Did you know someone wanted to build a power plant in Clarksville? FOC did and provided your elected officials (County Commissioners and City Council) with a fact book. The power company quietly left town after refusing to participate in a question and answer forum open to the public. Did you know TVA may be planning to build an electrical power transmission line over your house? FOC does and we are still waiting for the final “Final” decision on the corridor. Did you participate in the City-County Consolidation forums to voice your questions and concerns? FOC was there but we didn’t see very many of you. Did you complete the County questionnaire? I did’t think so; otherwise the percentage of participation would have been higher.

For those readers who are not familiar with Friends of Clarksville (FOC), please let me explain the Mission of FOC:

Friends of Clarksville is an action-oriented, registered non-profit organization, dedicated to improving the well-being and quality of ALL citizens of Clarksville and Montgomery County. We will accomplish our mission by:

1. Striving to increase active citizen involvement and bringing our citizens together to help identify, study, evaluate, and prioritize community issues.

2. Advocating responsible planning for Clarksville’s growth by promoting and supporting sensible growth control and management to keep our community livable.

3. Monitoring local governments to insure they function in an open, impartial manner, and to insure public funds are used wisely.

4. Encouraging concerned, capable, and qualified men and women, that are honest and possess integrity, to seek elected offices in city and county government. Monitor their actions after being elected, to insure they maintain their integrity and keep their campaign promises.

5. Keeping the public informed through public meetings, press releases, announcements, newsletters, and letters to the editor so our citizens will stop standing by silently, and work together to bring an end to “self-serving special interests”.

These are just a few issues that FOC will be following in the new year; Update the City Charter, Title VI Implementation, lost City Court revenue, sidewalks and street lights, loss of tax revenue from non-profit retail sales, out of control development, Fort Defiance, River District, marina, animal control, boat dock, conference center, event center, discrimination in City Government, No Child Left Behind, school expansion, Public Access Television, and the suspension/expulsion rates in our schools just to mention a few.

We missed you at our first meeting of 2007. Friends of Clarksville needs your support. Can you do research? Can you print newsletters and fliers? Can you call elected officials and provide them with facts? Can you attend City, County, and School government meetings and take notes? Can you make a donation? Can you give us some of your time? A concerned and active membership and financial backing is essential in keeping our organization viable. Please join our ranks today and contribute generously so we can carry out our mission.

FOC meets every third Thursday of the month at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library at 0630 PM in the small meeting room. Let us know what local issues you are concerned about.

Please contact FOC President Dr. Charles Cook (931.358.5268), e-mail FOC at: FOC.Clarksville@yahoo.com, or drop us a line at Friends of Clarksville, P.O. Box 30804,Clarksville, TN 37040.

I hope we see you at our next meeting!

A number of City Council members both past and present and a few County Commissioners were present at the meeting.  Mr. Chavez was asked some very specific questions concerning the profitability of an event center, who must pay the mortgage, how much annual revenue will the MPEC generate, what will be the debt service, who pays the debt service if the MPEC operates at a loss, how did the EDC calculate the debt service, etc.  Many of us left that meeting that night without answers.  Mr. Chavez promised Councilman Takasaki that he would supply those answers in a few days.  That meeting was over two months ago.  Mr. Chavez still has not provided the answers.

I sent a personal e-mail to Mr. Chavez at, cmcedc@clarksville.tn.us.  I received no response. I received no answers.  Maybe if you ask those questions of Mr. Chavez you will receive a response and some answers.

An article in The Leaf-Chronicle, Sports authority moves forward, Tuesday, June 13, 2006, stated, “City and county governments would be asked to approve $45 million in revenue bonds to finance the project.  The bonds would be retired with sales taxes generated by the center and an associated entertainment district of restaurants, hotels and retail shops.”  In taxpayer language that means that if the additional entertainment sales taxes are not as projected, the county and city taxpayer will pick up the tab.  Remember, the Convention Center wasn’t going to be a tax either!

This private company, Global Entertainment Corporation, wants the city and county taxpayers to pay them to build and operate the MPEC.  If it were such a great business opportunity wouldn’t they want to finance the whole operation?  Well, the answer is no because even Mr. Chavez of the EDC has told us that the MPEC will never operate at a profit.  They expect the “entertainment district” to generate enough taxes to pay for the MPEC.  However, remember if the entertainment taxes fall below projections, the city and county taxpayers foot the bill.  By the way, Mr. Chavez expects the city and county to form a “sports authority” that would oversee the construction of the MPEC.  Can we all say together, airport authority?  Maybe the ”sports authority” can buy a trailer park to supplement the MPEC.

Oh, and one last item, you won’t get to vote on this project because there probably won’t be a referendum on the MPEC like there was on the conference center.  Boon or Boondoggle?

There were a number of individuals from Clarksville that attended the meeting with high hopes of being able to present issues related to Title VI and hear some possible solutions.  Sadly their hopes were dashed because the official meeting had to be canceled.

Pastor Jerry Jerkins of Clarksville, one of the Commissioners that does attend the meetings regularly, voiced his concern with the possibility of submitting his resignation.  The Commission Director, Dr. John Birdsong, could not explain why the absent commissioners chose not to attend the meeting.  Some of the members present questioned whether or not the Governor was aware of the failure of the Commission.  A suggestion was made to have the Commissioners request an audience with the Governor.  However, since there was no quorum a motion could not be submitted for a vote.

Has the candidate of your choice been convicted of assault?  Is your candidate a hit and run driver? Has your candidate for clerk written bad checks?  All of this information has been made available in the media.

There was an excellent voter guide Sunday in the The Leaf-Chronicle.  If you haven’t taken the time to educate yourself on the issues and the candidates this could assist you in making your decision. You say that you don’t subscribe to the local newspaper?  Then simply borrow your neighbor’s or a coworker’s.  Know who you are voting for and where they stand on the important issues.

Remember; if you don’t bother to vote, don’t bother to complain later!

See you at the polls!