Community Needs Assessment Clarksville, TN FY2016 Report Prepared by the HUD Nashville Field Office Community Needs Assessment OVERVIEW SUMMARY The City of Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, and the fifth-largest city in the state of Tennessee. The city had a population of 132,957 at the 2010 census, and an estimated population of 142,519 in 2012. Clarksville is the fifth-fastest growing city in the nation, of cities with a population over 50,000. Today, Clarksville is a sprawling community that is growing at a phenomenal rate. The City of Clarksville is home to Austin Peay State University which has 10,000 students enrolled centered in its downtown area. The vast 105,000- acre Fort Campbell military base is situated on the north side of the city bordering the Kentucky state line. Fort Campbell the 164.17-square mile military post has 49 ranges, 5 drop zones, 3 impact areas, 2 demolition areas, 46 maneuver areas and 309 artillery firing points. Fort Campbell supports an estimated post population of 40,000. Clarksville has a strong economy, and has experienced job growth and new industrial investment over the last several years. Clarksville is broadening and becoming more sophisticated by opening up a greenway, and soon to open a marina, and visitors center at Fort Difiance. There are 36 schools in the Clarksville Montgomery County school district serving approximately 29,000 children from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Clarksville works to balance the environmental, social, and economic needs of the community through long-term planning. Clarksville has a strong tradition of growth planning, encouraging compactness to prevent sprawl, and development centered in and around the central business district to encourage people to visit, work and shop downtown and to foster an efficient public transit system. For the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD), Consolidated Planning funds, the City of Clarksville’s Office of Housing and Community Development Department (OHCD) coordinates the planning and administration of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Funds. As an entitlement jurisdiction, the OHCD provides structure and shapes programmatic services for low-to-moderate income households. In order to meet local capacity, the Office of Housing and Community Development partners with nonprofits, Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), City departments, contractors, faith-based organizations, lenders, and charities. The OHCD connects resources to redevelop and revitalize Clarksville’s lower income neighborhoods. 2 Community Needs Assessment Clarksville is served directly by the Clarksville Housing Authority (CHA). CHA operates 520 units of public housing in buildings located throughout the City. Approximately five percent of these units are handicapped-accessible. The CHA is a high performing agency under HUD’s Public Housing Assistance Program, which indicates that the Authority maintains quality rated administration, maintenance, resident support, and program management for its residents. Each year the CHA uses the Capital Fund grant to renovate and maintain the public housing stock. Current funding is being used to complete a variety of work items including interior and exterior renovations and completing air conditioning installation in all units. To enhance security, this grant also provides for additional lighting, fencing, exterior doors and windows. This ensures that the units are well maintained and viable as continued public housing stock. The CHA’s occupancy levels remain high, and the application process remains open despite a high waiting list. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: The City of Clarksville has a Mayor and Council form of government. The Clarksville City Council meets in regular session on the first Thursday of the month in the City Council Chambers, 108 Public Square. Voters residing within the city limits elect the following city office holders Mayor, City Council members, and City Judge. City elections are held on the first Tuesday in November during even-numbered years. The terms of the council, members are staggered so that one–half of the council seats are up for election at one time. Council members are prohibited from serving more than three (3) consecutive terms in office. Council meetings are open to the public to solicit citizens input. For the Consolidated Planning programs, there is a Housing Community Development Committee (HCDC) which serves as the citizens input on the review of the Consolidated Planning programs. The HCDC also includes five (5) Mayor appointed City Council members. The committee meets once a month, and reviews the OHCD budget expenditures, and reviews ongoing and upcoming projects, as well as the goals and objectives, strategies and priority needs of the OHCD are being addressed. The OHCD administers CDBG and HOME funded programs and activities. The City works with local for –profit and non-profit agencies, lending, public, educational, and private institutions; and other governmental agencies. The City in working with a variety of community agencies over the last thirty years has a well-established structure for implementing the funded programs. The City of Clarksville’s Citizen’s Participation Plan (CPP) is designed to ensure citizen participation in all of the CDBG and HOME funded program areas and to meet the requirements set forth in Section 104 of the 1974 Housing and Community Development Act, as amended, and 24 CFR 91 to provide for citizen involvement in the planning and implementation of the City of Clarksville’s 3 Community Needs Assessment Consolidated Planning Programs. This Plan is an essential element of Clarksville’s present and future community development process and has been developed to comply with the regulations and requirements of the CDBG program. The CPP ensures continuity of citizen involvement in the planning, development, implementation and assessment of programs funded through the Office of Housing and Community Development. The CPP’s intent is to provide citizens with a better understanding of their role in the process and the steps they can take to become more active in all aspects of the City's Consolidated Planning Programs. It is periodically reviewed and updated to reflect any changes. HISTORY: The City was incorporated in 1785 as Tennessee's first incorporated city, and named for General George Rogers Clark, frontier fighter and Revolutionary War hero, and brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The fort is named in honor of Union Army Brigadier General William Bowen Campbell, the last Whig Governor of Tennessee. The site for Camp Campbell was selected on July 16, 1941, and the Title I Survey was completed November 15, 1941, coincidentally the same time the Japanese Imperial Fleet was leaving Japanese home waters for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Construction of Camp Campbell began on January 12, 1942. Due to its close proximity to Clarksville, Tennessee, the War Department on March 6, 1942, designated Tennessee as the official address of the new camp. This caused a great deal of confusion, since the Headquarters was in Tennessee and the post office was in Kentucky. After many months of mail delivery problems, Colonel Guy W. Chipman requested that the address be changed to Camp Campbell, Kentucky. The War Department officially changed the address on September 23, 1942. POPULATION DATA SUMMARY: Clarksville is located in Montgomery County. Clarksville serves as the county seat. It is the largest city in the county and also the fifth largest in the state. 4 Community Needs Assessment According to estimates from the last census, the makeup of the population of the Montgomery County is Whites as the majority, making up more than sixty percent of the population, followed by African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islander and other races. More than twenty percent of the population are under the age of 18, thirteen percent belong to 18 to 24 years of age, four percent belong to 25 to 44, fifteen percent are ages 45 to 64 and seven percent are 65 years or older. 29 is the median age of the population of the county. According to 2010 census estimates, the county had 134,700 people approximately, with a population density of 250 people per square mile. Statistics & Facts: As of the census of 2010, there were 132,929 people, 46,512 households, and 32,968 families residing in the City. There were 46,512 households out of which 38.8 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9 percent were married couples living together, 17.3 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1 percent were non-families. 23.0 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09. The median income for a household in the city was $48,679, and the median income for a family was $56,295. Males had a median income of $41,019 versus $31,585 for females. The per capita income for the city was 23,722 (4th highest per capita personal income in Tennessee). About 12.4 percent of families and 16.5 percent of the population