The complaint, filed Wednesday, says Johnston did not disclose her position on the board or recuse herself from a council vote on a proposed rezoning for the ownership of the East Bank property where the envisioned museum could be located. The council deferred that rezoning earlier this month.
Reached by phone Wednesday evening, Johnston said she had no comment on the complaint but called it “nonsense” and declined to elaborate. The complaint was filed by Elizabeth MK Sullivan and Melanie Cochran, although Sullivan said other East Nashville residents could be signing on too.
The MCCM nonprofit and the land ownership group announced last month that they were working together to make a children’s museum part of the redevelopment of the former scrapyard site on the East Bank of the Cumberland River.
Several outlets have reported that Nashville is poised to get its 'first' children's museum. I wonder what Adventure Science Center thinks about that.
Johnston is listed on the MCCM’s website as a member of its board of directors. The ethics complaint alleges that she texted a resident last week about the rezoning request saying, “I’m working with [the investor group requesting the rezone] as a board member of the children’s museum. I know what’s going there and what it’s going to look like.”
Councilmembers are required to file annual disclosure forms, which include a question about whether they or their spouse hold a paid or unpaid position with a nonprofit organization. The ethics complaint also cites an executive order requiring councilmembers to sign an annual statement confirming they have no actual or potential conflicts of interest.
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
