CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Sherry Brown, a longtime benefactor of the Cleveland/Bradley County Greenway, has questioned the city’s recent $200,000 purchase of Keith Street property for greenway parking.
In October, the Cleveland City Council authorized the purchase of two parcels located next to Kingsway Press and owned by David Gilbert. The parcel located closest to the business has long been used for parking by greenway visitors.
“I’m not against the city allocating that money to the greenway,” Brown said Friday. “I just think that money could be put towards purchasing easements or other needs when there is an existing parking area located nearby.”
Brown referred to a secluded paved lot on Stuart Avenue, not far from the intersection of Keith Street and 17th Street.
The lot was given to the greenway by Joan Hansen, who operated a garden shop from her former residence next door, Brown said.
A banner bearing the Cleveland motto “A City With Spirit” decorates the Cleveland/Bradley County Greenway near Raider Drive.
In addition to having up to eight cement parking markers, the site accesses one of the most beautiful sections of the greenway, said Brown. Sherry said the site includes benches, a table and a nearby designated urban wildlife area.
The property purchase has come under harsher criticism from Bradley County Commissioner Thomas Crye, who has voiced opposition to Cleveland’s request that the county split the $200,000 price tag over a three-year period.
Crye has called the deal a “boondoggle” intended to benefit Gilbert, whom he called a friend and political supporter of Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland.
In a recent meeting, Cleveland officials attempted to clarify the history of the properties, which had a combined value of $298,000 before to the deal. Since then, the combined value of the property dropped to $111,500 based on a recent re-evaluation by Bradley County Assessor Stanley Thompson.
“It’s a prime piece of property the city is purchasing,” City Manager Janice Casteel said.
The parcel that serves as the current parking area was purchased by Gilbert from a private owner nearly 20 years ago for $25,000 and later improved with grading, said Jonathan Jobe, director of the city’s development and engineering department. That property has been valued at $64,700, and its value did not decline after Thompson’s re-evaluation.
The 1.7-acre parcel located south of the parking area, which is located in a flood plain, dropped almost $200,000 from its high-water mark of $233,900 after Thompson’s re-evaluation.
Gilbert received the parcel for a $500 consideration as part of a property swap that allowed a greenway bridge to be connected to the adjacent parcel in 2003.
Vice Mayor George Poe cited concerns that a building could be put up on the parking lot parcel and hinder emergency responder access to the greenway.
A retaining wall would be needed if a building is constructed on the site, according to the parcel’s unofficial property report card on the Bradley County Assessor’s website.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.