Gaylord To Sell Hotel Brand To Marriott For $210M

NEWSCHANNEL5.com
Posted: May 31, 2012 8:18 AM CDT
Updated: May 31, 2012 10:18 AM CDT

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/NewsChannel 5) - Gaylord Entertainment said it has agreed to sell its hotel brand and the rights to manage its four hotels to Marriott for $210 million in cash.

Under the agreement, Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Co. will continue to own its hotel properties and other businesses.

Terms of the 35-year deal will require Marriott to manage the four Gaylord hotels, including the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, under the Gaylord Hotels flag.

Gaylord will reorganize as a real estate investment trust effective January 1.

The deal stems from Gaylord's months-long review of strategic options. Its shares climbed 13 percent in premarket trading to $39 per share.

Gaylord said Marriott International Inc.'s presence in the hotel industry will help it cut costs and boost revenue. Annual savings are expected to total between $33 million and $40 million.

Gaylord CEO Colin Reed said that an "inefficiency of cost structure" led them to the decision. He said it is part of a plan to avoid a takeover and maintain their reputation.

Reed said Gaylord, as a Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT, would look for additional opportunities for investment.

Gaylord said it will continue to own and operate the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium and other attractions as taxable real estate investment trust subsidiaries.

The company said it will no longer view large scale development as a means for growth and will not proceed with a project in Colorado. They plan to re-examine how it could be completed with minimal financial commitment by Gaylord during the development phase.

The other Gaylord properties are located in Grapevine, Texas; Kissimmee, Florida; and Prince George's County, Maryland.

(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)

Pat Summitt awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom at White House

Posted: May 29, 2012 3:57 PM CDT
WKRN Channel 2 News

Posted: May 29, 2012 3:57 PM CDT

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WATE) - University of Tennessee women's basketball head coach emeritus Pat Summitt received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Tuesday in a White House ceremony.

President Barack Obama presented the awards, the nation's highest civilian honor.

The Medal of Freedom honors individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

"Everybody on this stage has marked my life in profound ways, and I was telling somebody like Pat Summitt, you know, when I think about my two daughters who are tall and gifted, and knowing that because of folks like Coach Summitt they're standing up straight and diving after loose balls and feeling confident and strong, then I understand that the impact of the people getting these awards extends beyond me," President Obama said during the ceremony.

Also honored at the ceremony in person were:

• former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
• civil rights leader and Assistant Attorney General John Doar
• singer/songwriter Bob Dylan
• physician and epidemiologist William Foege
• astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn
• civil and women's advocate Dolores Huerta
• author Toni Morrison
• Israeli President Shimon Peres
• retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

Three people were honored posthumously:

• Polish Underground leader Jan Karski, who exposed Nazi atrocities during World War II
• Gordon Hirabayashi, who openly defied the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
• Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts

Davidson property owners should check appraisals soon - June 15 deadline to appeal

Davidson property owners should check appraisals soon

http://www.nashville.gov/assessor/index.asp

Members of the Metro Council are being inundated with calls, letters and emails from citizens with varying thoughts on Mayor Karl Dean’s proposed increase in property taxes. As the Metro Council studies and conducts our own budget hearings with various Metro department directors, a very important, yet easy to overlook deadline looms that potentially affects every resident of Davidson County.

Davidson County Property Assessor George Rooker is currently mailing out notices of classification, appraised value and assessed value to every property owner in Davidson County. Every property owner would be well advised to review this simple form and verify its accuracy. This document is the basis for the amount that you will pay in property taxes this year once the rate is established by the Metro Council.
There are two significant areas each resident should check on this notification:

First, verify that your property (or properties) is classified correctly — residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, etc. This is especially true if your property has changed usage. For example, you may have converted a rental duplex into your personal single-family residence.

Second, and most importantly, verify that the appraised value of your property is accurate based on the data available to the property assessor. Using information readily available online at the nashville.gov/assessor webpage, you can see information including:

• Size of property and square footage of building(s) on property, including number of rooms, baths, etc.

• Historical appraisals for your property.

• Sales of comparable property located in and around your location.

Many of the messages that Metro Council members are receiving have claims that “my taxes are too high — my property isn’t worth what it was previously.” If this statement is true, property owners have between now and June 15 to schedule an appeal of their property value and present evidence of why the value is incorrect.

I cannot stress enough that for the assessor to adjust your appraised property value, owners have ONLY until June 15 to schedule your appeal.

From a personal experience several years ago, I found the process to be fair and easy to navigate. Using data gathered from the property assessor’s own webpage showing evidence of sales of homes nearby, I calculated average neighborhood selling price per square foot and asked that my home appraisal be adjusted to this neighborhood average.

The hearing officer took my information and determined that my data were reasonable. The entire process from scheduling my appeal time, researching the comparisons, compiling my data and completing the process took only a couple of hours and saved me several hundred dollars annually in taxes!

It is the responsibility of the property owner to correct mistakes and justify the value of your property if overstated in value. The property assessor’s office is at 700 Second Ave. S., Suite 210, and is open daily 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Staff will be available to assist citizens with their needs. The phone number is 862-6080.

