Lanson J. Hyde III has replaced Commissioner Tim Douglas, who resigned effective November 1.
He will serve out Douglas' term, which runs until November 2012.
Hyde, who’s lived in Forest Hills for more than 20 years, has served on the Board of Zoning Appeals. He’s been a member of the Small Parcel Protection and the Hazard Mitigation committees.
“I’m interested in preserving the green and residential character of Forest Hills and opposing aggressive new development,” Hyde said. “As a Commissioner, I want to promote friendly customer service for existing residents,” he said.
The chief operating officer of Surgical Development Partners, Hyde has a degree in finance from University of Tennessee and an MBA from Vanderbilt.
He and his wife, Pilar, have two sons.
The 2011–2012 budget has been approved by the Board of Commissioners. See complete budget
The City introduced its hazard mitigation plan at a public meeting August 18. Developed by AMEC, the plan will help Forest Hills reduce or eliminate long-term risk to residents and property and future losses to the City from natural hazards. More
The Board of Commissioners has revised and expanded the mowing contract with The Parke Company to include the new City Hall and gateways as well as Bison Meadows, other public areas and the watering of cherry trees on Hillsboro Pike.
Johnson Lawn and Landscape, the only bidder for snow removal, was awarded the contract effective September 15 for one year. With approval of both parties, the contract may be extended twice.
City Manager Al Deck said salting and snow removal efforts will begin with the street priority list after which the contractor will pick up the other streets. See List
Tennessee Department of Transportation and the City of Forest Hills have reached an agreement for traffic signs along Hillsboro Pike.
TDOT has agreed to a consistent 45 m.p.h. speed limit and approved the relocation of some signs and the removal of 31 others.
The City is awaiting approval from TDOT to install a new type of sign posts on 56 signs.
New rules requiring the City to update its street signs have been revised.
The Federal Highway Admin- istration originally required all street signs to be replaced by 2015 to meet reflectivity levels. Recognizing the impact of the economy, the FHWA now requires cities to replace the signs only as they wear out.
A few measures that address immediate safety will be implemented in the next year. An assessment/maintenance plan is required in the next two years.
Forest Hills Commissioner Tim Douglas will step down effective November 1, 2011, with one year remaining on his term.
“Tim has been an excellent commissioner, and we’re sorry he has to retire but he’s very busy,” said Mayor Bill Coke.
Douglas was instrumental in the development of the City’s Open Space plan, resulting in the rewrite of the City’s Comprehensive Plan in 2009 and 2010. He has been involved with several initiatives generated by the City’s Cultural and Natural Resource Committee, from implementation of new street signs and natural guard rails to expansion of gateway entrances and additional green spaces. More
For the last several months the City’s consulting engineer has observed and measured a landslide on Ridgewood Drive, just past the intersection of Chickering Park.
The slide slowly created a void beneath the street and the edge began to crumble. Core drillings and testing revealed a large deposit of unstable soil on the hillside.
Following the study the engineers developed a plan to remove the unstable material, fill the void, restore the hillside, and repair the street. The City advertised the project and received seven bids. The project was awarded to Jarrett Builders and work will begin soon.
The Ridgewood project will require a substantial amount of truck traffic on Lynnwood, Crater Hill, Chickering Park, and Ridgewood. Dump trucks will haul away the excavated material, bring in stone for the base, and then transport fill material, in order to restore the hillside to a landscaped conditioned. The City of Forest Hills was scheduled to repave Lynnwood and Crater Hill this summer. However, due to the construction traffic, the paving will be delayed until the Ridgewood project is completed.
The construction process of new library facilities at Percy Priest Elementary School has gone smoothly, school officials report, and the school is grateful for the support and patience of parents and the neighbors.
The PTO is excited to announce that the library should be fully operational by the time children return to Percy Priest in January after the winter break. “We expect the construction phase of the library to be completed by the end of November and will use the few weeks school is in session in December to finalize installation of furniture and placement of all books on the new shelves,” PTO past president Liz Chilton said.
While the library is being built, the school librarian, Marilyn Jordan, has set up a mini library in the new technology room and is taking selections of books to classrooms.
Forest Hills contributed $300,000 to the project. Fundraising is complete for the construction phase, but additional funds are still needed for furnishings and to help with the media center. Commemorative pavers are still for sale at $250 each. For more information about the pavers, please visit www.percypriest.org.
Donations can be made to NAPE (Nashville Alliance for Public Education) and can be mailed directly to Percy Priest Elementary at 1700 Otter Creek Road, Nashville, TN 37215.
Dr. Ian Brick has been named an officer of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire, the only American on the list.
Brick emigrated from Northern Ireland in 1984 and settled in Forest Hills in 2004.
He was recognized for his work in Northern Ireland, officials said.
Although he doesn’t know the exact reasons, he speculates that he was nominated for a project he and his late wife, Katherine, initiated to pair Belfast and Nashville as sister cities in 1996.
“He has helped keep the links between Belfast and Nashville alive in many ways, especially through educational endeavors,” said Nashville Mayor Karl Dean.
Brick’s mother also has an OBE, but he outranks her.
A team of volunteers along with an environmental engineer will conduct a clean-water project in Forest Hills along Otter Creek this fall.
The representative from Neel-Schaffer, the City’s engineering firm, will conduct a dry-weather screening of the creek. The engineer and volunteers will walk the length of Otter Creek to look for places where water from pipes or drainage pools is entering the creek.
The engineer will instruct the volunteers what to look for, so that they can better monitor conditions of the creek in the future.
For more information, contact the City office at 383-8447 or email city manager Al Deck.
A few more clues to finding the roots of a historic bridge located in Forest Hills have come to light.
City resident Beth Richardson Trescott grew up on the corner of Kingsbury and Melbourne, and now lives in the area again. “My parents (Richardsons) and the Smileys and the Moores were all original homeowners in this neighborhood when it was first developed in the late 1950s,” she said. “Our area was known as Hillsboro Park then.”
She recalls hearing about an old bridge over Otter Creek between Gardendale and Melbourne when she was small. The bridge is now on the property of Michael and Michelle Hasty.
“When I was little, several locals told me that the bridge was an old bridge that led to the Joy plantation of Joy’s Florist downtown,” she recalls. “It was behind my best friend Claire Miller’s house (now the Milos’ home).”
Trescott and other residents recall the huge field of beautiful buttercups in the area. “There was much lore about Gardendale and the old buttercup field as being part of that Joy property, she said. “There are several large trees you can spot around in many of our yards and even a bit of an old road (supposedly in our yard and the Owens’ next door).”
Trescott confirms that construction methods of the bridge indicate it was built around 1910 to 1920. “At any rate it is way-cool artifact, and provides a bit of lore.”
If you have information about the old bridge, the Joy plantation, buttercup fields, or other interesting history nuggets about Forest Hills, send them here.
During 2011, the City of Forest Hills has been focused on completing three major projects that will have a major impact on the City for years to come. All three will be completed sometime during the month of November. More
The new City Hall will put an end to attendees at public meetings being unable to see the exhibits, hear the discussion, or sit down. The meeting room in the soon to be completed City Hall will provide seating for 55 people and an audiovisual system to serve everyone. More
Since its formation, the Cultural and Natural Resources Committee has been dedicated to maintaining the City’s natural beauty and to retaining its historical character. More