Good Afternoon MJ:
Just a short opportunity to bring you up to speed on a momentous couple of weeks.
I hope you will join us Monday evening (18 May) at 6:30 for a “Town Hall” meeting on the North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) widening project. The meeting will be at City Hall and for those of you how can’t make it you can tune into Channel 3 for a live broadcast. Representatives from Middle Tennessee Electric, West Wilson Water, the Mt. Juliet Sewer Department, Piedmont Gas, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will be on hand to briefly walk guests through what promises to be one of the largest public works construction projects in recent years. Since the TDOT contract for the actual road widening has not been bided and let to a specific contractor, the meeting will focus on the utility aspects of the project. However, TDOT reps are prepared to hear the concerns of citizens, which are useful in developing and releasing the statement of work. As an added feature, if you can’t make the meeting, starting at 6:45 Monday evening you can call 773-6252 to raise any questions to the reps.
This week we also got the green light to start utility work on the “Reserve L” portion of the Eastern Connector. This long awaited project, which will take place in the Curd Road/MJ High School area is the third part of the eventual link between I-40 and Lebanon Road. Thanks to a special TDOT program approximately 50% of this multi-million dollar project will be underwritten by the state. Depending on the weather, projections to complete this project are about 8 to 10 months from now.
Sales tax receipt are up again for the month of March (last reporting period). While the rate of increase wasn’t as dramatic as in prior months it was still about $48k more than March of 08. Speaking of budgets I want to thank the City’s Finance Director, Mr. John Rossmaier, for a superb job in developing this year’s budget. John has over 30 years of budget experience in the commercial world but this was his first time developing a municipal budget. While we are early into the budget hearing process, through John’s adroit skills and professionalism the Commission’s concerns seems to be minimal.
Finally, I want to say thanks to Pastor Jon Gray and all the volunteers at the Mt. Juliet Animal Shelter. Our numbers are going up, but are our adoption rates. Thanks to Jon and a core group of dedicated volunteers, by every comment we would match our Shelter against any in the county. We have invited Jon to play a more active role in the Shelter and hope he is able to do so.
Till next time take care.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
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.
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.
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