April 29, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
The Smithville Merchants Alliance and the Friends of Historic Downtown Smithville are taking a stand against any effort by the county to build a new jail complex on the square at the existing location.
Three downtown business owners, Randy Caldwell, Bert Driver, and Ken Fennell, expressed their opposition during the public comments period of Monday night’s monthly county commission meeting.
“I haven’t been in before to speak because I understood the county was pursuing relocating the jail outside the downtown area. That is something I was very supportive of. Now, I have come to understand that there is some momentum to keep it downtown and I am here to speak as a business owner. I am vehemently against it,” said Caldwell.
“As a resident and investor in our downtown, I have invested a lot of money and a lot of time and effort there. And as someone who has specialized in land use policies, this is a bad use for our downtown. Its not the proper use. Our biggest constraint downtown is a majority of uses down there are municipal uses. Marketing strategists will tell you for a vibrant downtown to make a maximum use of it there needs to be retail restaurants, entertainment, and uses that generate revenue within the district. A jail is not an appropriate use for that,” explained Caldwell. “However, opportunity arises from constraints. You have opportunity to convert a valuable property asset to a land use that will generate sales revenue, activate the square, and also be compatible with long term vision for the square. You have opportunity to control the future by using an RFP (request for proposal) process. You have the ability to seek a development partner that can redevelop that piece of property to a higher and better use that will be more compatible with the land uses down there. I am asking for you to be bold for our community and downtown and be visionary. Locating outside downtown will allow the opportunity for downtown to be an economic driver and revenue generator. Our future and livelihood downtown depend on that. Making smart decisions based on long term solutions. Help us thrive and continue to contribute to the community as business owners down there,” said Caldwell.
“To the commission I would like to say that we, the friends of historic downtown Smithville and the merchant’s association stand united to oppose the county commission’s proposal to build a three-story jail detention center in our downtown area,” said Bert Driver.
“Since our establishment in 1838, Smithville has thrived as a vibrant community and the location represents some of the most valuable and irreplaceable real estate in the entire county. To that point, is a jail in downtown the highest and best use? Our historic downtown generates significant tax revenue that benefits both the city and the county,” Driver continued. “Time and again we have demonstrated Smithville leads the county in tax income which underscores our vital role in the community. Yet, despite our contributions we feel that our voices have been overlooked and to our dismay there has been very little engagement with the local business community from this body of government. The millions of dollars that have been invested to revitalize our downtown by private entities speaks volume about the commitment to this community. No doubt we are all committed to this community. We urge the county commission to reconsider and seek an alternative location that would effectively serve our needs now and in the future. This proposal is nothing more than a band aid solution. It will only lead to more problems and greater expenses down the road, tonight we are here as a unified voice to say let’s work together, find a solution with the property owners downtown, and redevelop what is the gem of the Upper Cumberland,” said Driver.
“As a business owner my wife and I don’t think having a jail downtown is a great idea,” said Ken Fennell.
“I have been in construction for over 30 years. I have done several billion dollars’ worth of work. I worked for one of the largest general contractors in the United States. I advise my clients very directly on retrofits and renovations because that first number you see is a bogey. It’s a best-case scenario. It’s probably not going to be that at the end of the day. You’ll be attracted to it like a moth to a flame but it’s not going to be that. Retrofitting and bringing something that is so old and antiquated up to federal and state codes takes a lot of money. It’s a demand on the infrastructure that is already crumbling in the city. What you don’t know isn’t going to be in those bid documents because the architect and engineers are not going to pick up everything so that contactor won’t either in that hard bid,” explained Fennell. “At the end of the day they are going to raise their hand up and ask for change orders and then they are going to say we are delaying the job because we found asbestos, lead, PCBs, or something in the ground we didn’t expect. All those things will start to cause delays. The project will likely not come in on time or under budget and you’ll be wondering how you got there making that decision. I just want to caution you. You have choices here. We need to make the right choice. The can has been kicked down the road too long. Think about what is right for the future. Bringing tourism will bring dollars to the city and the county. Inmates don’t,” said Fennell.