Portland, Tennessee Blog

Thanks, Jessica....I would really like Porltand to have that kind of "look"....to have a place in it like that..that could be "the center" of things.....I think it would work so well...it could be really unique.....

That would be LOVELY,Deeanna! I would love to see that "small town" appearance...I hope they take that into consideration :)

About the Main St. Railroad Crossing being closed:

I think this really presents a great opportunity to make a really cool thing for Portland.

Main St. could be transformed into a really unique area of town....if it could be turned into "Main St. Square" or "Richland Courtyard"...instead of the way it is now... ( lined with cars ). Close in the back part of Main St. on the railroad end -- make an area there for a stage, fill in the street part with a brick courtyard,..and it could almost instantly become a really great place for market day festivals and the restaurant there could have tables and chairs --- it would really be area -- all the stores could decorate their store fronts, flowers in pots along the sidewalks....a walking only area. There's room for parking on both sides and the little alley way could be decorated really neat....right now, it just looks like a crowed parking lot !

The comments about the city hall being built for the police department aren't exactly accurate. That building was built many many years ago when portland was a very small community. It housed the City Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, (the fire trucks were even parked inside the building) City Jail, and who knows what else! Times have definitely changed. We had only a handfull of employees in the whole city! I'm not concerned about the RR trax, as y'all have stated, the Police don't "live" at the PD, their out patrolling and could be anywhere at any given time. My idea to move the PD to that Victor Reiter building was based on knowing that building was designed as an "office" building, and could be utilized as a great Police Department. I think Parking Issues, and physical layout make the city hall a bad choice to relocate the PD.

I understand -- same here about the band-aids.
The decision makers are going to have to be very careful to make the right decisions this time...Portland is in no position to make bad decisions right now. There are too many critical issues to deal with.
It's wise, I think, to get an outside opinion - a really objective opinion - not someone that someone knows, who will give an opinion that they want to hear...you know ?

There's always more than one answer to any given problem - I think this last Council meeting showed that they are looking in the right direction by stepping back and taking another look at the situation.

DeeAnna;
Thanks for your comments. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Lest I be misunderstood, I was being sarcastic about the Portables for the Police Dept. They need a real building with enough room for the officers as well as the administrative people. I just get tired of all the bandaid measures that are taken in Portland, rather than actually fixing the problems.

DA --- all super ideas and comments ! Agree with you 100% --- hope the powers that be are reading the blog and will give some consideration to what you wrote. It all makes sense.
My only concern is with the police dept. being behind the tracks, but maybe that's not that big a deal....it was there before, right ?

Here's an idea. Chief West could contact the Sumner County Schools and ask if they would be willing to bring up a few of the Portable Classrooms that our children have to use for daily classes. That couldn't possibly cost as much money as building a real live Police Station.

Come on, people. You are screaming all the time for more policemen, yet there is no office space or administrative space for them to use. The current City Hall was built for the Police Dept; it only makes sense to move them back into there. The railroad tracks are not as big a deal as people are trying to make it out to be. Most officers who respond to emergencies should be in their vehicles, anyway. You know, those vehicles might get caught on the other side of the tracks, too.

My biggest concern about the Victor Reiter building is when they said that there still wouldn't be room to store all the documents that the city generates. I agree that the Kerly building should be an option. It couldn't cost as much to power wash and sanitize the mold problem there as it would cost to build a multi-million dollar new structure.

We had a chance to vote in an impact fee to cover the cost of upgrading the infrastructure of the city, but that whole situation was a fiasco. The "POWERS THAT RUN THINGS" watered down the impact fee to a trickle, then channeled the monies raised to pay for Parks. Good Heavens! That money should go for new sewers and water systems.

After 3 months of drought, a Water Board was formed. It's like shutting the barn door after the horse got out!! Yet there are still major water leaks in the system, but no money to look for them or fix them. We'd better start planning for the future by making sure the infrastructure will support future growth. If we don't, we'll build up the 52 corridor, then play catch-up as we try to figure out how our antiquated, broken-down systems will handle all the extra water and sewage.

Thanks, Mike. We appreciate what you do for the City of Portland.

