I think Brentwood, and Williamson County as a whole, are at an important crossroads. Must we always hold on to the past or might we take a chance to see what exciting things the future might hold?
The question has been heavy on my mind for the past several days. It doesn't stem from one event but several I experienced in the last week.
For starters, I was tipped off about a story that was a “big scoop” to one source and “much ado about nothing” to another.
It seems the Greater Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce, formed in early 2006, has dropped the “Greater” and is now referring to itself as simply The Cool Springs Chamber Inc. It has registered the name with the state and information on its website touts the new moniker.
What’s the big deal? A fairly large group of members left the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce -- and its affiliate Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce -- four years ago to form the new entity. Bitter feelings were reported on both sides, but especially in Brentwood.
Over the past four years, both groups have defined, or perhaps more appropriately, redefined, themselves. The older chamber became Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce. The Greater Cool Springs worked to define itself. And all the while the Williamson-Franklin Chamber, with affiliates in Nolensville and Fairview, continued to chug along.
The Cool Springs Chamber’s recent name change, however, has unburied old wounds and raised questions of confusion among chamber members, and more importantly, potential ones.
But the bigger question, it seems to me, is do we really need so many chambers in Williamson County today? Might one strong Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, similar to the Nashville Area Chamber, be more beneficial to help attract new businesses to the county and to better promote and protect the businesses already here?
Maybe it’s time we stop being Nashville South in the eyes of large corporations looking to relocate their headquarters and start promoting ourselves as the “Greater Tri-Cities” of Tennessee: Brentwood, Franklin and Cool Springs.
Brentwood Tomorrow’s mission
On Tuesday, I went to a Brentwood Tomorrow meeting. The loosely organized group has put together a mission statement: “Elevate the quality of Brentwood’s built environment and community services. Promote public dialogue and participation in the creation of a more beautiful and functional city for all.”
I came away feeling like the group was indeed loose, and a bit lost. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those meeting are engaged in a process that I think ultimately will provide an important hub that will bring together other public and private committees and organizations to communicate with one another and the city.
I went directly from that meeting to the Brentwood Muncipal Center where a community meeting concerning the proposed rezoning of 54.5 acres of land located between I-65 and the CSX railroad tracks from residential to commercial was taking place. I arrived only in time to take a few pictures and hear the end of the question-and-answer period, but that was enough to determine that few, if any, of the neighbors who live near the property would welcome the change with open arms.
From a purely economic standpoint, however, if we all want to keep our beloved and coveted low residential property taxes from increasing, the city must maximize the limited commercial opportunities it has.
It’s a conundrum for sure. And I encourage everyone, not just those most closely affected, to think about the issues at hand. Down the line, decisions like these impact us all.
Living Here when?
Topping it all off was the arrival of the annual Living Here magazine, published by Williamson A.M. Its cover this year is a beautifully framed photograph by Jeanne Reasonover. The picture, however, is of “mourners” following the coffin of a Civil War soldier through downtown Franklin and around its historic square.
At first glance, it’s hard to tell if the photo was shot this year or the day after the Battle of Franklin some 145 years ago.
I haven’t been able to get that picture out of my mind.
What does it say to newcomers or people thinking about moving or relocating here? I love American history – just ask my sons who I would venture to guess have been taken to more battlefields and state capitols and historic sites than many of their peers. Their mother did grow up in Richmond, after all. But while heritage tourism is one way to attract visitors to our county, must it be the only way?
In similar fashion, attend any Brentwood City Commission meeting and stories are told of what the commission did 10, 20, 40 years ago. Missing, too often in my eyes, are visions of what could be in our future.
