A work session held by the Crossville City Council on Tuesday would see an estimation for the Rec Center to officially start construction in October.

During the work session, a question was raised by David Brockway, a concerned citizen worried about how much the upcoming Crossville Recreation Center project may cost taxpayers.

“How are you going to pay for it?” asked Brockway. “Are we going to see taxes increase ten-fold?”

“It’s coming from sales tax,” said Crawford. “It’s going to be roughly about 1.1 million per year, and thanks to Buc-ee’s we’ve increased our sales tax close to 4 million on top of what we’ve been doing year-over-year. We’re not only going to be building a Rec Center, we’re also going to be building a new Fire Hall. We’ve also doubled our budget on roads, all from sales tax.”

“No increase in property taxes?” asked Brockway.

“No, absolutely not,” said Council member Rob Harrison.

Crawford continued saying “This is all coming off of consumption tax. Property tax is about 98% with Hotel/Motel right behind it. I own multiple properties in the business account, I wouldn’t want to shoot myself in the foot. So, please, if you’re hearing people say that’s what’s going to happen, it’s not.”

Crawford finished his statement on the matter by thanking the city’s previous administration and former Mayor Mayberry for Buc-ee’s, saying the sales tax and business resulting from it has been a ‘game-changer’ and allowed Crossville to make ‘substantial investments’.