An Emergency Next Door

Wilson County is taking COVID-19 seriously amid a recent spike in the number of positive cases there. The Tennessean has more:

"We want people to stay safe as they resume activities," Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto said. "We are requiring people to wear masks when out in public. We ask all businesses to take this very seriously to keep their customers and staff safe by reconsidering the number of people in the area and by requiring masks in stores and businesses."

Wilson County's last state of emergency went through May 18 before it expired, according to the  mayor's office.

The county had 649 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases through Tuesday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

County Moves to Save Comer Barn

The Hendersonville Standard reports that the Sumner County Commission is moving forward with steps to preserve the Comer Barn:

County leaders took a small step on Monday toward preserving the Comer Barn, a historic structure between Hendersonville and Gallatin that was deeded to the county nearly four years ago. 

The 8,500 square-feet Tennessee Walking Horse barn built in the 1930’s was deeded to Sumner County by Rogers Group, which operates an adjacent quarry, in March 2016 contingent on several conditions. The county also leases the Comer House next to the barn from Rogers Group for office space for the Sumner County tourism and visitor’s bureau.

During a budget committee meeting on Monday, Chairman Chris Taylor proposed a resolution to hire a consultant to evaluate the aging structure and determine what’s needed to protect it from further deterioration.  

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

A New Face for Sumner Justice

There will soon be a new justice center in Sumner County, consolidating the area's many courts into a single building and providing a safe building for workers and those with business before the courts. The Hendersonville Standard has more:

A resolution adopting the overall new judicial center for Sumner County, including a new courthouse, parking garage and jail expansion, was approved by the Sumner County Commission in a 20-4 vote Monday. 

County leaders also approved a total of $10.2 million in additional funding for the project during the meeting. However, additional votes will still be required in order to fully fund the project, which is estimated to cost $91 million in total. 

One of those opposed was Jeremy Mansfield, a commissioner from Goodlettsville, who seems to reject opportunities for progress at every turn. Mansfield wants to wait four years -- allowing judicial system employees and visitors to conduct business in unsafe facilities until then. According to his claims (with no evidence), waiting four years to begin this project would mean it could be done without raising taxes. Mansfield also opposed a tax increase that funded the road department and teacher raises earlier this year.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

A Dangerous Man

Reliable community watchdogs at the Sumner County Republican Assembly have identified a Hendersonville resident of concern. According to the SCRA, this man is incredibly dangerous and poses a serious threat to our way of life.

The man, identified as Andy Spears, lives in Hendersonville and has for the past 19 years. He's a homeowner who is married (19 years), has a child in Sumner County Schools, and is fond of talking about his two cats.

As evidence of Spears' danger to Hendersonville and Sumner County, the SCRA shared an article (see screenshot below) which Spears has also featured on his own personal Facebook page.

The article claims that Spears is employed (true) and also has helped lead a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to improving schools in Sumner County (also true).

The investigative journalist who wrote the piece exposing Spears uncovered evidence of his nefarious conduct including the tweets found on his publicly accessible Twitter feed.

While not included in the SCRA's warning, it has been noted that Spears sometimes shops at both Kroger and Wal-Mart in Hendersonville and is known to enjoy cheeseburgers at Culver's.

Residents should be on the lookout for this man, dressed in typical middle class Hendersonville attire, who seeks to provide excellent schools and access to healthcare for all his neighbors through improved public policy.

It is suspected he mows his yard on Saturdays and sometimes enjoys a Mt. Dew or Ale81 following the exertion.

It's very possible your child attends school with his or that you have shopped at Kroger or had a margarita at Dos Margaritas while he was there.

Here's a screenshot of the dire warning from a group that can only be described as the core of the Sumner County Republican Party:

Most Influential Named

Sumner County's Most Influential people and organizations have been named by Sumner County Publications (The Hendersonville Star News and Gallatin News Examiner).

Among the five most influential organizations in Sumner County, the papers named upstart advocacy group Strong Schools for their role in the 2012 school budget fight.  The paper noted that the organization didn't just organize parents for the key meetings in the budget struggle, but that they've continued encouraging parents and community members to attend Board and County Commission meetings.

Strong Schools members attend meetings and document and share their findings so more in the community can learn about what decisions impact schools.

The organization maintains a Facebook page with over 2000 members and sends out regular email updates on school-related meetings where key decisions will take place. 

From live-streaming County Commission meetings to providing meeting summaries that are easily and quickly shared, Strong Schools has changed the dynamic in Sumner County when it comes to discussion and action on public schools. 

A Changing Tide?

The County Commission's Budget Committee met last night and approved a bond issue for new school building projects, including classrooms at GHS and HHS and a new elementary school (Burris Elementary) to be built on the campus of Knox Doss at Drakes Creek Middle School. 

The funding comes roughly one year ahead of the 2014 County Commission primary elections and follows months of tense meetings over proper funding for schools.  Some speculate the Commission is providing these funds to help quell public anger over the body's historic lack of support for schools just in time for the upcoming elections. 

In other meeting news, the County Commission's sometimes secret committee on school safety was disbanded.  Commissioners agreed that the School Board and Sheriff's office could handle the proposals for SROs (School Resource Officers) and that the Board's proposals for physical upgrades to facilities to enhance safety would go through the normal Commission committee channels. 

Perhaps this is the beginning of an increased level of cooperation between the Board and Commission.  As the school system's budget shapes up, we'll see if the peace lasts or is only temporary.