THP,
sorry about that
it is taken care of
thank you
mike

I'm posting this and hoping councilman Callis will see it. Noticed on the cityofportlandtn.gov web site that no minutes have been posted since the early Aug. meeting and no agenda is posted for tonight's council meeting. Any way those can be posted today so we can see minutes from the Sept. meeting what is on the council agenda for tonight? It is real informative if it would be kept up to date.

I don't know about a dump, but if it's still usable, you can post the items on Freecycle. There is a group for Portland, White House, & Gallatin areas. They are listed on www.freecycle.org
It is a good way to keep items out of a dump & to find someone who could use them.

Does anyone know where leftover building supplies and wood, and bricks can be taken ?? Does Portland have a dump for things like this ?

Who all attended the CEMC meeting today?

Apologies.....I forgot where I saw that comment....it's still here.....WHEW.....I'm happy I was wrong. I sure didn't think or understand what was wrong with that comment. Sorry about jumping to that conclusion.

I just noticed something odd within the last hour.
I signed onto the blog to see if there were any new comments. There was a comment from someone who said they just moved here and was commenting on how there were no cabs or public transportation. The next time I logged on tonight to check the blog again....that comment had been taken off !!!

Is there that much censoring going on here?

I was surprised to see the blog being so censored that a newcomer to Portland couldn't express an opinion here .

Can someone who is in charge of this blog explain this ? Was the comment too negative of Portland??? LOL LOL

Buying property on Hwy52W @ Searcy Lane for new City Hall --are you Kidding???
There is so much traffic there now that it is very dangerous --did anyone read the Progressive paper on Wednesday --this is most dangerous intersection.
Even with a red light --it would be very difficult to get to City Hall day or night with School activites.

they are going to build 2 new schools in this area & you want to put city hall in the middle of all that congestion???

Suggest-buy property on down on Hwy 52W for later building a new City hall.
Purchase the bldg on Victor Reiter & put the Police station there. They need room as soon as possible & deserve the room.

Put Public Works & codes in old police bldg.

Leave City hall where it is & buy other property to build later --when the money is there.

SOmeone suggested this about moving police station to Victor Reiter & codes & public works to old police station. Great Idea!!
Go with it!!!!!!

What action should we take?
Can you tell me what those other cities did that caused growth?

I get the impression that you feel those other cities forced retail to invest somehow.
We welcome investment and we have been trying to do some ground work to prepare for it.

I too want action, but we only have control over so much.
Example; there is a particular retailer looking at our city right now, and they have been for several months. They have looked at some land and have asked some questions. I wished they would commit today and start building this week, but the truth is, a single developed parcel can take years to realize; and like it or not, many retailers wait until others develop before they do.

I get it, your frustrated; but as I have said many times, we cannot force someone to invest their money here.

The work that has been going on in the last couple of years is extremely vital to our growth, but that kind of work is not easily seen.
Yes government moves slow; but planning, appropiation, approval, and implementation takes a long time. We use a lot of grants to us help fund our projects, and that process can be years in the making.

Then you have a new election and the newly elected have their own plan and the process starts all over again with things being left undone and some things simply forgotten.

HWY 52 West should have had all available utilities at least 10 years ago, but people are scared to act when they see the price tag. So here we are in 2007 trying to partially run utilities on a major road in our town, and if we do not, we can never expect growth.

We are closer now than ever, when it comes to a shot at brand name retail.
LBTD was very close this time and it may pass next time and Jody can ask for Sunday beer sales at every council meeting until he gets it; and maybe they are the catalyst for this growth that many want.
But when it happens (not if), I hope we are prepared to help reduce our mistakes along the way.

Call me, and we can sit down and discuss the whole thing.
I'll buy the coffee.

Coucilman Callis:

Your post with regard to other towns going through the same with...complaining about lack of stores etc....that is all very well and good, yes they may have had the same struggles...there is a bit of a difference though. The difference is, they stopped talking about it and stopped making excuses and actually acted on it. Thats the difference!

So with this in mind...when does the action begin.

Jody:

Please tell me you are planning a run for mayor!!! You've got my vote...again!

You're right. We do have it pretty good and I know we have people are doing their best with what they have to work with -- and there is no doubt that Portland is growing -- and it IS very important to plan for it's future, same as a family has to plan for it's future. Sometimes it just seems a bit overwhelming with so many huge hurdles to overcome.

