Council Member At-Large Burkley Allen Metro Council Update

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Allen, Burkley (Council Member)

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Jul 4, 2025, 7:32:51 AMJul 4
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METRO COUNCIL UPDATE
July 2025
EVENTS
 
Nashville will once again celebrate the 4th of July  downtown. The pyrotechnics will be synchronized to a live performance by Nashville’s GRAMMY-winning Nashville Symphony at Ascend Ampitheater.  Everything is free and open to the public.  Concerts  at First and Broadway will feature headliner Dierks Bentley along with Russe; Dickerson, Niko Moon, Grace Bowers, and Keesha Rainey. The Event site will be open from 12-10 pm. The Family Fun Zone will be open from 12-5 at Walk of Fame Park.  For safety, coolers are not allowed, but there will be plenty of food trucks, and businesses selling food and drink.  Parking is available at the courthouse, convention center, and 5th and Broad, and there are lots of other non-car transportation options available.  All event details and information can be found at visitmusiccity.com/july4th . Many businesses downtown now support the Safe Bar program, and Red Frogs volunteers will be roving to ensure people who have celebrated too much can still get home safely.  People can find the Red Frogs all day at the Red Frogs Chill Out Zone at the family fun zone, or as crowds build into the afternoon and evening at their Chill Out zone on 2nd Ave/Broadway. They will be in their Red Frogs shirts so they can be easily identified. The Red Frog Crew will have free ice towels, sunscreen, water, liquid IV packets and phone charging all sponsored by 911 Nashville to help keep people safe this 4th of July.
 
 Some streets will be closed to traffic starting July 3, but WeGo will be providing convenient transportation to and from downtown including the WeGo Star train. All bus routes will operate on a Sunday schedule. The fireworks are expected to end at approximately 10 p.m., and with new extended hours, most frequent and local routes will be operating until 11:15 p.m. Because congestion may require unexpected detours downtown, customers are encouraged to consider boarding at the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central (4th & Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Boulevard). The Music City Star will run at special service leaving Lebanon at 4:30 pm and departing downtown one hour after the fireworks. Train tickets should be purchased ahead of time at TicketsNashville.com  https://www.ticketsnashville.com/websales/pages/ticketsearchcriteria.aspx?evtinfo=502004~6466fa52-90a5-4cb4-b7c3-2f37c52888f1&affid=ticketsnashville&  Service on select bus routes will also be extended to get customers home after the fireworks.. WeGo information is available at  https://www.wegotransit.com/celebrate-july-4th-with-wego---2025/
 
Trash and recycling will not be picked up on the July 4th  holiday.  Trash and recycling pick-up scheduled for Friday will be picked up on Saturday.  The annual trash schedule can be found at https://www.nashville.gov/departments/water/waste-and-recycling
Brush pick-up begins
July 1 in Area 8 Green Hills, Hillsboro West End, Belmont Hillsboro, Percy Warner, Devonshire
July 8 in Area 9 Bellevue, West Meade, Hillwood, White Bridge, Cherokee Park, Richland West End, Sylvan Park, Sylvan Heights, Hadley, Fisk Watkins Park
July 18 in Area 10 Whites Bend, Charlotte Park, Cockrill Bend, Nations, TSU, College Heights, Germantown, Buena Vista
July 24 in Area11 Joelton, Whites Creek, Marrowbone, Scottsboro, Bells Bend, Bordeaux, Haynes Heights, Haynes Manor
July 30 in Area 12  Goodlettsville, Dalemere, Bellshire
Metro Arts has an open call for community members to serve as Community Panelists to review proposals for a public art project at the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment. The deadline to apply is July 7. Metro Arts is seeking engaged community members to participate in the artist selection panel to evaluate and score artist applications and interviews during three required rounds. The scoring process is facilitated by Metro Arts staff and monitored by the Metro Purchasing Agent. The artist selection panel includes a member of the Arts Commission or Public Art Committee (panel chair, non-voting) and Metro site sponsor(s) (voting) and selected applicants. This is a paid opportunity for community members to participate in Metro’s public art process.  Panelists will be required to sign a panelist agreement and complete a conflict of interest form. Complete focus will be necessary throughout each day of participation. Personal devices (except for cellphones) and any outside work will not be permitted during in-person participation.  The artists under consideration have applied to the Call to Artists for a public art project at the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment. If approved by the Arts Commission, the artist awarded the commission will design, fabricate, and install a permanent wall sculpture for the lobby of the campus’ main building. The artist's budget is $400,000. Artists under consideration will be selected by the Community Selection Panel.  A total stipend of $840.00 will be awarded to each community panelist after the completion of all three rounds of scoring. Panelists will be required to register with Metro Finance. 
To apply to be a panelist, please click the following link.  
 