Please: Don’t pay more in property taxes than your fair share.
Information contributed by Councilman Charlie Tygard The Tennessean

Reminder: District 29 Cleanup Saturday June 2, 2012 Compton's Parking Lot off Smith Springs Road

Mama' Tune, taught for 50 years in Antioch schools and who cooked for generations for everyone in our community dies at 91

Mama' Tune, who cooked for generations of Nashville politicians, dies at 91

Longtime teacher served up meals for mayors, lawmakers

Martha 'Mama' Tune talks in 2002 about her high school days at Antioch, where she played basketball and was a cheerleader. The political fixture died Wednesday. / File / the Tennessean

Martha “Mama” Tune, a retired schoolteacher known for the Election Day meals sh

Martha “Mama” Tune, a retired schoolteacher known for the Election Day meals she prepared for generations of Nashville politicians, died Wednesday. She was 91.

 

The Tune House was one of Nashville’s smallest voting precincts for over 30 years. While voters would cast their ballots in the modest country store structure next to the home, Mama Tune would cook famous meals for mayors, members of Congress, Metro council members, judges and government officials.

 

Mrs. Tune was an avid collector of political memorabilia, and the walls in her home were strewn with photos of her and city leaders.

 

“Mama Tune’s passing is Nashville’s loss and heaven’s gain. From her tireless work at the polls and in schools, to her famous cooking, she left an indelible mark on our city,” U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper said.

Before she became a political fixture, Mrs. Tune was a wife, mother and educator. She enjoyed a 50-year career as a teacher in the public school system. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Tune. She is survived by her sons Buford and Sam, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Tune’s funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Woodbine Funeral Home, 5852 Nolensville Road. Cooper, Metro Councilman Robert Duvall, Davidson County Trustee Charlie Cardwell and former administrator of elections Ray Barrett are among her pallbearers.

“If you had Election Day, everybody went to Mama Tune’s for lunch,” Duvall said. “I sat beside congressmen, mayors, ex-mayors. It was a wonderful, wonderful atmosphere. Everyone put party politics aside and ate dinner together, and enjoyed each other and talked about old times.”

Contact Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 or nrau@tennessean.com

Online Obituary

TUNE, Martha Ezell "Mama"Age 91 of Hermitage, TN. May 23, 2012. Preceded in death by husband, James F. Tune. Mrs. Tune retired as a Metro School Teacher after 50 years of service, and was active in Antioch High School activities. Her house was used by Metro Government as a Voting Precinct for over 30 years. She entertained and fed hundreds on Election Day. The family would like to thank the staff at McKendree Village & Alive Hospice for their loving care & concern. Survived by sons, Buford (Judy) Tune & Sam (Mary) Tune; grandchildren, Jesse Tune, Chris Tune & Stacey Tune; great grandchildren, Nicholas Davenport & Landen Holt. Funeral services will be conducted Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 11 a.m. at Woodbine Funeral Home, HICKORY CHAPEL, 5852 Nolensville Road, by Wendell Byrd. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery. Active Pallbearers: Wayne Bayless, G.G. Mullins, Harry Paul Tune, Councilman Robert Duvall, Congressman Jim Cooper, Charlie Cardwell & Ray Barrett. Visitation Friday 4-8 p.m. at WOODBINE FUNERAL HOME, HICKORY CHAPEL Directors, (615) 331-1952. Still Family Owned.
http://sbkarenyjohnson.blogspot.com/2008/02/mama-tune-recognized-by-mayor-karl-dean.html

Mark your Calendar for the Following Upcoming Meetings

Saturday, June 2, 2012 District 29 Community Wide Cleanup - Compton’s Foodland Parking Lot from 9:00 a.m. until 12 Noon with a cookout to follow. 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. signs will be removed at main intersections and roadways. Trash from main roadways and intersections will be removed from 6:00 a.m. until 12 Noon. Free T-Shirts, food, water and gloves will be at the Compton's Foodland Parking Lot Location beginning at 8:00 a.m. Goodwill, Shred-It, and Dumpsters will be stationed at the Compton's Foodland Parking Lot location beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Public Hearing - Metro Council Meeting on Proposed Budget, 6:30 p.m. at the Metro Council Meeting, Historic Courthouse Downtown, One Public Square. This is the only time the public will be able to address the Metro Council.

Monday, June 11, 2012 District 29 Community Meeting - Proposed Budget with Tax Levy, 6:30 p.m. Una Church of Christ, 1917 Old Murfreesboro Pike.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Final Reading - Proposed Budget with Tax Levy 6:30 p.m. at the Metro Council Meeting, Historic Courthouse Downtown, One Public Square.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - If necessary, Final Reading on Proposed Budget with Tax Levy 6:30 p.m. at the Metro Council Meeting, Historic Courthouse Downtown, One Public Square.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012 Antioch/Priest Lake Sub Area 13 Plan Meeting - Share Draft on Policy Recommendations and Implementation, 6:00 p.m. Lakeshore Christian Church, 5434 Belle Forge Lane East, Hickory Hollow (former Media Play Building)

Community Meetigs for New Libraray

Information on Robo Call to Community on Nashboro Undeveloped Parcels in District 29

Thank you for visiting our District 29 Blog. Also thank you to everyone who attended and requested that this call be made district wide at our meeting this past Monday. 

