ALAMO, Tennessee – A local attraction is speaking out about an ongoing problem in town.
The Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo has been arguing with the city for a year about the possible construction of a rest stop on its property.
“So, I said, ‘I have a $14 million luxury resort and hotel that I want to build to complement the safari park.’ He looked at some of our plans and said, ‘Then I want yours too.’ I said, ‘You need to publicly condemn this rest area. You can’t work hand in hand,'” said Jon Conley, director of Tennessee Safari Park.
Conley says he has had this issue with the Alamo City mayor and city council for a year.
This began as early as 2023, when his father was asked to ensure the supply of a new rest stop directly across from the park.
“It’s dangerous. It’s extremely dangerous. It’s at a very odd angle, it’s not a straight path to the highway, there’s a major intersection – Cavalier Drive. There will be constant accidents here and that will affect our tourists,” Conley said.
Location is just one of the many drawbacks Conley says come with having this rest area so close to his park and potential resort.
“There are so many aspects where this is not going to work. They are constantly on duty 24 hours a day. There are loud noises that are going to affect our breeding situation,” Conley said.
Apart from that, he also mentions that rest stops are associated with pollution and he does not want his animals to potentially suffocate on the garbage from the rest stops.
“I’m told I’ve had over 100 calls in the last 36 hours. Nobody wants this. Absolutely nobody,” Conley said.
Conley has a request for the city leadership.
“We have no choice but to demand the resignation of Michal Moore, Jim Knox and the mayor. That’s the only way to get through this. There are no excuses. They have no justification for what they are trying to do, it’s against the law,” Conley said.
We contacted the mayor of Alamo and he told us the following:
“It was not stated whether it will be built.”
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