Good Afternoon MJ and Happy Labor Day:
Have you taken some time recently to explore the MJ City homepage? I ask because last Friday I received a very kind note from a fellow who complimented our webmaster (Mr. Travis Taylor) on the superb work he's done to organize and present community-wide information in a logical, easy to find manner. And just last week Mr. Taylor, along with his colleague, Mr. Shannon Joyner, Assistant Public Works Director, unveiled a new initiative that should be on line in the next few days. Using a new tool provided by the City Commission, we now are empowered to move Channel 3 from a power-point to a video-based medium through the use of a video "scheduler". What this means is we now have the capabilities to show public "infomercials" any time of the night or day on Channel 3. Harnessing that capability, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner collaborated to bring the MJ community a bi-weekly video update on the status of the North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) widening project. Right now the leadership of TDOT as well as reps from West Wilson Utilities District (WWUD), the MJ Sewer Department, Middle Tennessee Electric, TDS and COMCAST have biweekly meetings to review issues, challenges and the next steps associated with this project. What we will be doing is bringing you "real time" project updates straight from those directly involved. We believe this will be of tremendous use to our citizens and commuters as the NMJR project picks up steam over the next few months. The plans are to bring this initiative to both your TV and your computer by the end of next week. Tune in Channel 3 or to check out the MJ homepage for the latest info. Thanks Mr. Taylor and Mr. Joyner for some real "out of the box" thinking!
Speaking of road work, here's the latest: blasting has started by WWUD on the west side of NJMR, while there's been aggressive action to clear the trees north of the library. On the Reverse L, work continues to progress well, with the contractor planning to grade out 5 lanes as opposed to the originally planned 3. We are still on track for mid December "drivability" with the Reverse L and final acceptance scheduled for early Spring of 2010. Finally, we are very pleased with the build-out plans for the Paddocks area and the recently installed cul-de-sac on what was once Pleasant Grove Road. Very few problems or complaints have been reported to the TDOT contractors.
You should soon see a public notice in both the MJ News and Chronicle about the sewer billing average season starting to wind down at the end of the month. You'll also be receiving the notice on your next monthly sewer bill. I'd encourage you to take a few minutes to read and familiarize yourself with the process . . . it could save you money and frustration. For more info contact Mr. Wayne Griffin at 754-2554.
Has it been a while since you've been inside your City Hall? Take a few minutes and drop by and see what the combined efforts of the skilled crews from your Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments did to transform City Hall and the city's new combined Sewer and Finance Building at the corner of E.Caldwell and NMJR. Mt. Juliet is blessed to have some of the most dedicated and professional workmen on duty just for you. And speaking of professionalism, Chief Garrett tells me that calls for service to the Police Department have gone up by more than 50% in the same reporting period between CY08 and this year, while reportable crimes have declined. This just demonstrates the superb job your MJPD is doing to be responsive to our community.
Finally, make plans now to join us for the 09 iteration of Mt. Juliet's Halloween in the Park. Halloween in the Park is the largest event hosted by the city's Parks and Rec crew. It will be on Saturday, 10 October, at Charlie Daniels Park. We plan on the new Rec Center Expansion facility being up and operational by then, so the Parks and Rec crew have several new ideas to add to the mix. If Halloween isn't your thing, then just come by and see how the Charlie Daniels Park has been totally transformed in the last year. A new exercise "Para-course", a new skate park, expanded volleyball courts, and the new Rec Center expansion are all for you. And on that note, a final comment; if you haven't been to South Mt. Juliet Park to see the County's first and only Bark Park, you owe it to your furry companion to take a look. In addition to the Bark Park, which now has a fresh water source for your K-9, within the next couple weeks we plan to have a new children's playground up and operational. We want to thank the citizens of the Belinda City area for your support in making the playground, Bark Park and other new programming opportunities at South MJ Park a reality.
Take care MJ and talk with you later.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Showing posts with label City Hall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Hall. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Update: 6/28/09
Good Afternoon MJ:
Some items of interest:
Are you a Minister? Reverend? Pastor? Lay Leader? Choir Director? All of the Above? If you’re any kind of Mt. Juliet church leader I would like to cordially invite you to a “City Update” brief, to be held at 1000, Thursday, 2 July, in City Hall. Ms. Sharon Bachelier, at 754-2552, is the point of contact. Even if you aren’t church leader but just interested in what’s happening in your city, then come on down! Sharon’s email address is: sbachelier@cityofmtjuliet.org
I want to extend my and the staff’s thanks to the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Mt. Juliet for their leadership in developing and passing the FY2010 city budget. While it certainly wasn’t a totally painless process, it did demonstrate the spirit of collegial cooperation and compromise needed to continue our move towards the vision of this city they developed over a year ago. This is a solid, doable budget. Again, thank you.
