I just moseyed over to the Rutherford County Election Commission to see if anyone else has picked up a petition to run for positions of mayor and alderman/woman. Looks like the field is growing!!
Here’s what I say to the candidates (especially if you win the election) … next year let’s have a parade or some fireworks in LaVergne to celebrate Independence Day! :0)
Thanks, Kathy, for the list of petitioners for Mayor and Aldermen/woman. Since it is only a few months away from the election, I would like to hear from the following petitioners (excluding Sherry Green and Chris Farmer, since I already know about them):
Randy Barnes, Katherine Pierce, Joshua Pope and
Teresa Smith. Let us know about your background and your stand on "fixing" the city government if elected and what your plans are for a "new and improved" city.
Thank you in advance.
Dear Peaches and all concerned,
My name is Katherine Pierce, but I am better known as Ms. Kandy. I have enjoyed living in Lavergne for the past 19 years. I have been married for 23 years and have two wonderful sons. My oldest, Ray, is an Army soldier who just returned from Iraq and my youngest, Kyle, is a junior at LHS and a Life Scout working on his Eagle project for the Ahepa Apartments. I am a former business owner for over 15 years and recently gave that up to earn my degree (with high honors) to be a Paralegal. I am not currently working, but am actively searching for a position in that field. I have been Team Mom for baseball, football, and LHS JROTC for many years. In addition to having been an active volunteer for Boy Scouts of America for the past 13 years working with Packs 340 & 640 and am currently the Committee Chair for Troop 640.
As for city involvement I have been on the Beer Board for 9 years and sat as Chairman for the past 4 years. While I enjoy this position, which allows me to help ensure the safety of LaVergne's citizens, I am at a point in my life that I want to do more for LaVergne. That is why I have decieded to run for Alderman.
The communication between city employees, elected officials, and board volunteers needs to improve (actually needs to just happen). Over the past few years I have realized that only a handful of these people are getting their objectives completed. I do not feel it is from a lack of effort by the others, but more from "good ole' boy" closed doors. It is time we had city officials that do the right thing because it is right and not just because it is the right price. LaVergne is a land locked city that can only be changed from with-in and we must retain as much of our history as possible in the process. I would also like to see all of our meetings aired live on channel 3. We should not need three days to edit for the masses, what a handful of citizens see live by attending. I have been told this is not possible, but if Murfreesboro can, why can't LaVergne? LaVergne has many wonderful employees, some that go above and beyond, and others that do more than they should be allowed to in their positions. We need to thank the good ones and remind the others excatly what is their job description.
As a canidate the only promise I will give is to make honest and educated votes that will insure this city is the place that my son's would want to live in and raise their families. I hope this answers some of your questions. I am willing to answer any others that you may have via this site or you may email me at jkpierce@tds.net. Thank you Peaches for asking!
Thanks Ms Kandy. That gives me a little insight to where you are headed as far as La Vergne goes. Now can we hear from the others? If you want our votes, you have to let us know who you are and what you are going to do for our fair city.
Peaches I know you said you already knew about me. Not sure if that is bad or good. lol. Good I hope, but for anyone that does not know I will give a breif summary.
My name is Chris Farmer I am a paramedic for Rutherford County EMS for almost 5 years and I am stationed at the La Vergne station. My wife and I moved up here 5 years ago this November. I have been a Paramedic for 18 years. My wife is a Nurse. I also have a son who is 16 and goes to LHS and is in the ROTC. I am the Assistant Chief of Box 100 and my wife and son are also members. We try to be as active in the community as possible. I have recently been volunteering my time to the Parks and Rec department on the weekends working first aid for the tournaments at Veteran's Memorial Park. That is enough of tooting my own horn.
Now as far as what I can provide for the city is the fact that I will make educated decisions on votes and do my research before making any decisions. I have been asked by several people "who's side" I am on. i did not know there were sides on the council. I am not running with anyone. I am just interested in where and how my tax dollars are being spent and want to be a voice for the people.
I feel as if I see things that happen through a different view. From the outside looking in so to speak and I know a lot of the city employees and hear their concerns. I personally want to see our city move forward and not be pictured with a negative view that the news always seems display. I do not think our leaders have done a bad job and I will not be one of the people you see talking negatively about anyone in office. I am just looking for the chance to serve the people of La Vergne.
