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.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Update: 5/3/09

Good afternoon MJ:

Greetings from City Hall. There’s been a flurry of activity around here this week; much of it associated with the long anticipated work to widen North Mt. Juliet Road. While the state legislature has not formally adopted TDOT’s package of road improvement projects, we have high confidence the North MJ Road widening effort will move forward in the not too distant future. Those who live, work or travel along the North MJ Road see visible signs of pending work with water and gas company construction crews plotting the way forward.

The City’s Public Works staff tell me the widening project is scheduled to be about a two year initiative. It will involve every element of municipal services: water, gas, sewer, electric as well as the actual road building. In an effort to keep our citizens up to date regarding this major undertaking we are planning a “Town Hall” meeting in the May. The meeting will consist of information briefings from representatives of each utility and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Stay tuned to Channel 3 and the city Web page for date, time and location info.

On another note, with the outbreak of swine flu the city switchboard has seen some calls this week for information and guidance. The City of Mt. Juliet does not have a physician, nurse or public health person on staff; that is the role of the Wilson County Public Health Office. For more information their number is 444-5325.

As an update, the rainy weather we’ve seen the last few weeks has really slowed work on the Charlie Daniels Skate Board Park and the Rec Center Expansion Project. Public Works officials advise the ground must be thoroughly dry for well over a week before skate park paving materials can be laid. Let’s all hope for some drier weather. On a more positive note though, all of us extend our thanks to Mr. Frank Horton of Providence Development for their tremendously generous gift of $10k to help equip the kitchen of the Rec Center expansion facility. Providence has been and continues to be a great partners with the city in its efforts to expand recreational and community-based activities. Thanks!

Finally, a short note on the upcoming city budget. While most budget years are tough, quite frankly I don’t think any of us have seen anything like this year. For those of us in City Hall these are truly unprecedented times. On the positive side the city has seen increases in sales tax revenue in Mt. Juliet. That comes at a cost though, because across Wilson County rates have been off 7 of the last 12 months and state sales tax revenue is off tremendously. On the negative side, while MJ’s sales taxes are slightly better than others (we’ve also seen a couple declining and flat months) virtually everything associated with home building is significantly down this year. Initial projections indicate we may see as much as a $700k decline in fees, permits, etc. That causes all of us some concern, but our commitment is to continue to provide you with the best municipal services possible. I’ve been asked about what roads will be built, whether we will pick up more patrol officers, if we will acquire more park land or build a fire department. The short answer is only time, and the availability of resources will tell.

Until next time, as they same in the Army, keep your powder dry! Take care and talk with you later.

R. Robertson
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2 comments:

  1. CHBMay 4, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    Thank you Randy for these updates. It is often my understanding that many of us in the community don't always realize the amount of effort that goes in to a simple line like - "the City’s Public Works staff tell me the widening project is scheduled to be about a two year initiative." Most us only see that we will be faced with disruption for two years, and when that bump in road jars our auto we get a little angry. Yet just to make that starting point public has required countless hours and days on city staff and yourself to bring about that project. So I trust that we as citizens look to the uncertain "bumbs" with excited anticipation and thanks to our staff to getting us to this point. Oh, and by the way. Don't we all just love the luxurious thoroughfare from the Railroad tracks south to I-40....

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  2. AnonymousMay 4, 2009 at 9:23 PM

    Glad to hear MJ Road work moving along. But we all know two year project in "constructionspeak" means four or more years. Clock is ticking.

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