Brush pick-up starts in BHN, Sunnyside, and 12th South on September 30, and in HWEN on October 7. Place your brush where your garbage is collected — at the curb if your trash is collected there or in the alley if you have alley trash collection. Do not stack brush against trees, fences, utility poles or other stationary objects because the crane on the truck can’t operate around those. Do not place brush, clippings and/or leaves where they can be washed into a storm sewer, catch basin or stream and clog up drainage systems. Street Sweeping will take place in HWEN on or about October 13 and in BHN and Sunnyside on October 21.
Metro Water Services has two projects in the district this month:
1) They will be making stormwater improvements along Acklen Avenue and 21st starting Sunday night, October 2. The boundaries of the work are from Fairfax to Acklen along 21st and from 21st to the first alley west of 21st on Acklen. Most of the work will be done at night between 7pm and 6am.
2) The second project will be construction of a 130-foot monopole communication tower at the Love Circle Reservoir. Neighbors participated in a community meeting last winter to hear details about the replacement of the existing tower with this smaller one. A tentative schedule is as follows: The week of October 3rd MWS will be drilling the tower foundation. A drilling rig will have a small portion of the reservoir access road blocked for approximately 2 days. The presence of the truck and drill will not hinder public access to the top of the reservoir. The week of October 17, the tower sections will be placed. Again, a small portion of the access road will be blocked. A crane is required to set the tower sections in place. While the crane is in operation, MWS will block access to the reservoir site. Erection and rigging of the tower will be 2 or 3 days of restricted access to the site. Immediately following erection of the new tower structure, the crane will reposition to a grass field adjacent to the old tower for demolition. This activity will likely happen the last week in October. Again, as a safety measure, MWS will restrict access to the reservoir site during crane operations. Demolition could take anywhere from 3 to 5 days. If neighboring property owners have any concerns or questions, the project manager, Randy Armour will be on site during all work activities.
The BHN Annual meeting will take place on October 11 at 6pm at Christ the King School on Belmont Blvd. This year, the meeting will feature a moderated panel discussion with interaction between neighbors and representatives from different Metro departments. The discussion will focus on how to make BHN a better place to live with regard to planning, growth and infrastructure.
Metro Schools has scheduled 14 “parent and community voice sessions” to gather opinions on 14 specific topics. MNPS is seeking input on different areas that relate to how well students are doing. Each of the 14 topics was chosen because it relates to student achievement. District officials will be in attendance at each session to engage in conversations about each focus area and listen to parent and community thoughts and opinions. The sessions will be held from October 10 to October 27 at different Metro Schools beginning at 6pm each night. The list of topics and locations can be found here.
Vanderbilt University is once again hosting the American Heart Association Heart Walk on Saturday, October 15 with festivities beginning at 8am. I will be walking, and I invite any neighbors to get some exercise and help raise funds for education and research to help reduce the devastating effects of heart disease. You can register (or sponsor your council member) here. The walk takes place on the campus, and street closings on Natchez Trace, Jess Neely, 25th, and Children’s Way will be over by noon.
The Metro Parks “Plan to Play” community engagement process is complete, and results of the input are available. More than 9,000 Nashvillians weighed in on what they love about our parks and greenways and what they would like to see improved. Now, Metro Parks wants to share what they’ve learned – including national trends and a comparative analysis of other cities, as well as key preliminary recommendations for the park system over the next 10 years. Neighbors can join one of the meetings at different times and locations across Davidson County. The closest to District 18 are Wednesday, October 12 at 6pm at Warner Park Nature Center, 7311 U.S. Highway 100 and Thursday, October 13 at 6pm at Hadley Park Community Center, 1037 28th Ave. N.
The Nashville Tree Foundation will host its Inaugural “Taking Root: A Community Tree Workshop” on Saturday, October 29. With the city’s recent growth, the Nashville Tree Foundation is fielding an increasing number of questions about maintaining trees on property boundaries, planting new trees, and caring for the existing canopy. To serve this growing need, the Nashville Tree Foundation will host its community workshop from 1:00 - 3:30pm at The Cohn School facing Richland Park along Charlotte Pike. The program will include four information sessions led by local experts. Topics include Trees 101: What, When and Where to Plant; Construction and the Canopy; Trees, Neighbors and the Law; and Pests and Diseases, with a special focus on the Emerald Ash Borer, which poses an immediate threat to approximately 10% of middle Tennessee’s tree canopy.
Open Streets Nashville is an opportunity to experience a small part of Nashville as a purely pedestrian city for a day. The goal is to activate people, strengthen businesses and inspire public spaces by temporarily closing streets to cars. OnOctober 30 12th Avenue South will be closed to vehicular traffic from Kirkwood to the Gulch, and the street will become a pedestrian zone. The event will kick off at 2pmwith a parade and continue until 6pm. All of Nashville is invited to walk, bike, skate, and play in the streets in this fun, free and family-friendly event. There will be numerous fun activities along the route. Businesses will be invited to open up their doors with sidewalk sales, parklets, sidewalk seating, games, and more. In addition, there will be three activity hubs along the route with games and activities organized by community partners. Sign up to host an activity here.
The Metro Public Health Department has received their flu vaccine shipmentand will begin offering flu vaccine at all three Health Department locations. Flu shots are offered Monday – Friday from 8am – 3:30pm at the Health Department’s East Health Center, 1015 East Trinity Lane; Woodbine Health Center, 224 Oriel Avenue; and the new Lentz Health Center, 2500 Charlotte Avenue. Flu vaccine is offered for a $25 fee. TennCare and Medicare Part B are accepted (please remember to bring your Medicare Part B insurance card). Flu vaccine offers the best protection against influenza. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials say it is not too early to get a flu shot. According to CDC, everyone six months of age and older should get a flu vaccine each year.
Nashville Reads: Each year the Mayor’s office picks one book for Nashvillians to read as a city. This year’s selection is March, the graphic novel by Congressman John Lewis, a giant of the civil rights movement and an incredible example of courage, grace and moral imagination. Congressman Lewis got his start as an activist more than 50 years ago on the downtown streets, where he led the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins and then the Freedom Rides. The first book of the March trilogy is a compelling read that has a lot to teach us about race, equity, leadership and other issues. There will be a series of Shop Talks planned for discussing topics of this book in Spring of 2017.
Enjoy this lovely beginning of fall, and let me know what is on your mind. I’m always interested to hear your suggestions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me at burkley.allen@nashville.gov.
Regards,
Burkley Allen
Metro Council 18th District