Friends of Eakin School may all want to provide support for PE Coach Hillary Strickland, whose house was severely damaged in a fire recently. The Eakin PTSO is coordinating efforts and can be reached by email, or neighbors can access a support fund here.
Property Reappraisal Update — The Davidson County Property Assessor met with members of the community on February 1 to discuss the county-wide property reappraisal that was just completed and explain how it could affect property taxes. State law requires a reappraisal of all property in the county every four years to ensure that taxes are based on accurate property values. Property values in Davidson County have risen about 33% in the past four years, with some districts seeing an increase of as much as 57% and others as low as 10%. District 18 was right at the average, which means that property taxes in our area will rise little, if at all. State law requires that the certified tax rate be adjusted to keep the overall income to the city the same after the reappraisal. The tax rate will be adjusted downward and will generally offset the property value increases at or below the average, so for many homes in our area, the change will not be significant. The official notices will be mailed out in April. Property owners will have the opportunity to appeal the appraisal by going to the Property Assessor’s website.
Mayor Megan Barry’s Livable Nashville Committee will unveil its draft recommendations at a public event Tuesday, February 7 at the downtown library from 10am until noon. The Livable Nashville Committee has drafted a prioritized list of measurable goals and actions that reflect the work of Metro’s 2009 Green Ribbon Committee, NashvilleNext, and Mayor Barry’s priorities. Five subcommittees have met over the past nine months and produced recommendations in the following areas: Natural Resources; Mobility; Waste Reduction and Recycling; Green Buildings; and Climate and Energy. More information can be found here.
The update of the Belmont University Institutional Overlay will be presented at a community meeting February 8 at 6pm at the Midtown Hills Precinct at 1441 12th Ave S. This guiding document was first drafted in 2005 and lays out where and how the university plans for growth. Neighbors will have the opportunity to hear about and comment on the draft document before it is filed with the Planning Commission. There will be a number of opportunities for input and revision before the document is officially adopted.
An amendment to the Specific Plan for the Martin Professional Development Center will be before the Planning Commission on February 9. At the community meeting held last month to discuss the Martin field, it was decided that MNPS will level the field as agreed when the Martin Center was built, without any provisions for parking being made at this time. The Specific Plan will be deferred indefinitely at the Planning Commission meeting, but the work on the field will start this summer. The field will be leveled, enhanced with a fiber to make it more durable, and provided with a sprinkler system. MNPS will maintain it like an athletic field, and it will be available for community recreation. After the field has been in use for a year, we’ll review the use patterns and discuss whether it would be desirable to use the field for overflow parking on a very limited basis, based on times when the field is not in use and when the Martin Center has its largest meetings.
The Hot Chocolate 5K/15K on February 11 benefits our own Ronald McDonald House. The race starts at Bicentennial Mall, and the 15K portion will run down West End Avenue. Drivers should be aware of West End possibly being closed from 7amuntil mid-morning. Information about at the race can be found here.
The Walk Bike Neighborhood Advocacy Summit also takes place on Saturday, February 11 from 10am to noon at Walk Bike Nashville’s HQ at 943 Woodland Street. The goals of the summit will be to create neighborhood advocacy groups with priority neighborhood projects, discuss citywide priorities for Walk Bike Nashville advocacy, and create a platform to bring active transit advocates together. To RSVP, please fill out the short survey here. Pizza lunch will be provided after the program.
Finish out the day on February 11 at the Nashville Lantern Festival, which extends the celebration of the Chinese New Year into the welcoming of spring at Hillsboro High School from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Join friends and neighbors for an evening of light-themed activities and displays, food trucks, lantern-making contests and a moonlight lantern parade.
Metro Schools Facilities Planning and Construction team will provide updates on the Hillsboro High School renovation project at the next PTSO meeting February 15 at 6pm in the school library. There have been no changes in the construction plans that have already been publicly announced, but the team will share status updates and answer questions. All families and community members of schools in the Hillsboro cluster are invited to attend.
