Happy New Year! I hope everyone survived the snow. If we have any more snow this year, we’ve now learned that Metro clears main roads first to ensure emergency vehicles can get around. Neighbors can report side roads that need clearing at HUB.Nashville.gov, and they will be put on plowing/salt routes in the order they were reported.
EVENTS Early voting for the school board, judge, property assessor, and presidential primaries runs February 14 through 27 except for Sundays and Presidents Day. Early voting locations will all be open from the beginning, but five locations have changed.
Because this is a federal and county primary, voters will need to declare which party primary they want to vote in. Not every county position has candidates for both parties. Voters should check the Davidson County Election website for voting locations and sample ballots. There is a judge special election to fill a vacancy in Division IV of the Circuit Court from the death of Judge Philip Smith. This court is known as Family Court and handles divorces, child custody, and orders of protection. There are four candidates, Tusca Alexis, Audrey Anderson, Stan Kweller, and Stephanie Williams. There are two candidates for Property Assessor, Tomesia Day and Vivian Wilhoite. Only odd numbered school board positions are up for election this year. School Board District 1, which is Joelton, Whites Creek and parts of Bordeaux, is the only contested race and includes Dominique McCord-Cotton, Robert Taylor, and Latonya Winfrey on the Democratic primary ballot and Demytris Savage-Short on the Republican primary ballot. The last day to request an absentee ballot is February 27, but ballots have to be received back at the election commission by Election Day, so voters shouldn’t wait until the last minute to send in their request. On Election Day, March 5, voters will need to go to their assigned precinct.
The Christmas Tree Recycling drop-off program will end after February 11. Through the weekend trees can be dropped off at the following locations: • Cane Ridge Park • Una Recreation Center • Whitfield Park • Cedar Hill Park • Two Rivers Park • Joelton Community Center • Sevier Park • Richland Park • Elmington Park • Edwin Warner Park • Lakewood City Hall • Frederick Douglass Park • Both Living Earth locations at 1511 Elm Hill Pike and 6401 Centennial Blvd
Trees must be cleaned of wooden stands, watering bowls, ornaments, lights, wire, string, and other decorations before drop-off. Neighbors are asked not to dump any other items at the tree drop-off locations. Artificial trees cannot be accepted at the pick-up sites. Neighbors take artificial trees to any of Metro’s four convenience centers for disposal.
Brush pick-up this month is scheduled to start in the following areas: o February 6 – Area 1 West Madison, Capital View, Douglas Park, Cleveland Park, McFerrin Park, Highland Heights o February 12 – Area 2 East Madison, Inglewood, Neely’s Bend, Peeler Park, Maplewood Heights, Iverson, Maxwell Heights, Edgefield, Eastwood, Shelby Bottoms, Shelby Hills, and Lockland Springs o February 21 – Area 3 Old Hickory, Lakewood, Hermitage, Stones River, Two Rivers, River Trace o February 27 – Area 4 Donelson, Airport, Percy Priest, Northeast Antioch
Because of the snow disruption, crews are delayed about four weeks. They are currently in Area 9 and will work through the backlog as quickly as they can. Area 9 Bellevue, West Meade, Hillwood, White Bridge, Cherokee Park, Richland West End, Sylvan Park, Sylvan Heights, Hadley, Fisk, Watkins Park Area 10 Whites Bend, Charlotte Park, Cockrill Bend, Nations, TSU, College Heights, Germantown, Buena Vista Area 11 Joelton, Whites Creek, Marrowbone, Scottsboro, Bells Bend, Bordeaux, Haynes Heights, Haynes Manor Area 12 Goodlettsville, Dalemere, Bellshire
Garbage and recycling pick-up will shift one day the week of Presidents Day (Feb 19).
The Metropolitan Historical Commission is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 2024 Preservation Awards. Nashville’s historic older neighborhoods (over 50 years of age) are treasures found across the county, and the Historic Commission’s annual Preservation Awards program is a great way to point out the best examples of historic preservation. The public is invited to submit buildings or structures that have been restored, rehabilitated, or carefully maintained over time. The awards also recognize well-designed new “infill” construction that harmonizes with a historic environment. To be considered, nominated properties must be in Davidson County and have a construction date of 1974 or earlier. Infill projects should be no older than 2021. All projects must have been completed within the past three years. Previous winners may be eligible if the work is significantly different.
Nomination forms are available through the Metropolitan Historical Commission website, by calling the Historical Commission at 615-862-7970, or emailing scarlett.miles@nashville.gov. Completed forms are due Friday, March 1, 2024.
The awards ceremony will take place in May 2024 in recognition of National Preservation Month. For more program details and submission instructions, please visit the Preservation Awards page.
Neighbor2Neighbor has back to back opportunities for learning how to be a great neighborhood advocate. UrbanPlan Experiential Workshop – One Session on Saturday, February 10 This is a one-day experiential workshop that brings the urban environment to life through an interactive exercise where teams form development companies tasked with redeveloping a hypothetical site. Held in partnership with the Urban Land Institute of Nashville.