Thank you Chris Farmer
chris-farmer@comcast.net
cell 615-403-0941 or 615-568-8158
Feel free to call or email me with any questions or concerns.
" I do not think our leaders have done a bad job …"
Chris, it sounds like you have a special talent. You must be able to drive through town with your eyes closed!
Seriously, I don't fault the members on the current board for all the failings of the past (LFE mistakes, failure to widen Waldron road thus sending all retils to Smyrna), but I certainly don't think the board as a whole has done a good job. I've heard great ideas from every current member of the board, but things never get done. My big issue was parking in yards and I was told that something was in the works to limit yard parking in R2 and R3 zoning. That was 4 years ago.
La Vergne is run with a rural mindset but was developed as a suburbran city. Something is going to have to change, hopefully we'll see some positive change this fall.
the problem is when one will vote yes and the others vote her down how can things get done? There is enough land for retail on Murfreesboro rd but do you see any coming there? NO you dont. If La Vergne would have had liqour by the drink yrs ago they could have had many of these resturants that smyrna has now.
clean up things at city hall would be a great idea…..I feel that when a city lets a developer come in and build one of the biggest subdivisons in the state that developer should have been held accountable for making some of the roads bigger for he knew that having 3,100 homes in an area would create a traffic nightmere. alittle more planning should have been thought about way back in the 90's
Word a tcity hall is wait until election day for there will be some changes. Could this mean something? Could La Vergne have a new mayor? Well this year if you want a new direction for the city then I would suggest you get off your fanny and get to the polls in Nov and VOTE!!!
I hope everyone here can see a patern in the way this city elections are going. All the elected officials are doing is rotating positions every election. Mayor, then alderman, then Mayor ect… As Long as the citizens of Lavergne keep electing the same people nothing will get done. I agree that we need to develope more off of Murfressboro road, Because this will give us a better tax base. There is so much opportunity for this city. I encourage everyone to go to Old Timers day and meet the canidates that are running and ask questions.
Paul, while I agree with you that continuing to elect the same folks will not change the direction of this city, I do not know that this scenario is as bad as you make it out to be.
Sherry Green is the only one I know of who went from alderman to mayor then back to alderman. But if I remember correctly, she was thrust into the mayors position originally because Mike Webb resigned. I think she was elected for that position shortly after, but I gather she just didn't want to be mayor and so she did not run again in 2006.
Senna has run for mayor before, but it's not like she was elected mayor and then went back to run for alderman. To the best of my knowledge there are no term limits in this city, so why would someone "rotate" jobs?
We have several good, new candidates running this time around. But if the citizens of La Vergne want to keep the same folks in the same positions, well that's why we have the election, right?
Michael I tried to be polite. That is why I said what I said. I personally am not going to point out the problems on here. I will save that for if I get elected. There is no point in saying they have done a horrible job. I do agree there are things that need to be fixed but it is going to take a council that will listen to the people and work as a team to resolve the issues at hand and it won't be an easy job. And everyone has some good ideas and they also have some off the wall ideas. Me included I am sure but I am willing to listen and do the research needed to get La Vergne headed forward and trying to get businesses in our town and not just be an "industrial" community. One thing we need in order to get retail in town is a lower ISO rating. A rating of 5 which is what we have is great for home owners and the worst for retail. So we have to start with things like that to make La Vergne appealing to retail.
Look at downtown Smyrna or even Lowry st. drive down this street and you see trees, flowers, and even a gazebo. the street lights are fancy, sidewalks yes sidealks…lol, and even parking up towards the front of retail. it starts with the city first to try to get it cleaned up. Murfreesboro rd toward smyrna looks so trashy no wonder no one wants to open a new business there.
Michael you made a good point about parking in yards. Can anyone tell us if there was ever anything passed or brought up about that? I know I had to park in my yard for a while because the driveway was too small. When I finally added on to it I called to get a permit and I was told that I did not need one as long as I did not connect to the street. I told whoever I talked to that I wanted to connect it to the street and she told me to step back from the street a couple of feet and it would not cost anything that way. Now mind you I did not want to build it that way and did not care what the permit cost, but I ended up doing it that way because no one ever came out and looked at giving me a permit. So basically the city lost money because an employee there didn't want to come out and look at what I wanted to do. So I did what she told me to do built it at an angle 3 foot from the curb.
