Last Night at Metro Council

The cold weather may have thinned the crowd at last night’s meeting, but the courthouse was still standing room only as the council addressed some new and old business. 

From Megan Podsiedlik

At the end of last year, the mayor’s office filed a memorandum of understanding between Metro and the Nashville Downtown Partnership (NDP) that outlined guardrails on how a $15 million state safety grant would be used in Nashville.

After the council balked over “surveillance” concerns back in December and deferred the MOU, it became obsolete. Given that it’s no longer applicable, the council canned the MOU during last night’s meeting and simply moved forward on four separate proposals to distribute some of the funds.  

During a public hearing, the council heard from constituents regarding one resolution that would allocate $150,000 to the police department for fifteen video cameras. 

The Surveillance Camera Discussion: The hearing quickly turned into a platform to air out grievances related to national narratives, including immigration enforcement, the death of Renee Good, and even the state of abortion rights in Tennessee.

Councilmember Mike Cortese (District 4) used the discourse as an opportunity to give a political stump speech—not surprising, given he will be challenging Congressman Andy Ogles in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District race this year. 

“Under normal circumstances, with strong local oversight, the tools being discussed tonight make sense,” said Cortese. “I trust my colleagues in this room. I trust our police, our community partners, our neighbors, but that trust depends on real local control, and that control is under unprecedented threat.”

Much like the members of the community who spoke in opposition to the resolution, Cortese highlighted the schism between the city and the state/federal government.

Though sympathetic to what’s happening in Minneapolis, Councilmember Bob Nash pointed out the conflation of different issues distracting from the actual deal on the table. 

“There's nothing new about the downtown cameras; they have been in place for years,” said Nash. “There's no examples of them being misused downtown.”

He went on to explain that the allocation of the NDP grant money would simply replace already-existing cameras without having to dip into Metro’s budget. 

Though every committee signed off on an amended version of the resolution, the council ultimately voted it down.

The council did, however, pass the remaining three resolutions, allocating NDP grant donations to fund MNPD for an armored rescue vehicle, tactical support post, and a mobile command center.

Buchanan Brouhaha, cont.: Brandon Taylor deferred the two bills that would place restrictions on future commercial businesses along Buchanan Street in North Nashville and indicated he would like to take more time to interface with the local community before moving forward. Taylor also addressed the black business owners who felt targeted by the bills.

“Every existing business, whether black-owned, legacy-owned, or newly opened, can continue to operate exactly as it does today,” said Taylor, explaining that the overlay only applies to future businesses.

“What truly threatens long-term, black-owned and legacy businesses is instability, speculation, and incompatible development that drives residents out and undermines the very community those businesses rely on.”

Though Taylor was put through the wringer over the Buchanan Street legislation, it’s worth noting that he also received praise during last night’s meeting for sponsoring a beer permit that helped bolster a beloved business on Jefferson Street.

Some Other Unfinished Business Left Unfinished: The council deferred the resolution that would place three Charter Amendments on the ballot. Charter Revision Committee Chair Sheri Weiner pointed out the uncertainty surrounding Charter revisions, seeming to allude to the potential downsizing of the body and how that change would shorten the bandwidth for voters and Metro Government leading up to the next election.

The council also deferred the resolution condemning the Boring Company, once again. Supporters of the legislation oppose the Music City Loop tunnels due to “the company's lack of transparency, inadequate community and Metropolitan Council engagement, and troubling labor and safety practices.” Sponsor Delishia Porterfield visibly rolled her eyes as Rules Committee Chair Tom Cash gave his committee report, which led to the mandatory deferral of the resolution.

HEADLINES

• 🗳 Councilmember Joy Styles is running for Nashville mayor in 2027. “I'm running because Nashville needs a fighter, someone who is going to fight for you and your neighborhood,” Styles told reporters during a Tuesday press conference. (Scene)
• 🎰 The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council is cracking down on prediction markets operating in Tennessee. These prediction markets, according to the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, are operating illegally inside the state—skirting state regulations, taxes/fees, etc. Groups like conservative Latinos for Tennessee are in agreement that these prediction markets, which are operating as gaming/betting markets, should be under state regulation.
• 🏈 The Titans hire 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as the new head coach. Saleh was also the New York Jets' head coach for three years before he was fired in 2024. At the time, Jets owner Woody Johnson cited persistently poor offense, lack of consistent execution, and failure to adapt as reasons the franchise let Saleh go. Now, the Titans are giving him a second chance. (ESPN)
• 🍗Southern Living names two East Nashville restaurants on their list of the South’s best wings. Brother Z’s Wang Shack on Dickerson Pike and Noble’s on Main Street made the cut, noted for their crispy, saucy takes on the classic. (Tennessean)

LOCAL FLAIR

Councilmembers Delishia Porterfield (At-large), Terry Vo (District 17), Zulfat Suara (At-large), Ginny Welsch (District 16), Brenda Gadd (District 24), and Sandra Sepulveda (District 30) all got screen time during last night's council meeting donning "Abolish ICE" t-shirts.

DEVELOPMENT

• Final Site Plan Submitted For 1st Phase of 1,000+unit Dickerson Pike Development (Now Next)
• Streetcar Taps & Garden opened its second location in Germantown Jan. 20 (NBJ)
• Texas firm buys Cool Springs site, plans hundreds of apartments (NBJ)
• Japanese auto industry giant to build $69M facility in Lebanon (Post)
• Wedgewood-Houston warehouse listed for sale (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

TONIGHT

🪕 Seth Mulder & Midnight Run @ Station Inn, 8p, Info

🎸 Off with Their Heads @ The Cobra, 7p, $15, Info

💀 Tennessee Dead @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Info

🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.