Please join me and leaders of the Nashboro Steering Committee tomorrow Thursday, May 24 at 4:00 pm at the Metro Planning Commission Meeting located at the Howard Office Building Auditorium, 700 2nd Avenue South. 

Your presence is needed to help our community to proactively improve our areas quality of life. I hope you will make every effort to attend so that our community has a strong presence at tomorrow's meeting. 

Thank you.
Click on the link below to listen to the call made today.http://www.mediafire.com/file/2c9f87mpqxf29c9/Johnson_5.23.12_(1).mp3

Metro renters will pay more with property tax increase

WKRN NEWS Channel 2
Posted: May 22, 2012 2:00 PM CDT

Reported By Tiani Jones, Reporter - bio | email

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

A property tax increase proposed earlier this month by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean would also affect the city's renters.

According to the Greater Nashville Apartment Association, if the mayor's 53-cent tax increase is approved, Nashville renters could see an increase of $14 a month based on the average rent paid in Davidson County.

The increase would be significantly more for those paying greater than $645 a month and for those living in large commercial apartment complexes.

GNAA says a property tax increase could cause a domino effect as landlords look to cut cost in property care and services offered to renters.

Mayor Dean's increase would raise the property tax rate to $4.66 per $100 of assessed value, generating approximately $100 million a year for the city.

The impact on the average homeowner would be about $16 a month, or $192 a year, using the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors' median home price of $145,400.

The mayor said his proposal and budget of $171 billion moves the city forward by investing in schools and public safety.

The Metro Council must approve a city budget by the end of June.

Police search for Burger King robber

WKRN Channel 2 News
Posted: May 21, 2012
7:48 AM CDT

ANTIOCH, Tenn. -

Police are looking for a man who allegedly robbed a Burger King in Antioch Monday morning.
The incident happened around 6:45 a.m. on Hickory Hollow Parkway off of Bell Road.
Witnesses described the robber as a white male in his mid-30s to mid-40s with blonde hair and blue eyes.
They said he drove off on Hickory Hollow Parkway in the direction of Murfreesboro or Smyrna.

There was one customer and five employees in the restaurant at the time of the robbery.
Police said he brandished a weapon that was possibly a semi-automatic or an air pistol.
Police are looking for a red or purple four-door Nissan. They said witnesses recorded a partial license plate number.
Police are in the process of obtaining video surveillance at the restaurant.

The investigation is ongoing.

REMINDER TONIGHT Monday May 21 is the Community Meeting regarding the Nashboro Undeveloped Parcels

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED. PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND SO THAT WE CAN PROACTIVELY ADDRESS APPROVED LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENT THAT IMPACTS OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.

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Below is a link to the crime reference sheet that was distributed at our most recent community meetings as requested. Thank you for your positive feedback and please share with your neighbors.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Hy0ONzShrzdkMzYld6UTNEekU


Below is a link to the infrastructure improvement feedback form as requested. Thank you for participating.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHliOHo1Ym1FQzQ3SXhaRXNTZXpMT1E6MQ#gid=0

Save the Date - Saturday, June 2, 2012 District 29 Community Wide Cleanup, Comptons Foodland Parking Lot from 9 am until 12 noon with a cookout to follow. 6 am until 9 am signs will be removed at main intersections and roadways. Trash from main roadways and intersections will be removed from 6 am until 12 noon. Free T-Shirts, food, water, gloves, trash bags and supplies will be a the Compton's Foodland Parking Lot beginning at 8 am. Goodwill, Shred-It and Dumpsters will be stationed at the Compton's Foodland Parking Lot location beginning at 9 am. For more information, please contact District 29 Metropolitan Government's Beautification Commissioner Karen VanCleave telephone 399-1550, email bubbavan@comcast.net
http://www.nashville.gov/pw/boards/beautification.asp








 

200 Nashville police officers may lose jobs if Dean's budget proposal fails

City has to fund officers or repay grant money

12:56 AM, May. 17, 2012 

Written by Brian Haas The Tennessean

Mayor Karl Dean warns that he may have to lay off 200 police officers if his proposed budget and tax increase fail to pass.

His $1.71 billion budget proposal, which would be funded partly by the first property tax increase in years, includes $6.3 million in increases dedicated solely to public safety. The increase would fund a new police DNA forensics lab and 50 police officers hired under a federal policing grant. Dean says if those officers aren’t funded, the city would lose not only those 50 officers, but also an additional 150 who would have to be laid off so the city could repay the grant money.

“We have been able to make, I think, tremendous progress in public safety and now is not the time to back off,” Dean said Wednesday. “We’d be foolish not to fund the fourth year. That would be a dramatic reduction for public safety in Nashville.”

But critics say that Metro government should look to cut elsewhere.

“I would want to allocate resources from other areas to make sure that department was made whole,” said Metro Councilman Robert Duvall. He’s not sure where the money would come from but is certain other departments could absorb the cuts.

Grant obligations

Three years ago, Metro government received nearly $8 million to hire 50 police officers through a program known as the COPS grant. The grant is designed to grow police departments by adding new officers and paying for the first three years of their employment. But the offer comes with a catch: The department has to continue funding those officers once the grant runs out or risk having to repay it back to the federal government.

Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson said the additional federal money allowed the department to open its Madison Precinct earlier this year, reduce the size of the North Precinct and better serve both areas.

“That’s the key to driving crime down, to keeping this community safe,” Anderson said.

He said that without the funding, those 50 officers would lose their jobs and 150 more might have to be laid off to cover the $8 million or so the department could be forced to repay for not meeting the obligations of the COPS grant.

That $3.6 million string attached to the grant is why Duvall opposed taking the money three years ago. He said he wasn’t opposed to adding more officers, he just wanted them fully funded by the city ahead of time.

“The question I had was, will we, three years from now, be able to pay for it?” Duvall said. “I said if you pass it, in three years you may have to lay them off because I’m going to fight you every step of the way.”

Duvall said he doesn’t want to lay any officers off and the money can be found in other departments instead of taxpayers’ pockets.

An additional $1 million would go to pay for the first 6 months of a police DNA lab, including equipment and 17 scientists. Police now rely on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for DNA results, which can take weeks to months for results and often only involve the processing of evidence in violent crimes.

Anderson said having the lab in-house would allow the department to add to the list of crimes where DNA is processed, namely property crimes such as burglary, which have plagued the city in recent years. And, results could come back as quickly as 48 hours.

“The future is here,” Anderson said. “If we wait too many more years, then the future will have left us behind.”

Duvall said he needs to hear more about the DNA lab before he weighs in on it, but he wondered if it could be put off until the city could pay for it without a tax increase.

“Conceptually, I don’t struggle with it,” he said. “But what do we have right now? Can it hold us through this cycle?”

Dean said he doesn’t expect any significant opposition to his public safety plan.

“This is the one I think is the easiest to understand and the clearest,” he said of his budget requests.
Duvall may have other ideas. “I think it’s going to be an interesting process,” he said.

Tygard wants residency rule for new Metro employees

Written by Michael Cass and Brian Wilson   The Tennessean

A Metro councilman said he plans to introduce legislation requiring anyone hired by Metro government after a certain date to live inside Nashville and Davidson County.

Councilman Charlie Tygard said the idea, which has been debated before, is relevant again as Mayor Karl Dean and the council discuss a 53-cent property tax increase that would result in 4 percent pay increases for most city workers.

“If you’re asking for raises and you want support, we want you to be a resident of this county,” he said Wednesday.

Data compiled by the council office for Tygard — who distributed it to the rest of the council last week — showed that nearly 55 percent of Metro firefighters live in other counties. More than 46 percent of sheriff’s office employees live elsewhere, the numbers showed.

Tygard said he wouldn’t try to force current employees to move into the city. Metro used to require all employees to be residents, but it dropped that requirement in the mid-1990s in what Tygard, now an at-large council member, described as a “contentious debate” driven by employee unions.

Sgt. Robert O. Weaver, president of the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police, said his union believes “people choose to live where they live for a variety of their own reasons.”

“We believe that it’s beneficial to have an adequate pool of candidates,” Weaver said. “The more limited you have a pool, the smaller it is. If you have a larger pool, you open yourself up to the best candidates.”

The council considered legislation in 2009 that would have forced new employees to live in the city. Critics of the plan, proposed by former Councilman Eric Crafton, said it would shrink the government’s recruiting pool, create confusion and take away simple freedoms.

“I just don’t think it’s right that Metro employees should be bound to the land like Russian serfs,” former Councilman Randy Foster said at the time.

But Tygard said he thinks a new council is ready to revisit the issue and that a lack of good candidates for jobs isn’t an issue nowadays.

Tygard said his bill is ready to be filed next week and should be up for the first of three required votes June 5. He said fellow at-large Councilman Jerry Maynard is expected to co-sponsor it, and he thinks other members will sign on as well.

Reminder Today Last Meeting before Implementation Phase begins for Antioch Priest Lake Sub Area 13 Plan - Tonight Open Space and Housing

Reminder Tonight is the last of the scheduled community meetings to gather input for our 8 year Plan that the Mayor and Planning will refer to for capital projects, improvements, zoning and land use. Please make your voice heard. If you are unable to make it tonight, you can place your comments under the following categories and email them to Antioch.Comments@nashville.gov

Meeting tonight - Housing and Open Space with Metro Planning
Time - 6 pm - 8 pm
Where - Lakeshore Christian Church, 5434 Belle Forge Lane East, Hickory Hollow (Old Media Play Building by the post office)

http://nashville.gov/mpc/docs/subarea13/120405/ParksAndOpenSpaces.pdf

PARKS AND OPEN SPACE
How do you use Parks and Open Space in your community?
What Parks and Community Space is needed in the community in the future?

HOUSING AND BUSINESS
What types of housing are needed in your community in the future?
What types of shopping opportunities and/or new businesses are needed in your community

in the future and what should they look like?
TRANSPORTATION
What transportation improvements would you like to see in the community?
How would you like to travel in the community in the future?
HICKORY HOLLOW MALL AND MURFREESBORO ROAD RETAIL AREAS

How would you like to see the mall area re-develop? What is your wish list?

