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.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Update: 9/7/09

Good Afternoon MJ and Happy Labor Day:

Have you taken some time recently to explore the MJ City homepage? I ask because last Friday I received a very kind note from a fellow who complimented our webmaster (Mr. Travis Taylor) on the superb work he's done to organize and present community-wide information in a logical, easy to find manner. And just last week Mr. Taylor, along with his colleague, Mr. Shannon Joyner, Assistant Public Works Director, unveiled a new initiative that should be on line in the next few days. Using a new tool provided by the City Commission, we now are empowered to move Channel 3 from a power-point to a video-based medium through the use of a video "scheduler". What this means is we now have the capabilities to show public "infomercials" any time of the night or day on Channel 3. Harnessing that capability, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner collaborated to bring the MJ community a bi-weekly video update on the status of the North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) widening project. Right now the leadership of TDOT as well as reps from West Wilson Utilities District (WWUD), the MJ Sewer Department, Middle Tennessee Electric, TDS and COMCAST have biweekly meetings to review issues, challenges and the next steps associated with this project. What we will be doing is bringing you "real time" project updates straight from those directly involved. We believe this will be of tremendous use to our citizens and commuters as the NMJR project picks up steam over the next few months. The plans are to bring this initiative to both your TV and your computer by the end of next week. Tune in Channel 3 or to check out the MJ homepage for the latest info. Thanks Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner for some real "out of the box" thinking!

Speaking of road work, here's the latest: blasting has started by WWUD on the west side of NJMR, while there's been aggressive action to clear the trees north of the library. On the Reverse L, work continues to progress well, with the contractor planning to grade out 5 lanes as opposed to the originally planned 3. We are still on track for mid December "drivability" with the Reverse L and final acceptance scheduled for early Spring of 2010. Finally, we are very pleased with the build-out plans for the Paddocks area and the recently installed cul-de-sac on what was once Pleasant Grove Road. Very few problems or complaints have been reported to the TDOT contractors.

You should soon see a public notice in both the MJ News and Chronicle about the sewer billing average season starting to wind down at the end of the month. You'll also be receiving the notice on your next monthly sewer bill. I'd encourage you to take a few minutes to read and familiarize yourself with the process . . . it could save you money and frustration. For more info contact Mr. Wayne Griffin at 754-2554.

Has it been a while since you've been inside your City Hall? Take a few minutes and drop by and see what the combined efforts of the skilled crews from your Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments did to transform City Hall and the city's new combined Sewer and Finance Building at the corner of E.Caldwell and NMJR. Mt. Juliet is blessed to have some of the most dedicated and professional workmen on duty just for you. And speaking of professionalism, Chief Garrett tells me that calls for service to the Police Department have gone up by more than 50% in the same reporting period between CY08 and this year, while reportable crimes have declined. This just demonstrates the superb job your MJPD is doing to be responsive to our community.

Finally, make plans now to join us for the 09 iteration of Mt. Juliet's Halloween in the Park. Halloween in the Park is the largest event hosted by the city's Parks and Rec crew. It will be on Saturday, 10 October, at Charlie Daniels Park. We plan on the new Rec Center Expansion facility being up and operational by then, so the Parks and Rec crew have several new ideas to add to the mix. If Halloween isn't your thing, then just come by and see how the Charlie Daniels Park has been totally transformed in the last year. A new exercise "Para-course", a new skate park, expanded volleyball courts, and the new Rec Center expansion are all for you. And on that note, a final comment; if you haven't been to South Mt. Juliet Park to see the County's first and only Bark Park, you owe it to your furry companion to take a look. In addition to the Bark Park, which now has a fresh water source for your K-9, within the next couple weeks we plan to have a new children's playground up and operational. We want to thank the citizens of the Belinda City area for your support in making the playground, Bark Park and other new programming opportunities at South MJ Park a reality.

Take care MJ and talk with you later.

Sincerely,
R. Robertson
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1 comment:

  1. ByggestyringSeptember 11, 2009 at 1:05 AM

    I really enjoyed reading your blog article and its really interesting. I hope that you will post more and thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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