Walk Bike Nashville and NDOT are hosting  Open Streets July 20.   Open Streets is a program that temporarily closes selected streets to cars to encourage people to reconnect to their communities, get active, support local businesses, and play in the street. Open Streets is designed to stir the imagination to rethink public spaces - understanding that our streets can have a multitude of uses. Participants can enjoy a streetscape activated with artists, music, businesses, and activities of all kinds!  Biking, walking, rollerskating, skateboarding, scooters, hopscotching, dancing, double-dutching on the street is encouraged.    From noon to 5 p.m. on July 20, August 17, and September 7, NDOT and WBN will close a five-mile loop downtown to cars and invite Nashville to walk, bike, and explore.  There’s no registration required to participate. Just hop on your bike — or grab a skateboard, roller skates, or a comfy pair of walking shoes — and join WBN for a massive street for people.  The route, which was also the five-mile City Tour route at Tour de Nash, loops along the Cumberland River through neighborhoods like Rolling Mill Hill and The Gulch.
 
Metro Parks is updating its Plan to Play and wants everyone’s input on Nashville’s Park System Master Plan.  Neighbors are invited to complete the Plan to Play Survey . Plan to Play 2025 will identify and prioritize Nashville's park system needs for the next five years.  The survey includes sections on Land, Facilities, Programs, Operations, Funding and Greenways. The goals of engaging public input include: determining if new or different needs have emerged, and prioritizing projects and actions (both old and new) that reflect current values, preferences and financial constraints.  The survey will be open through July 31. Additional information about Metro Parks’ Plan to Play can be found HERE
Metro is working with the Cumberland River Compact for a fall Tree Give-Away through the Root Nashville Campaign, neighbors can order up to three large trees for their private property at no cost.  This is a great deal with multiple benefits!  I have two new oaks in my yard from last year that will provide shade, absorb stormwater, house my birds, clean my air, and increase my property value.  Supplies of tree species are limited and are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. This year’s trees include Overcup Oak, Honey Locust, and Southern Magnolia for shade trees and Crabapple and Sweetbay Magnolia for smaller trees.  Orders are due by August 31.  Root Nashville has created a tree selection tool where neighbors can select for size, light preferences, and ornamental characteristics.
The tool can be found at: https://rootnashville.org/tree-catalog/
 More information is available at trees.rootnashville.org/order
ISSUES
The Metro Budget , which passed in June, is now implemented for FY2026, beginning July 1.    The budget is $3.8 billion, including a fully funded school budget that will continue tutoring and counseling programs formerly funded with federal COVID dollars, and it provides $30 million for affordable housing programs.  The budget also includes a 2% across the board adjustment for all Metro employees, as well as step and merit increases for almost all employees.  The council’s substitute budget added a few enhancements to the mayor’s budget based on public input through the budget process.  Changes include the second percent on employee ATB increases, designated funding for CASA, OASIS Center, the Branch, and Tennessee Justice Center.  These changes were made without increasing the bottom line by deleting money from mostly administrative accounts.  The property tax rate decreased from $3.254 per $100 of assessed value to $2.814, but with the large increase in property assessments, many property owners will see an increase. The full operating budget can be reviewed at https://www.nashville.gov/departments/finance/management-and-budget/citizens-guide-budget 
The Budget Process The Operating Budget, Capital Improvements Budget (CIB), and Capital Plan are developed through a multi-step information gathering and priority setting process that establishes objectives and priorities of the city and creates a financial plan for the operations of the government for the fiscal year. The Charter defines much of the process. The Mayor's Office, Finance ...
 
