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.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Update: June 24, 2011

Good Evening MJ:

First thanks to the more than 500 individuals who attended last night’s “Community Conversation” at MJ High School. The crowd was larger than expected, particularly for a warm weeknight evening. This possibly accentuates the interest in the information shared between the Board of Commissioners and those that were there. One interesting note was the number of clickers issued and statistics collected on the questions towards the middle and end of the night indicated the crowd continued to grow as the session progressed. And unlike a usual public hearing no one left early. Over the next few weeks we’ll be talking more about the Conversation, but for now, again, thanks to all those who came out and made your opinions known last night.

We also want to extend a special thanks to those who helped sponsor last night’s event: D.T. McCalls & Sons; H@H Supply; Mayer Electric; the Del Webb Women’s Club & Lowe’s; Corner Pub Between the Lakes; the Wilson County Joint Economic Development Board; Publix’s; Marita Wolf’s Quilter’s Path and the MJ Chamber of Commerce. Your contributions made the night even more memorable.

Our next “Movie in the Park” will be at Charlie Daniels Park on Friday, 1 July, starting about 8:30. It’s the 80’s classic, The Goonies.

Cook’s United Methodist Church will be presenting a musical Independence Day celebration featuring performances from several local musicians. The event will also honor Tyler Cates and Michael Stansbery, who were MJ natives and killed during military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event starts at 4 pm, on Sunday, 3 July. Cook’s is at 7919 Lebanon Rd.

The City of MJ and Tom Needham, of Needham’s Nursery, are gearing up for this year’s 4 July Fireworks Festival. Those of you who’ve been around MJ for a while know our 4 July fireworks display is one of the best in Middle Tennessee, thanks in most part to Tom’s personal donations and his expertise his shooting large firework shells. Providence Mall will be hosting various musical events throughout the late afternoon of the 4th with the main show scheduled to kick off at dusk (around 9:00 pm.). Bring a lawn chair or blanket, and come out for an evening of great family fun and visual delights. Anyway, if you were planning to take the Music City Star to the Nashville fireworks, the train is sold out.

The Animals of MJ want to extend a special thanks to Karen Lowe and the crew of the Eastern Middle TN Assn. REALTORS for the much needed supplies they donated today (over $400 worth). Remember, there’s lots of cats to choose from at your Shelter and specials on them through the end of the month. Now is the time to get the pick of the litter and a “forever friend.” When you visit, take time to consider possibly joining the “Greenshirters” as a Shelter volunteer. It could be the experience of a lifetime.

A final “thank you” this week goes out to 2 Rivers Ford, Goodyear and Life Assembly Church for their kind donations to field and equip our first ever “Community Enhancement Vehicle.” Now you’re probably asking what is a Community Enhancement Vehicle (CEV)? The CEV is the brainchild of Mr. Kenny Martin. His goal was to fully equip a pickup truck to conduct maintenance work around the city by volunteers. We often have city employees who volunteer to pick up trash, or clean the curbs of the city. Kenny’s goal was to provide them with a vehicle and the tools to do that; thus increasing interest, while at the same time providing any volunteer groups with the same capabilities. For example, this weekend a couple of local churches plan to clean up around the I-40/MJ Road intersection. The thanks goes to 2 Rivers for donating a reliable utility vehicle and identifying it with the city’s logo, Goodyear, who donated over $1k of wheels and tires, and Life Assembly Church for their $500.00 donation of materials to use in this effort. This just speaks to the uniqueness and generosity of our community. A salute for a well done goes to Mr. Martin.

That’s all for this edition. Take care and have a great weekend.

R. Robertson
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