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, August 14, 2009

Update: 8/14/09

Greetings MJ:

I had the opportunity to ride in the locomotive of the Music City Star yesterday. Mr. Shannon Joyner, our Deputy Director for Public Works and I were invited to ride along and see how the Quiet Zone was working. Our train engineer for the day was Shawn, and he readily discussed the Quiet Zone and some of the concerns he’s seen since the whistle went silent along the Mt. Juliet portion of the tracks.

My primary reason for this blog is to encourage MJ residents with children to ensure their kids don’t walk or play along the tracks. Shawn told me of repeated instances where the horn is sounded because there are kids along the tracks, particularly in the Willoughby Station area. The Music City Star reaches 60 miles an hour . . . it takes an tremendous amount of time and distance to stop hundreds-of-thousands of pounds of steel moving at that speed. Kids mixed with railroad tracks is simply an invitation to an accident. If you see or know of children who hang out by the train tracks please take the appropriate action.

Congrats to our Parks & Rec crew in hosting last night’s “Bridal Gala” at the Charlie Daniels Rec Center. Ashley of “Bridal Elegance”, along with the MJ Parks and Rec staff totally transformed the gym into breathtaking mini convention center; with vendors catering too soon to be brides and grooms. The organizers told me the “Gala” was a great success and demonstrates the “out of the box” thinking the Mt. Juliet Recreation staff is doing to bring new, innovative programs to the community. Speaking of something different, I hope you can check out our first “Movie in the Park” effort. Tonight (Friday, 14 August) at dusk, we will have Madagascar II, Return to Africa, playing on the lawn at the Charlie Daniel Amphitheater. It promises to be a wonderful family oriented event. Bring your lawn chairs or a blanket. Finally, I hope to see you at our first ever MJ Community-wide Flea Market, on Saturday, 22 August, starting at 0700. Exotic items from around the world plus second-hand “steals” will all be on display in the parking lot of the CD Rec Center. If you haven’t secured your own booth it isn’t too late; just stop by the Rec Center and talk to one of the clerks. See you there.

Thanks to all of you who joined us Tuesday evening at the MJHS for a “Town Hall” meeting on the North MJ Road widening project. If you missed the session we’ve received a copy of the tape from the MJHS video broadcasting department and will be playing it back on Channel 3 most days next week. It’s a good way to keep current on what will be happening along North MJ Road over the next couple years.

Finally, we will be moving the MJ Sewer Department to its new home next week. Sewer billing and services will now be done out of the facility at 2365 N. Mt. Juliet Road, which is at the corner of East Caldwell and North MJ Road. This move allows us to link sewer billing services with our Finance Department; creating a one-stop budgeting synergy the city has never had before. It will take a couple days before we are up and fully operational, but once done we believe it will be far more convenient to our customers.

Take care and have a safe weekend.
R. Robertson
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