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, December 15, 2008

Update: 12/15/08

Good Morning MJ:

One of the primary purposes of blog is to get information to our community as quickly as possible. In that context, Mr. Kenny Martin, the city’s Economic Development Director and I recently partnered to make a short video update on issues confronting Mt. Juliet. While it certainly won’t win awards for cinematography or presentation style, the intent is to share information. Please tune into Channel 3 on Tuesday, 16 December at 2:30 pm, or Thursday, 18 December at 4 pm, or Tuesday, 23 December at 2:30 pm to get the latest from the city. Mr. Martin and I would certainly appreciate your feedback. If this proves to be a worthwhile effort, future updates will be with various City Hall Department Heads.

As a reminder, we will hold our first community update session on Wednesday, 7 January. While the session is aimed towards leadership within Mt. Juliet’s Home Owner Associations (HOA’s), anyone can, and is encouraged to attend. We plan on updates from Chief Garrett, of the MJ Police Department; Mr. Dennis Buchanan, Director of the MJ Parks and Recreation; Mr. Martin, the city’s Economic Development Director; and Mr. Marlin Keel, Director of Public Works. The sessions will be held in City Hall, starting at 6:30 pm. Again, our intent is to share information about city activities. We hope to see you there.

In its first two days the MJ Animal Shelter took in 9 cats and dogs. If we are truly going to be an adoption based center, we must have the help of all Mt. Juliet citizens. Visit your new Mt. Juliet Animal Shelter and consider giving what could be the best Christmas gifts ever. The Shelter is located at 115 Industrial Drive, right in the heart of the city.

Finally, initial reports suggest that retail traffic volume was high last weekend across most of the city. Remember . . . “Buy it in Mt. Juliet”.

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

R. Robertson
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