It would be easier if Portland had a focal point..like a City Building in the middle of the town to build around, somewhere the town could focus on to beautify and have as a drawing point, you know ? Like Franklin, KY has that beautiful old courthouse in the middle with the businesses all around....but we don't...we are spread out all over the place..that makes it hard to make a pretty town, I think.

Well, I don't envy any of the Council or the mayor right now..having to deal with all these decisions....

Good Luck and thanks for all your hard work - I know it's not easy.

yes and yes.
we are working on both situations, we work on many problems.

Water, we will have to appeal and then go from there. We may have to run a piepline oneday, who knows.

Sewer, there are many who do not have it and want it, but there are some who have access to it but choose not to hook on,go figure.
We hope to take care of several problems if the new 109 comes through, TDOT will handle a lot of cost, we will pay for the upgrades.
We could fix all the sewer problems, but it comes back to money (rates are high now); as new development comes in they help share in the cost; upgrading lift stations, better connectivity for water, etc..

We cannot simply not plan and not move forward because there are some problems, there will always be problems.

The longer we wait the longer it will be. We have to chip away where we can.
We are trying to expand our city with some things, while at the same time we are trying to fix those things which are old; and it is a balancing act.

Example, the new school going out on 52 is going to help with sewer. They have allowed so much money for their needs and we asked to pool that so to speak, so we can be more effective. This will help us achieve our goal of getting 52 ready for growth.

We would not be discussing 90% of these problems unless we were growing, these are good things.
Any town that is growing goes through these.

People are not moving out of the area, they are coming in. Why? Because there is a lot of potential here. People complain and say the jobs we have pay to little, ask the guy that moved here from somewhere else. He will tell you it would be nice to make more, but it is also nice to have a job.

Your right, we have some big hurdles.
But we also have some people committed to doing their best, they cannot work miracles, but they know how to work hard.

I just see these problems as a means to an end; I am excited about my town.
I look at my family, my friends, my belongings, and my hometown; and I can truly thank God that we have it pretty good.

Councilman Callis - all that sounds great: the long range plans, the commercial district, etc., but isn't the first hurdle the water problem ??

Aren't there homes right now that can't hook up to sewers ?

The HWY 52 west corridor study (which was approved in finance)will outline what a retail commercial district will look like; along with that, we have started the approval process for water and sewer extensions down 52.
The city is focused on future growth and these two steps are vital, but they are not cheap nor are they done overnight.
We hope to have a plan and infrastructure in place as our numbers grow, that we will be ready for investors.
We are at work trying to resolve some issues with growth boundaries out at the 52/I-65 area and the land around the proposed new interstate exchange.
We would love someone to come in and pay a $1,000,000 for a piece of land, then construct a $8,500,000 building, and then give the city another $2,500,000 for sewer, water, and roads; but those deals do not happen everyday.
We see Walgreens getting ready to open soon (and I for one am glad), but that took a long time in the making before you ever heard of it or seen any movement. They are investing a boat load of cash into this community because they believe they can be profitable; and that is what every company looks at.
We are trying to be on these companies radar screens, and when they think it will be profitable for them they will come; but until then we can try to do our best and be thankful for what we have and positive about the good things.
We would all like to have things right now, but that just is not reasonable.
Someone mentioned Gallatin and Hendersonville etc..; it has not been that many years when they were fighting over Walmart, LBTD, zoning, and the fact that there was no retail and everyone had to go Madison. Having grown up here I can tell you that they complained many years about the same things we struggle with.It will not happen overnight, it is a long process.

Portland is a great town!

Murray hit the nail right on the head, well said!
Let me add one more thing to that statement. Think of what could of been accomplished had all this time effort brain storming and the like had been placed on restructuring the business end of this city not to mention the cost.

Has the Mayor hired a consulting firm to evaluate and develop a strategic plan for our city to thrive and build an economically feasible retail district for our town. You know something that brings in income, rather than spending all the time. I know, I know you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink, well then we need to cure what ailes them cause sooner or later they will drink where the source is appealing and lately that has been in our next door neighbors pond!

Leave City hall where it is for now rent or buy a house that is zoned commercial and move planning and codes to it, add a portable to the current police dept parking lot and make do until the time is right. Then work on making Portland Proud and PROGRESSIVE.

