Crossville waiting on state, fed road closure guidance

Sep. 7—The city of Crossville wants to hear from state and federal highway officials before it finalizes a proposed street closure ordinance.

"That's where the whole crux of the issue lies," City Manager Greg Wood said during Tuesday's work session. "Technically, you may not even be supposed to be closing down a state highway."

The council passed the first reading of the ordinance in July, with the second reading approved in August. Ordinances require three votes — or readings — by the council before taking effect.

If approved a third time, the ordinance would impact events set after Dec. 31, 2023.

During the city's work session on Tuesday, members of the Crossville Cruisers, who hold cruise-ins downtown on Main St. from April-October, questioned the council on specifics of the policy and its impact on organizations.

The policy would require an application fee of $50 for closing city streets and $100 for closure of state or federal highways, like Main St. The city will also require a $250 deposit to cover costs of clean up after the event, if necessary.

Applicants must communicate the street closure to impacted businesses. The city will provide a list of businesses and contact information.

Groups will be limited to no more than four events in a calendar year. Sponsoring groups are responsible for providing trash cans and portable toilets during the event, and they must also have a liability insurance policy with at least $1 million in coverage.

Government agencies, city events, funeral processions, or other unplanned events — like closures for repairs or construction — are exempt from the ordinance.

The ordinance would give the city manager authority to approve events off a state or federal highway, but council action would be necessary for events that required closing a major route, like Main St.

Victor Torasso, with the Crossville Cruisers, said, "It appears to us that you all are looking for a way to shut the event down, to just be perfectly honest about it."

Torasso asked what guarantee groups would have that their event would be approved.

Crossville Mayor R.J. Crawford said he'd worked hard this year to craft compromise solutions for the Cruisers and other groups wanting to have events in the downtown area.

The Cruise Ins are held the fourth Saturday of each month from noon-4 p.m. and draw a large number of exhibitors. The group has requested Main St. for its events, stating the side streets are too hilly and do not provide enough space for the events.

Crawford said he wanted the ordinance to provide some continuity for groups as members of the council change over time.

"If everything is met, the city manager should not have any issues with the four that are allotted," Crawford said. "If you decide to go above that, that's when the council is going to have to potentially be more involved."

Only the Cruisers and Downtown Crossville Inc. have more than four events annually, Crawford noted.

Wood said the ordinance would also provide consistency among organizations making street closure requests. Some questioned a clause requiring the groups to pay for additional street barricades or other items. City Clerk Valerie Hale explained that was in place for extra large events that overwhelmed the city's available resources, not standard events.

But the ordinance does allow the city to move events or change the time and place. Crawford said that was in place in the events outside the city's control, like state road construction or other activities. Main St. is also a federal highway, with overlapping jurisdiction by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

City Attorney Randy York said the question becomes what responsibility the city has to notify state or federal highways of temporary closures.

"Because once you get into that, it is a huge, huge, application process for each closure," York said. "And I can tell you that it takes months fr them to consider a temporary road closure."

York advised the city to inquire about state and federal requirements for temporary road closures before finalizing. The city hopes to hear back by the regular city council meeting next week.

The September council meeting is set for Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. In addition to the third and final consideration of the street closure ordinance, the agenda includes a waiver of the city's sign ordinance for placing banners along the street lights on Main St. for Veterans and other changes to the city's sign ordinance.

The agenda also includes bids for marketing services for the proposed indoor recreation center, though the council is still waiting for better cost estimates and finalization of the building program.

The agenda also includes several contracts and purchases.

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.