City sets special-called meeting on Village Inn
Feb. 6—The Crossville City Council will hold a special-called meeting Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 4:40 p.m.
The meeting will be held at Crossville City Hall, 392 N. Main St.
The only item on the agenda, which was released Friday morning, is discussion and action regarding the Village Inn.
According to the meeting agenda information, City Attorney Randy York will provide an update on events surrounding the Village Inn.
It is not clear if this agenda item includes continued action on the purchase of the Village Inn, which has been at a standstill since late December when the third and final reading of a budget amendment for the $450,000 purchase was pulled from a special-call meeting agenda.
York told the council in January he recommended they hold off on the third and final reading until legal questions could be answered.
"We have not committed ourselves," York said during the Jan. 3 work session. "It's still subject to a final vote from the city council."
York did not elaborate on the legal questions.
Residents of the Village Inn received eviction notices around Jan. 1, telling them they needed to vacate the facility by Jan. 31 due to the pending sale. The city has noted it did not issue the eviction notice and the sale has not been finalized.
The Chronicle reviewed public records related to the purchase, which included an email from York noting owner Dr. Robert "Buck" Wood's attorney had approached him to inquire if the city would be interested in purchasing the property. That was in October.
Other documents were not released with the records request. York cited "deliberative process," which is an argument that records related to records being used in deliberations being withheld from the public. The Chronicle was advised the records could be available after the purchase of the Village Inn was settled.
The records request did include correspondence with area agencies regarding coordinating efforts to assist residents in relocating from the Village Inn. An initial meeting of those organizations was held Dec. 21.
The meeting precedes the council's monthly work session, which had initially included discussion regarding the investigative report on the Village Inn following a brief closure of the business by city officials last July.
The Chronicle previously requested a copy of the investigative report, which was cited in various meetings of the council as it discussed the suspension and eventual reinstatement of City Manager Greg Wood. The Chronicle's request was denied, though the newspaper continues to seek access to the report under the state's public records law.
Discussion on the report was removed from the agenda, and a revised agenda was released Thursday afternoon.
The work session agenda includes discussion of road closure requests, contract for concession services at city parks, appointments to various city boards and committees, changes to contracts for utility relocation in the area of the Hwy. 127 N. road construction, potential bond issuance to fund a proposed indoor recreation center, and purchase of a post frame building for the maintenance department.
Meetings of the city council are open to the public.
Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.
