Update: 12/31/09

Good Morning and Happy New Year’s Eve MJ:

In early December I posted a Christmas message on this site. It was the same text sent in a hard copy format in the City’s Christmas card. As we end one of the most challenging years any of us can remember, I thought would be worthwhile to update some of the bullets from that posting:

Original: Wow, what a year! In the midst of what has been the worst recession in over seven decades, Mt. Juliet continues to thrive and prosper. Let’s review a little: The Mt. Juliet Village complex on Lebanon Road opened its doors late last year, and a second Publix store, at Providence Commons, just south of Providence Market Place, is scheduled to come on line in January. “The Paddocks” opened with anchor stores WalMart and Lowe’s doing brisk holiday business. Providence is operating at near maximum capacity, with several new stores opening around that area. On the north end of town Cool View and Mt. Juliet Commons brought over 20 new businesses to Lebanon Road. All told, Mr. Kenny Martin, the City’s Economic Development Director, indicates that 181 new businesses opened their doors in 2009; most of them mom-and-pop sized demonstrating the strength, vitality and confidence our citizens have in this community.

Update: We ended the year with 192 new business licenses issued. That’s more than a new business opening its doors every other day in Mt. Juliet! On a parallel note, we've seen an upswing in new housing permits during the last quarter of the year. From October to December 2008, there were 58 permits issued. For the same time period this year we’ve issued 83; over a 40% increase.

Original: But growth wasn’t limited to businesses. After years ground was finally broken on the North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) widening and improvement project. With work done on the water, sewer, electric, gas and communication networks serving the city, the NMJR project is reportedly the most expensive public works initiative ever done in Mt. Juliet. Not to be outdone, improvements were completed at the Bender’s Ferry intersection and traffic lights installed at the Charlie Daniels Parkway. Improvements to the Mt. Juliet Road/I-40 Interchange were completed on time and under budget; the city renovated created a centralized Finance Center while also doing a complete make-over inside City Hall. We upped-sized and renovated sanitary sewer lines along Old Lebanon Dirt Road and repaved over 10 miles of existing roads.

Update: Possibly one of the most important road building efforts MJ has undertaken in the last few years, The Reverse L, opened on 15 December. For those who are not familiar, the Reverse L is a section of road serving the new MJ High School. This effort relieves traffic volume, most of them student drivers, on a curvy, narrow Curd Road. Additionally, patch work on roads running into the construction area along NMJR was completed just before Christmas.

Original: Some of the more notable achievements weren’t just about buildings, roads and bricks. In November six needy and elderly area home owners received city-secured state grants for renovation and improvements to their residences. The doors of Mt. Juliet’s first Animal Shelter opened just one year ago, and what a year it was. Overseen by MJPD Chief Andy Garrett and Sgt Keith Youmans, the Shelter is a true “public service” facility that delivers as promised and on budget! With the assistance of Volunteer Coordinator Jon Gray, and an army of 300 registered volunteers, Mt. Juliet has one of the best animal shelters in Tennessee. Speaking of the Police, the crime rate continues to decline in the city. Though the MJPD is one of the smallest per-capita staffed departments in the region, this group of dedicated professionals go above and beyond the call of duty each day.

Update: Renovation began in December on the 6 houses selected for upgrades by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. On 5 December we celebrated the first anniversary of the MJ Animal Shelter. We celebrated in an essentially empty facility, since efforts during “Black Friday’s” animal give-away cleared the Shelter; bringing national attention and recognition to the program. Through the efforts of the Shelter’s professional staff and volunteers close to $5k was raised from the sale of donated dog houses and tribute calendars. Finally, end of year reports show the overall crime rate for MJ declined by nearly 10%, while PD calls for service/self initiated calls increased by 49%, from 47,614 in 08 to 71,025 in 09. These numbers speak volumes about the diligent and competent force serving you.

Original: Not to be outdone the men and women of your Parks and Recreation staff have certainly had a banner year. In August they opened Mt. Juliet’s and Wilson County’s first pet “Bark Park”, and then, a month later, they opened the areas first skate-board board at Charlie Daniels Park. Following that, in October, working with Charlie Daniels and Panattoni Corporation leaders, they unveiled the city’s new $400k donated expansion facility. For the Parks and Rec crew 2009 wasn’t just about bricks and mortar though; they brought the community new programs from Yoga and Senior Bingo to the City Wide Flea Markets, Competition Volleyball and our recent Holiday Arts and Crafts Bazaar. Make a New Year’s vow to stop in the Charlie Daniels Rec Center or check out the city web page and see what your Parks and Recreation Department has to offer.

Update: You missed a real treat if you didn’t see the 2009 Christmas Parade. Led by Capt(USN) Barry Wilmore, Pilot for the Space Shuttle Atlantis, there were over 100 floats, vehicles and marching units making this year’s parade the largest in recent memory. Another first is our recently opened Frisbee Golf Course, the only one in West Wilson County, located at Mundy Park. Special thanks goes to Mr. Rob Porter, of Civil Site Design, for his kind donation in helping make the MJ Frisbee Course a real hit. On top of normal wintertime athletic events, some upcoming Parks and Rec programs to watch for include Fusal, a form of soccer played on an indoor basketball court, starting at the CD Rec Center on Thursday, 28 January; a Spring Fashion Show, and our second City-wide Flea Market.

Original: Closer to City Hall, Mr. John Rossmaier and his Finance team, assisted by Mr. Jason Holleman, City Attorney, quietly but aggressively took on the mission of tackling some old variable debt issues. As a result they successfully saved the city hundreds-of-thousands of dollars through timely refinancing of several bonds. Mrs. Sheila Luckett made it her goal to codify the city’s ordinances, going back our 1972 inception as a city. Today, through a lot of hard work and the power of the internet, at Mt. Juliet’s home page, you can get real-time up-dates on the city’s statutes and laws from anywhere in the world. Finally, kudos to Mr. Travis Taylor for all his contributions as the City’s IT Director. Travis led in transitioning our own Channel 3 television to a video-based capability. He developed and installed our current web-page, which had nearly 150,000 hits this year, and is the originator of the highly popular “Nixle” messaging system used across Mt. Juliet for those desiring to stay abreast of city activities.

Update: Did you catch the cover article in Wednesday’s (30 December) Tennessean? The Honorable Justin Wilson, Comptroller for the State of Tennessee, cites Mt. Juliet bond market experiences from several years ago as a prime example why he’s proposing legal changes to state-wide municipal lending practices. As noted above, John’s and Jason’s professionalism and competence were crucial ingredients in saving the city hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in refinancing efforts. If you are reading this from your Nixle account, then there’s also some great news. Mr. Taylor’s efforts to push Nixle enrollment has nearly double our numbers in the last two months. To the near 700 of you who receive this today via Nixle . . . have a happy, safe and successful 2010.

On a final note, I want to share a story with you. On Wednesday I had the opportunity to speak with Major General Douglas Carver, Chief of Chaplains for the United States Army. Chaplain Carver literally dropped into MJ City Hall while he was on leave in the area, looking for a possible retirement home. He’s a native Tennessean, and a graduate of UT Knoxville. He was excited about the possibility of returning home, and wanted to talk about Mt. Juliet and what made it unique. The point of my story is there are thousands of Doug Carvers out there, looking to move their homes, families and businesses somewhere. They want a growing place that values children, education, opportunity, diversity, security and education . . . a place that mirrors what they believe in. I encourage all who read this to help us find and recruit your own Doug Carver’s. They are our future.

Until next time, stay safe and have a safe and blessed New Year’s.

R. Robertson