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I’m incredibly impressed by the enthusiasm Brentwood Residents have for investing in our community. Just a few of the projects happening include adding turf to Crockett Park baseball fields to make them all-weather, adding inclusive capability to Granny White Park, upgrading our library, and potentially adding a mountain bike trail to Marcella Vivrette Smith Park.

The fact that Brentwood Citizens instigate and orchestrate private fundraising campaigns to support civic programs reinforces my faith in the character of our people. It has been 30 years since Brentwood raised the tax rate, and while this is often attributed to success in growing our tax base, it is also because residents voluntarily invest in our community. This habit helps us “have nice things” without putting them on the tax bill and also adds a critical aspect of community engagement and oversight.

As always, I value your perspective and feedback, 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 the process of creating this newsletter. Staying informed is vital to good governance, and “it takes a village.” I link to source material whenever possible, and welcome your questions and suggestions.

News:

Brentwood Police Peacefully Diffuse Dangerous Situations

We have experienced two independent situations recently where Brentwood Police Officers successfully deescalated volatile situations and apprehended suspects.

• The first incident was in September, when a gun was discharged in River Oaks. Brentwood citizens were instrumental in helping officers quickly locate the suspect. You can find news coverage of the incident on the Williamson Herald and on Fox 17.
• The second incident was on October 28th when a suspect rammed Brentwood Police with a vehicle, left the scene, rammed a second Brentwood Police vehicle, and was apprehended. Despite using the vehicle as a potentially lethal weapon, Brentwood Police apprehended the suspect unharmed. You can find detail at Williamson Home Page at and on WKRN.

While we would rather not have any incidents, I cannot say enough good things about the skill and professionalism demonstrated by the Brentwood Police Department in their handling of these challenging situations.

Brentwood Fire & Rescue is collecting Toys for Tots

• This past year has not affected everyone the same way, and there are many in Middle Tennessee having trouble as they come into the Christmas Season.

• Brentwood Fire and Rescue Department is collecting new and unwrapped Toys for Tots through Graceworks Ministries Manger through Monday, December 13 to help less fortunate families feel the love of our community.
• Donations are accepted at drop-off box locations between 8am and 5pm at any of the four Brentwood Fire and Rescue Stations, John P. Holt Brentwood Library, Brentwood Service Center, Brentwood Police Department or City Hall.
• You can find Graceworks’ Manger Amazon Wishlist Here.
• Graceworks also allows Online Donations using this link.

“Brighten Brentwood” Christmas Tree Lighting on December 6th

• Join us for Brighten Brentwood: The 23rd Annual Christmas Tree Lighting event on Monday, December 6, 2021 at 5:30pm at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library, located at 8109 Concord Road.
• Our program will include hot coco from The Proverbial Cup, the Brentwood Academy Singers and the lighting of the Christmas tree.
• Indoor activities include a 5pm and 6pm reading of The Polar Express by Brentwood’s new train conductor, Steve Burgin.
• Full details are posted at on the City of Brentwood Home Page.

Brentwood Tree Board Wins State Awards of Excellence

• Brentwood Tree Board is the winner of two Awards of Excellence, a program sponsored by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry.

• You can find full details on our City of Brentwood News Page
• You can also find the final results of “Brentwood’s Best Ash” posted online.
• Congratulations to all our winners!

Brentwood Recognized as a top place to live (again):

• Brentwood is ranked No. 3 on Wallet Hub’s list of “2021 Best Small Cities in America.”
• Over 1,300 cities were considered based on factors including affordability, economic health, education quality, restaurants per capita, and more.
• You can find the story on WKRN using this link.

Follow Up on Previous News

• Stormwater Control – we have taken several steps towards improving our water control, including:
  • Passing a resolution establishing initial policy for our use of American Rescue Plan funds. The City of Brentwood has received $12.6 million of ARP funds, which can only be spent on specific projects, including water and sewer. We have chosen to allocate $5m of this money towards the sewer equalization tank currently in process, with the remaining $7.6 million (approx.) deposited in the Capital Projects Fund and reserved for future ARP-Qualifying projects.
  • Acquiring 18 (+/-) acres west of Hillsboro Rd adjacent to our pump station for the stormwater equalization tank.
  • Entering into an agreement with Schwalls Consulting to complete a review of our flood ordinance. The desired outcome is to improve our ordinance with one thorough study rather than make incremental changes on a case-by-case basis.
  • This is a long-term process with more on the way.

• Old Smyrna Road – The feedback I received about Old Smyrna Road has been overwhelmingly in favor of preserving the historic nature of this part of Brentwood. To that end, we have added the new “Agricultural Residential Estate – Innovative Project” (AR-IP) zoning to our code. This zoning category is intended to preserve the scenic and historic quality of the Old Smyrna Road corridor. You can find additional information on the City of Brentwood News Page.

• The YMCA and One Brentwood — The YMCA of Middle Tennessee has broken ground on the $23 million to expansion and update of the Brentwood facility on Concord Road. You can find details on the expansion of facilities and programs offered on the YMCA “One Brentwood” home page and you can find detailed coverage on WSMV.

Briefly

• Moody’s Investors Service has again assigned a Aaa rating to the City of Brentwood. Details are posted at Moody’s, and on the City of Brentwood site. I would like to acknowledge the consistent good decisions over many, many years by staff and commission to earn this rating.
• Emissions Testing will end in Williamson County on January 14, 2022.
• We are making significant improvements to the Murry Lane/Holly Tree Gap intersection and will be able to replace the stop signs with a much more efficient roundabout system.

