Retreat helps officials set, prioritize goals
Commissioners Jennifer Claxton, Austin McMullen and Kyle Felts work with Ron Darden of MTAS on objectives.
"To grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership," Ronald Reagan once said, "not only on the movie set where I learned it, but everywhere."
Articulating and implementing a vision is critical to the success of any organization, and the City of Oak Hill is no different.
With two new Commissioners elected in June, now is an appropriate time to adopt a common vision for our community and to identify specific steps for putting that vision into action. The Board of Commissioners and City Manager began this process at a strategic planning retreat August 20–21 in Shelbyville, led by representatives of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, a component of the University of Tennessee's Institute for Public Service.
The first step in the process was to identify Oak Hill's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Following this analysis, we developed and prioritized a list of goals and objectives for the city. Prioritizing the goals was one of the more difficult tasks of the two-day retreat because there are so many good ideas and projects available to us.
Cognizant of the limitations of time and resources, we then developed a preliminary plan for implementing the goals to pursue first. In the coming months, we anticipate discussing and finalizing the plans as part of our regular Board of Commissioners meetings and then taking steps to accomplish the many worthwhile goals for Oak Hill.
Developing a vision statement was the final step. We are working on a statement that embraces many of the attributes that make us proud to live in Oak Hill and that we want to preserve for the future. My fellow Commissioners and I look forward to finalizing this vision statement during our upcoming monthly meetings, and we would appreciate your input.
FEMA, City funding infrastructure repairs
Jackaroo workers repair a flood-damaged culvert on Sewanee Road.
Oak Hill has currently been approved by FEMA for the repair of several city infrastructure sites that received damage during the May floods, as well as the clean up of flood debris.
The value of projects currently approved stands between $250,000 and $270,000. The City is currently negotiating with FEMA on several other projects that could add up to an additional $30,000. FEMA will provide the City with 90%, rather than the traditional 75%, of the total. The state will supply an additional 5%, and the City will be responsible for the remaining 5%. Because of circumstances at these locations, the City chose to do extra work beyond that eligible for FEMA funding. The City will pay around $100,000.
The City has also undertaken a separate ditch cleaning/restoration project and will receive virtually no funding from other sources. This work is being done not just to correct issues created by the May floods, but to correct issues that have developed slowly over years. The crew started in the Hillview area and at the time of this writing has made its way around Lakemont and is currently working on Forest Acres Drive and its connecting streets.
The work consists of cleaning ditches and culverts located in the city rights-of-way. While the City is responsible for replacing infrastructure under the roadway, the driveway culverts are the responsibility of the resident. However, we will make an attempt to clean these out. The City provides a program where it will supply the labor and equipment at no cost to the resident should they choose to replace a driveway culvert. However, the resident must pay for all materials needed for the work.
Please remember that any time you replace or install a driveway culvert, you must have the work approved by the City to ensure that the proper size culvert is being installed.
The work was slow at first, but has sped up with the addition of a water meter that allows us to connect to fire hydrants and use high pressure to clean culverts. Since the addition of this equipment, we have been able to greatly speed up the process. We have noted well over 300 locations within the City that needs this type of service.
FEMA buyout possible
Oak Hill is working with FEMA representatives to determine if a flood mitigation project is a viable option for certain locations.
The City would purchase flood-prone properties with FEMA's financial assistance. Any structures would be demolished, and the property would be permanently dedicated as open space.
To date, the City of Oak Hill received only one inquiry into the flood mitigation buyout program, and it was not presented in writing. If anyone has suffered repetitive losses and/or damages that exceed 51% of the appraised value of the property, they may be eligible for a FEMA buyout. If you are interested in the program, please contact our offices. Funding for this project is expected to be available later this year.
Oak Hill seeks gateway grant
In an effort to beautify and increase awareness of Oak Hill, the Board of Commissioners approved a grant application to be presented to the Tennessee Department of Transportation that would create the first of several planned gateways into the City of Oak Hill.
The approval calls for the City's engineer to write a grant application to be submitted to the state for the entry into the City on Franklin Pike near Caldwell. This site was chosen due to the opportunity we had to partner with the City of Berry Hill, which is submitting an application for the same location on the other side of the road.
A final design will not be developed until the project is approved, but will likely consist of landscaping and an entry sign.
Plans are to submit grants in future years for other locations on state routes within the City. These could include Franklin Pike/Harding Place and Franklin Pike/Old Hickory Boulevard. The idea is also to scale down the size of these designs and install them on other smaller entries into the City that are not located on state routes.
If the grant is approved, the state will provide 80% of the cost up to a total of $120,000. The smaller projects will be funded entirely by the City.
Greek Festival opens Sept. 10
Mark your calendar to attend the 23rd annual Nashville Greek Festival September 10–12 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 4905 Franklin Pike.
Festivities include entertainment, baked goods, shopping, dancing, good food, fun for children of all ages, and tours of the church.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Admission is $2 per person, children under 12, free.
Support Land Trust Oct. 9
Once in a Blue Moon 10, the signature fundraising event for Land Trust for Tennessee, will be held at The Farm at Glen Leven, 4000 Franklin Pike, October 9.
Wear your tight jeans and loose boots for the music, food, and dancing beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The Chestnut Group will have an art show and sale of plein air paintings. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Land Trust.
Come support the organization that works to protect and save land like that at Glen Leven.
For reservations for the tenth annual event, go to landtrusttn.org or call 615/244-LAND.
Yard Sale for the Cure is Oct. 23
The ninth annual Oak Hill Yard Sale for the Cure will be held Saturday, October 23. at 5317 Franklin Pike beginning at 7 a.m.
Cindy Baxter Smith, a 13-year survivor of breast cancer and originator and organizer of the annual sale, called on Oak Hill residents to "line the streets of Oak Hill with yard sales" that day.
Clean out your closets and attics, put up balloons and signs, then have a great time meeting neighbors, delighting shoppers with treasures, and donating a portion to a breast cancer organization of your choice, she said.
If you cannot hold a yard sale, donate your treasures to Cindy for her sale on Franklin Pike.
Any amount of your yard sale proceeds donated to the breast cancer organization of your choice will be greatly appreciated. If you mail your check to an organization, please e-mail Cindy the amount so it can be counted in the total raised by the annual yard sale. You can also send your check directly to Cindy, who will include it with checks received as donations or from other yard sales. Over the past eight years thousands of dollars raised from this event have been donated to cancer support organizations.
If you have questions or plan to hold a garage sale on October 23, contact Cindy Smith at 615.376.0577 or cindybaxtersmith@comcast.net.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month so mark your calendar to go yard sale shopping during the month, and especially on October 23 in Oak Hill.