Metro Nashville’s Planning Department has completed the Housing and Infrastructure Study requested by the Metro Council. The study concluded that some changes to the Metro Code could make it more likely for reasonably priced housing to be built without overburdening the planned infrastructure. Staff from the Planning Department will brief members of the Metro Council's Planning and Zoning Committee and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the Housing and Infrastructure Study Recommendations for Changes to the Text of the Zoning Code on Tuesday, July 8 at 5 pm at the Metro Courthouse.
Members of the public may view the meeting in person at the Courthouse or live  online at stream.nashville.gov via the Metro Nashville Network, Metro Nashville Network 2, and the Metro Nashville Network YouTube channel, and Metro Nashville and Davidson County residents can watch Metro Nashville Network on Comcast/Xfinity channel 3, AT&T U-Verse channel 99, and streaming on the Metro Nashville Network Roku channel for meetings available on all Metro Nashville Network platforms.
Support the Nashville General Hospital’ Foundations All-Weather Wellness Fund.  Donations enhance comfort and health outcomes, ensuring that patients can cope with harsh summer conditions when they leave the hospital.  Items needed include underwear, elastic waste shorts, croc-like shoes, and personal hygiene items.  Donations can be made at  https://www.nashgenfoundation.org/funds#project-all-weather
The Team Chad Fund offers non-clinical aid to oncology patients, providing crucial support for rent, utilities, medically guided foods, and transportation for essential services. Inspired by Chad Welch, a beloved leukemia patient, this fund is dedicated to easing the financial burdens that cancer patients and their families face, ensuring they receive the support they need throughout their ...
With summer comes an onslaught of mosquitoes, which are more than just a nuisance. Mosquitoes pose a serious health risk to our local communities. With many vector-borne diseases present in North America, it is important to limit mosquito populations with a fully integrated approach. The most effective way to reduce mosquito populations is to consistently remove any standing water anywhere in your yard.  This can include birdbaths, empty buckets, toys.  Mosquitoes can reproduce in a surprisingly small amount of water, but denying them that tiny bit can stop the cycle.  Another strategy is to bait them with a "Mosquito Bucket of Doom" It's a quick, easy, cheap, and super-SAFE way to reduce the mosquito population in our yards. This is made from a bucket + water + handful of weeds + BTi dunk, which can be bought at any hardware store. The active ingredient is BTi, a bacteria found in the soil which targets only mosquitoes in their larval stage. Larvicides are far more effective than adulticides (the sprays). BTi will not harm any other creatures including birds, pets, most insects (except black flies and fungus gnats), and pollinators. Here's the link to the DIY Mosquito Bucket of Doom. https://sidewalknature.com/2022/05/08/mosquito-bucket-of-doom/ 
Mosquito season is here! Instead of spraying pesticides onto our entire yards—and onto fireflies, ladybugs, bumblebees, and butterflies—why not kill *only* mosquitoes? But first: let’s PREVENT mosquitoes from breeding in our yards. Get rid of all standing water at least once a week: in plant saucers, trash cans, toys, and gutters. (image from Florida Health) Then, let’s CREATE standing ...
 
The Mary Parrish Center is looking for volunteers to look after children on-site as the Center provides services to their mothers surviving domestic violence, like Enrichment Activities and Clinical Therapy. Currently, the Center needs volunteers who are available for childcare so that mothers can attend. Anyone who is great with kids and available during afternoons and early evenings, can  fill out an application. For questions, reach out to the Transitional Housing Advocate, Margo, at ma...@marryparrish.org.   Apply on line at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekjxriQW7dO_cc4uRIxCvSmLcgB1d2vlnDIxuStPnXSDTeww/viewform 
Metro is always looking for interested, qualified citizens to fill the Boards and Commissions that guide how Nashville grows and operates.  Any voter registered in Davidson County is eligible to apply for a position through the Board portal at https://www.nashville.gov/boards  .  There are openings coming up on the Mechanical Plumbing and Electrical Appeals Board,  Human Relations Commission, Historical Commission, Metro Action Commission, Audit Board Industrial Development Board, Barnes Housing Trust Fund, Short Term Rental Appeals Board, and Charter Revision Committee.      The Industrial Development Board (IDB) is elected by the Metro Council (as opposed to appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Council).  Anyone who is interested in serving on the IDB should contact me or another council member, provide qualifications, and ask to be nominated.  Nominations will take place at the next council meeting on July 15.
 
 
That’s the news for July.  I hope everyone has a great holiday. As we face so many forces that try to divide us, this country is about to start its 250th year as an independent nation.  Our experiment in democracy has been a great example for many other countries.  I plan to spend this 250th year looking for every opportunity to build bridges, heal divisions, and work toward common goals of liberty and justice for all.    Please let me know what issues are on your mind.  Sign up for this newsletter at  www.burkley.org . Contact me at 615-383-6604 or burkle...@nashville.gov.


Burkley


Burkley Allen
Metro Council At-Large

Council Committees - Budget and Finance - Past Chair
                               Planning, Zoning, and Historic- Past Chair
                               Transportation and Infrastructure
Audit Committee
Sustainability Commission
Tax Abatement Study Committee - Chair
Women's Caucus - Past Chair 

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