No. 632: Vibe Check

Good afternoon, everyone.

One thing you get used to while monitoring city politics is petty opposition to certain initiatives which boils down to "vibes." By that, I mean arguments thrown up against a particular initiative—for example, the council's recent opposition to extending and expanding MNPD's taser contract—could just be translated to "yeah, that ain't the vibe," and you wouldn't miss any crucial information.

This attitude has characterized opposition to rejuvenating the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, which has been neglected by Metro Nashville leadership for decades. In the aftermath of the Titans stadium deal, to some extent, this is understandable. But fatigue and "vibes" are not excuses that should be taken seriously.

Many things can happen at once, and serious leaders and committed stewards of the city can handle it. As you'll learn in my conversation with Norm Partin below, the proposal by Bristol to fix up the long-neglected speedway looks pretty good on paper, even if it "ain't the vibe.”

In the rest of the newsletter, Megan recaps the final Metro Council meeting of 2023 where you'll learn more about the "vibes."

Onward.

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❍ THE FUTURE OF THE SPEEDWAY

Davis sits down with Norm Partin to discuss the history of the Fairgrounds Speedway, how Bristol plans to rejuvenate it, and the obstacles facing proponents of an updated racetrack. (Watch or Listen)

❍ LAST, LAST NIGHT AT METRO COUNCIL

It took a half hour to figure out how to adopt the amendment and defer a zoning bill for the new Wawa going up in Antioch, but the council made it through 2023’s final meeting before the clock struck ten. Vice Mayor Henderson exasperatingly ushered everyone through the relatively short agenda, which was drawn out because of a few lengthy discussions and procedural snags.

MUCH ADO ABOUT A HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT

After a scrupulous examination of a resolution to accept a Homeland Security Grant of about $750,000 to enhance counter-terrorism technology, the council finally accepted the funds—but not until everyone got their two cents in.

“We need to vet this information in a timely manner—that’s why we get it ahead of time—and to continually defer things that could help save a life is not what we're voted in and elected to do,” said Councilmember Sheri Weiner, after sharing her own experiences with bomb threats at her grandson’s synagogue. “Guys, the time is now. Our safety is now.”

Councilmember Emily Benedict later spoke in support of the motion to defer the resolution: “We discuss things in committee and then subsequent to that, we discuss things on the floor. And as new information comes to light, or lack thereof, we make determinations of which direction to go.”

“I'm rising in favor of this resolution because Nashville truly does face, what I believe, is one of the most existential threats to our national security,” stated Councilmember Jeff Preptit of South Nashville, “which is white nationalism.”

COUNCIL PERFORMANCE ART?

During the discussion, concerns as to whether MNPD would be able to implement the 287(g) ICE program came up, leading some to question how performative these chamber discussions and recurrent delays have become. “I’m not sure why everything with the police department gets a thousand and one questions,” said Councilmember Bob Nash. “Quite frankly, it’s off the charts in my humble opinion.”

“I wonder how much opposition is just visuals/vibes,” Travis Gaither commented on X.

In the end, the council voted against the motion to defer and passed the resolution with 34 votes in favor of accepting the grant.

WILL COUNCIL LEARN FROM THE SIDEWALK FEE DEBACLE?

Speaking of delays and deferments, the council decided to bump the resolution to amend the Stormwater Capacity Fee, passed back in March, until January 16th. The new amendment would add exemptions to the original bill, which tacks on a stormwater utility permit fee for future developments that plug into Metro’s water and sewer system. Established to offset the cost of the growing city’s impact on the upkeep of its water and sewer systems, the law will be enacted on January 1st.

If adopted, the new resolution is essentially meant to cover all the bases, a lesson learned from the cautionary tale of requiring developers to pay for sidewalks in Nashville. Specifically, it would waive the fee for “satellite cities and single-family, two-family, and residential multi-family projects” outside of the downtown core that don’t directly connect to the mixed water system.

“At the end of the second quarter of 2023, the master plan [for the stormwater capacity fee] was complete,” explained Councilcmember Sheri Weiner during Monday’s Budget and Finance Committee meeting, “And that's when the residential developers and their attorneys came and said, ‘If you don't take us out there's probably going to be a lawsuit because this should not apply to us.’”

We’re sure to see further discussion on the resolution when the council reconvenes in January.

HEADLINES

Meet the MBA alumni building unicorns (tennbeat) Gray Skinner and Morgan Miller won multiple track and field state championships during their tenure at Montgomery Bell Academy. 20 years later, the Class of 2002 alumni are teaming up again. This time the childhood friends aren’t running relay races. They're building unicorns.

Tennessee received tenth most unaccompanied minors from border since fiscal 2015 (Center Square) Tennessee received the tenth greatest number of unaccompanied alien children, primarily arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border of the total 20,715 since fiscal 2015. The greatest numbers have consistently been sent to the most populous states of Texas, California and Florida.

Tennesseans on education: Less than half give public schools positive marks, poll finds (Tennessean) Just 49% of Tennesseans polled would rate the state of public education as "excellent" or "good," with 44% of respondents rating it negatively overall.

General Assembly Bill Permits Flying Only U.S., Tennessee Flag in Classrooms (Star) The bill was introduced by State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), and would prevent teachers from flying political flags – like the LGBT or Black Lives Matter flags – in their classrooms.