2007 A TIME TO BUILD ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
By MAYOR BILL PURCELL
This coming year, Metro government will continue to focus on its core functions — education, public safety and quality of life. This is the most important work we do as a city this year and every year, and it will always be so.
2006 found Nashville at the top of its game. The year began with the announcement that Music City was again America's hottest city for the expansion or relocation of business. Later in the year, Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine selected Nashville as No. 1 on its Smart Cities list.
On the education front, Newsweek ranked two Metro high schools among the top 50 in the nation (Hume- Fogg and MLK), with Hillsboro in the top 500. New school buildings opened in Antioch and Glenview, and at the Creswell Middle School Arts Magnet in Bordeaux. The restoration of the beloved Eakin School was completed.
The dedication of the Public Square marked Nashville's 200th anniversary as a city and the opening of a new park in the center of a revitalized downtown. Downtown living jumped with the opening of the Viridian and the Stahlman Building as residential high- rises and the conversion of lofts in historic Second Avenue warehouses.
The Metro Police Department added 73 new officers to the streets from five recruit classes. Overall crime continued to fall and a gang enforcement initiative resulted in 541 arrests through Dec. 1.
The city also opened the Justice A.A. Birch Building for the Criminal and General Sessions courts. The new building is a more modern, high-tech and secure facility that provides protection for witnesses and juries that was simply not available at the historic Davidson County Courthouse.
Work on key areas in new year
The coming year promises more attention to the basic work that is city government — education, public safety and quality of life. On Jan. 11, a restored Jones School will be dedicated, continuing our emphasis on improving the education experience in our city. Later in the year, we will be opening a new Metro Police Department East Precinct building on Trinity Lane.
We will also be adding to the greenspace in our city with the opening of the Bells Bend Park, Nashville's first park with camping facilities. A new community center will open at East Park, modeled on the Hadley Park center that opened in 2006, as will nature centers in Beaman, Bells Bend and Shelby parks. A pedestrian bridge will cross the Cumberland River as the vital link in a greenway running from the Percy Priest Dam through downtown to the MetroCenter levee.
What we know as a city now is that it is not enough to celebrate our successes. We must constantly build on those successes this year and every year to ensure that Nashville is the best place to live and work and raise a family. 2007 offers us another opportunity to reach new heights — and I know we will. Happy New Year.