Chris- I get wanting to be polite. This is city politics- these people are still our neighbors and it's not like anyone's running some high dollar campaign where you can put political ads on TV about what an asshole your candidate is like they do for the bigger campaigns.
For what it's worth, I'm really digging what you have to say.
Chris — you sound like you are on the right track — we need more of you at City Hall. There appear to be others who just wait to see how another votes before casting their vote. One needs to study the items up for vote and weigh the outcome before casting a vote. I truly believe we have one or two that don't even read all the info they are given prior to their meetings which prevents them from having a comprehensive understanding before voting. The more you research the more you know!
Hey Chris, I was just jabbing you a little bit. I understand you don't want to go off on the folks who may soon be your colleagues on the board.
What are your thoughts on how La Vergne can lower their ISO rating?
I am not Chris but here is what I was told about the ISO rating.
First the ISO is the rating which is applied to all fire departments across the country after an evaluation. It considers equipment, stations, training, manpower, etc.
A 1 is the best rating and a 10 is the worst rating. Murfreesboro just increased from a three to a 2 and I do not believe there are any 1s in Tennessee.
There is only one way to lower the ISO.
More firefighters and another fire station.
If the ISO rating goes from the current 5 to say 6 or 7, then our homeowners/property owners insurance may increase by 10 or 20 % for each point. If our rating drops from a 5 to the better 4 then your insurance will also go down.
By the way the last time ISO was here, they said we needed 18 more firefighters to maintain our 5 and try for the 4. Otherwise we may get downgraded to a 6 or even 7.
Only logical conclusion, hire more firefighters, build another station, and raise taxes to do it or ensure that we all sho La Vergne. Yes we have limited retail but no citizen of La Vergne should be at a grocery, drug, or auto parts store anywhere but here!!!!
Yes that is ugly—-raise property taxes….no way no how but if the taxes are increased to pay for the fire department, every property owner in the city WILL SAVE MONEY!!!!!!!! Your lower insurance premium will be a greater amount than the amount needed on property taxes.
That is what we elect people to do make hard decisions and lead. Not follow not worry about re-election but to make hard sometimes unpopular choices and LEAD….
I think La Vergne does not need more excuses we need the best. La Vergne is small enough to have personal service and big enough to have some of the fancy stuff, but not if all we do is make excuses.
Thank You Ivy and Cee Dee. Michael I knew you were just giving me a hard time and I take no offense to it. I love to be jabbed a little it keeps me on my toes.
Now for the ISO question. ISO comes around every 5 years and we are 2 and 1/2 years away from our next one. The last time they were here they suggested we add 18 more firemen to our fire department staff. Now had the city started on that before now we would be half way there. I do not think we should hire 18 people at once. This would overwhelm the fire department in training. We could do this over a 3 to 5 year period and show them that there is effort being made to improve fire service. I am not just pro fire I believe we need more police officers too. We could also use another ambulance in town but that is a whole other can of worms that the county is responsible for.
With all that being said your going to ask me where do we get the money. I don't know at this point because I do not have a budget in front of me that is broke down so I can see where the money is spent. I would like to think there are some areas to get the money from and have some ideas but that is all they are because as of this moment I do not have facts so I wil not say what they are until I have the facts straight. It could involve a tax increase i personally do not want to do that but we have to save our city some how. Like I said though it is hard to say without a budget and a calculator and someone to ask why is this being spent here and that being spent there.
Finally I do know that if our ISO rating were to go from a 5 to a 6 we as homeowners could see an increase in our homeowners insurance. If it was to go to say a 4 it would mean a decrease in retail insurance so the city would look more appealing to them. I will quit rambling now but 18 years as a paramedic and I am all about public safety. But I am all about our city not going broke also.
Wow Earl we basically posted the same thing a minute apart. lol
Maybe our signs will be close together!!!!!!
