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.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Update: 6/3/09

Good evening MJ:

Sorry to have been away for a while but I was in Colorado last week, at Fort Carson, commemorating and participating in Memorial Day activities. The 4th ID and Ft. Carson assigned units have taken some hard casualties during the War on Terrorism, so being back with and among soldiers on this special day was especially meaningful for my wife and I.

Here’s a couple quick notes about city activities. We’ve had a few callers ask about the status of the skate board park and Rec Center expansion projects at Charlie Daniels Park. As we all know May has been extremely wet; in fact I’ve heard it was the wettest May since records were kept. The bottom line is the contractor needs nearly a couple weeks of dry weather to move on the skate park. The ground needs to be dry enough to compact to nearly the industrial level as building a section Interstate highway; and it simply hasn’t been that way for a long time. Rest assured Mr. Buchanan and the Parks crew will push the contractor to move out just as soon as the ground moisture permits. It’s been about the same story for the Rec Center expansion, but with the foundation poured we have worked with Panattoni leadership (who are paying to have the facility constructed) to start laying block asap. They’ve done a request for bids to acquire the block and the mason work, and have committed to start work NLT mid June.

On another note, apparently many of you have seen the TV news article about the potential of evening nursing courses coming to MJ. We’ve been working to bring higher education to the city for some time, and hope to soon conduct an educational needs assessment of the community in partnership with MJHS. Dr. Harvill Eaton, Cumberland University’s President, is committed to bring whatever resources he can to MJ, but has indicated he needs at least 25 students to enroll in classes starting in January. If you are interested in the program please contact Mr. Kenny Martin, the city’s Economic Development Director and Liaison Officer at kmartin@cityofmtjuliet.org. This is truly an exciting initiative and on behalf of the Board of Commissioners we want to thank Mr. Martin, Dr. Eaton and a whole host of officials both here in City Hall and at Cumberland for all the work that has taken place to get to this point.

Utility work is really picking up on both the Reverse L (off Curd Road, by MJHS) and on North Mt. Juliet Road. Due to the complexity of the project and the population and building density along North Mt. Juliet Road, the widening project will be one of the biggest road building initiatives ever done inside the city limits. At last check, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will soon decide on the contractor. Once that is done we’ll be conducting more “Town Hall” sessions to keep you posted on what is happening. It truly is an exciting time for the city.

Finally, I want to commend a recent addition to the City’s Channel 3; the “Job Action Line”. Mr. Taylor, the city’s Information Technology Director, advises there are nearly 25 individuals who have already posted their resumes on the job line. Laid off? Downsized? Fired, or simply looking for a job? If you are a city resident and would like to exponentially increase the visibility of your job search, consider adding your resume on Channel 3. For info on how to do this simply check out the City Web page or call Tina at 754-2552. Happy hunting!

Take care until next time.

Sincerely,

R. Robertson
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