(More shopping opportunities, employment in the area, recreational opportunities, community facilities, etc.)
How do you see the Murfreesboro Road corridor changing in the future? ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RETAIL CENTERS
Where do you work and how many minutes does it take to get there?
During the week, where do you typically shop, make any type of retail purchase, or run errands?
On the weekend, where do you typically shop or make any kind of retail purchase, or run errands?http://nashville.gov/mpc/docs/subarea13/120419/CommentsSummary.pdf
VIDEO FROM MAY 3RD Transportation Meeting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JA80sBAILU8
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Below is a link to the crime reference sheet that was distributed at our most recent community meetings as requested. Thank you for your positive feedback and please share with your neighbors. 


https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Hy0ONzShrzdkMzYld6UTNEekU


Below is a link to the infrastructure improvement feedback form as requested. Thank you for participating.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHliOHo1Ym1FQzQ3SXhaRXNTZXpMT1E6MQ#gid=0


Save the Date - District Wide Cleanup Saturday June 2, 2012, Compton's Foodland Parking Lot 8:00 am until 12 Noon with a cookout to follow. Shred-it, Goodwill, Dumpsters will be available. More information will be shared in upcoming newsletters.

http://www.facebook.com/NashvilleDistrict29Community
Posted by Dean McIntyre
Nashboro Woods Annual Community Yard Sale: Saturday, May 19, 2012, 8AM-3PM (Rain date: Saturday, May 26). Advertising in The Tennessean and Craig's List.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - DISTRICT 29'S SICILY PIZZA REOPENS TONIGHT

PLEASE JOIN EVERYONE AND HAVE DINNER AT ONE OF OUR AREA'S FAVORITE RESTAURANTS. The opening will be at 4:00 PM and they are located at the Nashboro Shopping Plaza. 

Please like their facebook page for more information. 

See you there!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sicily-Pizza/453111848036835

Add caption

Re: Nashboro Steering Committee Sets Community Meeting for Nashboro Undeveloped Parcels

Below is a link to the crime reference sheet that was distributed at our most recent community meetings as requested. Thank you for your positive feedback and please share with your neighbors. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Hy0ONzShrzdkMzYld6UTNEekU

Below is a link to the infrastructure improvement feedback form as requested. Thank you for participating. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHliOHo1Ym1FQzQ3SXhaRXNTZXpMT1E6MQ#gid=0

Save the Date - District Wide Cleanup Saturday June 2, 2012. More information will be shared in upcoming newsletters.

Plan will be a lift for Antioch

Community gets involved for positive change
7:11 PM, May. 10, 2012 
Written by Derrick Dalton
Tennesean

“We moved here six years ago, and we knew that this was the up and coming place. It’s like what East Nashville was 10 years ago.”

An Antioch resident made that comment at one of the Planning Department’s public meetings earlier this month, describing how she had come here from California and deliberately settled in an area that had great potential for growth and positive change.

And she’s not alone in feeling that way about Antioch. When I talk to other parents during school activities there, or to other fathers at the barbershop while our sons are getting their weekly haircuts, it’s obvious that many of us believe Antioch can still be an economically viable community. There are some challenges, no question. Major retail businesses have been leaving the area, and there’s widespread concern about crime and safety, even though Metro Police Department statistics for the 37013 ZIP code show overall major crime is down nearly 15 percent in the first four months of this year compared to 2011.

Antioch residents have been sharing their thoughts about those and other issues at a series of Planning Department public meetings as our planners work to update the Antioch/Priest Lake Community Plan, which guides growth and development in an area bounded roughly by Interstates 40 and 24, Harding Place and the county line.

Listening to the community is always the first step; then, planners draft an update, get more public comments, and finally take it to the Planning Commission for approval. That process will continue through this summer and into the fall; the next public meeting is May 17 from 6-8 p.m. at Lakeshore Christian Church, 5434 Bell Forge Lane E.

We encourage everyone with an interest in Antioch’s future to join us and be heard. Online surveys and other opportunities for feedback are linked on the Planning Department’s webpage at www.nashville.gov/mpc.

So far, residents and business owners tell us that they’re optimistic about a better future for Antioch, one that includes less crowded streets, better housing, more sidewalks, more local jobs (95.5 percent of working-age residents are employed, compared to 92 percent countywide, but many of them hold jobs outside Antioch), places for young people to gather and — probably the one we have heard most — a return of strong and varied retail options to Antioch’s economic scene.

Improvements are already under way, including a Metro library and community center at Hickory Hollow Mall, along with a branch campus of Nashville State Community College.

Antioch is actually in better shape than most of us realize, and the updated Community Plan, based on the thoughts and needs of the people who actually live, work, do business, and go to school there, will provide guidance for an even stronger future.

Booming Antioch looks to beat bad rap, create new identity

9:19 AM, May. 11, 2012 
Written by Bobby Allyn
The Tennessean @tnbiz

LINK
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120511/BUSINESS01/305110028/Booming-Antioch-looks-beat-bad-rap-create-new-identity

Mayor Karl Dean pushes his first property-tax raise in two terms — and some are pushing back

Take a Hike?