ISO also deals with the upgrading of the city's water lines, pressure etc as well as other issues concerning safety. It is not soley based on the fire deptartment. I just did'nt want it to look as if the fire department was carrying this entire burden. We have a good department and we have been preaching this for a few years now. Glad it is catching on!!!!!
Very true Senna. I had originally added all of that in my first response, but one of my fat fingers hit the back button on my Blackberry as I was typing and well…… it erased it and I had to retype it. Our fire department does do an excellent job. At this time I believe we need a few more larger water lines and maybe some more hydrants. They have done an outstanding job getting the new communications up and going also.
What is Smyrna's ISO rating?
Smyrna is a class 3 with 108 firemen and 4 of those are chief and assistant. We have 19 fireman including the chief and assistants and by NFPA standard the assistants should not do fire suppression. So basically we have 16 firemen to smyrna's 104. But our fire budget is no where near what theirs is! With 108 firemen I would guess their payroll is as much as our fire budget.
Wow, that's scary. Considering our populations are so close I cannot believe we have so fewer fireighters and haven't had a major disaster.
We have some excellent firemen who have learned to work with less the the other cities and know what they are doing.
Has anyone noticed a brownish orange ring that will not go away in their bathtubs, sinks, toilets or swimming pools other than me? Senna brought it up in the last coincil meeting and the Mayor stated this was the first he had heard of it. He said for anyone with the problem to call city hall and they would send someone out to investigate it. I am curious if it is an isolated problem or if it is city wide? I have heard of people even having trouble with their fish tanks lately. I live in Heritage Valley. Let's see how many other people are having this problem. I have notice it has even turned my shower head orange. Makes me wonder if we are having some water treatment issues. I know it is not due to cleanlisness because my wife is a clean "freak". They stated they changed chemicals over a year ago. I am not sure what they changed to but I am beginning to wonder if it is truly good for us. Please let us know on here if you are having any of the same issues. What we are having at our house nothing will seem to eliminate it.
Yyyyyyes Chris!!!! It's in my shower and I have tried everything to get rid of it. Scrubbing bubbled, Liquid bleach, powder bleach, sponges, scrub brushes. I've let the bleach sit on there for hours and nothing. So, it's not just your house. I'll get on the water deptment right away. Thanks for posting
Jennifer be sure and call city hall. The mayor specifically said he would have someone come out to these homes and look and see if they could figure out the problem. what part of town do you live in?
I live right on the davidson/Rutherford county line. Townhouses next to the library.
sounds to me like rust in some of the lines and rust is hard to get cleaned up!
Well I decided to have an independent company come out and test my drinking water to see why it is causing stains on porcelain and see what is in it. I will post the results as soon as they get them back to me.
There has been something bothering me for over a month now that I just can not let go. The following statement made by Mr. Slinker on June 9th 2010. Mr. Slinker was persistent on the fact that he was never placed on the Planning Commission in 2004. He claims that confusion and miscommunication was the reason. Mr. Slinker does not realize that a paper trail CAN prove that Mr. Slinker DID in fact fill out paper work for the Planning Commission and signed Michael S. Slinker on November 2, 2004. Mayor Sherry Green DID in fact vote to place Mr. Slinker on the Planning Commission on November 4, 2004. He claims confusion and miscommunication? Here is my dilma, there is a FULL application signed by Mr. Slinker 2 days prior to the vote for Planning Commission; therefore, one would think that if you filled out this paper work clearly marking Planning Commission your intentions would be to be appointed to that board. Remember, I have a compelet copy of this application. No, Mr. Slinker did not serve. It WAS told at the next meeting in(Dec. 2004) by then Mayor Green that due to Mr. Slinker’s job duties he would be unable to serve on the Planning Commission at this time. Others were at this meeting and heard the same thing I did. Does Mr. Slinker think that people can not prove his dishonesty? Why in the world would you lie about something so insignificate as signing up for a board? If you don’t have time you don’t have time, but don’t try and convince the public that now all of the sudden you have what it takes to be Mayor and run a city when in fact you can not find time for a board. Is this what we have to look forward to? Yes, I have all of this in black/white. If you know Senna, you know she keeps everything. She said let it go, but I refuse to let it go! I am not trying to be a smart a–, but Mr. Slinker has clearly made his opinion known how he feels about my wife and has on several occasions under different names called her dishonest, barks like a dog etc. etc. She is probably one of the most honest people I know. I am just trying to show who tells the truth and who would not know the truth if it bit him in the a _ _.
