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.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Update: 3/10/09

Good Morning MJ:

Since it has been a while since my last posting, I thought I would bring readers up to speed on a few items.

Our numbers indicate we continue to excel at the MJ Animal Shelter. We have stayed steady state for some time with around 40 dogs and cats as temporary residents. I would like to encourage you to drop by and spend some time with the animals . . . you may either find a friend for life or discover a passion to help.

A hearty congratulations and job well done to the Parks and Recreation staff for their magnificent performance last Saturday in hosting Mt. Juliet’s first Fashion Show at the Park. Over 300 participants crowded into the Charlie Daniels Recreation Center to see the latest in spring apparel for men and women, boys and girls. Even our own Mr. Rocky Lee, Deputy Director of Parks and Rec, who served as the Master of Ceremony for the event, was able to show off in his tux and tails. It was a truly wonderful event and demonstrates how much the crew at your Parks and Recreation Department will do to bring new, innovative programs to our city. Thanks for all you do.

March is renown to roar in like a lion and creep out like a lamb. In that fashion we are hoping that on Monday, 20 March, the Mt. Juliet Railroad Quiet Zone will roar in with the sound of silence. After several years of discussion, untold meetings, reams of emails, and countless phone calls the quite zone is scheduled to take effect on the 20th. A special thanks goes to Mr. Shannon Joyner of the Mt. Juliet Public Works Department, Mr. Bill Drunsic of the Nashville Eastern Railroad for their diligence and vision in this initiative, and to Mr. Randy Williams of the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) for working through the insurance and liability issues.

On a final note, several citizens have asked about plans to finance building the Reverse L; the section of road that will run in front of the new MJ High School . The overall estimate is to be about +/-$3m. TDOT recently selected that project to receive matching funding (50%) based upon award of a State Industrial Connector grant. Since this portion of the road is in Wilson County, technically it isn’t the responsibility of the city to upgrade. However, city elders believe it to be a must do initiative, both for the safety of our citizens and to improve future traffic movement on the eastern part of Mt. Juliet. In that vein City leaders have crafted and forwarded a resolution to the Wilson County Commission asking them to contribute $950k towards construction of the road. Mt. Juliet citizens are invited to contact their county representative and encourage them to fairly and rightly contribute to this project. A full listing of Wilson County Commission can be found at http://www.wilsoncountytn.com/

Take care and have a safe week.

Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)