June is one of my favorite times of year in Brentwood, with the summer concert series in full swing and the worst of the heat and humidity still weeks away (I hope).

First and foremost, I’d like to thank all the people who came out and voted in the election this spring.  Voting in an uncontested election is not at the top of everyone’s “to do” list, which makes me appreciate everyone who did vote all the more.  Thank you!

I’m pleased to say that one of the biggest issues we have to solve is with recreational sports, which is a very high-quality project to work on.  We are incredibly blessed as a community to have the resources to consider amenities like this.

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.

Brentwood Indoor Tennis & Pickleball Facility on“Pause” while re-evaluated by a new Ad Hoc Committee

If you’ve been receiving my newsletters, you know we’ve been looking into options regarding indoor tennis, racquetball & pickleball in Brentwood since Fall 2020 when we found out the Maryland Farms YMCA was winding down.

Our broad options are:

1. Do nothing and let the private sector sort it out.
2. Try to do a tax-supported facility in collaboration with Williamson County Parks & Rec to leverage a larger tax base, available land, and county-expertise like we’ve done with the Indoor Sports Complex and the Indoor Soccer Arena.
3. “Go it Alone” and do something solo with only city resources.

Until recently, we had been moving towards “option 2” with Williamson County, but that process was recently put on “pause” while we form a new Ad Hoc Committee to study Tennis & Pickleball in Brentwood.  If you would like to learn more about what happened, there are two different articles in the Williamson Herald found here and here , the Tennessean here , and extensive information in this month’s “Focus” later in this newsletter.

I’m concerned that by “pulling the emergency brake” this deep into the process, we risk taking “option 2” off the table by cooling Williamson County’s interest in collaborating with Brentwood on this.  Brentwood contributes to the county tax base, and our county schools & recreational facilities are significant ways that our tax investments come back to us.

If you would like to be a part of the Racquet Facility Ad Hoc Committee, the application is here , and the deadline is noon on June 30 .  The Commission will be selecting members of this committee from the applicants at our July 24th City Commission meeting.

If you’d like to learn what we know so far and form your own views either to participate in the Ad Hoc committee or to converse with city and county commissioners, I’ve included extensive links to the meeting videos and to online documents below.  Just scroll down to “Focus — Indoor Tennis, Pickleball & Racquetball in Brentwood”.

The old YMCA location in Maryland Farms – 5101 Maryland Way

5101 Maryland Way — the old Maryland Farms YMCA location — was discussed at the January 3rd meeting of the Planning Commission:

• You can find the meeting minutes here.
• The full detail can be found online in the video of the planning commission meeting.  If you go to Jan 03, 2023 Brentwood Planning Commission – Brentwood, TN (swagit.com) and start at 19:09, you can see the full presentation by the staff, developer, and planning commission discussion.  It is the most detailed information I’ve seen on the project. 

Because this doesn’t require rezoning, I don’t expect it to come in front of the City Commission – all it has to do is meet existing code.  I have heard Williamson County is working with Highwoods (who owns the property now) towards an agreement to run pickleball, tennis and racquetball in old facility until it needs to be demolished.  The demolition date has not been set yet.

Franklin Road & Wilson Pike Repaving

• Monday, May 8, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) began work repaving Franklin Rd from Concord Road to Old Hickory Boulevard. The entire project is expected to take a few months to complete and begins with the ADA curb ramp work.
• Once TDOT finishes this project, next on the list is Wilson Pike from Church Street to Raintree Parkway.  We hope this project begins as soon as the Franklin Rd project finishes.
• You can find it on our City of Brentwood website here.

Briefly

• Brentwood is recruiting!  It is a great place to work, and if you’d like to share the recruiting video you can find it here , and our online application is here.  Please get this to anyone you know who would benefit from the opportunity!
• Mountain bike trails at Marcella Vivrette Smith Park are coming along well, with volunteers completing .75 miles of trail already.  There are no additional work days planned until fall, but you can support the effort financially using this link.
• The roundabout at Murray Lane and Holly Tree Gap has been delayed but is still in process as we work to carefully accommodate utilities and other concerns.
• Converting all our streetlights to LED is going along well.   If you would like to learn more and see the installation map, you can use this link.

Calendar

• June 24 — BrentFest featuring Rubiks Groove !
• July 4 — “ Red, White and Boom in Brentwood ” – Crockett Park
• July 14-16 — Friends of the Library Used Book Sale
• The full City of Brentwood interactive calendar is available here.

Focus — Indoor Tennis, Pickleball & Racquetball in Brentwood

We all found out September 2020 that the Maryland Farms YMCA was winding down, and that when it closes, a significant number of the indoor tennis courts in Brentwood will no longer be available.  At the same time, we have also witnessed a surge in the popularity of pickleball.

