@startleseasily is a fervent observer of the Metro government's comings and goings. In this column, "On First Reading," she'll recap the bimonthly Metro Council meetings and provide her analysis. You can find her in the pew in the corner by the mic, ready to give public comment on whichever items stir her passions. Follow her on Twitter here.
“This is why people don’t trust government,” said Councilmember Jordan Huffman. A smattering of applause from the gallery indicated the audience’s support for the sentiment.Â
The council was debating the legality of a resolution authorizing Metro to exercise an option to purchase three pieces of property for a new elementary school in Antioch.Â
Council Director Margaret Darby had raised last-minute concerns that threw a wrench in the council’s process. By her reading of the law, the council needed to approve the purchase via a three-reading ordinance with a public hearing, significantly slowing down the timeline and potentially killing the deal altogether.
The council was visibly and audibly frustrated.Â
Metro Legal — which signs off on every contract as to form and legality — had reviewed and approved the resolution. Darby’s own written legal analysis raised no concerns. Yet there they both sat, urging the council not to move forward.
“I’m seeing so many inconsistencies,” said Huffman, “and it’s not from the [council] body. The body is pretty united on this.”
Councilmember At-Large Delishia Porterfield, an Antioch resident herself, had harsher words: “This is ridiculous.”
The council ultimately opted to defer the resolution in hopes that the option — which expires next week — might be extended while they work out the proper process for approval.Â
Which Bar?
Country music star Morgan Wallen, of “casually hurling racial slurs when drunk” and “throwing a chair off a rooftop bar when drunk” fame, faced a minor setback Tuesday night, when the council voted almost unanimously to disapprove a resolution allowing a sign for his new bar to encroach into downtown’s precious airspace.
The country singer was arrested on three felony charges for throwing a chair from the roof of Eric Church's honky-tonk
Councilmembers raised legitimate concerns about implicitly endorsing Wallen’s atrocious behavior by giving their stamp of approval to a sign bearing his name. Â
Councilmember Bob Nash was one of 30 “no” votes. Nash is a former commander for the Metro Nashville Police Department, so Wallen’s latest stunt — which could have seriously injured two police officers — hit home for him.Â
“My primary concern was, here we’ve got a young man throwing chairs off rooftop bars, endangering my former comrades and the public at large,” explains Nash, “and there should be consequences for that.”
He adds that he hopes the disapproval will “get Mr. Wallen to shape up a little bit” and that he thinks Jelly Roll should get a sign on Broadway instead. “That’s someone we could all support,” Nash quips.Â
I too would have voted no, but for different reasons. First, the bar’s name — Morgan Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen — is just really stupid. I get that it’s named after one of his songs, but it’s grammatically offensive. Second, the sign is ugly. The typeface is bad, and the line weight makes no sense. Isn’t the visual assault of Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse bad enough? When will the madness end?
To be sure, the council’s disapproval of the aerial encroachment won’t halt the bar’s operations. In fact, it might even produce the groundswell of conservative support Wallen seems to get whenever he does something idiotic. If the replies on Twitter are any indication, it’ll be filled to capacity come opening night.
Trading Places
Two years ago, I wrote about the need for greater diversity on Metro boards and commissions. While we continue to see an increase in the racial and ethnic diversity in these bodies, we’ve failed to make much progress in other types of diversity — socioeconomic status, viewpoint, personal and professional background, and so on.Â
One reason for this may be the tendency of pretty much every mayor in history to appoint the same types of people — or in some instances, the same exact people.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell came into office promising a bold vision of change. Gone would be the old ways of doing business. Since assuming office, O’Connell seems to have fallen back on the strategy of his predecessors: appoint who you know.
Such was the case on Tuesday night, with the appointment of Mina Johnson to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Johnson is a former councilmember who served for four years as then-Mayor John Cooper’s designee on the Planning Commission — a seat that, unlike other Planning Commission appointments, does not require council approval.
O’Connell replaced Johnson with Leah Dundon, an environmental lawyer and Vanderbilt professor. He subsequently appointed Johnson to the Board of Zoning Appeals, an appointment confirmed by the council on Tuesday night.
In a statement explaining the musical chairs of it all, the mayor’s office wrote, “For long-range planning, we wanted someone with a portfolio of resiliency expertise to be in a position to participate in conversations about how the city grows.” Appointing Johnson to the BZA was a way to “retain [her] expertise in community-based land development to ensure that community perspective and voice was a part of the complicated [BZA] appeals process.”
Color me confused. I thought the whole point of having resident-led boards and commissions was so the community’s “perspective and voice” would always be a part of the conversation. Was no one other than Johnson available to provide such insight?
Let me be clear: Johnson is qualified. Her colleagues on the Planning Commission speak highly of her, and she’s been dedicated and thorough. But seriously, we’ve got to stop recycling the same people to serve on boards and commissions. I don’t want to be here two years from now yelling about this shit. Give me new shit to yell about!
