CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than a dozen supporters of the Ajax Turner Senior Center, and several backers of the city of Clarksville's plan to take it over, packed a courtroom for the second time in as many months Tuesday, as a judge ruled the city must go through eviction court to take over the center — setting aside the steps the city has taken so far in its months-long dispute over who should operate the senior center going forward.
WATCH: Judge again blocks Clarksville from taking over Ajax Turner Senior Center
The Ajax Turner Senior Center took the city of Clarksville, Mayor Joe Pitts, and four former board members to court in July to ask for a restraining order. In August, a judge ruled in favor of the senior center and issued a temporary injunction blocking the city from taking over the facility on Clark Street. At the time, the judge cited "self-help," saying the city didn't follow the official judicial process.
In what may have been their last attempt to settle the possession dispute in this court, the attorney for defendants asked the judge to enforce the lease between the city and Ajax Turner, which ended June 30, and put the city back in possession of the property.
The center has called the Clark Street property its home since 1998.
Pitts notified the center in March that its lease would end, then moved through council to redirect funding — ultimately leading the center to shut down its programs. Nonprofit leaders then sued Pitts and others, alleging the city did not go about it the right way.
Chancellor Kimberly Lund denied the motion, once again saying that to lawfully remove a tenant, a landlord must follow the formal judicial eviction process.
"This court is not the proper venue for that," said Chancellor Kimberly Lund.
The city's attorney addressed why the city had not yet taken the dispute to eviction court.
"We could've gone and filed in General Sessions, we thought about that. We didn't want to be accused of forum shopping," the city's attorney said.
An interesting wrinkle was also revealed in court: the city accepted the center's rent earlier this month, while simultaneously arguing the center has no right to stay.
Pete Olson, the center's attorney, welcomed the ruling and urged citizens to contact their council members, arguing the council has allocated nearly twice the budget to operate a senior center it has not operated — and that money should instead go directly to Ajax Turner.
"We're very happy today with the judge's ruling. The city has simply not followed the law and as a result, we are now city: 0, old people: 3," Olson said.
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