Clarkesville council tables hotel and fire-station plans for 555 Monroe Street

In March, Clarkesville City Council voted 5-0 to bid out a topography study for the 555 Monroe Street property as it considered development options there.

By April, Mayor Brown presented the completed topography study to council along with renderings for the site. The same month, the Downtown Development Authority discussed the possibility of also acquiring the nearby Department of Agriculture building and the Masonic Lodge to add to the property, though a later DDA update said there were no new developments to report.

Council placed a vote on a "path forward" for the property on its May 12 agenda, but minutes show no vote was actually taken.

In June, Mayor Brown presented drawings of a suggested footprint for a fire station on the property, but council members said they were not in agreement that a hotel should be built there, and the fire station project was tabled 5-0. In July, council discussed whether a highest-and-best-use analysis had been done on the property and agreed the fire station request for proposals should stay tabled until a new hire, identified as Mr. Streetman, comes onboard and asks for the project to continue.