MIKE SLINKER, on June 9, 2010 at 9:20 pm Said:
Thanks Michael. Just a quick point of clarification — Ronnie Mosley is Senna’s husband that requested to see the financial statements from the Rutherford County Election Commission located in Murfreesboro(not Ronnie Erwin).
In regards to your questions, see answers below:
* I have never served on the planning commission. There was confusion surrounding this information and when I learned that the board approved my name as a member years ago, I immediately called Bruce Richardson to confirm otherwise and end the miscommunication.
*My relationship with Mr. Amnon Shriebman — we are neighbors. He lives just down the road at the cul-de-sac.
*Senna’s husband (Ronnie) has eagerly posted the information from the Mike Slinker 2008 campaign below. (Notice that the largest individual donor was not Amnon Shriebman. It was actually Mr. James Gafford — who happens to be the Fire Chief for the LaVergne Fire Department).
Yea Ronnie,
I think someone else stated in the last fews days that he was saying his biggest contributor was Gafford right? Well Amnon and his wife donated the most money so they were his biggest contributors. Boy Mr. Slinker sure doesnt know anything about the city of La Vergne does he? Do the people of La Vergne want someone like this running their city? I think they are probably done with the good ole boy network and want something different and honest. That is why I end with…..
SENNA 2010!!
Thanks for sharing Ronnie. I know with any good story there are three sides – your side, my side, and the truth. You are right that there is more to the story, I'm just not sure what.
This all gets back to something I've said before – I cannot for the life of me understand why Mike Slinker wants to be the mayor? If he did not have the time to serve on a board, how could he possibly have time to be the mayor?
As far as his miscommunication with Sherry Green regarding the planning comission, I can actually understand that. I originally applied to be on the parks and rec board because there were two openings. Jerry Gann called me and told me the two people whose terms were expiring on the P&R board wanted to stay on, but he told me a spot was open on the beer board, so I took it. Maybe Mike wanted to be on a board other than the planning commission? When the other board position wasn't open and he was offered the planning commission, he could have told Sherry no, and she might have thought he said yes.
BTW, I never saw Mike's big press conference on all the local news stations to announce his candidacy. Did he not have them or what's the deal? We haven't heard from him on here ever since he filled for mayor?
Interesting…… any thing you can ad to clarify the above statement Mr. Slinker??
I am so happy that is has come out in the open…..Like I said in todays post let the drama begin….
Mr Slinker has still yet to answer my questions and others. Avoiding the questions will he avoid problems at the city hall?
hmmmmmm…………….
Chris,
I am interested to hear more after your independent inspection with these "orange" stains. Im glad I am not the only one who has been wondering why my cleaners have suddenly stopped working properly.
Leanne I am still waiting they were taken Monday and said it could take 7 to 10 days for the results, but I did take a swimming pool test strip and check it yesterday. The Hardness was off the chart and the alkalinity was too. So what little research I have done up to this point I am guessing the iron is high. Question is will it be higher than what EPA allows and how will it be resolved since the city is not at fault because they contract the water treatment out to a company for quite a substantial fee.
Chris,
Have you tried to file a complaint with the water plant? If you got no where with this, have you contacted the state?
I will say this. After the purple easter egg water color incident I do call the water plant here in Lavergne and then if it doesnt get resolved I do call the state.
Secondly I will say from my past conversations with the state that even though the city of Lavergne has contracted the water treatment to an outside company the city of Lavergne is still responsible. Hiring an outside company does not remove any liability to the city of Lavergne because the contracting company is operating on BEHALF of the city of Lavergne.
Also – there are no "maximum contaminate levels" or MCL's on Iron or Manganese. Because Iron and Manganese are secondary standards in water which affect taste, staining or odor. There are NO health risks as there are in primary standard levels of water.
Manganese is the black "specs" or black staining. Iron is the brownish/orange.
Hardness just has to do with the sudsing. Alkalinity is the ability of the PH to be affected. Neither of which is a big concern or health issue.
