Commisioner Joe Sweeney with Mayor Betsy Crossley, left, and commissioners Paul Webb and Joe Reagan following his announcement that he would retire from public office.

By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page

A young soldier’s homecoming closed out the year not only as Brentwood Home Page’s best-read story of the year but as the city’s Story of the Year. New residents as well as those who have lived here for decades commented they had never seen or been a part of anything like the Dec. 20 hero’s welcome for Spc. 4 Andrew Wilson.

Literally thousands of residents and visitors lined two of the city’s busiest streets, at places spilling out onto Concord Road, to greet the wounded warrior home.

Other top headlines of the year included the announcement by “the Joes” – City Commissioners Joe Sweeney and Joe Reagan -- that they would not run for re-election; the municipal election; the demise of the “Turner Barn”; a lawsuit brought against the city by the ACLU; the fire that destroyed country music star Trace Adkins’ home; and a short visit from an Alabama family that will have lasting impact on the city.

Let’s review the year, month-by-month. Included are links in case you missed the stories the first-time around. Coming up: The Year in Sports, a review of the year’s biggest business and development headlines, tributes to those lost in 2011 and, yes, a little “News of the Weird” in our fair city.  

January:

The city’s longest-tenured City Commissioner, Joe Sweeney, announced that he would step down from public office. Sweeney, had served the city for 38 years, including six terms as mayor. Sweeney’s announcement followed a similar one in December 2010 from fellow longtime commissioner Joe Reagan.

Weather was a huge storyline this month, and it impacted other news as well. Extremely ice conditions hindered Brentwood Fire & Rescue crews responding to a fire at the Menefee Farm on Holly Tree Gap Road on Jan. 10. The 12,000-square-foot home was declared a total loss, but luckily all residents got out safely.

The Brentwood City Commission opened the new year by approving the city’s first dog park. The board unanimously voted to allow the city’s parks department to design and build a two-plus acre park for dogs to run off leash in the city’s Tower Park.

In school news, Williamson County Schools’ received straight As in student achievement on the state’s 2010 Report Card released Jan. 7. Brentwood Middle School was one of two county schools showing the highest scores in academic growth.

February:

On Thursday, Feb. 10, news broke that H.G. Hill Realty Company and GBT Realty Corporation had formed a joint venture to acquire the long-vacant former headquarters for Murray Ohio Corporation. Though no official plans for the property that is adjacent to the Brentwood Hill Center, the buyers did say  “we will work together to carefully evaluate the expanded options that the C-4 Town Center District zoning could allow.” The sales price was recorded at $9.6 million.

Several fast-moving storms with straight-line winds left downed trees and damage throughout the city this month, but the storm that hit overnight on Feb. 24-25 left the most visible and heartbreaking reminder of Mother Nature’s wrath. The iconic 1930s “loafing” barn located on the Green Pastures Farm, more commonly referred to as the Turner Farm, suffered irreparable damage. It was dismantled in March.

Visitors to the city’s Maryland Farms’ Municipal Center came face-to-face with plastic sheeting and heavy equipment inside the 25-year-old building, which had not been updated since it opened in 1987. Work on the building’s public areas was finished in April. The final phase – expansion of the 911 dispatch center – is nearing completion.

March:

With a filing deadline of Feb. 17, the 2011 Brentwood Municipal Election truly got under way this month. Six candidates – incumbents Betsy Crossley and Anne Dunn and challengers Bert Bosse, Jill Burgin, Rod Freeman and Brenda Lehman – started their campaigns for the four available seats. Two early candidate forums, one hosted by Bill Akin at the Brentwood Library, and a second hosted by the Brentwood Woman’s Club at the Brentwood Municipal Building introduced the candidates to the public.

