By Crystal McGough
For the Tribune
CLAY — The Clay City Council unanimously approved Resolution 2018-08 Tuesday night, authorizing a property exchange between the City of Clay and the Jefferson County Board of Education.
Clay resident Greg Colvert presented this poster board to the Clay City Council during a public hearing addressing property to be condemned. Photo by Crystal McGough.
According to the resolution, the city will be deeding approximately seven acres of land at Bryant Park to the BOE for the purpose of building a new elementary school in exchange for 1.76 acres of land at the location of the new Clay Public Library building, next to Clay Elementary School.
The elementary school to be built at Bryant Park is a part of the BOE’s Capital Expenditure Plan, which will include the building of seven new schools in the county, eight school renovations, multiple additions and work on athletic facilities. The new elementary school is expected to be a STEM school for students in the Clay area.
“I think it’s going to be a great project for everyone in the area,” Steve Stine, an attorney representing the BOE said. “There are plans to tie the school into the back of the Boy’s Club property with some sidewalks and some other enhancements there.”
Building plans for the new elementary school are already being worked on and bids for the construction are scheduled to happen in Oct. All of the Capital Expenditure Plan’s new schools are expected to be open and occupied in the 2020-2021 school year.
“The benefit to the community of the school being at Bryant Park, it will offer more amenities than what the current Bryant Park offers,” City Manager Ronnie Dixon said. “The playing field portion of what is now Bryant Park will not be affected, and today the school board discussed that they will make improvements to what is the park area now. So it will improve the public’s access and usability of Bryant Park, and then we will be swapping for the land where the old City Hall used to sit, where now the new library sits.”
Dixon said that after Resolution 2018-08 was approved, the BOE would vote on a similar resolution Thursday morning.
“Then Mr. Stine and his group will take over and probate everything and make sure it’s all registered that the City of Clay owns the property that our new library sits on, and the Board of Education owns the property that the new elementary school will sit on,” he said.
The council also held two public hearings during the council meeting. The first hearing addressed the condemnation of a property that has come up in previous council meetings, 7730 Clayton Road.
The city has previously had issues with the property being used as a dump for tires and rubbish, and Dixon said that the house located on the property burned several months ago.
“Don (Isbell) and I made the determination that it’s not salvageable,” Dixon said. “The property is not insured.”
Dixon added that those currently in possession of the property have not been able to provide the city with a clear title to the property to prove legal ownership. The property belonged to the late father of the man who currently claims ownership.
“That’s why we decided to go ahead and move forward with the demolition,” Dixon said.
Greg Colvert, who lives next door to the property in question, spoke at the hearing in favor of the condemnation. He also presented the council with a poster board presentation of the property’s issues, including the burnt house, large amounts of tires and rubbish, and a demolished mobile home on the property.
“I’ve lived next door to this property for over 19 years,” Colvert said. “The last three years, he’s used the property for nothing but a landfill.”
No one spoke against the condemnation of the property at the hearing, and under unanimous consent, the council passed a resolution to condemn and authorize the demolition of the property.
The second public hearing addressed the revocation of a business license for Paradigm Health and Pain Management, a medical clinic being operated by a doctor whose medical license has been revoked.
“There was a petitioner that came in and asked for a business license for Paradigm Health Management,” Dixon said. “By the name, it could be anything in the healthcare field from home health to selling equipment.”
Dixon said that at the time the business license was sold, the city was not aware that the business was a medical practice.
“Within two days we found out it was a field clinic of a doctor whose license has been revoked,” he said. “He was writing Suboxone and pain med prescriptions out of this location. That makes it a medical clinic and he doesn’t have a medical license, so we need to revoke the business license.”
No one spoke either in favor of or against the revocation during the hearing and nothing was voted on during the council meeting.
In school news, Councilor Dennis Locke announced this month’s $500 School Grant winners.
Clay Elementary Music and K5 teacher Kristi Lott won the grant for her school and will use the money to purchase stability balls and light-up drumsticks to use in her classroom.
CCMS English and seventh grade teacher Heather Cagle won for the middle school and plans to purchase two Chromebooks and software.
“Lastly, for the high school we didn’t actually have a teacher request, so we are going to donate this to (Principal) Lee to use at his discretion according to the guidelines we already have in place,” Locke said. “Congratulations to all three of those award winners.”
The next Clay City Council meeting will be held Tuesday, May 22.
