at the same time maintaining a small town atmosphere and culture. That is the real question that I feel that both the citizens of Clarksville and their elected officials need to be asking themselves.
Once we find the answer to this question, we will have a better idea of how to set and accomplish realizable goals that the majority of the residents of the city can agree is the right path for the future of our city.
This piece was not in reference to the Sports Authority or Multi-Purpose Events Center. I feel that i should make that clear. I am also not anti-progress in fact, I am the exact opposite.