Conversation on Bicentennial Mall Safety

A neighbor wrote in to let us know about this conversation about Bicentennial Mall Safety

Construction at 4th and Monroe

Stacy Mosley has a message for residents around 4th Monroe:

I'm sure you have all been early risers this week with construction begin at 5:15 AM. Please know that we have talked to Randy, developer, and he has been very cooperative with a later start time. Legally, it looks like they can begin at 6AM Monday thru Saturday (see Metro codes below)

16.44.030 Construction sites--Restrictions.
It is unlawful for any person engaged in the construction, repair or
demolition of buildings, structures, land, driveways or appurtenances
thereto located within or adjoining a residential zone district within the
area of the metropolitan government, including transportation of materials
to and from a construction site, between the hours of nine p.m. and six
a.m., to emit, cause to be emitted, or permit the emission of any noise in
excess of seventy Db(A) from construction equipment as measured from a point
as close as possible to the outside walls of any residential structure
located on the property affected by the noise at a height of four feet above
the immediate surrounding surface.
(Prior code § 11-1-17.10(a))

16.44.040 Exemptions.
The following activities shall be exempt from the requirements of Section
16.44.030:
A.   Highway, bridge, road, street, dredging in navigable waters, or other
public works construction activities, utility work such as water, sewer,
gas, electrical or telephone construction activities and any vehicles used
to transport materials to and from such construction activities, so long as
the vehicles remain within the highway, road, street or construction
right-of-way or easement;
B.   Emergency work;
C.   Transporting and unloading of construction materials, other than blast
materials, between five a.m. and six a.m.
(Prior code § 11-1-17.10(b))

Metro Emergency Support Unit Seeking New Members

Metro's Emergency Support Unit (ESU), one of city's long-standing volunteer rescue units, is looking for a few good men and women to join the team.

Established in 1951, ESU is an organization of non-paid professionals who augment regular emergency management services provided by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) during periods of actual or threatened emergencies, search and recovery operations and public events throughout Nashville.

More information available at ESU's website.

Plastic Recycling and Composting

Don't forget that CURBY now recycles all kinds of plastic.

From the Metro Recycling Program site:

You can now put the following kinds of PLASTIC into your curbside recycling cart and in the PLASTIC bins at drop off centers:

• YES: All plastic bottles, and all dairy containers (margarine, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc.) labeled 1 – 7.
• NO: No black plastic, baskets, clamshells (fast food take out), or Styrofoam.

Also, Metro has compost bins for sale!

The Earth Machine Compost Bin can be purchased through Metro Beautification & Environment Commission.

Report Any Crime You See!

• Life-or-death Emergency: dial 911
• Non-Emergency Police: 862-8600

In the past month, neighbors have observed two incidents of theft (from a car and from a home) and one incident of lewd activity (in a parked vehicle) in and around Germantown, but all went unreported to the police.

Officer Chris Locke with the Nashville Police emphasized to the board at our last meeting the importance of reporting all incidents of crime to the police as soon as possible. He reminded us that the Nashville Police track patterns of crime across the Metro area and allocate resources on that basis.

So, if we don't report crimes when they happen in our neighborhood, we won't get the police presence that we need, so don't hesitate to dial 862-8600 when you've witnessed a crime!

SkyWarn Storm Spotter Class, Openings April 14th

The Mayor's Office of Emergency Management is running classes to train people in spotting storms.

This is a program sponsored by the National Weather Service Forecast Service
in order to get the most people trained before our main storm
season is here (more eyes on the skies), we have scheduled YET ANOTHER
SkyWarn Storm Spotter (Advanced and Basic) class!

From the Mayor's Office:

Who: ANYONE interested in becoming a storm spotter and
learning how to help save lives
When: Saturday, April 14th, 1pm - approx. 4pm
Where: Emergency Operations Center, 2060 15th Avenue South,
Nashville.
How much: FREE!!

Pre-Registration is required for this class, and can be done by calling me at 615-880-2950 or emailing me back with your name, agency affiliation (or neighborhood watch groups etc.), email address and phone number in the event the class gets cancelled due to any unforeseen events. Please bring your drivers license or photo ID with you to class. If you do not pre register before class, you may not be allowed into the facility, so please make sure you pre-register.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you and I look forward to seeing everyone at the class!

Heidi J. Jordan
Mayor's Office of Emergency Management
2060 15th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 880-2950 Office Direct
(615) 862-8530 Main Office
(615) 566-8614 Cellular
(615) 862-8534 Fax
www.nashville.gov/oem

Celebrate Nashville

Celebrate Nashville! has plenty of events coming up on their February calendar.

State of Crime report to the Council's Public Safety Committee

The chief of police has let us know of his recent State of Crime report:

Last Tuesday, November 21, 2006, I presented an update on crime in Nashville to the Council’s Public Safety Committee, at the request of the chair, Councilmember Ginger Hausser. It was an honor and pleasure to present the results of another outstanding year of collaboration and cooperation between the members of the MNPD, the public, and the Criminal Justice System.

- MNPD Chief of Police

The Powerpoint presentation [PPT] is online at the MNPD website.

The chief summarized with these points:

1) The hard working members of the MNPD, over the last three years we have been together, have improved their performance in every way imaginable and I am very proud of their efforts!

2) The relationships built between the MNPD and the community have led to clearance rates of crimes committed (a clear example of police and the community working together to solve crimes) that far and away outpace comparative cities of 500,000-999,999 in population

3) The relationships between the MNPD, the community and General Johnson’s Office have led to conviction rates that average 85% for the major crimes in our community

4) But, the data is equally clear – our officers are arresting more of the worst criminals, our community is participating in the prosecution process and we are experiencing incredibly high conviction rates, HOWEVER, despite these convictions, we are arresting the same criminals, over and over and over again.

5) A real debate about those criminals who shun rehabilitation measures, how long they are actually serving their prison sentences, and how are they seemingly so easily returned to our neighborhoods to commit more crimes against our friends and families, must occur if we are to realize even further reductions of crime in our city

- MNPD Chief of Police