Crossville City Council met last night in a work session and were surrounded by a packed house of citizens who voiced their opinion about the proposed $40 million recreation center.

There was some concern expressed by citizens that the city might be biting off more than it can chew with a project this large.

Two Council members, Rob Harrison and Mike Turner indicated they would like to see a public referendum on the proposed recreation center.  Members Scott Shanks, Art Gernt and Mayor RJ Crawford said they were not in favor of a referendum, saying too much work had already been done by the council and that they were too far in on the project for a referendum.

The City Council will vote on having a referendum next Tuesday during their regular monthly meeting.

The city also heard from Upland Design Group’s Kevin Chamberlin, who said the estimate for the building’s construction cost has gone down by about $1 million, to $38.39 million.

Chamberlin said they would need approval from the city to move forward with getting construction documents, which are needed to get proper bid numbers from construction managers and general contractors. The city will also vote on that next Tuesday.