EVENTS
Brush Collection begins in Area 3 (Old Hickory, Lakewood, Hermitage, Stones River, Two Rivers, River Trace) on September 8, Area 4 (Donelson, Airport, Percy Priest, Northeast Antioch) on September 16, Area 5 (Antioch, Cane Ridge, Paragon Mills) on September 27, and Area 6 (Brentwood, Crieve Hall, Grassmere, Abbay Hall, Sidco, WeHo ) on October 5. Residents should place sticks and limbs away from power poles so the truck can pick them up. Leaves should be in compostable bags. Please don’t blow leaves loose into the gutter since that can lead to clogging of storm drains and street flooding. Metro’s Street sweeping will pick up a lot of trash in gutters if cars are not parked in their way. Check the street sweeping schedule here. Put your street name in the “Find in this Data Set” search box to find your street’s scheduled date. Moving cars off the street makes this a much more effective process.
The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and YMCA are holding a Community Wide Job Fair on Tuesday, September 14 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm at the Bellevue Y, at 8101 Highway 100. Each registered employer will have a 6 foot table and two chairs. To ensure everyone’s health and safety, vendor tables will be set up in the front lobby and down the hallways to increase distancing and openness. Pre-registration for businesses is required for this event on the Bellevue Harpeth Chamber website. The first ten registered employers will be listed in promotional announcements.
Hustle for the House 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Nashville is happening in person on September 18. The race will start and finish at the Nashville Ronald McDonald House at 2144 Fairfax Avenue and follow a certified course through the Hillsboro West End Neighborhood. Runners and walkers can also get moving as part of the virtual run and participate wherever they are. All participants, both virtual and in-person, are invited to dress in their finest disco attire. Sign up here. The Ronald McDonald House provides a “home-away-from-home” for families of critically ill children receiving inpatient or outpatient medical care at Nashville area hospitals.
This fall, Neighbor 2 Neighbor will bring back Level 101 of the The Planning School — a 4-part series that is designed to help residents and neighborhood organizations better engage in the Metro planning and zoning process. These sessions will be led by neighborhood leaders across Davidson County and include N2N partners at the Metro Planning Department. Classes are on Saturday mornings from 8-12 beginning on September 25. Applications will be accepted in September. Visit the Neighbor 2 Neighbor website for more information.
MNPS is looking for businesses to participate in their upcoming virtual career fair for high school students. The majority of high school dropouts occur during students’ ninth grade year. The Career Fair is one way that MNPS works to mitigate this. This exploratory event raises awareness and generates excitement to show ninth graders the relevance of their studies and the opportunities their future holds. The Career Exploration Fair also empowers students to make informed decisions about which type of academy to choose for their 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years and other high school plans. The career fair allows companies to work together to present career options for students to explore. Therefore, the main focus of the event is to showcase a broad spectrum of possible careers. Participants can create a three minute video about their business or industry or take part in an Industry Professional Panel Discussion. Videos should include an introduction, footage of the organization/work in action, and an answer to one of the Career Exploration Fair interview questions. The deadline to submit a video is October 1st. Interested companies can sign up here.
The panel discussions will be held live on November 9, with ninth grade students attending in person. Each panel session lasts around 45 minutes and will be facilitated by an MNPS staff member. Times are to be determined, but preferences for morning or afternoon can be indicated in the panelist interest form linked here. For more information about the video or the panel, email Courtney Morgan (AON Program Manager).
ISSUES
To further its commitment to accountability and transparency, MNPD has created a new crime information dashboard that provides the public with up-to-date information, reflective of data stored in MNPD’s Records Management System. The dashboard, available here, provides data on crimes, vehicle crashes, vehicle stops, use of force, community engagement, and other officer interactions.
MNPD is also fulfilling a request heard loudly during the budget process to redirect resources toward mental health responses where appropriate. Partnering with the Mental Health Co-operative, MNPD has begun its Co-Response Crisis Intervention Program in the North and Hermitage precincts. The pilot program will team clinicians with officers in patrol cars on the day and evening shifts in the North and Hermitage Precincts for the next year. Nashville’s Co-Response Crisis Intervention Program has four important goals:
- Improve access to care for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis;
- Divert those in crisis from the criminal justice system to the health care system;
- Improve safety for those in crisis, clinicians, and police officers;
- Improve coordination and communication across systems and service providers.
The 16 officers who began training in late June volunteered to be part of the program. The department anticipates expanding the co-response model across other precincts after the year-long pilot program is evaluated.
Every ten years after the U.S. Census is complete, Metro Nashville must review and analyze the census data to ensure districts are balanced in population through a process known as Redistricting. The process for Nashville is overseen by the Metro Nashville Planning Department, who has a website aimed at educating and engaging the community. The website includes a survey, a timeline of the process, frequently asked questions, and a map of how council and school board districts have changed as Nashville has grown. Metro Planning is continuing community engagement as they receive updated population totals from the U.S. Census Bureau to give the community time to learn about the process. Metro Planning expects to have the first draft of new district lines available for public feedback by the end of September. The team will revise maps through October with input from more public meetings and on-line. Finalized maps will be sent to the Metro Council by November for approval by January 1. Then the election commission will redraw precinct lines and issue new voter registration cards. The Planning recommendations will pertain only to Metro Council and Metro School Board districts and will not impact school attendance zones or State or Federal representations. Residents are encouraged to take the survey now. There will also be opportunities to participated in public workshops later this fall. Metro Planning will continue to work with Metro Council and Metro School Board members to help keep communities informed on the process, as well as share public engagement events.
