Jackson City Council addresses variety of topics
JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson’s City Council met at City Hall on Tuesday to address a long list of items.
The meeting started off with proclamations and recognition, and then continued with proposed budget amendments.
One of which was the passing of $300,000 for road access to the Great Wolf Lodge.
“I mean I think it’s an exciting step in the process as we move forward with our Industrial Development Board finalizing their agreements with Great Wolf Lodge as part of the initial agreement that we had with them that we would build the access road to it. And so this is the start of that process,” said Jackson Mayor Scott Conger.
Conger says in an ideal world, the goal is to have the road completed by December of 2024.
Along with a new road, the council passed to increase parks and recreation salaries to $61,348.86 specifically for those teens who work in the summer with parks and rec.
As for new orders of business, James Bence with Mauldin & Jenkins gave a summary of the City of Jackson’s audit report for fiscal year 2021.
“We have some weaknesses that we’re going to have to address. We’ve already started talking about those at the audit committee level. We will be putting together a plan with our internal auditor to go through all of that and to make sure that we’re adjusting the things that we need to adjust,” said District 6 Councilman Paul Taylor.
According to Taylor, from a financial standpoint the city is in a much better position compared to years before.
And along with finances, the council voted to approve the conceptual plan for the remaining track of land at Triangle Park, which will possibly become a spot for a boutique hotel if the city gives them the land at no cost.
Council members also addressed the report of a couple of anonymous complaints about Taylor’s involvement with a housing and land study, including the Georgia-Pacific project.
“I know that we need a housing study to understand how our community needs to grow, and so the allegation was that I was using that for my own benefit. I’d rebuke that and say, you know this is for the city’s benefit,” Taylor said.
And as for the Georgia-Pacific project, Taylor says his father owns property near the proposed site.
“The complainant made the case that there could be a potential for a conflict of interest in that. When I approach these things, I approach them with the city’s and the community’s best interest in mind. Those were unanimous votes. Both of these things were unanimously voted, and I think we can all agree they were in the best interest for the city,” Taylor said.
The council also heard remarks and updates from members with Love Your Block, the Jackson Arts Council, parks and rec, and others.
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