I hope to see all of you and your family and friends at our 4 July Fireworks extravaganza! It will be at the Providence Market Place with festivities starting on Saturday at 3:00 and the fireworks lighting the sky starting at 9:00. A special thank to Mr. Tom Needham and his staff for the thousands of out-of-the-pocket dollars and the hundreds of hours he and his crew have spent on this year’s event. Tom tells me it is truly a labor of love. He also has promised that there will be more fireworks than ever! Again, many thanks Tom! As a reminder, there is no alcohol or grills allowed at Providence. The MJPD plans to be out in force to ensure we all have a great time. While you are there, up until 6pm we plan to showcase some dogs from the MJ Animal Shelter. If you’re looking for just the right “best friend” we hope you’ll see one at Providence on the 4th. Another special thanks goes to Reverend Jon Gray and all the volunteers of the Animal Shelter are donating their time and energy to make our “adopt-a-thon” a truly extraordinary one.
Next time you are in MJ City Hall, take a look at our new Police Department Dispatch Center. We just opened it up last week with two “Viper 911” emergency systems that provide real time call servicing and location directional finding for inbound emergency calls. This state-of-the-art center was recently accredited by the Wilson County 911 Board; and I am advised it is one of the best in Middle Tennessee. Again, my and the staff’s compliments to the MJ Board of Commissioners for the vision and resources to accomplish this desperately needed upgrade. As a bi-product of this initiative, we’ve also established a central server room in a “hardened” vault inside City Hall, as well as installing an automated generator capable of running emergency operations. These robust capabilities provides the police and other essential city services with the ability to seamlessly operate during a power failure for 2 days without refilling the tank.
The second set of construction workers at the intersection of Division Street and North Mt Juliet Road starting work on our sewer line relocation project. Work on the water lines is progressing well, with activity fast approaching the MJ Library. I make note of this because there are now two sets of construction workers along this portion of the road . . . please use every precaution and adjust your speed while in the area.
Our IT Director, Mr. Travis Taylor, has told me that the city manager blog seems to be picking up steam every day with more first time readers and new subscribers. If you want the blog “pushed” to you each time I post, simply go to the bottom of the page and follow the menu instructions. I hope those of you who do read this feel it is value added and remains true to the original posted precepts . . . this isn’t a place to banter personalities and relook ancient history about Mt. Juliet, or to cast aspersion, insinuation and innuendo on others; there’s other places for that. This is a forum to share information about your city. If you have things you would like me or the staff to look into, please let me know. Again, thank you for your support.
Finally, on a personal note, Darlene and I send our condolences to Mrs. Filiz Gencer and Mr. & Mrs. Doruk Gencer of Ankara, Turkey, and Mrs. Defne Gencer (nee: Robertson) of Washington, D.C. in the passing of Murat. Murat was a absolutely brilliant man and a loving and devoted husband and father. A man of the highest principals and values he leaves an unparalleled legacy of service and contributions to his nation and to humanity. He will be sorely missed but very fondly remembered.
Sonunda, kişisel bir notta, Darlene ve ben bizim baş sağlığımız ve göndeririz ve ( nee: Robertson) Washington , D . C . Murat geçiyor. Murat oldu her kesinlikle parlak adam ve seven ve adanmış bir koca ve baba. Her bir en yüksek müdürler ve o leave değerler adamı hizmet ve onun ulusuna ve insanlığa katkılar mirası. Fena halde o kaçırılacak ama çok sevgiyle hatırlanacak.
Take care MJ and see you on the 4th.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Some items of interest:
Are you a Minister? Reverend? Pastor? Lay Leader? Choir Director? All of the Above? If you’re any kind of Mt. Juliet church leader I would like to cordially invite you to a “City Update” brief, to be held at 1000, Thursday, 2 July, in City Hall. Ms. Sharon Bachelier, at 754-2552, is the point of contact. Even if you aren’t church leader but just interested in what’s happening in your city, then come on down! Sharon’s email address is: sbachelier@cityofmtjuliet.org
I want to extend my and the staff’s thanks to the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Mt. Juliet for their leadership in developing and passing the FY2010 city budget. While it certainly wasn’t a totally painless process, it did demonstrate the spirit of collegial cooperation and compromise needed to continue our move towards the vision of this city they developed over a year ago. This is a solid, doable budget. Again, thank you.