Now even though Iron and Manganese are NOT health issues there are federal and state standards. the "max MCL" level for Iron is .3 (thats point 3) parts per liter or per million or 300 parts per billion.
The manganese is .05 parts per liter or million. Or 50 parts per billion.
Reports and onsite inspections are done with the state approximately every 12 – 14 months. If it is found that the secondary standards of the water is over and goes on and on (maybe once every six months is ok to be over) then the state will issue a violation.
The water department is required to test iron and maganese daily AND at different points in the system 3-5 times a week.
I hope this gives you some more information and clears some of these water questions up for you. It took me a bit to put this all together because I had to go back to my notes from previous phone calls to the state on this city water.
Leanne it seems you have been down this road before or at least done a lot of research. To be honest I have not decided how I am going to approach this. I know that I do not trust the water treatment plant for some reason they just give me that gut feeling that something is not right.. I do appreciate the advice. I have other issues that I will be posting later on. On another note can anyone tell us what has happend to MR. Slinker? Once he was asked some specifice questions on here he just disappeared.
I have been down this road before and clean water is something I pay for and expect.
If you ever want your water tested without the cost the city and/or state will do it for free.
But at least it makes you feel better knowing the iron and manganese is not a health risk I hope. I know it does me. Plus knowing the city of Lavergne is still liable for the water despite hiring the outside firm.
That is good to know Leanne. But we went a little further with the testing other than just state requirements. Checking it for heavy metals that could be harmful to us as citizens. Hopefully we will get results early next week. With any luck the water will be fine and I just wasted a couple hundred bucks.
We were told that it was possibly Iron bacteria. And yes we are having the water tested by an outside lab.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)
Iron bacteria in surface waterIn the management of water-supply wells, iron bacteria are bacteria that derive the energy they need to live and multiply by oxidizing dissolved ferrous iron (or the less frequently available manganese). The resulting ferric oxide is insoluble, and appears as brown gelatinous slime that will stain plumbing fixtures, and clothing or utensils washed with the water carrying it. They are known to grow and proliferate in waters containing as low as 0.1mg/l of iron. However, at least 0.3 ppm of dissolved oxygen is needed to carry out oxidation.
Common effects of excess iron in water are a reddish-brown color, stained laundry and poor tasting coffee. An equally common but less well understood problem is infestation of water supplies with iron bacteria. Iron bacteria are a natural part of the environment in most parts of the world. These microorganisms combine dissolved iron or manganese with oxygen and use it to form rust-colored deposits. In the process, the bacteria produce a brown slime that builds up on well screens, pipes, and plumbing fixtures.
Bacteria known to feed on iron are Thiobacillus sp. and Leptospirillum sp.
Ok – that whole thing is just making me nauseated.
I will get my own testing done to. Thanks Ronnie.
Leanne don't test for Iron, mercury, or lead. Or bacteria. I already have those covered. I could not find anyone to test for iron bacteria which happens to come from stagnant water. Which could be from old water lines and dead end water lines in some of these developments that have water there and no houses. A possible cure for this could be a proper hydrant flushing program which is supposed to be done by the city under the contract they have with the fire department. All the fire department is responsible for is testing hydrants.
Ok can you clear up my confusion? You say the city is under contract with the fire department to flush the hydrants.
Is it mandatory to be done every so often and if so when or how often?
My home is near a fire hydrant and I have lived here for nine years. I dont EVER remember this hyrdrant being flushed or any of my neighbors telling me it was.
But I will see about the testing for the iron bacteria. I will report more info on Monday on what I find out about getting that tested.
This is getting deeper gys/gals.
No the city is supposed to flush hydrants. The contract the have with the fire department does not require the fire department to flush. All the fire department is obligated to do is pressure test the hydrants. The city should be flushing the hydrants not the FD. I am not positive who decided to do this but it was someone at the city who wrote or adopted the policy that they would do the flushing and set up a program. I am unsure of how often it should be done but I will dig further to find out. And there is a hydrant near my house also and the only time I can remember it being turned on was for FD pressure testing. Hope that is a little clearer.
Senna….
Can you clarify?
