1. This won’t be a “blog” per se. It isn’t meant to be a place to post all commentary or opinions. Everyone is invited to send in a note, but don’t be offended if it isn’t posted. There’s other sites that are perfectly content to drag through what they believe to be wrong with every issue at every turn. This is about what was done, why and where do we go from here. We won’t talk about two and three year old issues. If the desire is to engage in those discussions then look somewhere else.

2. This isn’t the Board of Commissioner forum. MJ has a City Manager form of government. The Board makes policy; the staff implements. I’ll be happy to pass your comments along to the Board, either good or bad, but the intent of this medium is to address how we could better enact policy and improve city services.

3. The narratives will be directly from me, your city manager. I won’t hide under some pseudonym or other persona. My name is Randy Robertson. My phone number is 754-2552. I am your City Manager. If your issue or concerns involves another department of the city (Public Works, Police, Animal Control, etc.) I will invite the appropriate team member to provide some comments, but it will still be done under the auspices of the City Manager.

4. I will try and be as timely as possible, but this is another one of the “additional duties” for which civil service is renown.

5. The City Staff is here for you. The desired outcome is for us to have a positive relationship with the citizens we serve, but we all know that always won’t happen. Everyone has an opinion. It is the staff’s responsibility to work through the opinions and emotion, meet the requirements of the laws and rules under which we operate, and hopefully serve the greatest number in that process. It is not an exact science. The more we have a relationship with you, the better we can meet your expectations.

6. Finally, this is about telling our story. Hopefully you will be able to sort the myth from reality or see the issue through a different set of lens. I hope you will find this of value and participate.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Update: 3/20/09

Hello MJ:

Just returning from Charlie Daniels Park and I thought it this would be a great time to spend a few minutes with you on things happening in our Parks system. I say that because yesterday was over 70 degrees and Charlie Daniel’s was packed. Although largely because of Spring Break, the numbers also reflect the growing trend we’ve seen in citizens spending time inside one of Mt. Juliet’s great parks.

If you been to the Charlie Daniels Park in the last few days you saw we are in the midst of the largest construction project since the Rec Center was built. Just behind the tennis courts are mounds of freshly turned dirt. Within weeks Mt. Juliet’s and Wilson County’s first skateboard park will take shape. This area will be a skateboarders paradise with state-of-the-art ramps, slides and all types of cool skateboarding stuff. And one of the best things is the park will be expandable; so as we grow, so can our skateboarders heaven.

On Monday the 23rd, park visitors should see our second construction project starting; expansion of the Rec Center. For those who’ve read the papers or kept up with this on the web, we want to thank the Panattoni Corporation and Mr. Charlie Daniels for this near 2,700 square foot expansion. Estimated in the $250k range, this project represents the largest donation in the history of the Mt. Juliet Parks and Recreation Department. We’re hoping that the work will be done by early summer. And while we thank those who are making this possible, there’s still several building items we are looking to have donated. We’ve had an offer to purchase the block and brick at cost, but we are hoping someone or a business will take some or all of that effort on. We also have a tremendous need for doors, cabinetry and furbishing. Every donation means we’ll have more funds to dedicate to programs for our community.

We also are looking towards a banner year at Mundy park, with softball games starting next week. If you are interested in a team please contact Mr. Tim Henson, Athletic Director, at 758-6522. And not to be outdone, at South Mt. Juliet Park (off Belinda Parkway) this week we opened another first for Mt. Juliet and Wilson County, our own “Bark Park”. This football-field sized, fenced in area was designed and built to provide you and your pooch with a first class area to run, play and interact with other dogs. Rules have been posted as well as necessary doggy “bags”. As resources become available we plan to get a water source, some training items, and more trees and bushes. We encourage you and your furry friend to check it out.

In closing today I go back to my military roots. One of the finest elements of military service was involvement of volunteers. If you take a trip to Ft. Knox or Ft. Campbell and you will see Red Cross, Community Services, youth and hospital volunteers in action across the installation. More important are the hundreds of spouses and family members of deployed personnel who have joined the Battalion or Brigade Family Readiness Group’s (FRG). These folks are the life line for soldiers, providing touches of home and family to love ones serving down range. I mention this because just a few days ago, I ran across a Wall Street Journal article talking about the growing army of volunteers who are serving in communities across America. While the down side is many of them come from the growing ranks of unemployed, the good news is that cities, counties, and all types of public service organizations are enjoying the expertise, experience, and “can do” spirit this growing cadre offer. Please know that the City of Mt. Juliet is anxious to have any volunteers as part of our team. Whether your passion is helping run programs and special events (remember the Easter egg hunt at Charlie Daniels Park will be on Saturday, 4 April, starting at 10:30) inside our Parks and Rec Department, working with pets at our new Animal Shelter, or assisting in our Police Department Explorer Post, we have a job for you. If your interest lies more towards career enhancing or sustainment matters, then we can are always in need of automators, programmers, graphic artists, marketing personnel, legal and paralegals, engineers, and finance and human resource assistants. As Mayor Elam pointed out at the recent State of the City address, Mt. Juliet City government is renowned for pinching pinching pennies, dimes and dollars. We could use your help. If interest please email me or give me a call at 754-2552.

Until next time, take care.

Sincerely,

R. Robertson
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousMarch 22, 2009 at 2:47 PM

    I'm excited about the bark park - thank you! I'm also still relatively new to the area and couldn't find an address or directions for the park on the parks and recreation page of the Web site.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)