Council members sue over law easing votes needed to change Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
A trio of Metro Nashville council members have entered an ongoing legal battle to strike down a new state law overriding Nashville's charter to make it easier to pass a $100 million renovation deal for the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Metro Council members Colby Sledge, Bob Mendes and Sandra Sepulveda filed a lawsuit against the state Wednesday in Davidson County Chancery Court claiming the law is unconstitutional, echoing a similar suit recently filed by attorneys representing the Metro Nashville government.
The council members' lawsuit comes as legislation to approve a deal with Bristol Motor Speedway to overhaul Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway moves toward Metro Council consideration. The deal includes a 30-year lease and roughly $100 million in publicly funded renovations, including a new 30,000-seat grandstand, a sound wall and an "enhanced infield."
Metro Nashville voters approved a rule requiring a supermajority vote of 27 council members to approve any demolition at the Nashville Fairgrounds by a two-to-one margin in a petition-driven referendum vote in 2011. The new state law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by Gov. Bill Lee overrides that rule, requiring only a simple majority of 21 votes to approve changes to existing fairgrounds facilities owned by Metro, provided the improvements would be used for "substantially the same use."
Both lawsuits claim the law violates the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution, which prevents the state legislature from passing laws that impact the governance of only a particular county or city without the approval of local voters. The law, the lawsuits state, applies solely to Metro Nashville's governing charter and was never placed on a ballot for voter approval.
"(The law's) intent and purpose are to override the overwhelming support of Nashville voters regarding the manner in which the Metro Nashville Council can vote to improve, renovate or demolish the Nashville Fairgrounds," the council members' lawsuit states.
Mendes said he, Sepulveda and Sledge filed the lawsuit as voters and elected officials to "cover the bases" in representing all parties alleging harm by the new statute.
The Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway renovation deal itself has several hurdles to pass in a tight timeline if it is to gain approval before the end of the current Metro Council and mayoral term in August. The bill will be introduced to the council on its first of three readings on June 6, but further consideration must be deferred until after the city's budget season is complete. The lawsuits add additional layers of uncertainty — the court could grant an injunction of the state law, or the mere fact of pending litigation could complicate bond issuance should the deal pass.
Renovations would be funded by $17 million in state bonds, $17 million from the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., and revenue bonds from the Metro Sports Authority that would be repaid by diverted taxes on facility revenue and backed by the city.
Over the 30-year lease, Bristol Motor Speedway and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. would pay Metro roughly $57.4 million in guaranteed revenue through rent and other payments. Metro would also receive the first $600,000 of any annual sponsorship revenues at the facility, with a 1% escalator each year.
Mendes said he is less interested in the speedway deal itself than asserting the Home Rule rights of Metro and its residents.
"I'm interested in making sure that Metro and its citizens defend against state overreach on Home Rule in all the places where it pops up, and this is one of the more obvious and glaring versions of it," Mendes said.
Sledge, Mendes and Sepulveda v. Lee, McNally and Sexton by USA TODAY Network on Scribd
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Council members sue state over Nashville Fairgrounds renovation law
