CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — The city manager of Crossville has been suspended for three weeks and there will be an independent investigation after The Village Inn was suddenly closed and dozens of people had to leave their homes in late July.
It was a low-income housing complex that police investigated for narcotics. The Crossville Police Department said they conducted a search warrant for a long-term investigation there and they said they found several safety concerns before closing it. There were many other city agencies with them, including the Crossville Fire Department.
"We were never notified of any code violation," said Robert Buckwood, the owner of the property. "We were never told there was a problem with anything. The entire thing was set up and happened without any knowledge or effort from anybody to get anything corrected."
He spoke at a public comment session during a Crossville City Council meeting on Tuesday. At the time of The Village Inn's closure, 44 rooms were occupied. He said around half of those people have returned to their homes so far.
District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said The Village Inn was on his radar and had attracted the attention of the police department for some time.
"We have lots of problems there," he said. "Lots of police calls. I’ve personally been there recently with overdose deaths. It is a very problematic property that police are responding to very often drug-related and otherwise."
Around a month ago, he said he started considering a nuisance action on the property. But, he said on Tuesday that his office is no longer planning it because of the sudden closure.
The Crossville City Attorney said he first became aware agencies searched and closed the property by reading it on social media, after it already happened. He recommended that the insurance attorney hire a private, third-party investigator to find out why the closure was so sudden and why he was not previously notified.
The investigation will cost $10,000 at most and it would be conducted by Robinson Smith and Wells, who have an office in Chattanooga. A motion passed to hire them.
He also said he believed the fire chief acted in good faith that night but also said that the closure should have gone through the court system and it should have received due process.
"It's my recommendation that tonight, the council suspend the city manager pursuant to the city charter," he said.
The city manager, Greg Wood, was suspended with pay for three weeks, or until the investigation is completed. They said an interim city manager would be appointed during that time — the city recorder. That person will get a pay boost for having to do two jobs at once during the investigation.