Nashville Scene
by Steven Hale@iamstevenhale

When Nashville Mayor Karl Dean proposed the city's first property tax increase in seven years in his May 1 State of Metro address, his hardest work still lay ahead. In these economic times, a tax hike is a tough sell, and Dean didn't waste any time before making the pitch.

In his first term, Dean cut $59.2 million out of the city's operating budget and decreased the Metro workforce by 688 employees. Now he is arguing that by picking up this political grenade, he, not those who would cut the budget further, is the one making the "tough decision" so often called for in times of economic distress.

Since the address, he's put on the full-court press, sending out an email urging citizens to call their Metro Council members in support of the proposal and sitting down for interviews with various local media outlets.

"We're at a point now, if we cut further — and we are actually eliminating $3 million from operating budgets — to the level you would need to cut and not have a tax increase, you would be talking about cuts that would definitely go into muscle," he said in a meeting last week with staffers from the Scene and The City Paper. "We'd have to lay off 200 police officers, 200 firefighters, 200 teachers, close all the branch libraries, close all of the community centers. And you still wouldn't be there."

Dean is proposing a 53-cent increase for residents in Davidson County's Urban Services District — the more densely populated inner core, where more services are available — and, after a recent change, a 48-cent increase for those in the General Services District, the suburban areas where fewer Metro services are available. (The 53-cent hike to the city's $4.13 tax rate is an overall rise of 12.83 percent.) The proposals are just below the figures that would have triggered a public referendum on the issue.

But there have still been signs of pushback from the public. In a Twitter post last week, Councilwoman Emily Evans said she had received "a gazillion more emails" from people opposed to the tax increase and upset that Dean had asked them to contact council members. The Nashville Tea Party has called a meeting this Thursday, May 10, to rally members against the proposal.
And now Dean must win over a young council, which includes only five members who have ever voted on a property tax change. Three more are running as Democrats for seats in the deep-red state legislature, and may reasonably worry about the political consequences of supporting a tax increase. Dean's premise is that a tax increase is, by far, the lesser of two evils — the greater of which simply can't be tolerated. But while he says it's really true this time, there are those who won't hear a bar of that ditty.

"Every property tax increase you get is either for the children, or we're going to cut police or we're going to close your parks — we're going to make it hurt," says Councilman Robert Duvall, who is running for a state seat as a Republican. "So everyone that's afraid they'll really do that shakes in their shoes and goes ahead and goes along with it rather than face the reality."

Councilman Charlie Tygard, who has survived property-tax debates under previous mayoral administrations, says he's not committed one way or the other but is "skeptical at this stage." He explains it's hard to know the council's temperature on the proposal right now, as it should be.
"I'm trying to tell folks that most reasonable, rational, thoughtful council members have not taken a position one way or another and will not until the council goes through its deliberations and talks to department heads," Tygard tells the Scene. "Certainly the mayor is meeting with individual council members one on one and is very committed from his standpoint.

"There's a lot of work to be done. We're just in the first quarter of a situation that, in many cases, takes overtime to decide."

Steering Committee Formed To Work On Undeveloped Nashboro Parcels

The first meeting of the Steering Committee for the Undeveloped Nashboro Parcels will take place on tomorrow, Tuesday, May 8 @ 6:30 pm in Fairway Villas. Joining the steering committee will be former councilman and attorney John Summers, former councilman and attorney Sam Coleman and current councilman and architect Fabian Bedne. 

Minutes of the meeting from last week held at the Nashboro Golf Clubhouse are available thanks to Attorney Alma Sanford. Please contact me if you are interested in receiving a copy. I will not be posting these on our blog, twitter, facebook pages to the general public during this two week period as we are planning for our presentation to the Metro Planning Commission.

SAVE THE DATE - to join the steering committee at the Metro Planning Commission meeting Thursday, May 24 at 4:00 pm, 700 Second Avenue South (Howard Office Building). We Need Your Support! Please Help as we need to have a strong showing from our community. 
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Below is a link to the crime reference sheet that was distributed at our most recent community meetings as requested. Thank you for your positive feedback and please share with your neighbors.  https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Hy0ONzShrzdkMzYld6UTNEekU


Below is a link to the infrastructure improvement feedback form as requested. Thank you for participating. 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHliOHo1Ym1FQzQ3SXhaRXNTZXpMT1E6MQ#gid=0

Save the Date - another community meeting is being scheduled as requested by everyone in attendance at last weeks meeting at the Nashboro Golf Clubhouse for Monday, May 14 at 6:30 pm. The location will be decided by the steering committee and additional details will be emailed soon. Thank you.

Goodwill hosts week-long job fair

Posted: May 07, 2012 7:57 AM CDT

Reported By Heather Jensen, Reporter - bio | email

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Goodwill Industries is hosting a week-long hiring blitz in north Nashville starting Monday to help decrease the high number of unemployed Tennessee residents.

Goodwill Week begins May 7 with a job fair at the main Career Solutions Center in Nashville at 937 Herman Street.
Over 30 employers will be on site during the four hour fair starting at 10 a.m.

Goodwill is expecting hundreds of job seekers at the fair and those attending should come prepared with resumes, a photo ID, and a Social Security card or birth certificate.
Job candidates are also encouraged to dress for success as many companies will be conducting on-site interviews.

