NASHVILLE (AP) — A referendum on the Tennessee State Fairgrounds during Nashville's city election Thursday caps a lengthy political debate over whether urban voters have enough nostalgia to preserve it from proposed redevelopment.
The amendment, if approved, would increase the number of Metro Council votes needed to make changes to the 106-year-old exhibition grounds, which are currently the home of a racetrack, the state fair and a flea market.
Mayor Karl Dean, who faces nominal opposition for his second term, has proposed redeveloping the 117-acre site, but he's run into unexpectedly strong opposition from fans of auto racing who want the fair to stay. Some candidates for Metro Council have made the fairgrounds a major talking point in ads running up to the election.
Still the turnout is expected to be light. Less than 12 percent of registered active voters went to the polls during the early voting period that began July 15. Voters will vote for mayor, vice mayor and Metro Council in addition to the proposed amendment.
But no matter which way the voters side on the amendment, the debate over the future of the site is far from over, both supporters and opponents said.
"Even if it passes, it doesn't affect our debate about the issue," said Colby Sledge, a member of Neighbors for Progress, a group of south Nashville residents who have complained about the noise and pollution from the racetrack.
Dean had wanted to turn the site into a mixed-use development anchored by a corporate tenant and a public park, while relocating the state fair and flea market.
Legislation approved by the Nashville Metro Council earlier this year requires that the fair be held at the fairgrounds this year and in 2012 and the State Fair Board signed a lease agreement with Fairgrounds Speedway USA, owned by former NASCAR drivers Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Chad Chaffin, to operate the Fairgrounds Speedway for 2011 and 2012. But there's no guarantee the events will continue as the council ordered the development of a master plan for the city-owned property.
Regardless of how the vote turns out, Sledge said the next steps are to get more input on what residents want at the facility and try to reach an agreement that everyone can be happy with.
"We'll try to see if we can come to a consensus that's been elusive in this whole process," Sledge said.
The amendment would increase the number of votes required to make changes from 21 to 27, but Sledge says that's not an insurmountable barrier.
"We are convinced if you get a good plan, you can get that level of support," he said.
Councilman Jaime Hollin, who is not running for re-election, is a leader in the Save My Fairgrounds group that has opposed Dean's plan to move the state fair and tear down the racetrack where drivers like Darrell Waltrip and Sterling Marlin got their start.
He said supporters of the fairgrounds have been characterized as outsiders trying to influence the city's development, but he thinks the outpouring of supporters at council meetings this year has shown local elected officials there are plenty of residents who want the facility preserved.
"I think it's symbolic of the widely held belief that no one in government is listening to the people it serves," Hollin said.