I’ll start out by wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a Joyous Holiday Season!  In Brentwood, there is plenty of holiday cheer to go around, and we have much to be thankful for as we move from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

One of my favorite traditions is the lighting of the Christmas Tree at Brentwood library.  This year we are doing it at 5:30pm on Monday, December 4th, and includes music, hot chocolate, and a reading of the Polar Express Tim Burgin ( registration is required for the reading ).

Other traditions include:

• “ Morning with Santa ” at Brentwood Library 9am-12:30pm on Saturday Dec 2nd,
• “ Deaf Santa at the Library ” 6pm-7:30pm on Wednesday December 6th,
• “ Neighborhood Luminaries ” starting 6pm on December 9th,
• “ Holiday Crafting Crawl ” Monday December 11th from 4pm-6pm,
• “ Muppet Christmas Carol ” from 5pm-7pm December 14,
• “ Holiday Candy Houses ” Saturday December 16 from 1pm-2pm

We are incredibly blessed to live in this fine city, here in one of the most prosperous counties located in the most successful country in the history of the world.

That said, I understand that with my job as a City Commissioner comes responsibility for helping to continue our success and address opportunities for improvement in our community.

As always, your perspective and feedback is important to me, and you can reach me at either Nelson.Andrews@BrentwoodTN.gov if it’s not “on fire” and 615-917-1384 (voice or text) if it is.

Sincere thanks to friends who contribute to the process of creating this newsletter.

Old Smyrna Road

If you’ve been reading my regular newsletters, you know Old Smyrna Road has been on our mind for quite a while.  It represents both an important east-west connection and is also one of the last truly scenic roads reminding us of our roots.

With narrow lanes, no shoulders, and deteriorating edges, it is also a problem that is getting worse. Brentwood has been looking at this periodically since the early 1990’s but the tricky nature of this road inspired previous commissioners to do nothing and leave Old Smyrna Road in its original state.  Unfortunately, this is no longer a responsible option.

Earlier this year, we contracted with Sullivan Engineering to see what it would take to balance our two seemingly contradictory goals: improving the road and preserving its character.  At our September 21st commission briefing , Dickie Sullivan, President of Sullivan Engineering, gave a well-received presentation.  Mr. Sullivan talks through several options, and you can find a video of the full presentation here starting 30 minutes in.

The option that seemed to appeal most to your commission uses existing right-of-way to create a modern road to the north of the current Old Smyrna roadbed, and it preserves the most scenic portion of historic Old Smyrna Road as a “linear park” for pedestrians and cyclists.

This approach allows us to bring Old Smyrna Road up to modern standards without creating something like a second Concord Road.  As it turns out, it appears moving the road to the new location is also less expensive than improving the current roadbed.

While working through details, Sullivan Engineering also took into account safety concerns and the pace of traffic.  Their presentation included several features to calm traffic, maintain driveway access for current resident, and to keep both pedestrians and drivers safe.

The idea is that by improving this road, we can make it safer while preserving the scenic beauty of our community.  If done well, it also might take some pressure off of Concord Road by improving this alternative east-west route in a safe, responsible way.

The estimated cost of this project is $16 million total, split into two phases with $9.6 million for the western segment and $6.4 million for the eastern segment.  This money is not currently in our capital budget, and if we decide to pursue this improvement to our road system, we will need to figure out how to fit it in with other projects and funding.

If you have thoughts on this, I can be reached at Nelson.Andrews@BrentwoodTN.gov or 615.917.1384, and you can find contact information for all the commissioners here.

Mountain Bike Trail Work Day Dec 9

At the October workday, Bike Walk Brentwood and Citizens for Brentwood Greenspace had over 75 participate.

• The group has raised over $70,000 and is close to completing their fundraising goal of $85k to finish the citizen-build portion.
• Details on the next workday are:
  • WHAT: Smith Park MTB Workday
  • WHERE: 1825 Wilson Pike, Brentwood, TN 37027
  • WHEN: Saturday December 9th @ 9AM to 11AM
• Link to sign up for the workday
• Link to Donate

Links to Additional Brentwood News

• Brentwood Tennis, Pickleball, Parks, Walkability, and Mountain Biking
• Details and Timeline on the Indoor Tennis/Pickleball conversation
• What makes Brentwood “Brentwood”
• Budget Details for 2023

Resources:

• Full City of Brentwood Calendar
• Interactive City of Brentwood Maps, including zoning, parks, utility district, land records, and Historic Places
• City of Brentwood Commission Home page, including contact information, meeting schedule, and videos of past meetings
• City of Brentwood Planning Commission Home page, including contact information, meeting schedule, and videos of past meetings
• City of Brentwood Water and Sewer Master Plan and other information
• Full contact information for your Federal, State, County, and local elected officials
• Complete list and links to download Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for the City of Brentwood back to 2005
• City of Brentwood Capital Improvement Plans
• City of Brentwood Capital Projects through 2024
• City of Brentwood Police
• City of Brentwood Fire & Rescue: Fire and Rescue
• City of Brentwood Emergency Communications
• Crime mapping tool :   Helping Build a Safer Community
• D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) instructors at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
• R.A.D.(Rape Aggression Defense) Basic, Advanced, and Weapons Defense
• C.R.A.S.E.(Citizens Response to Active Shooter Events) Instruction
• Women’s Self Defense Class
• Report activity if you think it is suspicious:  “If you see something, say something” :
• Property Inventory –  Brentwood Police works with “ReportIt”  – a secure inventory system that lets you store serial number, item descriptions, pictures, and scans of receipts so that your items may be more easily identified in the event of theft or loss.
• Neighborhood watch program:  Neighborhood Watch | City of Brentwood
• Citizen Police Academy:  Citizen Police Academy | City of Brentwood
• Citizen Fire Academy:  Citizens Fire Academy | City of Brentwood
• Child Seat Installation:   Child Safety Seat Installation | City of Brentwood
• Community CPR:  Community CPR | City of Brentwood
• Williamson County Emergency Management Agency:  Emergency Management Agency | Williamson County, TN

What Makes Brentwood “Brentwood”

• Brentwood is Safe
• Brentwood is Beautiful
• Brenwood is Financially Stable
• Brenwood is Collaborative
• Brentwood Life is Centered around Community Activities

If you’ve read down this far, you are clearly also an important part of what makes Brentwood “Brentwood”.  Thank you very much for your interest and engagement!  I’ll take this second opportunity to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a Joyous Holiday Season!

Nelson Andrews
Commissioner
City of Brentwood
“From Brentwood, For Brentwood”

615-917-1384
Nelson.Andrews@BrentwoodTN.gov