Honestly, it doesn't matter to me if they put the Police Station and City hall in the old barn at Meadow Brook. It doesn't really matter. This town doesn't have jack to offer it's own citizens in the way of a place to dine, a place to shop, or anything. Raise property taxes, I don't care, I will continue to shop in Franklin. Keep beer sales out of Portland on Sunday, I don't care, the Penny Saver and the Shell Station by the Interstate both sell it. I will save money one way or the other. It takes money to build things such as a new city hall, etc. Without money coming in....property taxes and increases in your water bills will be the only thing to make this town be able to pay for going forward.....

Anybody read the recent Sumner County Fact Book that was given out by the News Examiner? Man, after reading the bios and articles about growth and progress in the cities of Gallatin, Hendersonville, and White House....it was laugh out loud funny to read the articles about Portland, and what our city leaders and chamber of commerce had to say about Portland's opportunities. The thing is, we have none. This city is only growing population-wise.

Also.....To the people who want Portland to stay small, "Why do you eat at Chili's in Gallatin after church on Sunday?"

Ok, let me back up and punt again. Daniel I understand where you're coming from. But let me set some things staight for all my blogger friens, I have NO sentimental ties to City Hall being where it currently is! Very little of the arguement I've heard has been "it needs to stay there because it's where it's always been" I have heard it, but not enough to matter. My main objective this whole time has been this: From being an ex-police officer, I know first hand the conditions at the Police Department. Three detectives work in what used to be the janitor's closet. This is not an exaggeration! One of the detectives, who isn't there any longer, paneled the block walls, and put carpet in a JANITOR'S CLOSET to make an office for himself; there are now THREE detectives in the same closet! There is a drain in the floor that constantly created a sewer odor. If it's been repaired i'm unaware. The Police Chief has made an office out of an old conference room, they are using old jail cells to store evidence in. The list goes on and on! The fact is, the Police and Fire departments were given an old Dairy Queen to use as a Public Safety building. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that there are space problems at City Hall, but I hardly doubt that it is to the extent that our Police Department is. I have been exited at the idea of obtaining the Victor Reiter building. And this is not an "I want my way" situation. But I know "first hand" as an ex-city employee what those conditions are. I sincerely believe that moving our Police department to Victor Reiter would be a great benefit to that department and to the citizens of this town. I just honestly don't see where moving "some" of the city hall offices to this building is going to solve everyone's problems. Here's my idea: Move the PD to Victor Reiter, move Codes, Public works, and Planning into the offices that will be vacated by the PD. This will give the PD much needed space and will last for many many years. City hall will then have much more room it needs. It's a perfect scenario except for the part where the city recorder says "we can't pay for it that way" I don't buy that (no pun intendid) I will always be a supporter of sooner or later BUILDING a facility on 52, 109, or somewhere practical to house our city hall and other offices. I would NEVER hold back progress, but as a business person, this proposal we are voting on is NOT a practical business decision. It is being presented to us that we should buy the Victor Reiter building, and move codes, planning, and public works into it. This would supposedly create space in city hall. TIME OUT: This is the building that we were told could house the ENTIRE city hall and council chambers!!! So now you tell me that we're going to spend that kind of money to move only a portion of the city hall into that big building? O-kay! now how exactly is that going to help the PD? We're supposedly going to give the PD a substantial amout of money to "remodel" and fix what they need! Do y'all see where I'm going with this? Call it what you want, this is a BAD business decision!!! And I do NOT like it!!! Trust me, we WILL pay for this one!!!

Daniel, your hypothetical about the police officers all leaving is not as plausible, as the possibility of Chief West leaving !! He could very well leave due the the pressures he's working under, too !

If everyone left a job because their office space was too small....or their conditions weren't ideal, there wouldn't be very many people keeping their jobs !!

Yes, something needs to be done...but it should be done with the greatest benefit to all and as cost - saving as possible. Portland doesen't have the luxury of making too many more bad decisions.
I think Mayor Wilber's decision to hire a firm to do research on this issue to see what makes the most sense is the wisest step to take now.

I pushed for 4 new officers in this past budget, barely had enough support to get the 3 we got. Still need these positions filled.