Recently released data shows a high number of Tennesseans are unemployed. In March, unemployment numbers were down to an average of 7.9 percent statewide. Some counties were double that rate.
The problem is not just in the Mid-state, numbers also show states across the nation with high unemployment rates.
On Friday, national unemployment rates were released. The rate dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 percent in April. Analysts said the drop occurred because people gave up looking for work.
The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively looking for work. Only 115,000 jobs were added, well below what was expected.

Goodwill Industries is hoping to help people who don't have jobs to find them.
Betty Johnson with Goodwill Industries explained that the week has multiple events to help job seekers succeed.

"We've got workshops going on, how to create your resume, how to dress for success, how to know how to interact with the people at the job fair."
She continued, "People need to be trained on how to be successful at a job fair. And we're not just doing that here, we're doing that throughout middle Tennessee at many of our 17 career centers outside of this center right here in downtown."
The job fair runs May 7 through May 11 throughout Tennessee.

For a full list of job fair locations, events, and other information, visit the company's Web site

Southeast Nashville was the KAB (National Keep America Beautiful) Great American Cleanup site for 2012 and the kickoff was held at Hickory Hollow Mall. From the kickoff, volunteers caravanned to our assigned beautification site (Lakeview Elementary School) led by District 29's Metro Beautification Commissioner Karen VanCleave.

Posted below are pictures. Before pictures can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.283148125112168.65336.248278631932451&type=1

Thank you to all who participated and helped to make a difference in our community.

===================================================================================== Below is a link to the crime reference sheet that was distributed at our most recent community meetings as requested.

Thank you for your positive feedback and please share with your neighbors.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Hy0ONzShrzdkMzYld6UTNEekU


Below is a link to the infrastructure improvement feedback form as requested. Thank you for participating.

  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHliOHo1Ym1FQzQ3SXhaRXNTZXpMT1E6MQ#gid=0


A community meeting is being scheduled regarding the tax increase proposal. Also a neighborhood watch/leader meeting with the Hermitage Precinct is being scheduled. When these are confirmed, they will be emailed. Thank you.

Political Notebook: Property tax hike in Nashville would be fifth in 15 years

The 53-cent property tax increase proposed last week by Mayor Karl Dean would be Nashville’s first in seven years, but it would be the fifth in the past 15.

In 1997, then-Mayor Phil Bredesen requested a 73-cent tax increase, which the Metro Council ultimately pared back to 54 cents per $100 of assessed value. The council vote was 29-9 in favor.

A year later, Bredesen was back with another request — which the council granted by a 27-13 vote — for a 12-cent increase to pay for a $206 million school desegregation plan.

(The council also agreed, 32-5, to a 74-cent tax increase in 1993, during Bredesen’s first term as mayor. He had requested 77 cents.)

Bill Purcell, who succeeded Bredesen as mayor in 1999, proposed and won approval for a tax increase in each of his two terms. The first, in 2001, raised the tax rate by 88 cents. The council approved it 38-2.

Four years later, Purcell proposed an 84-cent tax hike, adjusted the request to 80 cents and saw the council agree to 67 cents on a 26-11 vote. The city has not raised property taxes since then.
With the exception of the 1998 tax hike for the desegregation plan, Bredesen’s and Purcell’s tax increases all came in the fiscal year after a countywide property reappraisal. Dean, who refrained from seeking an increase as the economic downturn clouded his first term, is now asking for one the year before a reappraisal, which could raise the tax rate even higher if the overall property tax base has lost value.

Dean said his proposal would raise $100 million in new revenue, offsetting some mandatory budget increases and allowing the city to do some new things, like hiring 100 new teachers and paying them $5,000 more than rookie teachers now get. He dropped the proposed tax increase in the General Services District to 48 cents after legal concerns arose following questions from The Tennessean and others.

— Michael Cass
Tennessean

Reminder Today Saturday May 5, 2012 Help Design the New Regional Recreational Community Ctr for old JC Penney's Bldg in HH Mall

Reminder: from neighboring Councilwoman Jacobia Dowell
Your input for our new Southeast Regional Recreational Community Center, outdoor Art for the Park to be located outside of the center and new Library is needed. Please join your neighbors and neighbors throughout Southeast Nashville from 9 am until 12 noon.
Where: Antioch Community Center across from Antioch Middle School, 5023 Blue Hole Road
Light Breakfast will be served

Reminder Brush Pickup for our Area Begins May 16, 2012

Metro Nashville Public Works will begin Brush and Leaf collections in "Area 4 " on May 16, 2012.

To ensure that your brush will be collected , you should have limbs and all other yard waste out and ready for pick-up on the date above. Place only limbs, branches and true yard waste by the curb for brush crews. Lumber, household trash and other types of debris found in your brush pile means it won’t get picked up. Brush piles should not be placed close to mailboxes, utility poles, fences, trees or other stationary objects. The mechanical arm of the knuckle boom truck needs enough room to lift the brush pile up and into the trailer pulled behind the truck. Only the driver travels with each truck; no other crew members are there to move piles or separate items that don’t belong in a brush pile.

