Today the Crossville City Council held a Special Called Meeting to approve some last matters regarding the upcoming Recreational Center before its groundbreaking and construction set for the end of the month.

“We formed the Sports Authority a couple of months ago, and so what we have to do- because the relationship between the sports authority and the city is symbiotic,” said Mayor R.J. Crawford. “We have to make sure that whatever they approve, we’re on board with. Hopefully, moving forward, we won’t have to keep doing this. But just until things get off the ground, it has to be approved as a backstop by the sports authority. All these things that got approved were passed last week by the sports authority. These were all agreements that they were having to make, and that we’re having to make with the YMCA. Bonds, agreements with our legal council, etc, etc.”

While discussing the resolutions on the agenda, City Attorney Randall A York raised some concerns about potentially falling behind on sales tax, since sales tax is what is being attributed as paying for the Rec Center’s construction.

To which council member Rob Harrison spoke to lay some of York’s concerns to rest.

“I’ve done some research on that going back 36 years, I think. Our sales tax, including after 2008, and I believe we could withstand a severe economic downturn like we had after 2008. Projecting that on out, and looking at a worst case, I believe we can handle it.”

York responded “I think about it often, you know. What we’re getting our taxpayers into. And like I said, I’m for the YMCA.”

Harrison said, “I’d be happy to show you those numbers, and anyone else.”

Mayor R.J. Crawford then took a moment to clear some misinformation.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there, from people that are running and some other news agencies that are not necessarily informing the public. Information that is public knowledge, by the way, this is pulled from the city website and audited by the state. If I’m not mistaken, our general public fund debt is $6 million, not $26 million. That is part of the sewer fund which is a separate fund that cannot be touched, it cannot cross into the general fund. So, when people say ‘we’re going to raise our debt to 76 million dollars, what they’re doing is they’re incorporating our water and sewer fund, which is not a part of our general fund.”

Crawford also clarified some of the conversations regarding interest rates, which he said he heard being quoted by someone else as being around 5 or 6 percent. And clarified that going through municipal bonds, the rate would be closer to 3 percent.

“Looking at the market currently, providing a conservative range, I think it’s 3.75 to a one-quarter percent,” said City Financial Advisor Larry Kidwell.

“The other thing to is I want to give props and continue to give props to the last ten years, which eight of those ten years have been under Mayor Mayberry. We went from a negative net position to a positive net position, and if I’m not mistaken, based off of the public records that can be pulled, we went from a negative $5 million position before Mayor Mayberry took over on average to the current ten years where we’re at $15 million plus cash position. The amount of businesses that we’ve gotten, Buc-ee’s, Harbor Freight, Chik-Fil-A, Rural King, McCalister’s, Firehouse Subs, Jersey Mike’s, it goes on and on and on and on. It allows for our sales tax to increase. We’re in a position now that we’ve never been in. And it has to do with what Mayor Mayberry and those councils before have done.”