Policy & Zoning 201 – Two-Part Workshop on Saturday, February 24 and Saturday, March 2 This eight-hour course (two three-hour sessions) is for people who want a deeper understanding of Metro’s planning and zoning process. Best workshop for people who already attend neighborhood meetings and want to better understand the zoning process.
Thanks to a grant from the Metropolitan Council, all workshops are free to all residents of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. For more details about these and other programs, visit https://www.n2n.solutions/calendar or call 615-782-8212.
Neighbor to Neighbor is hosting its sixth annual Conference for Neighborhoods (C4N) on March 23 from 7:30 to 3 at the Cal Turner Center. This year’s theme is ‘Cleaner, Greener, Safer, Better: The Power of Neighbors Working Together’. Topics will include Neighborhood Safety, Environmental Justice, Introduction to .Metro Council, Planning and Zoning, Transit and others. Participants will learn critical skills and capabilities to more impactfully involve residents and identify specific steps that should be taken to motivate residents to address issues that affect them. Registration for C4N is required. Register online. The cost is $35 to $75.
The Trew Neighbor Award is given by Neighbor2Neighbor in memory of Frank Trew, a lifelong resident of the Lincoya Hills neighborhood and a tireless advocate for his neighborhood. Frank generously contributed his time, talent and gifts to improve the quality of life for his neighbors and all Nashville residents. The Trew Neighbor Award is presented to an individual who exemplifies similar characteristics. This award honors local residents who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, for a period of no less than five (5) years, with a commitment to building, improving, and/or maintaining the quality of life in their neighborhood. The award will be presented at the Conference for Neighborhoods luncheon. For more information visit https://www.n2n.solutions/trew-neighbor-award .
The Metro Budget process for fiscal 2025 is underway. At this point each department has prepared an operating budget to present to the Mayor. Over the next few months the Mayor’s Office will put together a city-wide operating budget to propose to the council on May 1. The Metro Council held our pre-budget public comment period at the February 7 Council meeting to hear from citizens about their budget priorities. The most frequent requests were for 5% cost of living increase for Metro employees and increased funding for schools and community safety. Information about the budget is at https://www.nashville.gov/departments/finance/management-and-budget/citizens-guide-budget .
The Globe at Night citizen science project generates data showing how fast light pollution is growing. This data can be used to advocate for more environmentally responsible lighting policy. The next observation period is March 1-10 to look for the constellation Orion and report how visible it is from your part of Nashville. Check out the night sky and register your observations here. Nashville now has Dark Sky lighting regulation to guide outdoor lighting to minimize light pollution, which affects our health, our environment, and our economy.
The Tennessee Environmental Council Tree Day is coming up in March. If you missed the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps tree planting opportunity, you can still order seedlings from TEC. Pick up is Saturday March 16 at several locations around the county. Order by March 4. Reserve your trees on the TEC website. Pick up spots are: 3201 Hillsboro Rd, Trinity Presbyterian Church 111 Cheek Rd, Cheekwood 224 Oriel Avenue, Cosecha Community Development - Community Garden 5501 Edmonson Pike, Nashville Public Library 4840 Centennial Blvd, The Good Fill 909 E Trinity Lane, E3 Innovate
ISSUES
The council is considering approval of the Mayor’s proposed Capital Spending Plan , which allocates $514 million for large, long term projects like new schools, the new juvenile justice center, East Bank infrastructure, sidewalks, bikeways, traffic calming, improving the bus system, and Metro Parks. This will be on the council agenda February 20. At our last meeting the council deauthorized $14 million of previously allocated funding for past projects that came in under budget. Metro will use short term, low interest commercial paper to begin the new projects and issue general obligation bonds when market conditions are favorable.
At the same council meeting, new subdivision regulations around Compact Development will be on public hearing. These proposed changes allow projects to increase green space and common amenities by reducing lot sizes. This does not add additional units, but only rearranges homes in a way to have more open space for common use.
Quarterly updates of the Sidewalk and Bikeway plan can be found by district at this website
Openings on Metro Boards and Commissions. Metro has over 75 boards and commissions that help the government operate and interpret regulations fairly. These are composed of volunteer citizens with interest or expertise in the particular subject. Board members are nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the Metro Council. When current members’ terms expire, and they decide not to continue, there is the opportunity to add new members to the board. Terms are expiring, and spots may be opening up on the Sports Authority, Planning Commission, CATV Special Commission, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. Anyone who is interested in serving can fill out a form on the Metro website at https://www.nashville.gov/boards for each specific board.
I hope everyone is enjoying the current warm spell and anticipating the arrival of spring. Please let me know what is on your mind and make a plan to vote. You can reach me at burkley.allen@nashville.gov or 615-383-6604. Happy Mardi Gras, Valentines, Presidents Day, and 2/4/24!
Regards,
Burkley Allen
Metro Council At-Large