Metro’s Bike Share program has returned. It now features a fleet of Electric Assist Bicycles, which provide a boost while the rider pedals. This is handy for hills, if the cyclist is trying not to break a sweat, or for infrequent cyclists who may not have the stamina for a long ride. The city is debating whether it is advisable to allow E-bikes on Greenways. Parks policy has been not to allow motorized vehicles on Greenways. This has been critical in keeping scooters off the Greenways, which has strong support. The Mayors’s Office has convened a task group to study data from other cities and park systems and to gather public opinion from Nashvillians. I am serving on the task group, and I would love to hear from everyone on this. In my usual process, I’m putting together my chart of pros and cons.
PRO CON
Access: PRO – Allow less physically fit cyclists to enjoy greenways / CON – Possible overcrowding
Safety: PRO – B-Cycle has agreed to limit max speed of bikes to 15mph, which is the Greenway speed limit / CON – E-bikes are heavier than most bikes, and some can go faster than 15 mph. Might put more inexperienced riders on Greenways
Data so far: PRO – Documented problems with bikes that I have seen so far have been caused by inconsiderate cyclists and have not been specifically connected to E-bikes / CON – Some state parks are reviewing their past allowance of motorized vehicles on park trails, but that includes ATVs, golf carts, and snowmobiles and not exclusively E-bikes
Other: PRO - Increases commuting options / CON – Will this lead to scooters on greenways?
Please help me add to this and let me know what you think. The Metro Council has initiated a monthly public comment period to allow citizens an opportunity to speak publicly about issues of concern. Held at the beginning of each of the Council’s third Tuesday of the month meetings, the comment period is open to the first ten citizens who pre-register.
The new updated Metro Website has a special Metro Council page with a great summary of most of the things Council deals with. Check this out at the Nashville.gov website.
I hope everyone is managing to avoid the new Delta variant of COVID-19. Because of the rise in new cases, Metro has opened additional testing and vaccination sites. Testing is available at 2491 Murfreesboro Road (at the old K-Mart) and at 350 28th Ave N (near Charlotte Ave) Monday through Friday from 7:00 am – 1:00 pm. Vaccines are also available every Thursday starting September 9 from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm at Plaza Mariachi.
Thanks to partnerships with the Metro Health Department, there are lots of opportunities for anyone to get vaccinated. All vaccinations are free and insurance is not required. Pop-up sites for testing and vaccines are listed on the Metro Health Website. As Butch Spyridon said at the Hermitage Chamber of Commerce meeting last spring, vaccinations are our fastest way to get everyone back in business. More information regarding testing and vaccines is available here.
Metro Schools are back in session in person and working hard to help our children recover from the challenges of last year. The school board and Dr. Battle have been very deliberate in their consideration of what is best for the students and teachers and are following CDC recommendations. MNPS COVID protocols and efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus are available on the MNPS website on the COVID-19 Guidance page.
And, here is a link to the COVID-19 Tracker page that allows citizens to track the number of new positive cases for students and staff each week as well as the number of students and staff isolated and quarantined – for the district as a whole and for each school. It is updated each Monday.
In addition to keeping students healthy, MNPS has a plan to help make up learning loss through “high dosage tutoring.” Everyone can help with this. Through MNPS’ Accelerating Scholars initiative, 7,000+ students will be matched with trained, high-impact tutors. MNPS needs to recruit at least 2,000 community volunteers to tutor these students who may need a little extra help and support with personalized and positive learning experiences.
Requirements/information about training:
- Volunteers will be trained by PENCIL on content, how to structure a virtual tutoring session, the virtual platform all tutors and students will use, and more.
- Volunteers will provide at least three, 30-minute-long, one-on-one, virtual tutoring sessions every week for at least 10 weeks during the fall semester. Session times will be matched to each volunteer’s availability.
- Accelerating Scholars tutoring sessions can take place during the regular school day or structured after-school programming.
The process is easy and convenient, and your impact could make a lifetime of difference in the lives of Nashville’s students. If you’re interested in volunteering in this program, sign up today at the BrightPath Tutors website.
Applications are open for the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Connect program, a great opportunity for area small business owners to engage more with the Nashville community and to become leaders. Each year, a small cohort of entrepreneurs comes together to learn from each other and top area leaders on how to become more involved in building the Nashville community. Leadership Connect aims to give small business owners from all walks of life a bigger platform for making the changes they want to see in our region. During this program, 10 small business owners who are chosen through a competitive process will meet with CEOs and community leaders to develop a deeper understanding of what is needed to move our region forward. They’ll also gather as a peer group to share issues and challenges facing their own businesses. Applications to participate are accepted in the fall each year.
In Conclusion
I hope everyone has had a restful Labor Day weekend and that you are as thankful as I am for all the hard-working folks who build, protect, and operate this city. It is a great place to live, and I’m confident that we will overcome the challenges this virus has put in front of us. Please contact me with your questions and your suggestions. burkley.allen@nashville.gov or 615-383-6604.
Regards,
Burkley Allen
Metro Council At-Large