Calendar:

• Our full City of Brentwood Calendar is available online.
• December events include:
  • December 4 – Morning with Santa starting at 9 am
  • December 6 – “Brighten Brentwood” Christmas Tree Lighting
  • December 11 – Neighborhood Luminaries
  • December 23, 24, 31 – Brentwood City Offices closed

This Month’s Focus: Community support of Brentwood projects, and the incredible benefit it brings our community

Brentwood has a long history of civic-minded collaboration to help improve our community without solely relying on tax dollars to fund projects. High-profile, long-standing examples of this include Civitan Ballpark, Eddy Arnold Amphitheater, and the Rotary Pavilion at Granny White Park.

This tradition is alive and well in our community, and in the spirit of the season of giving, I want to share some stories of what is going on in Brentwood right now.

Friends of the Library

One of the most engaged, active groups in Brentwood is the Friends of the Library.

• The Friends of the Library:
  • Run quarterly fundraising book sales
  • Hold frequent events, such as the Halloween Book-Tacular, Teen Bash, yule Ball, Tri-Band Tournament, and many others.
  • Fund improvements to our library, such as funding a replacement movable wall for our community rooms.
• If you would like to learn more or get involved yourself, you can find Friends of the Library online here.

The Miles Together Inclusive Playground at Granny White Park

• In June 2020, Brentwood’s Rotary clubs proposed, and the Brentwood City Commission unanimously approved a resolution to enter into a fundraising agreement for the addition of an inclusive playground to Granny White Park.
• Design and construction contracts are close to final approval, and the target completion date is Summer 2022.
• Enthusiasm for having inclusive playgrounds in Brentwood is so strong that there is serious talk about brining one to Crockett Park as well.

• If you would like to learn more, or get involved as a supporter, you can find extensive detail online.

Brentwood Ball Club Turf Baseball Fields at Crockett Park

• Brentwood Ball Club – formerly known as Civitan – is a long-time Brentwood institution, and residents have spent many hours in Civitan Park since the 1970’s. Much more than just local baseball, the Brentwood Ball Club runs teams playing both travel and recreational baseball, softball, and basketball.
• The Brentwood Ball Club recognized the need for all-weather baseball fields and worked collaboratively with the City of Brentwood Parks Department to identify the ideal location in Crockett Park.
• In addition to doing substantial research and coordination, Brentwood Ball Club raised $450,000 to put towards the project and is also setting aside funds for ongoing maintenance to the fields are in top condition all year around going forwards.

• Construction has been approved, and we anticipate completion of the turf on Crockett Fields 5 and 6 by summer 2021.

Citizens for Brentwood Green Space and Marcella Vivrette Smith Park

• The mission of Citizens for Brentwood Green Space is to support and stimulate community action to preserve open space in the city of Brentwood.
• The Citizens for Brentwood Green Space have directly presented the City of Brentwood with more than $300,000 to support our park system.
• The also offer the opportunity to make honor and memorial gifts to Brentwood, such as Miss Peggy’s Bark Park at Tower Park.

• If you would like to help support Citizens for Brentwood Green Space, you can find them online at www.brentwoodgreenspace.org.

Leadership Brentwood

• Leadership Brentwood is well known for the year-long educational and development program, but they have also contributed substantially to our city services.
• A few samples of the projects they have dedicated to the City of Brentwood include:
  • Water bottle filling stations in several of our parks.
  • Park Benches in Marcella Vivrette Smith Park.
  • Renovation of the historic root cellar at Ravenswood Mansion.
  • Adding landmark murals to City Park.
• You can find a full list the many, many class projects here.
• Leadership Brentwood also runs Youth Leadership Brentwood for high school juniors and seniors.
• If you would like to join, sponsor, or support Leadership Brentwood, you can find them at online.

Brentwood’s Summer Concert Series at Crockett Park

• For decades, summers in Brentwood have included Sunday-night concerts at the Eddy Arnold Amphitheater at Crockett Park (another great example of citizen benevolence)

• Our summer concert series benefits tremendously from generous sponsors, including:
  • Tractor Supply Company
  • The Hill Center
  • YMCA
  • Wilson Bank & Trust
  • Brentwood Academy
  • Shaub Construction
  • Smith Seckman Reid (SSR)
  • TM Partners
  • Reliant Bank
  • Trustcore
  • Gresham Smith
  • Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty
• If you would like more information, or if you think you or your company would like to get involved, you can find everything you need here.

Prospective Mountain Bike Trails in Brentwood

• Bike Walk Brentwood has long worked to advocate for ways to make Brentwood more bike and pedestrian friendly.
• In recent months, the group has been working hard to explore the possibility of adding mountain bike trails to Marcella Vivrette Smith Park in a way that is safe and meshes well with existing park activities. Their team is currently exploring grants and other resources to help make this concept a reality. You can find information on this effort online.
• If you would like to contact Bike Walk Brentwood, you can find them here.

The groups I’m highlighting here are some of the ones who are currently actively working on projects in Brentwood. I could write much more about each of these projects, and I’m probably leaving out 5 groups for every one I’ve mentioned. I sincerely apologize to anyone who may feel overlooked and hope you can extend some grace knowing how tough it is to capture everything.

As we come into this season of gratitude, please join me in expressing “Thanks” to all those who work in our community.If you feel called to get involved, I hope you act on it, reach out to one or more of these organizations, and lend a hand. It really does make a difference

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

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a Joyous Holiday Season! Thank you for your help and support.

Nelson

Nelson Andrews
Vice Mayor
City of Brentwood
“From Brentwood, For Brentwood”
615-917-1384

Nelson.Andrews@BrentwoodTN.gov

As always, your perspective and comments are very important to me, and I want to encourage you to contact me at either Nelson.Andrews@BrentwoodTN.gov if it’s not “on fire” and 615-917-1384 (voice or text) if it is.