Some ideas may seem brainless, but it was a public meeting and people there were trying to resolve issues based on available information.

Jody, I welcome any plan that may be workable and I am open to ideas; if you have a plan, present it at the council meeting and the way to pay for it; and walah!

We felt the options have been explored (based on the current financial situation) and it was time to go to council. You can vote it up or down, you can make any stipulation you would like concerning the property; but at least it will be time cast a vote.

So, see ya there.....;)

I just think it's time to do something. The longer this idea goes the worse the ideas get. I was from the start and remain in favor of moving city hall to Victor Reiter and the police department to the current city hall. Money is going to be spent either way and there is not another idea that has been presented that makes as much sense and works as well. We say we don't need a complex for another ten years so let's be honest. In ten years, Liquor By the Drink will have passed and with it, Sunday beer sales. That means within ten years more money will be coming in and the city could possibly afford to build a complex on Hwy 52. Until that happens, moving a few offices to Victor Reiter won't solve anything nor will only moving the police department.
Everything you can say against city hall being on Victor Reiter can also be said about the current location. They are both out of the way of the way of the general flow of traffic. I was told that I don't understand the importance of having city hall downtown since I'm not from here originally so I'll turn that around on you. When I first drove to Portland and looked for city hall I had to stop and ask directions because 75 percent of people from out of town have no clue to look across railroad tracks and down a street for city hall.
But to be brutally honest, until more people in Portland start attending government meetings and actually voting in elections why should much of our opinion matter? How can you say how historic having city hall downtown is when you don't ever bother going to it except for the rare occassions as Mr. Lawson put it, that beer is the subject at a council meeting? What difference does it make where city hall is if nobody ever goes to it?
In the meantime, our police officers do need more room, whether we like it or not. We say having them located at the current city hall would create a problem if they got stuck on the wrong side of the tracks during a bank robbery or something. Well what about this, what if you are getting robbed one night two years down the road and you could have been saved by a well-trained officer but they all left because they got tired of working with minimal numbers and inside a cramped building so Chief West is forced to hire Gomer Pyle's ulter ego and you end up getting shot that night because he was busy trying to find what frequency to tune his radio into instead of doing his job?
As Alderman Callis said a long time ago, there are no perfect answers to this, but maybe there still can be.

If the owner of the building that is being considered, doesen't care if it's sold or not -- I wonder if he would consider renting it to the city for a certain length of time for a fee that the city could afford ( a good will gesture ? )- while the city copes with some of it's growing pains and figures out a way to buy land or save money for a permanent City Hall location.

That way, he could still be getting something out of a property that is just sitting there empty - and the value of it keeps going up -- and he could re-sell it later for a lot more than he will be making if he sells it to the city now.

Anyway...I think the proposed City Hall move dosen't make a lot of sense..and having the police dept. stuck behind the railroad tracks makes no sense to me.

My post was not about speeders.Though they are a problem they are not the most pressing problem this town faces.Take a drive down Strawberry St.or the Westside trailer park area on any Friday or Saturday night and you will see what I'm talking about.I know what it's like to live in this area.Im not saying everyone in these areas are involved in criminal activity.There are law abiding citizens who live there who have to deal with trouble all the time.I don't like taxes any more than anyone else,but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and pay for things that are needed.I would much rather pay for something of this nature that would improve Portland in ways that a Civic center or Greenway never could,improve the quality of life in this town.

Mike? come on now! I'm not on Finance, so I missed that meeting. Are you really serious? It's actually being considered to give that amount of money to buy the building then only move a few of the departments from city hall? You have got to be kidding me! WHO in the world is pushing this? And for those who ask, this has nothing to do with who owns the building, he could get more out of it from someone else, and could care less if we buy it or not! So now we're gonna but it, move SOME offices? Add onto the Polce Department? Somebody's got more money than brains! And you guys eat my supper for incinuating we sell a beer on Sunday? I'm not catching on to the whole picture or something!