Hello Ms. Leanne,
I talked to our Water Supervisor this morning and tried to get the most accurate info. The city is responsible for flowing the dead ends for 15 mintues twice a year. When flowing the deadends, this should help with the entire line. He told me that the LFD flowed the rest of the hydrants twice a year for pressure testing per ISO. I am just not conviced that the brown/black we are finding has do to with the flowing of hydrants. This is just my opinion at this point, but will continue to investigate this situation. I am awaiting our test results!
So is the city responsible for coordinating the flushing of the fire hydrants with the LFD? Or is it completely up to the LFD?
Either way this one by my house (you have my addy) has not been done that I know of since I have lived here. Ive been here almost 8 years.
Can you check into that and further clarification on who is responsible for the flushing of the hydrants whether it be by the city coordination or the LFD solely?
I know the hydrant in my front yard is opened at least two or three times a year and has been for years. My question is if the city is responsible for the flushing are the builders or permit fees covering the cost for such a process? Chris where did you find this contract information written down? Is it in the city public records on line?
I tried for hours the other day to find any ordinance on yard parking and was unsucessful. Yet I also could not find the" Yard Sale permit required" ordinance that LaVergne had about 10 or so years ago. It was a nominal fee of two dollars, but it was a way to track who and how frequently yard sales were being done. I was told about 6 years ago that the city did not need to worry with that type of permit. I think we do. There are way to many weekly sales taking place in this city. If a resident wants to sale items weekly maybe they should get a business license, move to a retail location, and stop constantly blocking traffic. The permit used to inform the officers of the sale location in order to help with traffic flow when necessary. It also let the city know when to remove old signs and who to charge for leaving them up to long. I realize this city has bigger fish to fry, but if we can not maintain the little things – exactly how are the larger problems being fixed. It just seems like some things are quietly added to or removed from the city's list of responsibility and citizens are left to question why, when, and how months or years after the changes.
Katherine,
I do agree with you about yard sale permits. When I lived in La Vergne I saw a YARD SALE EVERY WEEKEND ON OLD NASHVILLE HWY. I do know that there are several residents now doing lawn mower repair over near the chaney rd area. These people are probably not paying any kind of taxes or even have a permit to do business. If the city would crack down on the little things then the bigger problems will be easier to take care.
I myself have spent many hours online looking at documents about certain items. I have been told some, and you know who you are, have said things I have posted online have been lies, liesl, lies but I have backed everything up with a link to the city's website showing what I have found.
Kandy I asked the Fire department because I was checking into the ISO rating. That's how I found out about the hydrant flushing. From what I understand a few years back there was no documenting of the flushing process so the city took it over and is supposed to keep records of it now. When the FD does there pressure testing which is twice a year they run the hydrant for about 2 minutes to get their readings. I don't know if this is considered and documented as part of the flushing program. I know the water department has flushed before because I have seen them but I can not remember if it was this year or last year that I saw them. The other thing I do not know about is whether running a hydrant for 2 minutes is long enough to consider it flushing. I am at work today and the internet is pretty slow here so everything I do online is through my phone.
I am guessing no proof on this part is part of the reason the city is doing the flushing program is the hydrants and water lines are theirs and the FD is a private business so it is the city's responsibility to maintain those. Which all leads into the ISO rating that could cost us all in the end on our homeowners insurance if it change. I guess everyone is seeing by now I am all about the public safety aspect.
I would think you could probably pay for a copy of the contract at city hall. I would think it is public record. I know I paid to get a copy of the city budget the other day that I have been studying and have a multitude of questions to have addressed once I get them all wrote down.
Finally I agree on yard sales and signs. The problem I see are the "weekly" yard sales that there are never anything done about. If you have it every week I would consider that a business or flea market so to speak. If people would pick up their yard sale signs after the sale we wouldn't even need an ordinance on them. If we had one it would be easy to enforce if the PD had the officers available to do it because the address is on the sign most of the time.
Thank you for the additional information about the water lines.
New question – the city budget is a part of each Mayor and Alderman meeting each month, so why is that not a part of the public minutes?