I hope to see all of you and your family and friends at our 4 July Fireworks extravaganza! It will be at the Providence Market Place with festivities starting on Saturday at 3:00 and the fireworks lighting the sky starting at 9:00. A special thank to Mr. Tom Needham and his staff for the thousands of out-of-the-pocket dollars and the hundreds of hours he and his crew have spent on this year’s event. Tom tells me it is truly a labor of love. He also has promised that there will be more fireworks than ever! Again, many thanks Tom! As a reminder, there is no alcohol or grills allowed at Providence. The MJPD plans to be out in force to ensure we all have a great time. While you are there, up until 6pm we plan to showcase some dogs from the MJ Animal Shelter. If you’re looking for just the right “best friend” we hope you’ll see one at Providence on the 4th. Another special thanks goes to Reverend Jon Gray and all the volunteers of the Animal Shelter are donating their time and energy to make our “adopt-a-thon” a truly extraordinary one.
Next time you are in MJ City Hall, take a look at our new Police Department Dispatch Center. We just opened it up last week with two “Viper 911” emergency systems that provide real time call servicing and location directional finding for inbound emergency calls. This state-of-the-art center was recently accredited by the Wilson County 911 Board; and I am advised it is one of the best in Middle Tennessee. Again, my and the staff’s compliments to the MJ Board of Commissioners for the vision and resources to accomplish this desperately needed upgrade. As a bi-product of this initiative, we’ve also established a central server room in a “hardened” vault inside City Hall, as well as installing an automated generator capable of running emergency operations. These robust capabilities provides the police and other essential city services with the ability to seamlessly operate during a power failure for 2 days without refilling the tank.
The second set of construction workers at the intersection of Division Street and North Mt Juliet Road starting work on our sewer line relocation project. Work on the water lines is progressing well, with activity fast approaching the MJ Library. I make note of this because there are now two sets of construction workers along this portion of the road . . . please use every precaution and adjust your speed while in the area.
Our IT Director, Mr. Travis Taylor, has told me that the city manager blog seems to be picking up steam every day with more first time readers and new subscribers. If you want the blog “pushed” to you each time I post, simply go to the bottom of the page and follow the menu instructions. I hope those of you who do read this feel it is value added and remains true to the original posted precepts . . . this isn’t a place to banter personalities and relook ancient history about Mt. Juliet, or to cast aspersion, insinuation and innuendo on others; there’s other places for that. This is a forum to share information about your city. If you have things you would like me or the staff to look into, please let me know. Again, thank you for your support.
Finally, on a personal note, Darlene and I send our condolences to Mrs. Filiz Gencer and Mr. & Mrs. Doruk Gencer of Ankara, Turkey, and Mrs. Defne Gencer (nee: Robertson) of Washington, D.C. in the passing of Murat. Murat was a absolutely brilliant man and a loving and devoted husband and father. A man of the highest principals and values he leaves an unparalleled legacy of service and contributions to his nation and to humanity. He will be sorely missed but very fondly remembered.
Sonunda, kişisel bir notta, Darlene ve ben bizim baş sağlığımız ve göndeririz ve ( nee: Robertson) Washington , D . C . Murat geçiyor. Murat oldu her kesinlikle parlak adam ve seven ve adanmış bir koca ve baba. Her bir en yüksek müdürler ve o leave değerler adamı hizmet ve onun ulusuna ve insanlığa katkılar mirası. Fena halde o kaçırılacak ama çok sevgiyle hatırlanacak.
Take care MJ and see you on the 4th.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Update: 4/11/09
Hello MJ:
Just a short note before Easter to wish all of you a safe and blessed Easter.
Recently I've been asked on more than a couple occasions about what the construction going on in City Hall is. The short answer is we are in the process of expanding our 911 emergency call capabilities and relocating our Police Department dispatch center. Anyone who has ever been inside the Police Department knows how seriously overcrowded and hot the existing Dispatch Center is. Quite frankly as the city and PD has grown the Dispatch Center got left behind. With the forthcoming addition of two "VIPER" 911 units it became patently obvious that the room could no longer physically handle additional equipment. A survey by an electrical contractor also confirmed the existing electrical design was insufficient to handle additional demand.
