Download Message from the Mayor #143 05-24-13 Let`s talk about sidewalks

Message from the Mayor
#143 05-24-13
Let’s talk about sidewalks for a few moments. If you have been down College Street in the
past week, I am sure you have seen the sidewalk construction going on. Your City Council is
very pleased that they are able to repair and replace some of the sidewalks that have
deteriorated over the past several years. While we were evaluating the places where repairs
were needed, we noticed something. In a lot of places, grass was coming up through the
cracks and dirt was covering several areas. This caused the majority of problems that the
sidewalks were experiencing. In the city ordinance book, Chapter 16, Section 109 states that
the owners of abutting property are required to keep their sidewalks clean. This goes for
grass, debris, dirt and yes, snow. If you are lucky enough to have a sidewalk on your street,
please help to keep it maintained by keeping it clear of anything that could cause it to be
damaged. For those of you that already do that, the City thanks you. If you use our sidewalks
and see some way you can help, it would be appreciated.
Last week, the GM of Trenton Light &Water, three City Aldermen, and I attended the TVPPA
Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. TVPPA stands for Tennessee Valley Public Power
Association and as you guessed it is a branch of TVA. TVA was established in 1933 to provide
affordable power to the Tennessee Valley. They serve 9,000,000 people in 7 states and they
do live up to their motto by keeping their power rates at a reasonable level.
It was a good experience and we heard a couple of really good motivational speakers. We
also heard from different utility managers about what the role of a local utility should be, met
with different vendors to discuss their products, and took in the mountain vistas around
Asheville. It was a beautiful venue and the great weather we experienced there sure added to
the experience. By now you should realize they don’t hold conferences in the Gobi Desert or
in Death Valley.
You may not know this, but there is talk in government about selling TVA off to one or more
different power distributors. From what I heard last week, it is a fact that there are some
people in our government who would like to split up TVA. I personally think that would be a
mistake. One by-product of selling off TVA is that it would pretty much be a certainty that
your electric rates would really increase. Now while some of you think your electric bill is too
high now, I guarantee you that you haven’t seen anything compared to what they could be.
You can make up your mind one way or the other, but when I see my elected officials, I am
going to ask them to vote against any sale of TVA. I wonder how many of you can still
remember when lights came on in your home for the first time? Electricity is something we all
take advantage of and the time will come when affordable electricity will be a treasured
commodity.
The kids are all out of school and to my pleasant surprise; I have seen many out playing. Good
for them. It is now up to us, the drivers, to watch out for them and make their summer a safe
one. Sometimes when you are having fun, you don’t always do things as safely as you should.
We need to be aware of young people riding their bikes, playing ball, and walking on our
streets. Slow down, pay attention and enjoy the summer.
There are a few motorcycles in town that need to pay particular attention to my last
paragraph. I can hear them speeding up and down many of the streets in the City. I can see
the parking lots they are spinning their tires in. The streets of this City are not the place to run
motorcycles wide open and we expect everyone to obey the speed limits and noise
ordinances. What is worse is that they are endangering their own lives and the lives of others.
If anyone can get some license plate numbers of people you observe speeding and their
location, feel free to call our police department. We would love to have a talk with them.
Since Memorial Day was this week, it might be good to make the Budget Minute about the
city cemetery. Oakview Cemetery has three employees who spend the months of March thru
November maintaining the grounds. We have over $100,000 a year tied up in salaries,
benefits, equipment, maintenance and supplies to maintain the grounds. These numbers
fluctuate from year to year depending on the price of fuel and how much equipment we have
to purchase. Our team does a great job keeping the cemetery looking good.
I try not to bring my personal life into this article because that is not what this forum is all
about. But I would be remiss if I did not congratulate my wife, Kathi, on her retirement. She
has spent over 31 years with the State Comptroller of the Treasury’s Office auditing county
government. She is very good at it. That’s why when I hear people talk about how corrupt I
am I have to laugh. I live with an auditor who is also a Certified Fraud Examiner. Get real.
Many of our conversations and sometimes disagreements have been about what is the
correct procedure when putting out bids, purchasing practices, and other fiscal issues. She
has made sure I have obeyed the law to the tee and I am grateful to her. She has other
aspirations for the future that you will soon be hearing about and I plan to support her all the
way. So Kathi, have a great if not short retirement. She is sort of like Trenton, she is moving
forward. Till next time, God Bless Trenton.
Tony Burriss
Mayor, City of Trenton
309 South College Street
Trenton, Tennessee 38382
731-855-2013 (work)
731-695-6209 (mobile)
[email protected]