Frustration boiled over at this week’s Davidson County commissioners meeting, where citizens spoke out against plans for a new $61 million sports complex.
The 125-acre facility is set to include multiple sports fields, a community center and a pool.
Several residents sharply criticized the proposal during the public comment period:
“Have you all lost your minds?” Janine Perduto asked commissioners.
“Why are Davidson County taxpayers asked to shoulder a dramatically higher property value while essential services struggle, but multi-million dollar projects continue moving forward?” said Jessica Hughes.
“The majority of this county don’t want it,” said Polly Leonard. “And you are just steadfast and just spitting in everybody’s face.”
Davidson County Parks and Recreation Director Thomas Marshburn says some of the pushback seems to stem from misinformation. For one thing, he says, the idea for the sportsplex came from residents.
“It came from surveys that had been sent out to the city,” said Marshburn. “We hired a company to come in and do a master plan and they studied it and came back. And that was the recommendation they brought back.”
That was in 2005. Marshburn says the survey has been repeated four times since then, with similar results. He also says revenue from the county’s recent property revaluation will not pay for the project.
“Way before the property evaluation was even done, the money was set aside,” he said.
Commissioners approved the project’s budget last year, with much of the funding coming from federal COVID-19 relief dollars.
Their support may have come with a political cost. Chairwoman Karen Watford and Commissioner Steve Shell, who voted in favor of the sportsplex, both lost their seats in last week’s primary.
Still, both voted again this week to move the plan forward, alongside two other commissioners. Their votes cleared the way for construction to begin next month.