Point on the yard sale permit and sign ordinance – we had one 10 years ago and it helped to keep the sales to 2 a year per home and the weekly folks set up by the co-op as a flea market. Then 6 years ago no permit needed and weekly sales all over, old trash signs left for weeks, and constent traffic concerns in those areas. What happen to the ordinance we had on the books?
What do you mean by "the city budget is a part of each Mayor and Alderman meeting each month"? They don't discuss the budget every month. If you are talking about the finance report, I'm sure if you asked for a copy of it, they would get you one.
Sorry, I meant each year. To many thoughts and miss typed. I am glad to see it is now on line for all to see. Still studying, so no comments on it yet.
Kandy that is a good question. I went and payed for the yearly line item budget to see what each department was spendeing and where. It seems pretty vague to me. No real description of what is being purchased or how the money is being spent in a lot of areas.
That is sad. The meeting description is vague, but having paid for a yearly copy it should have been self explanitory. I guess that goes back to my earlier comment about to many closed doors. We as citizens pay the bills, we should be albe to see understandable itemized spending upon request. Maybe if the right ones(open, straight forward, and detail oriented) are elected this year that will change.
There has been so much going on at city hall, it isnt funny. Some there are covering each other fannies and this neeeds to stop. They wont get rid of some because they have dirt of others and this protacts them. A new direction is a coming.
I know one that is retiring very soon and even though she loves her job it make her sad that she has to leave the job but she is so cick and tored of being made fun of because of her weight and then changes on policy. It is a wonder she has put up with it this long. If it was me I would have quit and sued the pants off some of these folks that have caused this emotional distress. 40 some pages of documentation still hasnt helped her because those that are treating her like this are still there working. It's time to clean up the MESS there.
On the flushing of the fire hydrants:
The CITY is responsible to make sure it is done because they own the water department per the state of TN. The water department is responsible in keeping the records of the flushing. When it is flushed it is to be done by "walking the line of water out" and checking the water for air, sediment and chlorine residuals.
I am having my water bacteria and other thorough tests ran. I will report back my findings when I have them.
Leanne it is hard to flush hydrants for the 15 minutes that Senna noted earlier in this blog when the water tanks are not full as they were a few weeks ago. Did anyone ever find out why we had a water shortage? I mean we have a treatment plant that is capable of producing 3 times the amount of water that we use. So why did we go on a water shortage several weeks back? And how often do these tanks get low? Could the fact that our tanks are getting low be causing the problems we are having with the water "stains or rings"? does anyone know when the last time the water tanks were inspected or any maintenance was done on them? I could keep asking questions that I am sure will not get answered so I will stop. But if anyone does have these answers please fill us in. I have an enquiring mind.
I assume you are talking about the dead ends being flushed for 15 minutes?
There are alot of variables into that other then it just being a flat 15 minutes on every dead end. It depends on how many houses are on that dead end, how much water is being used in the dead end, the consumption rate on the dead end and on and on.
Chris – I am going to give you (all of you) the phone number for Eric at the State of TN. You may call him at 687-7060 and speak to him yourself about your concerns or further questions. Ask him about the water shortage you are referring to as well.
For all of the candidates and anyone else interested.
The deadline to sign up for a booth for Old Timers' Day is Aug. 21.
The deadline to sign up for the parade is Sept. 10.
Please adhere to these deadlines so that we can ensure that there is room for you in the event/parade.
Sign-up online at http://www.lavergne.org.
Angie I signed up a few weeks ago after you contacted me. Did mine go through for both the parade and booth?
I signed up a couple if days ago for a sales booth but I have one question. Are we allowed to bring our own tents, just as long as it fits in one space?
Eh, make that 2 questions. If we are selling something, do we have to turn in any paperwork/license (other than the sign up sheet) to allow us to do so?
Thanks!!!
Angie I signed up yesterday. Can you let me know if you got it.
Kandy and Chris —
Received your forms perfectly. Will get info to you as time grows near.
Ang
thanks angie
Thank You Angie
Just a few comments/questions before election day. Specifically for those running for office. Why does La Vergne NOT have a tornado warning siren? And why does the traffic light at the intersection of Old Nashville Hwy and Jefferson Pike NOT have a turn arrow?? I have sat at that right light as much as FOUR red lights waiting for someone in front of me to try to turn left on to Jefferson Pike.