On December 2, I met with the green space committee for Brentwood and we had a good discussion regarding how green space fits into the whole discussion about sustainability and energy efficiency format. We certainly see common ground and I think they will have a place on the sustainability committee project.
On December 11, I met with the Franklin Sustainability Mobility subcommittee. We agreed on two of three issues that we want to pursue and they were to encourage the study of the southern transportation corridor through Williamson and Maury counties into the metro Nashville area and possible alternative fuels for Franklin city fleet vehicles.
On December 16, I met with the ad hoc committee made up of Commissioners Betsy Crossley and Regina Smithson and Assistant city manager Kirk Bednar to further discuss a plan for the full city commission to consider relating to a proposed sustainability committee. Kirk Bednar has researched several cities in Tennessee and other states and summarized their activities. He formulated a plan based on what he had heard from city commissioners and what he had learned from his research, where by a 12 member hoc committee would be formed to study and provide recommendations to the city commission as to actions to enhance and improve the sustainability of the community. This committee would be made up of members of existing boards, commissions and committees plus other persons from the community at large to come up with recommendations to be presented to the full city commission for action in approximately one year.
A consensus was agreed upon and will be presented to the city commission at the January 12 regular commission meeting for consideration. It was interesting to see just what has and is being done around the state of Tennessee and the nation. Many communities are fully engaged and acting on formulated plans. There are lots of similarities in that recycling, energy production and efficiency, conversation in general as well as other social and economic issues are being addressed all around the country.
Many communities are adopting LEED or other similar certifications for building efficiency, various other energy efficiency actions, recycling efforts, energy production and other actions that enhance social and economic features. My interest is only enlarged by what is brought to light by this investigation.
There does need to be a ground swell of citizen interest in these items to bring action by the government of the city. City commissioner need to hear from the populous as to what is important in this regard. The city’s web site is a good place to secure contact with city commissioners. Do not be afraid to speak up.
In related activities, I met with the Nashville area MPO(metropolitan planning organization) board and the RTA(regional transportation authority) board to further discuss regional transportation issues, including our recent trip to Cleveland, Ohio to learn from their experiences with regional transportation planning and operations. This trip is on the heels of a trip to Denver for similar study.