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.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Update: March 16, 2011

Good Evening MJ,

Here’s a few notes and FYI from City Hall:

Tomorrow is our 2nd Annual St. Patty’s Day for Kids in the Charlie Daniels Park. Events kick off at 11 a.m., and here’s just a few things in store for those who attend:
Inflatable’s, Cookie Decorating, 4 leaf clover hunt with prizes, the Zachary Allen Band, Snowbird, Police Cars and a SWAT Truck, a Tennessee Wildlife Truck & Boat, an Army Hummer, a Race Car from the Nashville Speedway, Tractors & Farm Equipment, a limo, Dump Truck, Street Sweeper, Fire Truck, & Ambulance.

Charlie Daniels Park is the place to be tomorrow; the weather is forecasted to be just perfect. See you there.

West Division traffic, from Mt. Juliet Road to 4th Avenue, will be affected tomorrow due to resurfacing of the road. The resurfacing is part of the overall West Division Greenway Bike Path initiative. We had hope to have the road finished today, but equipment problems pushed the project into tomorrow. Driver’s please exercise caution in that area.

Ava's Run for a Reason 5k/1 mile run/walk will be held at Charlie Daniels Park Saturday April 2, 2011. The race begins at 9:00 a.m., with pre-race festivities beginning at 8:15 a.m.. This run benefits the Avalyn Shaye Foundation, Inc., a non-profit charity located in MJ, and ALL proceeds from the race will be given back to the city to be used to build a splashpad (aquatic playground) at Charlie Daniels Park. The park will be full of kids activities, a sponsor expo, great food, and lots of people running for a reason. Early Bird registration (guarantees a t-shirt) closes March 24, 2011. Online registrations closes March 30, 2011. Cost is $25 for 5k ($30 for walk-up registration on race day), and $15 for 1 mile ($20 for walk-up registration on race day). You can register online at www.active.com or print a registration form and mail-in at www.avalynshayefoundation.org. ; Tune in tomorrow at 7 a.m., to the Coleman Walker Show on WANT Radio (98.9) for more details.

We received sales tax numbers for January this week, and despite the terrible weather, we were up nearly 5% from January 2009. Remember to Shop MJ First. Speaking of numbers we received the 2010 federal census numbers for MJ this afternoon. All of us in City Hall were surprised to see the feds reporting MJ’s population was 23.6k as of April, 2010. This was lower than expected based on numbers from the 06 and 08 Special Census conducted. We’ve already contacted the Census Department and our federal reps to discuss how to relook or appeal the count . . . more to follow.

A special thanks goes out to Mr. Mike Reed of the Panattoni Corporation. Mike spearheaded efforts to donate additional gravel to the MJ Soccer Park, across from the MJHS. Thanks to Panattoni and Mike, we’ll get somewhere between 15 to 20 dump truck loads of gravel and other stone for our Parks system. I’m told gravel is going from about $300 per load, so this looks to be in the $4k to $6k range. On that note, we want to thank all those who have donated time, money or materials over the last two years. Your contributions have and will continue to make a positive difference in our services and in the quality of life of our community. For more details on how to give to MJ, contact Kenny Martin or Sharon Bachelier at 754-2552.

Make sure you have Saturday, 23 April, marked on your calendar; that’s Easter in the Park. Starting at 10:30 a.m., Easter 2011 promises to be our biggest yet with 50,000 (that’s right, fifty thousand!) eggs just waiting to found. Thanks to Friendship Community Church, the MJ Parks and Rec Team, and a couple great patrons, we’ll have twice as many eggs than in years past. With four different age categories: 2 and under, 3 to 5, Kindergarten through 2nd grade, and 3rd to 5th grade, there’s something for every kid. Post hunt activities include free food with a voucher obtained with entry into the park, over 15 inflatable’s, and a surprise visit from the man himself, Mr. Easter Bunny, who has agreed to spend some time for photos. Still not impressed? Between $800 to $1k in prize coupons wait inside special Easter Eggs.

On a final note, please encourage your friends and acquaintances to sign up for our Nixle messages. We’re over 2k strong now and growing. Nixle is proving to one of the best tools in our arsenal to get the word out. Just go to the city home page at www.cityofmtjuliet.org for instruction on how to sign up.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

R. Robertson
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