Belmont Community Day — Neighbors are invited to watch Belmont’s men’s basketball team take on Eastern Kentucky at Belmont Community Day on Thursday, February 16 beginning at 5:30pm. The event includes complimentary hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, face painting, and balloon art, before tip-off at the 7pm game.
Water Main Repairs — As some neighbors on Elmwood recently experienced, there are a number of old water mains in the areas that need to be repaired. Metro Water Services (MWS) is set to begin a project that will encompass Linden, Elmwood, Beechwood, and Sweetbriar between Belmont and 12th South. The construction will happen in phases, and the overall project will take about a year from start to finish. MWS will hold a community meeting on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:30pm at the Midtown Hills Precinct,1441 12th Ave S., to go over the construction logistics and schedule. This project will also include stormwater infrastructure improvements for the alleys.
Nashville Reads, the city-wide book club has picked John Lewis’s March as the 2017 selection. Bongo Java, located at 2007 Belmont Blvd, will host a discussion of this amazing graphic narrative on Nashville’s civil rights movement on February 23 at 6pm. The book is a quick read, so there is still time to prepare for a great discussion led by Lonnell Matthews from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods or possibly by the Mayor herself.
Transportation Summit — The Green Hills Alliance is sponsoring a Transportation Summit to discuss solutions to the traffic issues in Green Hills on February 25, 10am - noon, at Lipscomb University’s Stowe Hall. At the Summit, local transportation experts will examine current traffic patterns across the Green Hills area and focus on plans and projects that address traffic issues. More information is available here.
Storm Water Flooding on West Linden — There will be a community meeting for neighbors on West Linden to meet with representatives from Metro Water Services and discuss possible solutions to storm water flooding issues behind their homes. The meeting will be on Monday, February 27 at 6pm at the Martin Professional Development Center, located at 2400 Fairfax Ave.
Save the date for the Historical Commission Old House Fair on Saturday, March 4 at Sevier Park Community Center, 3021 Lealand Avenue.
Metro Animal Care and Control (MACC) will begin offering the three-year rabies vaccine and three-year license with proof of previous vaccination. MACC hosts a low-cost vaccination clinic on the third Saturday of each month from February through November from 8am – noon at the Metro Animal Care and Control Shelter, located at 5125 Harding Place.
Opportunity NOW is a coordinated initiative launched by Mayor Megan Barry to provide young people in Davidson County access to employment. The initiative was created based on recommendations from the Mayor’s Youth Violence Summit as a way to connect youth to opportunity and to hope. Employers can engage with Opportunity NOW by partnering with the initiative to hire young people directly; by providing work sites for young people that are participating in a more structured program; and by donating towards the per participant cost of serving a young person in the program. For additional information, and to find out how you can be involved in Opportunity NOW, please send an email.
WalknBike Strategic Plan — Don’t miss the opportunity to comment on the WalknBike strategic plan, which will guide where new sidewalks and bikeways will be built. Our neighborhood is already very walkable, and many other areas of town are listed as higher priority because they have so much catching up to do. There are still gaps in our sidewalks, and it is important for those to be identified as the plan is finalized. Go to this website and use the interactive map to indicate where we still need sidewalks. The comment period ends mid-February.
Short Term Rental continues to be a hot topic at the council. The focus has been on the Type 2, or non-owner occupied, properties – particularly the large party houses that have been disruptive to neighborhoods. Several bills will be introduced February 7, either to impose a moratorium on new Type 2 permits in residential areas or to phase out Type 2 in residential areas altogether. In addition, the Mayor’s office is implementing changes to the Codes department to increase the effectiveness of enforcement. I support the moratorium, and I am actively working on the changes in enforcement.
I hope I’ll see you at one of the events coming up this month. There is a lot going on. Please let me know what is important to you. I can be reached at burkley.allen@nashville.gov or 615-383-6604.
Regards,
Burkley Allen
Metro Council 18th District