Place leaves in biodegradable paper bags only; Paper biodegradable bags can be purchased at most hardware stores, Wal-Mart's, Target, Home Depot, etc. Public Works also has a supply of these bags available for purchase at the Omohundro Convenience Center: 5 bags for $3.00 and 10 bags for $6.00. Plastic bags will not be picked up.

2011-2012 Collection Dates

Please have your brush out for collection by the following dates:

May 16, 2012

You can review details for each route on the Metro Public Works Website by clicking on the below link: http://www.nashville.gov/pw/recycle/yard/brush.asp

Reminder Tonight Wednesday May 2 Meeting regarding Undeveloped Land Parcels in Nashboro Village

Discussion Tonight will be on the following:

Site 14: Currently Approved for 144 Multi Family Units in Two Six Story Buildings proposed Development

Site 15: Currently Approved for Commercial proposed Development

Site 25: Currently approved for a Five Story Building proposed development

Site 27: Currently approved for a day care center proposed development. Zoned Multi Family.

Nashville Shores to open this Saturday

Tennessean
11:34 AM, May. 1, 2012 

Nashville Shores will open its 15th season on Saturday with a Cinco de Mayo Celebration that will include live music, a car giveaway, ethnic food offerings and dance performances.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Nashville Shores will be open weekends only through May 25, and then will open daily for the 2012 summer season. The waterpark will be closed to the public Saturday, May 12, for a private event.Admission for both days this weekend is $19.99, a discount of $12. Nashville Shores is located at 4001 Bell Road in Hermitage. For information visit 889-4001.

Mayor Dean proposes to increase property taxes

Channel 4 News (WSMV)
Posted: May 01, 2012 5:36 AM CDT
Updated: May 01, 2012 11:03 AM CDT

Posted by Scott Sutton - email

 

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean unveiled his new budget Tuesday morning, which included a proposal for a 53-cent property tax increase to Davidson County residents.

At the annual State of Metro address, Dean said the property tax increase will raise $100 million in additional revenue. The proposal will raise the tax on a $145,000 home to $192 more a year. "As long as I'm mayor, I am going to do everything I can to grow our tax base and grow more jobs for our citizens. In my mind, it's a choice between doing what it takes to keep our city strong, or letting our city fall backward," said Dean.

Dean said he also wants to hire 100 new teachers and increase the salary of first year teachers to $40,000.

Also, the mayor said he would like to increase the salary of Metro employees by 4 percent.

Dean proposed using $300 million for school capital spending, including renovations to Stratford High School and the gym at Hume-Fogg High School.

"Even with this adjustment, the effective tax rate will still remain lower than it was when I took office," said Dean.

City leaders have been busy with budget hearings over the past month. Several departments said they need more money, including schools, police and fire.

Dean delivered his speech at the new Cumberland Park on the East Bank.

The mayor and the city's finance director will go over the entire spending proposal with the City Council this afternoon.

Nashboro Village residents upset over 73-unit housing development

WKRN Channel 2 News
Posted: Apr 30, 2012 10:27 PM CDT

By Tracee Tolentino, Reporter - bio | email

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

On Monday night, some Nashboro Village residents voiced their concerns over plans to build a new 73-unit complex.

Linda Hill told Nashville's New 2 she purchased her home in the Fairview Villas six months ago and it's a place she's happy to call home.

"I got an opportunity to own property there and I've been really excited," she said.

However, that excitement has turned to frustration for Hill and others in her neighborhood as plans to build 73 homes in a small area of Nashboro Golf and Tennis Community are moving forward.The homes will be developed by Woodbine Community Organization.

"We are going to continue with that build and build the 73 units," Woodbine Community Organization's executive Director Cathie Dodd told Nashville's News 2.

According to the organization's Web site, they provide "rental properties for low to moderate income families."

Rent for the upcoming 73 units would be subsidized for residents.

"Its income capped, so nobody over a family of three making $36,000, we wouldn't be able to rent to them," Dodd explained.

Monday night, residents had the opportunity to meet face to face with Dodd and other representatives working on the project.

Residents voiced many concerns about bringing in a large subsidized housing development into their community, including crime and property value.

"When you put 73 units, it's just like dropping a bomb into our neighborhood and you've got to be blind if you don't think, I know you know it's going to affect the economic value of property and whole community [value]. You know that you've got to know that," expressed Hill during the community meeting.

"All I can say is these units were approved probably before you bought yours and they've been there and it is what it is," was the response given to Hill by Woodbine representative, David Kleinfelter. Kleinfelter also explained, "If any one person knew if property values were going to go up or down, it's like betting the horses you would know everything."

However, another upset resident expressed, "You can't answer the low income housing questions, but I bet if it were put in your neighborhood you could but it is what it is."

Residents also had concerns about the narrow road leading up to the development and a potential parking problem.

That was one question the developers were able to answer.

"We have 158 on the site, we are required at least two spaces per unit, we meet that and have 16 additional," said Preston Quirk, with Quirk Designs.

Though some of the resident's questions were answered, many were still upset.

One said, "None of you live in our community and none of you really care about our community. You got up and began by saying, 'we're here as a courtesy to you.' You're right, you are doing your jobs, but we all live here."

No start date for construction on the project has been set.