By DAVID MELSON - dmelson@t-g.com
“We’re facing a crisis,” Director Fredia Lusk of Community Clinic of Bedford County told Shelbyville City Council at a study session Tuesday night.
Funds are running short as a waiting list for clients grows longer, Lusk said.
She described how the clinic offers various types of dental work at $25 apiece. The clinic had a waiting list of 184 clients as of Tuesday and is Shelbyville’s lone source of care for TennCare patients, according to Lusk.
The clinic only had $10,000 left as of Tuesday, Lusk said. At the same time, the number of Meharry Medical College students working with the clinic has decreased due to budget cuts.
“I’ve asked the community for help and no one has stepped up,” Lusk said.
The clinic receives the equivalent of $30,000 per year from Bedford County in such ways as free rent, the council was told.
“I’m asking you to give us at least that much,” Lusk said.
That issue and others discussed at the study session will be up for votes or further discussion at next Thursday’s City Council meeting.
Flume, traffic meetings
Concerns about the downtown flume system and traffic around the recently-remodeled Shelbyville square will be discussed in upcoming meetings between City Manager Scott Collins, Police Chief Jan Phillips, Fire Chief Matt Doak and Public Works Director Buck Vallard.
Collins, who has held his position for approximately a month, recently took his first walk through the flume, which has served as flood protection since its construction in the early 1960s. The aging large pipes have suffered problems in recent years, including a large collapse near Shelbyville police and fire headquarters and the former Chamber of Commerce building that required millions of dollars in repairs.
The flood pumps need immediate work and the flume system has “major, major issues,” Collins said.
An estimated $3.5 million total will be required for three pumps plus a building to enclose them, the council was told.
Concerns have been expressed about the speed at which some drivers are rounding the square and its new stop signs and traffic islands.
“Some don’t know what stop signs are for,” Mayor Wallace Cartwright said.
Flooding issue
Lucas Road resident Mildred Prince pleaded with city officials for relief from flash flooding in a small area consisting of her street, the north end of Clara Drive and a home next to a small, normally-dry creek on Mead Drive.
Prince, representing several neighbors who accompanied her to the meeting, said her home was flooded in August of this year and in September 2021.
The August flash flood caused $1,500 damages and destroyed her home’s HVAC system. The damage was not covered by insurance because the home is not considered to be in a flood plain, Prince said.
Prince blames the flooding on runoff from new condominiums constructed this year off Horse Mountain Road near H.V. Griffin Park. Flash flooding occurred at that location as well.
“I’m in favor of growth, but no more water,” Prince said.
Greenway
The city will consider spending $445,000 as its share of funding for a proposed greenway from Duck River at South Cannon Boulevard to River Bottom Park.
The plans include an overlook near a currently-abandoned branch bank building off West Depot Street and a bicycle-walking path to the park.
The city has $170,000 budgeted this year and may have to budget approximately $300,000 next year, the council was told.
Partnership payment
City Treasurer Kay Parker asked for clarification on how much the city will pay Shelbyville-Bedford County Partnership this year.
The city was originally expected to pay the industrial and business development organization $210,000, but Bedford County is only paying $100,000. City Attorney Ginger Bobo Shofner said the city is not bound to the agreement because the county didn’t give its originally-stated $210,000 share.
Collins said the city has no control over the Partnership except appointing board members. Partnership Director Shane Hooper is considered an employee who answers to the Board of Directors, according to Collins.
City Recorder Lisa Smith said she would place a “generic” motion without a specific dollar figure on next week’s agenda.
New business
A Certificate of Compliance is being requested for The Brass Lantern, a new business to open soon at 1608 Madison St.
The owners, Austin Kimball Adams and God’s Grace Trust, hope to open what Smith described as an “antique mall with a sandwich bar” in the old Barr’s Furniture building.
Permission to serve beer and liquor is being sought.
During the public comment period near the end of the study session, a citizen expressed concerns about alcohol sales near churches and schools. No specific businesses were mentioned, but the proposed “antique mall” is within sight of Learning Way Elementary, Harris Middle and Shelbyville Central High schools and two blocks from Eastside Church of Christ.
Called meeting
In the special called meeting:
•No decision was made on a budgeted request by Shelbyville Police Department for seven new 2023 Dodge Durango pursuit vehicles through a state contract. The department had ordered 2022 models but Dodge cut off production, forcing a change in the request to 2023s. Total purchase price previously approved was $369,258.30.
The change increases the price per vehicle by approximately $6,700, Police Chief Jan Phillips said, with 2024 model prices likely to be another $10-12,000 higher each.
Several council members asked how costs could be cut. Phillips indicated radio and radar specifications could be changed to fit the budgeted amount.
Total cost of a fully equipped patrol unit, including non-factory items such as the radio and radar, is approximately $46,000, Phillips said. Each unit remains in service for 10 years and no equipment is transferred to newer units.
•A $25,000 Tennessee Highway Safety Office grant contract was acknowledged for fiscal year 2023. The grant provides funding for additional DUI enforcement by the Shelbyville Police Department.
•A $15,000 grant contract with the aeronautics division of the Tennessee Department of Transportation was acknowledged. The grant is funded 95% by federal funds, 5% by the city, and is used for upkeep and maintenance at Shelbyville Municipal Airport.
•A final payment to Curl Construction of $18,876.11 for construction work on the sidewalk project around the Shelbyville square was discussed. The city has requested 80% reimbursement from TDOT.
