The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County met in regular session on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Historic Metro Courthouse. Thirty-five members were present; six were absent (Gamble, Hancock, Gregg, Welsch, Weiner, and Johnston). The agenda included appointments, public hearings on numerous zoning bills, resolutions, and first/second/third reading ordinances. The invocation was offered by Samar Ali, President/CEO of Millions of Conversations.
Start off by acknowledging the native lands we sit on. We are currently sitting on Cherokee, Swanny and UC lands. A reminder that no one is illegal on stolen lands congratulations to the Nashville SC team who are thirteen games undefeated. Well, we do have announcements. We have no presentations today, so I guess you guys didn't want to present anything and be on TV for long periods of time. I'm not gonna jinx us tonight. So um we are going to go ahead and go into uh announcements, and we're gonna practice our duolingo because my term as pro tem is almost over. All right. Go on to Hal Evans, que la reconocida. Gracias. Uh so uh next Tuesday, the 8th at 6 p.m. from 6 to 7:30, I'll be holding a um zoning uh meeting for residents that surround property at zero Old Hickory Boulevard, which is behind North Lake Village Shopping Center. It's at the Hermitage Library. And so please attend, I send out postcards as well. So please attend if you're able and interested in a discussion about that particular parcel. Thank you. But uh the fraternal police every summer takes about 50 children a week for six weeks to camp for free. We have three girls' camps and three boys' camps. And you may have received uh your invitation from President uh Cottrill, but uh they uh you've been invited to an open house on uh uh July 23rd from 11 p.m. or 11 a.m. I'm sorry to 2 p.m. And the chief normally shows up there. Uh we have uh the horses go out there, the motorcycles go out there, um the uh uh SWAT team and horses go out there. Uh it's kids really get a kick out of it. And again, it's 35 acres on Older Greer Lake, gives these kids uh most of them from uh the poorer parts of town a chance to enjoy some time on the lake. Uh they play soccer, they play baseball, softball, basketball, they take them out to swim uh uh at some of the parks here. Uh I will try and give you some more information before our next meeting, but I I hope some of you can put this on your calendar. Um if you need a ride, uh, I think I'm gonna try and arrange to meet folks that would like to go. I meet them at the South Precinct Station, and I'll drive. I got I can uh carry six more people besides myself. So I hope you'll you'll think about that. I think you'd really appreciate um what the police do for the kids. Gracias, thank you so much. Um uh speaker pro tem uh sepulvada. I would like um, I know we don't have a presentation formal, um, but I would like uh vice chair and myself, uh vice chair vo and myself to read um a proclamation from the mayor to the parks department to recognize uh July as uh parks month, if you are okay with that, and um plus if anyone else wants to join us, that's fine. But we wanted to make sure we took a moment um and recognize um Nashville's uh park system and especially this month. Um, so we will we will do that now. Do you want to read the first two and two? All right, whereas uh Nashville's municipal park system was established in April of 1901 with Watkins Park as the first park in the city, followed by Centennial Park in 1902. And it it is the mission of Metro Parks to sustainably and equitably provide everyone in Nashville Davidson County with an inviting network of parks and greenways that offer health, wellness, and quality of life through recreation, conservation, community, and whereas Metro Parks offers a variety of facilities and programs throughout Davidson County, including approximately 16,000 acres of open space, 189 parks, 107 miles of greenways, 158 playgrounds, seven public golf courses, two splash pads, ten indoor and outdoor pools, ten dog parks, nine or seven historical sites, twenty-seven regional and neighborhood community centers, two hundred and sixty-nine sports fields, the centennial sportsplex, wave country, and a variety of other recreational opportunities and whereas regional and neighborhood centers offer activities for all ages and abilities include fitness classes, youth and adult sports, senior recreational social programs, aquatics programs, free play, and out-of-school programs for youth. And whereas Metro Parks connects children and adults to digital resources through the three tech labs at McFarron, Coleman, and Luby Community Centers. And whereas residents and visitors enjoy 107 miles of Green Wave are linear parks and trails that connect neighborhoods to schools, parks, transportation, shopping, and work, while also providing barrier-free access to natural resources and recreational opportunities and whereas Metro Parks through nature centers and Beaman Bells, Beaman, Bells Bend, Shelby, and Warner Parks provides quality environmental education and responsible recreation to help protect, preserve, restore, and manage the park ecosystem and all natural resources, while also raising awareness and fostering respect for the natural environment, while also offering a variety of outdoor programming. And whereas Metro Parks offers a variety of classes, lessons, programs, concerts, and plays through dance, theater, music, and visual arts, and Metro Parks Consolidated Maintenance Division provides upkeep, repair, landscaping construction, and project management services that benefit all park patrons and whereas park police work to protect and serve countless park patrons, utilizing numerous facilities and parks, community centers, and other facilities. And whereas Nashville Parthenon was recognized on a local and national scale for the museum's repatriation and impact exhibit, where hundreds of pre-Columbian Colombian artifacts were returned to Mexico. And whereas the plan to play 2025 update will provide the city with the necessary information to ensure the park systems in accommodating patrons as Nashville continues to grow at a rapid pace. And now, therefore, we of council and on behalf of Mayor O'Connell do recognize recognize and proclaim July 2025 as Parks and Recreation Month in Nashville, Tennessee. Encourage all Nashvilleans to join us in utilizing these great resources. Thank you so much, Speaker Pro Tim. Speaker Pro Tim, also all um there is a uh survey that's currently available until the end of July online um for folks that want to engage and give feedback on the plan to play. Great.