City Manager Update - July 13, 2010

Good afternoon MJ;

A short note today:

We received our sales tax receipts for June and the city took in $105k more this year than in 09. The numbers were $488k in 2010 compared to $383k last year. Overall MJ receipts constituted about 40% of all sales tax receipts in the county . . .nearly a half million reasons to continue to “Shop MJ!”

Early voting will be at the Charlie Daniels Rec Center starting 16 July. Stay tuned for more details.

I received an anonymous note based on a posting to a recent blog about Fall Softball. Yes, Fall Softball will not be held at Mundy Park this year due to the temporary relocation of Youth Football practice from Charlie Daniels Park to Mundy several days a week. We truly regret the disruption to our softball community, but over utilization and ever increasing traffic at CD Park during football season have moved the Parks staff to this option. We are hoping efforts towards developing new multipurpose fields at the Bel Air complex in CY 11 will help alleviate the situation.

I also mentioned in an earlier blog that the MJ Board of Commissioners approved aggressive execution of State Street Aid money in repairing and/or repaving more MJ streets than we’ve done in many years. All totaled nearly $490k has been earmarked for street repairs/repaving this year. The list includes a priority needs of streets from all points around the city, with some of the names including: Bass Drive, Springhill Road, segments of West Division and Old Lebanon Dirt Rd, Jefferson Dr., and Sunrise Circle as well as portions of Belinda Parkway.

Kudos to the MJPD’s Detectives Bonnie Harris and David Stolinsky for their exceptional professionalism and diligence in the recent child abuse/murder case. They are a treasure to our community.

A final note: the Animal Shelter numbers are running high. We need your help! Get involved by sharing a few hours a month as a Shelter volunteer. Better yet, adopt a dog, cat or both and become a volunteer as well. You will be glad you did.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

R. Robertson

Update: 9/30/09

Hello MJ:

Last night I, several Department Heads and other leaders of Mt. Juliet had the opportunity to attend the Greater Nashville Regional Council’s (GNRC) 42nd Annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony. My purpose in today’s posting is to let you know how it turned out (. . . before next week’s newspapers) and to express my pride and thanks in the accomplishments of Team Mt. Juliet, your public servants.

Of the 12 categories of public service programs for which we were qualified, Team Mt. Juliet captured six (6) awards. That is absolutely phenomenal! Recognition included the “Communications Award” for efforts in creating the Job Action Line and use of the Nixle emergency messaging system; the “Parks and Recreation Facilities Award” for the Skate park, Bark park, and Charlie Daniels Rec Center expansion project; the “Planning Award” for Mt. Juliet’s self-prepared 2008 Land Use Plan; two “Public Safety Awards”, the first for our state-of-the art designed and operated Animal Shelter, and the second for the MJPD Color Guard and Citizens’ Police Academy; and the “Transportation Award” for implementation of Tennessee’s first railroad Quite Zone. Yes, 50% of the awards for every municipality (53) and county (13) in Middle Tennessee went to the City of Mt. Juliet. To top off the night, we were also one of the four members of the Wilson County GIS Enterprise System recognized by winning GNRC’s Marshall S. Stuart Memorial Award for Intergovernmental Cooperation. Again, simply phenomenal.

The GNRC Local Government Awards are the benchmark for quality in governmental services and operations in Middle Tennessee. Competition for the awards is intense with cities like Franklin, Hendersonville, Goodlettsville, Nashville, Brentwood and Clarksville all in the mix. To quote the GNRC guidebook, the “awards honor local governments in the greater Nashville region which have exhibited excellence, outstanding accomplishment, and achievement or innovation in areas of public service.” As a 30+ year veteran of state, federal, military and municipal service I am well aware that in the area of governmental services there’s always more to be done and seldom sufficient time, manpower or resources. Mt. Juliet has the smallest number of civil servants serving one of the fastest growing cities in the state. This dedicated team of men and women have done a fantastic job of selflessly serving others. I am truly proud of them and want to share that pride and appreciation with the citizens of Mt. Juliet.

On some other notes, coming up next week (5-8 October) the intersection of Curd and Clemmons Road will be closed due to construction on the Reverse L. While we know this will inconvenience some, this was the optimal time to do the work due to the Fall Break for MJHS. Road signage, Nixle alerts, and additional Channel 3 and MJ City web updates will be posted. Speaking of road issues, the light at the intersection of Charlie Daniels and North Mt. Juliet Road (NMJR) should be operational by the end of this week. We are waiting on the contractor to finish painting the stop lines. Also, take note of the metal utility poles going up along NMJR? These are being installed at the behest and commitment of the Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners . . . kudos to them. Once the construction is complete this should be a great visual improvement to the center of our city.

Finally, this is an open invitation to join in at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Charlie Daniels Rec Center Expansion Facility. The ceremony will be at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, 9 October, at the Charlie Daniels Rec Center. This is a red letter day for Mt. Juliet, receiving its new, $400k building, made possible through the combined donations of the Panattoni Corporation and Mr. Charlie Daniels. We truly hope to see you there.

Until next time, take care.

