JJR, the engineering firm contracted to design the “new” fairgrounds park and marina, reported to  the city that the multi- million dollar water park as planned was too large a footprint for the designated area. JJR also presented a preview of what the marina will look like when it opens next year.

Jim Durrett said the city is “not stopping” the water park but rather searching for a new location and conducting a “feasibility study” on whether Clarksville could or would support such a facility.

A question should be raised as to why a feasibility study was not done and paid for BEFORE the city arranged financing for this project, something that would seem the sensible, practical thing to do.  Most municipalities — including Hopkinsville, KY –  that are running water parks run them in the red financially, or at best, at a break even in a good summer; they become a “quality of life” accessory for some area residents. If the city is looking for a new site for a water park, what  additional cost (read: new debt) will be incurred on that additional debt should the city move to  implement a water park in said new location.

JJR engineers senior project manager Bruce Lunde presented a preview of the Fairgrounds Park and marina, which city officials steadfastly maintain  will open in 2010, despite the fact that no state environmental or Army Corps of Engineering (and the related public hearings)  public hearings or permit approvals have been granted.

The preview presented detailed materials to be used in construction of the park buildings, including a shade pavilion at the Bark Park and other structures on the spit of land between the marina and Cumberland River. Tennessee limestone will be used for the base of most structures, including the observation building. Additional awnings will create areas of shade, and metal roofing in a titanium hue will be used on the structures.

JJR expects to complete the main components of the marina by October, 2010. Bids for some site preparation will be sent out in May. Excavation is expected to begin in July. There is no timetable on how long it will take contractors to excavated  an estimated 800,000 cubic yards of soil and re-distribute it over other areas of the fairgrounds project.

As presented in this overview, fishing buffs will be able to access a new and improved pond, estimated at three times the size of the existing pond with a meandering shoreline edged in wetlands and wetland grasses. Engineers note that the wetland will help regulate storm water and filter it in a manner that leaves the pond itself less prone to becoming “muddied.”

The post-tornado remains of the popular Fairgrounds Pavilion: May 2008

But as presented this week, there emerged a glaring, gaping hole in the original concept of a refurbished Fairgrounds Park:  no new pavilion or auditorium.  The fairgrounds heavily used pavilion was effectively smashed and relocated by last springs spate of tornadoes, and many residents have been anxiously awaiting the construction of a new facility that would serve many of the city’s residents and organizations. JJR said it expects  to resume the design process for a pavilion by summer, since the primary focus at this time is marina land and the planned basin preparation and construction.

]]> http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2009/02/13/fairground-development-detailed-water-park-quashed-pavilion-replacement-on-hold/feed/ 0 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/12/17/army-of-corps-of-engineers-permit-awaiting-required-information-for-marina-development/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/12/17/army-of-corps-of-engineers-permit-awaiting-required-information-for-marina-development/#comments Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:00:50 +0000 Turner McCullough Jr. http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=13398 Although touted for months as being ready to go, the Clarksville Marina Development Project is still at a substantial standstill. In August it was announced that Fairgrounds Park would be closing in January to facilitate the beginning of dredging operations for the marina’s construction. That is not going to happen just yet.

Clarksville Online has learned that the US Army Corps of Engineers, [USACOE], has not issued the City of Clarksville a permit for dredging operations at the Fairgrounds. Without that permit, no dredging action can take place. The corps received the city’s Clarksville Fairgrounds Marina Application in late November, but it was lacking required information. The permit process is presently on hold. The USACOE expects to receive that information and issue a public notice within the next few months. This will mark the beginning of the process to obtain the dredging permit that will signal the start of construction for the marina.

As outlined in the marina/fairgrounds redevelopment plan resolution approved by the Clarksville City Council at its December 1st Special Session meeting, the city will fund the dredging of the land, install utilities and upgrade road access to the marina development. A private business enterprise will develop the actual marina and its operations.

In November, Mayor Johnny E. Piper unveiled a new addition to the marina layout with the inclusion of a water park added to the other listed amenities of a pavilion, three sports fields, a dog park and arboretum already proposed for the marina complex. There is also a proposal for waterfront condominiums as well. With the addition of the water park, the price tag for the marina project escalated to $32 million dollars. It was proposed that the city leverage three existing loans for an additional twenty-five years, via the Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund, to gain the funds to pay for the marina project.

The marina is the most ambitious development project to have been proposed for Clarksville in quite some time, if not its entire history. Proper planning and execution will be crucial to its success. As taxpayer money is involved in this joint public/private enterprise, the public has a right to be kept informed of the progress made at every juncture of this project. That includes every delay as well. We’ve been saddled with a $32 million dollar debt stake in this project and openness of the process is essential to public trust.

For the Clarksville city government, meaning the elected mayor and the elected city council, building a water park, placing cameras on traffic lights, and building a separate city council structure violates Jeffersonian democracy to the point that we should vote them all out.

Foremost is that the city does not adequately provide the essential services. The police and fire departments are under budgeted, understaffed, and underpaid. Public education and public libraries, although Montgomery County’s responsibilities, are similarly under budgeted, understaffed, and underpaid, to the point where, if the city government had surplus funds, it would behoove the city to contribute more to their support.

A water park would be a major improvement for us, but not at taxpayer expense. To refinance the city’s debt structure to include an additional $32,000,000, which may or may not be enough to build a water park, equates with refinancing one’s home mortgage to pay for improvements, and we see how that has contributed to the nation’s economic crisis. A water park built by private industry, and run, not by a bureaucracy, but by experienced water park managers is what Clarksville needs. In addition, elected officials should not benefit financially due to the proximity of its location to their land holdings.

The city should not install cameras on traffic lights, mainly because they cause accidents. Clarksville Online Bill Larson, and others featured as guest commentators on this site, previously and adequately addressed this, but the mayor, the city council, and the local newspaper decided to ignore all opposition to the city’s greedy plan.

A separate structure for the city council, proposed recently by the mayor, is unnecessary, considering the infrequent usage.

In November 2010, we should vote the mayor, and city council members not independent of him, out of office.