Battle Lines Being Drawn

In a continuation of the seemingly never-ending saga that is the relationship between the Sumner County Commission and Sumner County School Board, the Commission's Budget Committee recently moved to slow funding for capital projects in order to address near-term deficits. 

Of course, funding for school projects was delayed this past year as capital funds were shifted to the general operating fund in order to ease the budget impasse that caused a delay in the start of the 2012-13 school year. 

With Commissioners such as Jerry Stone and Jim Vaughn continuing to put road blocks in the way of fully-funded schools, it seems another tense budget battle is already brewing.  The Commission has yet to address the school safety request from the School Board (though a preliminary meeting is scheduled for Thursday) and the system needs about $7 million worth of computers for the new standardized tests tied to the Common Core State Standards. 

The School Board has already approved offering a retirement incentive again this year as a way to encourage more senior teachers to leave -- saving money by hiring newer teachers at lower salaries and hopefully avoiding layoffs. 

However, with computers to buy and reserves spent to the maximum last year, it seems likely that absent additional funds from the County Commission, some teachers and staff will lose their jobs. 

Aldermen Meet Tonight

The much-discussed and now somewhat controversial plan for apartments behind Cracker Barrel on Indian Lake Boulevard is NOT on the agenda. 

Sumner County Commission Meets Tonight

Here's the agenda.  It seems the Finance Office "needs" some new furniture.

So There's a Petition About Apartments

And not building them.  Or, at least not the apartments being proposed behind Cracker Barrel on Indian Lake Blvd.

Here's the text:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/preserve-hendersonville-2

Preserve Hendersonville

The Petition

We, the citizens of Hendersonville, petition the Board of Mayor & Aldermen to:

1. Deny the rezoning of the land parcel behind Cracker Barrel on Indian Lake Blvd. for the construction of multi-family housing.

2. Conduct a comprehensive traffic study of the Indian Lake Blvd. area between Main Street & SR 386, independent from the studies conducted by apartment developers.

3. Grow our city in a responsible & controlled manner without the negative impact of overdevelopment on our way of life, our schools, infrastructure or overall crime rate.

Hendersonville currently has no fewer than 22 existing or approved apartment complexes totaling 4,881 apartment units. There are currently 2 complexes under construction, but not yet complete: 1 is located behind the Glenbrook shopping center & the other is located behind the cinema at the Streets of Indian Lake. No one currently resides in these 2 complexes under construction. Our infrastructure, schools and way of life have not felt the impact of these 2 new complexes yet. However, the Board of Mayor & Aldermen is weighing the possibility of adding yet another apartment complex to the already overloaded Indian Lake Blvd.-changing our community forever.

 

The long-term impact of overdevelopment cannot be un-done. We urge the Board of Mayor & Aldermen to study the impact of multi-family housing & general overdevelopment by glancing toward the Antioch & Rivergate areas. The citizens of Hendersonville want to preserve our community, and the hometown atmosphere that makes Hendersonville a great place to live, work & play. 

Let your voice be heard by signing this petition, contacting the aldermen and by attending the Board of Mayor & Aldermen meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 26th at 7:30 pm @ City Hall.

Wise Resigns from Safety Committee

Sumner County School Board Chair Ted Wise announced at last night's Board meeting he is resigning from the Sumner County Commission's Ad Hoc Committee on School Safety. 

Perhaps Wise's resignation comes as a result of pressure placed on him by Board members Don Long and Tim Brewer at a recent Board study session.

The move comes as the Committee has scheduled its first meeting for February 28th. 

That meeting will occur AFTER the County Commission meets on Feb. 25th -- thus, making it impossible for the Committee's recommendations to be considered by the full Commission until March -- possibly at the March 18th County Commission meeting.

It is not clear what motivated Wise to step down.  And the full agenda for the Ad Hoc Committee's Feb. 28th meeting has not yet been announced. 

Will they take up the School Board's proposal for improvements to school buildings and additional SROs?  What research is being done by the Committee on current school safety procedures?  Will they make recommendations in time for the March 18th Commission meeting?  Will the School Board adopt any of the recommendations? Will funding for school safety result in losing teachers and/or other staff in the 2013-14 school year?  Stay tuned ...

Ad Hoc School Safety Committee Schedules Meeting

The County Commission's Ad Hoc Committee on School Safety and Implementation, discussed here, will meet on February 28th at 5:30 PM at the Emergency Operations Center on Airport Road in Gallatin. 

The meeting, which falls AFTER the February 25th County Commission meeting, will ostensibly begin the process of this group formulating recommendations for improved school safety.  Because of the date, the earliest these recommendations could come before the full County Commission is March 17th.  Meanwhile, School Boards and County Commissions in Wilson, Rutherford, Robertson, Williamson, and Davidson counties have all taken action on school safety proposals and are moving forward with the implementation process.

No word on how many meetings this Ad Hoc committee will have or IF the School Board will even agree to adopt ANY of the policies proposed by the committee. 

The Board has requested physical improvements to facilities to enhance safety and also asked for a School Resource Officer (SRO) for every school in the district.  So far, a vote by the County Commission on that request has NOT been scheduled and it is not clear that the Board's request will be discussed by the Ad Hoc Committee. 

County Committee Votes to Sue over TIF

That's Tax Increment Financing -- and the suit would be against Fifth Third Bank for their management of funds related to the Indian Lake Village/Streets of Indian Lake Development managed by Halo Properties.

The Committee alleges that millions in taxpayer dollars have been misappropriated due to the financing schemes utilized by Fifth Third.