Sincerely,

R. Robertson

Update: 9/7/09

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

Update: 4/17/09

Hello MJ:

The City staff or otherwise known as Team Mt. Juliet held our Second Annual Health and Safety Fair this week, and by every account the event was a tremendous success. The only reason I mention what is considered a “staff only” event is this year we invited residents of our assisted living communities and members the MJ Senior Citizens Center to participate. I know all the staff and participating local health care professionals were extremely appreciative of the kind remarks made by our guest. With nearly 40 health and safety related booths packed into Charlie Daniels Rec Center last Wednesday, we saw an outstanding display of partnerships and cooperation all focused on good health and preventive activities that will ultimately save our citizens dollars spent on health care expenditures and staff lost time. A big thanks to everyone who worked and participated in this free event.

The most exciting news of the week comes from an article in the Tennessean regarding TDOT’s listing of North Mt. Juliet Rd (N MJ Rd) for widening. We’ve received several questions from citizens since the article was posted. Our concern is, that at this time the listing and the associated budget still has to be approved by the Tennessee State Legislature. Although we certainly believe this announcement, will, in short time prove to be a very positive move for our city, right now it is premature to indicate the road has been “approved”. Speaking with Ms. B.J. Dowdy, TDOT Spokeswoman, she indicated it would likely be a couple weeks before the legislature would formally act on the list. Until then those of us here in City Hall continue to plan for the widening, but we won’t be making individual responses or public announcements about timelines, start dates, costs or other elements of the project. We’re just going to wait for the process to run its full course and then hopefully do our best to keep the entire community up to date on this challenging but extremely positive initiative.

As I conclude I want to give a little advance notice to an effort the Parks and Rec crew are working on for this summer. Once we have the Skate park and Rec Center expansion projects done we hope to start a series of “MJ Movies in the Park”. We are looking for wholesome, family oriented films to show outside this summer at the Charlie Daniels Park. Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Henson of the Parks and Rec Department are to be commended for their continued effort to expand recreational opportunities to our community. I invite readers to share their thoughts with them on what they would like to see.

Until next time, take care.

Sincerely,
R. Robertson

Update: 1/31/09

Hello MJ:

Greetings on this sunny Saturday afternoon. Here’s a few items of local interest to share.

By most all accounts feedback from last Thursday’s citizens forum on fire protection has been positive. I understand this issue is fraught with emotion for many; some thoroughly convinced we must have greater capability to prevent and react to fires within the City; while others concerned with how it will be paid for. Whatever the outcome; be it status quo, providing greater support to WEMA, or initiating action to start our own fire department, it will be a decision made by your Board of Commissioners (BOC). I urge those of you who have thoughts on this issue to contact your Commissioner or the Mayor. A listing of the BOC with their phone numbers can be found on the city’s home page. However, short of sustaining the current course, please know that whatever is decided will require extensive fiscal resources.

On another note, we had tremendous interest in the bids for the Charlie Daniels Skate Park. In addition to building the skate park we will be do some long overdue storm water abatement efforts in changing the contour of the land around the Rec Center. Along with that, we anticipate work to start on the Rec Center expansion project, courtesy of Panattoni Corporation, within the next few weeks. Visitors to the park will notice prep work has begun for the expansion, so be prepared for a little dust and disruption both inside and out of the Center itself. Visitors will also note a new pavilion has just been completed near the back of the park, significantly enhancing our capability to host picnics and other special events. Many thanks to Mr. Dennis Buchanan, Director of Parks and Recreation, and his great crew for all the work they’ve done to improve park and recreational opportunities for our community. And speaking of new recreational opportunities, we hope to see you at tonight’s “Open Mic” inside the gym, at 7 p.m. This is the first time the Parks staff has tried this kind of event, so we have high hopes it will be well received and attended.

I’ve had a number of questions regarding signage at the I-40/S. Mt. Juliet Road overpass. Please know that the Tennessee Department of Transportation (which is responsible for the road) has designed and is fabricating signs and connections for the poles that are now in place. I am advised this area receives a substantial amount of wind, and the previous signs TDOT installed were removed due to vibrations caused through wind shear. As I understand the new cable support system has springs and buffers that allow acceptable movement during windy periods. While on the subject of roads, like many of you, here in City Hall we await outcome of the President’s economic stimulus package since the widening of North Mt. Juliet Road (from Division St. to Lebanon Rd.) is the only “shovel ready” project TDOT has approved in Wilson County. I want to thank Mr. Shannon Joyner, Mt. Juliet’s Assistant Director of Public Works, and the team at Grisham, Smith Engineering who did a remarkable job this last year in keeping land use changes along this portion of the road posted with TDOT so the widening project would be ready once funding was secured.

For those of you who live or regularly drive along W. Division you’ve seen new delineators at the Greenhills/W. Division intersection. This is part of the required quiet zone equipment. From all accounts work progresses well on the QZ, and testing should start soon, with concurrent training of the railroad engineers. The Federal Railroad Administration requires a 21 day notice posted implementing a quiet zone, but we hope soon after that the horns will be quiet.

Finally, here’s another pitch for our new Animal Shelter. We have over 30 dogs and cats that all need good homes. We also have numerous volunteer opportunities at the Shelter. If you haven’t visited the Shelter yet, it is located at 115 Industrial Drive. On behalf of all our “guests” we extend a hearty welcome.

Take care and talk with you later.

R. Robertson