The plan is to relocate the Dispatch Center to the former City Hall Conference Room, which is also adjacent to the hallway between the city admin services and the PD. This room will be completely upgraded with appropriate safety measures and communication systems installed. At the same time we are consolidating the several computer servers strewn throughout city hall to a central site in a hardened vault and installing a robust generator to handle all automation and emergency communication needs in the event of an emergency. Recent weather conditions, including tornado warnings in the area, are more than sufficient reason to bring our emergency operations capabilities into the 21st Century. We hope these improvements will be transparent to virtually every citizen, but know that over time they will likely be well used.
Finally, I want to attach a note Mr. Martin, your Economic Development Director, recently passed to me. It is a good outline of growth taking place right now inside our city.
In front of Ruby Tuesday will be a new Sherwin Williams Paint Store; across from the Paddocks will eventually be an ALDI Grocery Store; behind the Tiger Market on Red Ink Drive will be a 73 room 4 story Comfort Inn and Suites; south of the Holiday Inn Express on the East Side of Mt. Juliet Road is the Boyle Development or Providence Commons. This is where the new Publix is going; construction should start soon on the new Buffalo Wild Wings close to the Hampton Inn; construction should also start soon on the new Providence Sonic; on Lebanon Road beside Wilson Bank is a new O-Reilly Auto Parts Store under construction; at Falkner is a new 13k sf. retail center under construction; south of Walgreen's (Providence) will contain a new Regions Bank; the Bob Parks location at Rainbow Place will soon contain a church.; the old Burr's location on Lebanon is earmarked for a new coffee shop with drive-thru; Le Bicyclette is under construction in Coolview Commons; Famous Jose Mexican Restaurant is under construction in Coolview Commons; a new vet office is under construction on Industrial Drive; Allyson's Salon just opened in Coolview Commons; and a new Mapco is scheduled to replace old one beside Waffle House.
Again, have a wonderful Easter. Take care.
R. Robertson
Just a short note before Easter to wish all of you a safe and blessed Easter.
Recently I've been asked on more than a couple occasions about what the construction going on in City Hall is. The short answer is we are in the process of expanding our 911 emergency call capabilities and relocating our Police Department dispatch center. Anyone who has ever been inside the Police Department knows how seriously overcrowded and hot the existing Dispatch Center is. Quite frankly as the city and PD has grown the Dispatch Center got left behind. With the forthcoming addition of two "VIPER" 911 units it became patently obvious that the room could no longer physically handle additional equipment. A survey by an electrical contractor also confirmed the existing electrical design was insufficient to handle additional demand.
The plan is to relocate the Dispatch Center to the former City Hall Conference Room, which is also adjacent to the hallway between the city admin services and the PD. This room will be completely upgraded with appropriate safety measures and communication systems installed. At the same time we are consolidating the several computer servers strewn throughout city hall to a central site in a hardened vault and installing a robust generator to handle all automation and emergency communication needs in the event of an emergency. Recent weather conditions, including tornado warnings in the area, are more than sufficient reason to bring our emergency operations capabilities into the 21st Century. We hope these improvements will be transparent to virtually every citizen, but know that over time they will likely be well used.
Finally, I want to attach a note Mr. Martin, your Economic Development Director, recently passed to me. It is a good outline of growth taking place right now inside our city.
In front of Ruby Tuesday will be a new Sherwin Williams Paint Store; across from the Paddocks will eventually be an ALDI Grocery Store; behind the Tiger Market on Red Ink Drive will be a 73 room 4 story Comfort Inn and Suites; south of the Holiday Inn Express on the East Side of Mt. Juliet Road is the Boyle Development or Providence Commons. This is where the new Publix is going; construction should start soon on the new Buffalo Wild Wings close to the Hampton Inn; construction should also start soon on the new Providence Sonic; on Lebanon Road beside Wilson Bank is a new O-Reilly Auto Parts Store under construction; at Falkner is a new 13k sf. retail center under construction; south of Walgreen's (Providence) will contain a new Regions Bank; the Bob Parks location at Rainbow Place will soon contain a church.; the old Burr's location on Lebanon is earmarked for a new coffee shop with drive-thru; Le Bicyclette is under construction in Coolview Commons; Famous Jose Mexican Restaurant is under construction in Coolview Commons; a new vet office is under construction on Industrial Drive; Allyson's Salon just opened in Coolview Commons; and a new Mapco is scheduled to replace old one beside Waffle House.
Again, have a wonderful Easter. Take care.
R. Robertson
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