May 4, 2019

District 23 Council Member Mina Johnson

Metro Council Office

One Public Square

Suite 204

P.O. Box 196300

Nashville, TN 37219

Phone: 615-429-7857

Email Mina Johnson

Traffic Calming Program

Metro Nashville Public Works has created a traffic calming program to identify, prioritize, and help mitigate the undesirable effects of traffic in residential neighborhoods. In order to provide a fair evaluation of a very high number of neighborhoods desiring to participate, applications for traffic calming are accepted only during a specified time, one in January and one in July.

Public Works engineers reviewed over 60 applications received in January from neighborhoods all across the county. Based on a number of factors including safety history, traffic speeds, and impacts on non-drivers, Hillwood has been selected to move forward in the traffic calming program.

A Hillwood Traffic Calming meeting was held on April 4^th with Public Works Program Manager Derek Hagerty.

The data shared at the meeting clearly indicates Bresslyn Rd has more speeding problems compared to any other residential streets. Several traffic calming tools were shared at the meeting, and neighbors were given the task to identify which tools would be most effective.

You can read about the neighborhood traffic calming tools at this link.

Mr. Hagerty has collected input from the meeting attendees and is working on the preliminary recommendation. We will have a follow up meeting to decide which traffic calming tools should be applied.

Bresslyn Rd/Charlotte Pike/I-40 Intersection

Also, the danger of making a left turn from Charlotte Pk westbound to Bresslyn Rd was brought up at the meeting. I have been asking Public Works since last fall to coordinate with TDOT to improve the dangerous intersection and suggested several ideas shared by the community. Mr. Hagerty followed up immediately after the traffic calming meeting and was able to coordinate a safety plan with TDOT and Public Works.

TDOT will restrict left turns from Charlotte Pk onto Bresslyn Rd as well as restricting U-turns on Charlotte Pk at the I-40 westbound ramps. Public Works will place signage to encourage vehicles to access Old Charlotte Pike at the intersection near Nashville West Target.

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hubNashville is a comprehensive customer service system, that makes it easier for people to connect with Metro representatives in order to make service requests, ask questions, and share feedback. 

Connect to hubNashville by calling 311 or online at hub.nashville.gov

5101 Sidewalk variance hearing at BZA

On April 18th, I attended the BZA hearing on a sidewalk variance request for 5101 Harding Pk. The applicant was seeking a variance to not construct sidewalks. I thought the request was unacceptable considering the applicant plans to build a Dunkin Donuts store with drive through; and I knew many of you felt the same way.

Planning Staff recommended an alternative design similar to the previously approved 5115 Harding Pk sidewalk. I worked with the applicant to further tweak the alternative plan for this project.

#1. The clogged stormwater drain will be cleaned and a sidewalk will be installed in the most appropriate location according to Public Works' standards.

#2. Unfortunately, an existing sign post will remain, and the sidewalk will have to curb around it.

#3. An additional sidewalk will be installed on Leak Av.

You can watch the BZA meeting at this link.

Lightning Alert System

Harding Academy has installed an Outdoor Lightning Detection Alert System on their athletic fields at Harding Pk.

The system will be activated and the horn will sound for 15 seconds if lightning is detected within 8 miles of the fields. A strobe light will come on until there are no longer any lightning strikes within 8 miles. When there are no longer any lightning strikes within 8 miles, the horn will sound 3 times and the strobe light will stop to indicate it is safe to return outside.

Mayor's FY2020 Budget

Mayor Briley announced his FY 2020 Budget proposal. You can see the presentation here.

The FY 2020 recommended budget for Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County is $2,331,618,000. This is a 4.55% increase over FY 2019, which ends June 30, 2019.

The FY 2020 budget documents can be found in the Finance section of Metro’s website on Citizens' Guide to the Metro Budget page.

At a quick glance of the budget presentation, I can see that we are facing two major challenges. One is the  MNPS Operating Budget. MNPS has requested a $76.7 million increase from FY 2019. The proposed FY2020 Budget includes a $28.2 million increase. Where can we find the additional $48.5 million in order to fully fund the MNPS' request?

Another challenge is the non-recurring revenue budgeted for GSD Debt Service. The up-front $30 million parking concession payments and the $11.5 million District Energy System are allocated for GSD Debt Service. Councilmembers have not been provided any details of either deal. What will the GSD Debt Service Fund balance be if Council rejects those deals?

You can watch Mayoral Budget Hearings at Metro 3 YouTube Channel and keep up future Metro Council Operating Budget Hearings here.

Hillwood High School

MNPS conducted a Public Meeting on March 7 to present the design for the replacement facility for Hillwood High School. The slides from the presentation can be found here. You can see the virtual tour of the facility at this link.

Future development information can be found at MNPS Facility Planning & Construction site.

The current Hillwood High School will remain open until the new facility is completed. The Capital Spending Plan to fund the construction will not be submitted from the Mayor's office to Council until October or later.

The future use of the current Hillwood High School site will be decided by MNPS and School Board Members. I have requested to repurpose the Hillwood High School building and athletic field for use as park, library, and community center in case MNPS decides not to utilize it for a school purpose. The repurpose request was recorded in the Capital Improvement Budget under CIB requests 19DS0140; and it will stay in CIB unless removed by next Council.

Metro Emergency Alert & Notification System (MEANS)

The Metro Emergency Alert & Notification System (MEANS) is a county-wide emergency alert system that will let you know what to do to keep yourself and your family safe in an emergency. MEANS is different from existing public alert methods because the service allows you to sign up for the alerts you want, the way you want – a phone call to your cell phone or landline, and text to your cell phone, an email, or a message to your TTY device. There’s also a mobile app to download from the iOS App Store or Google Play, from our partner Everbridge.

Once you register at MEANS.Nashville.gov and provide an address or addresses, alerts are focused on the locations that matter to you – this could be your home, your workplace, your daycare or a local park where you walk your dog each morning.

As always, I welcome your input. Please feel free to call me or e-mail me with any suggestions or questions.