Update: 4/14/10

Good Afternoon MJ:

It’s in the mid 80’s in mid April . . . wow. Welcome to the mid south!

Just a few updates for the blog and Nixle readers:

We want to welcome to Aldi’s to Mt. Juliet. They opened their doors last week, and from all reports have developed quite a following within the community. Other businesses that recently or will soon cut the ribbon include Precision Eyecare, the Cricket Store, along with Courtney’s Cafeteria (meat & three) on NMJR. Here’s the business lineup we see in the near term: The Corner Pub, U.S. Bank, Billy Goat Coffee, Nails First, Pride Cleaners, Del Sol Mexican Restaurant, We Buy Gold Jewelry & Gifts, and Goin’ Postal. On the larger side we look forward to Cheddar’s Restaurant opening this summer, and to the Tennessee Cheesecake Company and KHS Jupiter Band Corporation who will open their doors. It’s an exciting time for Mt. Juliet.

Some more good news. We received our February sales tax report today. Despite being the shortest month of the year, and despite this February being one of the most weather challenged in recent history, the citizens of MJ continue to demonstrate they understand why it’s important to “Shop Mt. Juliet”. City sales tax receipts for February 2010 stood at $422k compared to February 2009 with $364k; over $58k more. When compared to the same time period for CY 09 the city is up a little over $100k in sales tax receipts. With further improvements in the economy and the continued expansion of the city’s business sector, we are on-track for a positive end to FY10. Complementing our sales tax numbers is semblance of a resurgence of new housing starts inside the city. From October 2008 to March 2009, there were 97 permits issued. For that same period in the 2009-2010 timeframe (Oct to March), 177 new housing permits were issued; nearly double the previous reporting period. The month of April also seem to be off to a great start with 16 permits in the pipeline.

Please encourage your family and friends to join us on Nixle. Those of you who received this notice know that we’ve partnered with WEMA to provide weather updates in addition to all types of postings on city affairs. It’s a tremendous way to keep abreast of what’s happening in Mt. Juliet. With all the work taking place on NMJR, why would you not want to be part of Nixle?

Congratulations to the staff and volunteers at the MJ Animal Shelter. We’ve been monitoring their numbers, and through the extraordinarily heroic adoptions efforts they do for each animal who enters the Shelter, the numbers confined there have been exceptionally low. I occasionally hear a discussion regarding the level of support given to the shelter. Like so many things governments do or don’t do, there’s often a lack of credible information about what actually happens in a specific program. Sergeant Youmans, who runs the MJ Animal Shelter, tells me that through the kind and very generous donations of many in our city, the Shelter staff has not had to spend any money on animal food for over a year. This is an extraordinary achievement; the kind of real information citizens should know about how their government operates. Again, thanks to all who donate their time, money and other resources to make the MJ Animal Shelter the renowned leader in middle Tennessee.

While we are blessed with so many active, caring churches in our community, a special thanks goes out to the leadership and congregation of Providence United Methodist Church (PUMC) for their recent efforts in supporting MJ. At Monday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, PUMC’s Reverend Armstrong told the Board and audience that on Sunday, 11 April, about 300 members of the Providence congregation donated their time towards working within our community. While it’s hoped that “Worship Without Walls” will be an annual event for PUMC, if this year’s results are any indication, it is off to a phenomenal start. On the city’s side we had Providence crews working at the Animal Shelter, at City Hall washing police cars and at Charlie Daniels Park clearing brush from the fence line. Congrats to Jacob, Becky and our own Tim Henson for their brilliant planning, coordination and execution. If there are any other churches or charitable organizations who would like to consider something similar, give me a call at 754-2552.

One final note. Last week we recognized a few men and of your own city staff, “Team Mt. Juliet”, for 5 or more years of accident free driving. On an average day we figure an MJ Police Officer will drive around 200 miles. You can do the math, but it comes out to be a very large number. Add to that the miles driven by our Parks personnel, our Sewer Department, the Roads crew, and the guys on the chipper truck, and . . . I think you get the point. When you multiply that by 5 years or more it comes out to be the equivalent of several round trips to the moon. There were 28 Team members who received this special recognition. They work for you! On Monday evening we also congratulated a unique collection of people who have been absolutely essential to this city, the adults and youth of the city’s Police Explorers, Civilian Auxiliary Police and Parks Special Events volunteers. While they are part of the fabric of every special activity MJ holds, at Monday’s BOC meeting they were recognized for accomplishments at the Easter in Park “Eggstravaganza”. The Parks and Rec staff tell me they estimated somewhere between 7k to 8k flooded Charlie Daniels Park for this year’s Easter Egg hunt; the largest in our history. We couldn’t have done it without the time and efforts of these dedicated volunteers. Many thanks to them and to Scott of Buffalo Wild Wings for the very generous gift certificate donation we were able to give to each volunteer.

That’s about all for this time. Remember, there’s going to be even more construction along NMJR in the next few months with various lane closures planned. Plan your commute accordingly and don’t forget to support the businesses along this route. They are accessible, open for business and anxious to serve. Take care and talk with you later.

R. Robertson