CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When a community gathering place disappears, it's about more than losing a building.
For approximately 1,400 seniors in the Clarksville area, it meant losing a daily source of meals, friendship, and connection.
The Ajax Turner 50+ Center closed in June when the city moved to take over operations, but that transition is now on hold because of a court battle.
The nonprofit is suing the City of Clarksville, Mayor Joe Pitts and four former board members, escalating a dispute that has been unfolding for months. The lawsuit, filed by newly elected board leaders Jimmy Parker and Jill Turner Crow, asks a judge to stop the city's planned takeover. At the beginning of August, a judge issued a temporary injunction after reviewing the lawsuit alleging key decisions were made behind closed doors and that property occupied by Ajax Turner 50+ Center is actually owned by Montgomery County.
Emails uncovered by NewsChannel 5 during months of reporting showed discussions about the transition were happening behind the scenes since at least January, weeks before they were publicly announced.
"It's been hard, very hard to go through all this and constantly fight and not know what we were going to do, move, stay open? We had no idea what's going on," Jimmy Parker said.
Jimmy Parker, who served as board chair for years before returning to help get the center back open, said the fight has taken a toll.
But his goal is clear.
"We want to stay open for the next 60 years," Parker said.
As we've previously reported, the city hasn't commented further on the transition since our sit-down interview with Mayor Pitts in April.
A judge is scheduled to hear the case again on Tuesday, August 18 at 9 a.m. Until then, both sides are in a holding pattern.
Meanwhile, NewsChannel 5 has learned of new senior-specific programming at Clarksville's Burt-Cobb Community Center every Monday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fundraising campaign
To show donors exactly where their money would go, the center has broken down what different contributions can provide:
- $25 covers one week of meals for one member.
- $100 funds a full day of programs.
- $500 helps keep the building running.
- Five monthly payments of $50 through January would support operations through the remainder of this administration.
Nearly 90% of the center's roughly $900,000 budget came from the city last year.
Donations can be mailed to 953 Clark Street, Clarksville, TN, 37040.
Adult day center license
The Senior Circle of Friends Adult Day Center — one of the liveliest areas inside the facility — went dark in May when board members terminated Executive Director Rita Alsop. When Alsop was fired, she told families in the Adult Day Center program that services would end, leaving 24 vulnerable older adults without the supervised care they depend on.
"The day that I was fired, ADC had to shut down," Alsop said. "It was horrible."
She has since returned to her role.
The adult day center is separately licensed by the Tennessee Department of Human Services and, according to Ajax Turner leadership, can operate without relying on charitable donations tied to the broader center. However, TDHS says reopening still requires documentation related to the facility’s legal right to operate at the property.
Senior Circle of Friends Adult Day Care Center/ Ajax Turner 50+ Center was operating under a continuous license issued by TDHS. In June, Ajax Turner notified the department that the facility would temporarily close, with an anticipated reopening date of July 20, 2026.
As part of the reopening process, TDHS requested documentation confirming that Ajax Turner maintains the legal right to possess and operate from the property for the current licensing period, including a copy of the current lease agreement. To date, the department has not received the requested documentation. As a result, the facility has not yet reopened.
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