The good news is that Williamson County Parks & Rec has hired the professionals who previously worked with the YMCA Youth Tennis Program and they are available through county facilities including the Franklin Rec Center.  Williamson County Parks & Rec is also in talks with Highwoods properties about continuing to offer Tennis, Pickleball and Racquetball at the Maryland Farms facility until it is ultimately demolished.

I’ve heard a lot of comments lately about how we need to learn more and have “all the information available” about this issue.  While I agree that making an informed decision is core value for the City of Brentwood, I don’t want anyone to think this issue hasn’t been thoroughly investigated.  I also want everyone interested to have the ability to review the discussions and information already available.

I’m organizing the information from the beginning with links to the video and details.

• September 2020 – private citizens started reaching out regarding tennis & pickleball in Brentwood after the announcement that the YMCA was closing.
• September 14 and September 15, 2020 — citizens involved with tennis & pickleball sent emails to the commission detailing conversations with Gordon Hampton (Williamson County Director of Parks & Recreation) about doing something with Williamson County.
• November 2020 — the commission received feedback from Williamson County indicating they were evaluating options at the conceptual level in response to community input and the Maryland Farms YMCA going off-line.
• March 2021 — The United States Tennis Association (USTA) contacted Brentwood City Commission encouraging us to investigate options.  You can read a copy of the letter here.
• March 14, 2022 — at our City Commission meeting racquet sports advocates commented and distributed materials regarding tennis & pickleball in Brentwood, encouraging the City of Brentwood to get involved.  The meeting video is here  with the tennis and pickleball comments starting about 7:15 into the meeting, and you can get a copy of the utilization handout here. The Commission asked the staff around this time to seriously evaluate options for a tax-supported Tennis & Pickleball facility.
• August 18, 2022 — At our Commission Briefing as the staff followed up on a request by the commission from our Spring Budget Process to investigate the possibility of tax-supported indoor tennis/pickleball in Brentwood.  The meeting video is here and the tennis/pickleball discussion starts 28:22 into the meeting. We received a letter shortly after from some members of the Tennis & Pickleball community encouraging us to work with Williamson County.  You can find a copy of the letter posted at here as well as another copy of the usage data.
• Fall 2022 — Williamson County Parks and Recreation updates their county-wide masterplan including a series of community input meetings and extensive research into many programs including tennis, pickleball, and racquetball.
• Feb 23, 2023 — at our Commission Briefing, we had a detailed discussion about a Brentwood Tennis and Pickleball Facility.   The meeting video is posted here and the conversation starts about 50 minutes into the meeting.  We received a map of a proposed location and facility layout.
• March 9, 2023 — Director Gordon Hampton from Williamson County Parks & Rec did a detailed presentation for the City Commission along with his Deputy Director Rick Taylor, Athletics Superintendent Gary Hathcock, Tennis Coordinator Ann Marie Flynn, and Bryan Richter, the architect who designed the indoor soccer arena at Crockett Park.   You can find the full video here  with Gordon starting at about 17 minutes.  It is long, but very informative, and he addressed the concept of a public tennis facility thoroughly.   The slides are  posted at here and you can also find the Williamson County Parks & Rec fee structure posted here.
• April 20, 2023 — Private tennis pro Andy Veal presented at our Commission Briefing  starting about 25 minutes in.  You’ll notice a difference in focus between his experience in a for-profit tennis environment vs. the tax-funded recreational program discussed in the previous briefing.
• May 18, 2023 — The commission had a detailed discussion about tennis at our May 18 2023 City Commission briefing. The meeting video is here  and the tennis conversation starts about 42 minutes into the briefing.
• May 22, 2023 — The proposal to authorize the Brentwood City Staff to work with Williamson County Staff on a non-binding interlocal agreement came to a vote at the City Commission Meeting.  The full meeting video is posted here with the tennis & pickleball discussion starting 50:30 into the meeting.  The authorization was indefinitely deferred on a 4-3 vote and a request was made to form a new citizen committee to study tennis & pickleball.  You can find a copy of the deferred resolution here , and Williamson Herald coverage here.
• June 8, 2023 — The City Commission discussed tennis & pickleball again at our city briefing starting at 43:40 , and then moving on to bringing the resolution on an interlocal agreement back up starting at 1.01.29.
• June 12, 2023 — Tennis & pickleball was voted on again at the City Commission Meeting, video posted here with discussion starting at 48:10 and picking back up at 1:30:30.  The resolution to authorize city and county staff to explore a non-binding interlocal agreement was moved from indefinite deferral to a deferral ending October 2023.   Williamson Herald coverage is found here.

If this seems like a lot, I agree.  Since the commission did decide to form an Ad Hoc Committee, I hope everyone with an interest in this issue will take the time to review this, think through it, and reach out to their city and county commissioners with thoughts on how to best serve our community.

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
• City of Brentwood Capital Improvement Plans
• City of Brentwood Capital Projects

What Makes Brentwood “Brentwood”

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

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

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