NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton has concerns about the East Bank development.
He sits on the East Bank Authority Board, and in its meeting Tuesday, he continued raising questions about how much authority the board has.
"Who has the authority on the East Bank, Metro or the Authority?" Sexton asked in the meeting.
He did not like the answer.
Metro owns the land, about 500 acres on the East Bank, so Metro and the Mayor's Office have the power to negotiate deals with entities that will be on the property.
"We need to change this to the East Bank Oversight Committee, because that's what this is. It's not an authority. We're not developing anything. We're here to oversee it, and at some point in the future collect rents," Sexton said.
Sexton is on the East Bank Authority Board because the state has given hundreds of millions of dollars to the new Titans stadium and to move the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) to a prime location on the East Bank.
He expressed frustration that negotiations between Metro and TPAC have stalled.
"Can you tell me why the Authority is not negotiating with TPAC?" Sexton asked.
Last month on Inside Politics, Sexton said it seemed like Metro did not want TPAC to be part of the development.
"That's what it seems. We've had conversations for almost two years, and every time we have a conversation, Metro tells me, 'Oh, it's going well,' only to find out three months later it's not," Sexton said.
He also threatened on Inside Politics to bring legislation next session to take power away from Metro and give more power to the Authority that he sits on.
"What's the Authority there for? Just to be a rubber stamp of what the Mayor's office and Metro want to do? Or are they an Authority, and that's my question. So come next year, there could be some changes," Sexton said last month.
The Mayor's office has continually said it hopes to work out a deal with TPAC before the end of the year.
It came to a head at Tuesday's meeting when members voted to hire Ben York as Executive Director of the Authority at a salary of $220,000 a year.
"Why do we need an executive director at $220,000?" Sexton asked.
The board eventually voted to approve the hire.
It is possible they will ask him to take a larger role in negotiations on the East Bank.
As the meeting ended, Sexton said he was "absolutely" looking into legislation in the next session that would change the power dynamic on the East Bank.