Moving City Hall - Not in favor of the building on Victor Reiter period. As has been noted before it is not a good location and does not reflect the image we need for our town. This is nothing more than a band-aid leaving a much larger expense still lingering to do the job right! I say compromise as best we can without a great financial burden and SAVE for the real deal! Start selling some of what we aren't using to help (ex: old farmers bank bldg) or use the space to compromise for the time being until we have the funding. YES the Mayor has done a GREAT job providing other alternatives, I know they are strapped for space, but is this really the right answer for our City and the tax payers? The way I see it is if this gets done now you will never see the municipal complex this town really needs.
Just my two cents for what it's worth!

Terry,

This is not a problem that is exclusive to Portland. BUT, Honestly I have to disagree with you with regard to adding 50% to the police force and here is why.

I can not tell you how many times I have seen Portland Police supposedly sitting and running radar on cars at various places, having a car blast by me at a high rate of speed and right past the officer with nothing happening. Now when I am going the speed limit and it is obvious that someone is speeding, particularly right past a police officer?......That's not a problem with how many officers we have, thats a problem with apathy.

I think the solution is greater accountablity on the part of the police to those that supervise them...they don't enforce law many times because they know they don't have to. They know there is no consequence for not pulling someone over or enforcing other laws that are broken.

This is not a number problem...this is an attitude problem and attitude reflects leadership!

I do think we need to add to the force...but not by 50% and not with more of my money.

It has been discussed numerous times on this blog how Portland can increase revenue so I won't go in to it again and beat a dying horse...its obvious many just don't want to hear it!

I have an idea that I would like a councilman to bring up in a future meeting.I would like to see our police force increased by 50% over the next calender year.I myself would be in favor of a property tax increase to fund this(and this alone).I would like to see at least 4 of the new officers,two on days,two on nights riding together,patroling the known drug areas in town.Let's hire THESE officers from a large metropolitan city where they have experience dealing with streetcrime.Lets put pressure on those breaking the laws of this town and if they go to jail enough times it will give them a reason to find another town to call home.

Finance met again Monday night and one of the items was the moving of city hall.

1.With all due respect to the idea of the Victor Reiter as a police dept only, this idea, as has been stated several times, is not a viable one with the money that has been alotted.
The loan is structered in such a way that it will require both the enterprise fund and the general fund to pay for it. The general fund does not have the capacity to fund it solo; without a new revenue stream.
2. The newest idea put forth at finance is to place public works, codes, and planning in the Victor Reiter building; therefore freeing up space at the present city hall, where the mayor and other administration will remain. The police dept. would be reconfigured with a possible add-on; thus leaving city hall in its present location.
3. Finance voted to purchase the building and send to council a recomendation to do so.
4.We are trying to accomplish 3 things; more space for police, more space for city hall workers, and more space for the public at the meetings.
5. Buying land on Hwy 52West should also be considered for the future.
6. I commend the mayor and his staff for working hard in presenting us with different ideas; that is the way it should be.

WEll here is the way that I see it. To move city hall to that location is not a good one. It is just not a good location for people here to get to. To give someone directions to the new place will be crazy. The only reason that they are going to move it is because of who owns the building currently. They could of easliy purchased another building or done something else. I am just not for all of the moving that will be going on either.

Can I get some folks to pipe in and give me their thoughts on moving City Hall? Honestly I'm not for it! It won't kill me if it's moved, but I can't help but think that it's not being looked at as a permanant move. We'll be shuffling SEVERAL city departments all at once. ie. city hall to Victor Reiter, Police to South Russell, It is my opinion that the money quoted to make this move will not be accurate. Here's my thoughts; put the Police in the Victor Reiter building, then move Public Works and Codes to the offices that will be vacated by the Police. There is no reason for Public Works and Codes to be inside the city hall. That in return would free up a substantial amount of space at the City Hall and walah! problem solved! Moving Public Works and Codes to the Public Safety Building where the Fire Department is, would only mean having to move desks and files. But moving Both the Police and City Hall would be Major Computer, 911, and Phone relocating issues. I don't know, maybe I'm being negative about it and not seeing a bigger picture

Dave Ramsey's
FINANCIAL PEACE SEMINAR - " The Total Money Makeover "
This Saturday September 29th 1am-3pm.
This is a Live Event with Speaker Russ Carroll at Union Chapel General Baptist Church 1125 College St Portland. $19.00 per person.
Call Cindi at 332-2281 for ticket status or information.

The Dave Ramsey Show can also be seen on Cable channel 49 M-F from 1-3pm.