Update: August 10, 2011

Good Afternoon MJ:

Here’s some pretty powerful data points to mull over next time you are stuck in the car headed to work in Nashville. In June 2010, 2,590 passengers boarded the Music City Star from Mt. Juliet. In June 2011 that number had increased to 3,900. Wow! Between 1 July 2010 and the end of June this year, the Mt. Juliet station saw over 36k riders board from here, and our average daily ridership this June was nearly 180 passengers. Officials at Nashville’s Regional Transportation Authority advise that of the 25 top commuter rail systems in the U.S., Nashville’s own Music City Star had the second highest growth (with Portland, OR beating us by only one-half of one percent). The average growth for all 25 systems was one-half percent while Nashville’s was over 20%. Why pay $3.50 a gallon, plus wear and tear, oil, tires, and the frustration of driving when you could join your friends, colleagues and other commuters in great discussions on your way to the office, more time to sleep, some quality blackberry time, read a book or simply day dream as the landscape passes by. Tickets are available at City Hall. Train officials are also running a special “Game Day Express” for Titans fans from 1 August to 11 September with single game ride tickets for any game running just $12; a 20% discount over the normal $15 price. Game Day Express tickets are also available at City Hall.

Thanks to everyone who turned out at Providence Market Place for National Night Out last week. Even though the evening was a scorcher, PD leadership reports several hundred joined in the festivities. We hope it was a good transitional event for the kids as they head back to school.

“Walk With the Mayor” Cook’s United Methodist Church (UMC) is sponsoring a series of weekend walks with Mayor Hagerty between now and October. The first one (a 3 mile course, but do what you feel capable of) will be this Saturday, 13 August, starting at 10:00. Sign up takes place at the Recreation Center in Charlie Daniels Park. Mr. Jim Webster, Cook’s Parish Nurse and Walk Coordinator, advises over 125 have already committed to be there. It’s a great family oriented event aimed at enhancing personal health right here in our part of Tennessee, the third most obese state in the nation. For more info give Jim a call at 828-6905. For those of you who are reading this on Nixle, please pass it along to your friends.

Take special note of all the lane changes on North MJ Road. The road widening project is really moving along, with changes in traffic patterns taking place nearly every day. Drivers: Slow down and keep alert.

Now’s the time to start cleaning out the garage, basement and/or attic for the great MJ Community Flea Market, Saturday, 27 August. To quote the actor Red Foxx, “this promises to be a big one” with both the exotic and practical all on the same parking lot. Crowds at the Flea Market usually top 1k, so it’s both a buyers and sellers paradise. Booth space is only $20. For more info or to rent a spot, call the friendly folks at Charlie Daniels Park, at 758-6522.

No, it’s not Christmas in August, but we would like to hear from you about our 2011 Christmas Parade, scheduled for Saturday, 3 December. For most of this year the Parade Committee had a lead on one of America’s sports superstars, Hank Aaron, to serve as our Grand Marshal. As often said, the best laid plans . . . Well the best laid plans recently changed and Hank won’t be able to be here. We’re looking for a major name! Two years ago it was Barry Wilmore, Commander of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and one of MJ’s own. Last year it was Rudy Ruttengier, author and namesake of the classic feel good movie, “Rudy.” Do you have any ideas on who could top Hank, Barry or Rudy? If so, send me an email at rrobertson@cityofmtjuliet.org. Make sure your prospect is willing and available to be our Grand Marshal before you write. Thanks.

City sales tax revenue for July was reported today and MJ’s share was $516k, or a drop of $41k (7.3% decline) from last July. Ouch! Please, . . . Shop MJ First!

Take care, God Bless and talk with you later.

R. Robertson

Update: 08/27/09

Good Afternoon MJ:

The Parks and Recreation Department hosted their first Mt. Juliet Community Flea Market last Saturday and boy was it a great success. Bargain hunters and gawkers were lined up to get into Charlie Daniels Park well before the 0700 opening, and the crowd was steady until the event closed at 1200. Mr. Rocky Lee, Assistant Director of Parks told the MJ Board of Commissioners last Monday that by their estimates more than a 1,000 customers visited the 32 vendors with booth space. The Market was so well attended that the Parks crew are looking to another event in late October, just in time to give those with Christmas gift lists on their minds an opportunity to find just the right present. Stay tuned to the city web page and this blog for more on that. Mr. Lee also noted that even though it rained just before starting our first “Movie in the Parks” a couple weeks ago, there were still more than one hundred participants who stayed the course and enjoyed a great night of video under the stars. Rocky and his staff are looking to see when they might be able to do another movie. If you have any thoughts let them know.

We want to welcome Mr. Bruce Abbott, the newly named General Manager for Wal-Mart to our community. I know the community is excited to have you as part of the Mt. Juliet fabric. Speaking of new comers, we welcomed Mr. Steve Foote, the city’s new Director of Planning to the team last week. Steve comes from the City of Gulf Shores, Alabama, where he held the same position as he does here. There is an awful lot on Steve’s plate, but he’ll be out in the community asap.

The city’s Sewer Billing Division has been combined with the Mt. Juliet Finance Department at its new location on 2365 North Mt. Juliet Road. With this initiative the city now has a single site responsive to all financial issues (except traffic tickets) under one roof. Mr. John Rossmaier, the City Finance Director will assume oversight with Mr. Wayne Griffin heading up day-to-day operations of the Sewer Billing Division to create a more robust and responsive customer-focused shop for those we serve. On this note, I want to encourage readers to use our automated on-line sewer billing system. As road, water, electric and sewer construction continues on North Mt. Juliet Road getting access to City Hall and to the Finance Department will be a little more challenging. Our customers will undoubtedly find it much easier and convenient to use the on-line payment system. For more details check out the on-line payment option found under the “Public Works Department: Sewer Billing” (soon to be moved to the “Finance Department”) of the city’s webpage.

Finally, a special thanks to TDOT Commissioner Nicely and his staff for their efforts to extend our “Local Interstate Connector” (LIC) grant on the Reverse L to include 50% payment for the grading of 5 lanes as opposed to our original plans to grade 3. This effort will save the citizens of Mt. Juliet approximately $250k in immediate expenditures, but more importantly it provides us a ready-made platform to cheaply and quickly expand that section of road to 5 lanes once demand catches up.

That’s about all for this edition. I’ll end by encouraging you to stop by the Mt. Juliet Animal Shelter and take a look at the selection. This is a first class operation, but we rely on your support. Take a look at the WTVF - Channel 5 News story on the shelter by clicking this link: http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=10998488 I think you will like it. Take care MJ and talk with you later.


R. Robertson