The Clarksville Town Council held its regular meeting on December 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. (approximate start time), followed by a work session. The council approved several ordinances and resolutions addressing police and fire pay, across-the-board salary adjustments, employee benefits, and a property donation. Financial updates revealed departments are on/under budget for 2025 and the town is approaching its $10 million emergency reserve goal, while the state rejected the 2026 budgets requiring corrective action. Council also heard presentations on the summer concert series, a historic Clark Brothers plaza, and a proposed fire prevention ordinance.
Summer Concert Series Update – Safety Director Mark Palmer reviewed the “Good Time Concert Series.” In 2024, the town spent about $30,000; in 2025, total costs were $60,000 with $30,000 raised through sponsorships. Attendance grew from 200 to crowd peaks of 1,500. Proposed 2026 plans include a pre‑Thunder Friday night event, consideration of hot‑weather scheduling, and a possible amateur night partnership with House of Maxwell. With permanent stage and restroom facilities (currently under construction), costs are expected to drop by about $25,000 annually. Staff will provide a detailed budget breakdown.
Historic Preservation Presentation – Lynn Lewis, President of the Historic Preservation Commission, presented the Clark Brothers Project: a half‑block plaza (bounded by Coulter, Expedition, York, and Pryor Streets) telling the story of George Rogers Clark and William Clark. The project is proposed to be completed by 2033 (Clarksville’s 250th anniversary). The Redevelopment Commission has voted a resolution of support. The HPC seeks a similar resolution from the Council to enable fundraising. No vote was taken at this work session.
Fire Prevention Ordinance – Chief Wilson introduced a major revision of the existing fire prevention ordinance. The new ordinance does not conflict with state codes but supplements them, applies only to new commercial construction (not retroactive), and provides a local appeals process. The draft includes an executive summary and a full 20‑page ordinance. Councilmembers will review and discuss further at a later meeting.
Welcome everyone to the December 16th regular meeting of the Clarksville Town Council. Councilman Stotz, if you would please introduce tonight's invocation. He's a Cogate Baptist, or he's with Cody Gate Baptist Church. Well, good evening, and thank you for the invitation. Just a real big quick backstory. I promise I won't be a Baptist preacher tonight. Each Lord's Day at our church we gather and we take First Timothy chapter two seriously, and we lift up our civil magistrates in the Lord's prayers. And so we pre we pray for our presidents, governors, senators, sheriff, and even the town council of Clarksville. Also, I just finished preaching through the book of Titus this Lord's Day, and I thought what an appropriate text to read before I pray. All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. For the last 52 or 50 some weeks, uh Colgate Baptist Church has been praying for you all sitting in these seats. And so I mentioned to our congregation this past Sunday, I would be here by the invitation of Mr. Stotz. And so we as Colgate Baptist Churches greet you in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray for you all that you all have wisdom and that honor the Lord is you have this authority given to you. So with that being said, let me pray for you one more time. Father, we thank you for a beautiful day. A little more warmth. Uh a beautiful day to do your business, Lord. I pray for wisdom for all of us as citizens, as leaders, Lord, that we are put in a time and a place, and we have responsibilities. We have battles to fight today for those that are coming tomorrow. And so I pray that you give us wisdom as we make the uh radical decisions and even the mundane decisions that you're in it all, and that you would be glorified. I lift up these leaders, they may honor you. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. We do not have anyone who has signed up to make public comment this evening, so we'll move on to our consent agenda and items contained tonight are minutes from the last regular meetings of the town council. Claims both current and pre-written, and then also the acceptance of minutes and placement on file of various boards and commissions that are appointed by the town council. I make the motion to approve, please. I'll second. One thing on the minutes I sent to AD on the vote for the FOP contract, it should be 501. Abstention. You send out the correct order. Okay. I believe I sent out a correct one this afternoon, but I believe the correct one was not correct. So uh we will, if you will, approve with that amendment that uh the FOP contract had a vote of 501. I'll make sure the uh final copy reflects as such. Thank you. So we have a motion on the floor from Councilman McEwen and a second from Councilwoman Boiner. All those in favor, please raise your right hand and say aye. That motion carries unanimously, and we will now move on to new business. And the first item up this evening is ordinance 2025 S 13, amending ordinances 2025 S01 and 2025 S10 as it relates to police officer pay rates. At the December 2nd council meeting, ordinance 2025 S10 was adopted, setting these salaries for fiscal 2025 for police officers due to an error in rounding, the biweekly salary when computed across the calendar year fell short of the agreed to base salary within the union contract. This ordinance corrects the base salary to comply with the contract. Requested action is to approve ordinance 2025 S 13. I'll make that motion. Motion from Councilman Boyner. Second, a second from Councilwoman Schiller. Again, all those discussion from Councilman McEwen.