April

The Bethels came to Brentwood this month and quickly became one of the most intriguing, and sad, non-stories of the year. Self-proclaimed prophetess Glynis Bethel and her husband Orlando arrived at Brentwood High School on Friday, April 15, to enroll two of their children. The day ended with the couple’s three children being arrested. Over the course of the next several weeks, the family held protests in front of the school and frequented the Brentwood Public Library. The family filed several lawsuits against individuals employed by the county, city and Brentwood Home Page. The suits were never officially served. In May, the city amended the library’s Code of Conduct in direct response to some of the family’s actions there.

The city threw a huge retirement party for Joe Sweeney and Joe Reagan at city hall attended by a Who’s Who of Brentwood City History.

The first of four Town Center Saturdays brought the first street festival to the city since the demise of the Pear Fest in the 2001.

May:

Though touted as one of the most important city elections in recent years given two open seats, only 11.53 percent of Brentwood’s registered voters participated in the May 3 election, voting either on Election Day May 3 or in early voting. Mayor Betsy Crossley received the most votes, with 2228. Newcomer Rod Freeman followed with 1986. Incumbent Anne Dunn garnered 1869 while newcomer Jill Burgin had 1800.

On May 9, City Commissioner Paul Webb was elected by fellow commissioners as the city’s new mayor, while newcomer Freeman was elected vice-mayor. Both will serve two-year terms.

On May 20, the city went to the dogs – literally. City officials made quick work of their speeches on Saturday, May 20, as about 30 dogs and their families gathered at Tower Park to witness the ribbon being cut outside the main gate to the city’s first dog park.

June:

A sunny day in early June soon became smoke and soot-filled as the skies above east Brentwood filled with smoke from an afternoon fire that destroyed country music star Trace Adkins’ Bonbrook home. A nanny, teenage helper, and Trace and Rhonda Adkins’ two younger daughters were at home when the fire broke out. It was later determined that an overheated and/or loose electrical connection in a power strip located under a work bench in the garage started the blaze.

One of the most contentious stories of 2010 returned with little fanfare in June 2011, when owners of Independent Healthcare Properties LLC presented the city with a second rezoning request for MorningPointe of Brentwood, an assisted living/Alzheimer’s care facility. This time, the company sought the rezoning of 8.52 acres of land that was part of the historic Forge Seat property on Wilson Pike. In 2010, it sought to rezone the 6.4 acre lot at the northwest corner of Wilson Pike and Concord Road known as the Donkey farm.

A second rezoning request – to rezone just over seven acres of commercial property located adjacent to Brentwood Place shopping center into the Town Center district and thus pave the way for a multi-unit, mixed use residential project by the Bristol Group – also came before the City Commission in June. Though legally meeting the definition of a condominium project, the developer was clear from the start that it intended to rent the units, a first in the city. On June 14, the commission passed both requests on first reading, setting up a month of public hearings, community meetings and reviews by the Planning Commission.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the City of Brentwood for violating the freedom of speech and press rights of The Contributor, Nashville’s street newspaper, and their vendors. The lawsuit argues that a Brentwood city ordinance violates the guarantees of the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and press by prohibiting The Contributor from distributing its newspaper and sharing its message within the city limits. In July, the City passed an ordinance amending city code to make it clear that newspapers and other literature can be distributed by individuals on city sidewalks and public right of way as long as the activity is not conducted within the street itself and materials are not handed to vehicle occupants.

 On June 30, longtime Brentwood Fire Chief Kenny Lane was honored on his retirement from the city after 25 years. Effective July 1, Brian Goss was named new fire chief and David Windrow was promoted to assistant fire chief.

July:

A fast-moving and freak rain storm on July 7 left large portions of southern Brentwood and Cool Springs flooded. As much as 3.5 inches of rain fell quickly, closing roads and washing away part of the CSX railroad track near Moores Lane. The Empire Beauty School located adjacent to the tracks sustained the most damage, with as much as four feet of water flooding its basement. A plate glass window was washed out and a white Jeep Cherokee floated into one of the classrooms. By early evening, the water had subsided and all roads had reopened.

At its regular July 25 meeting, the city commission voted on second and final reading to approve the Wilson Pike property rezoning, which smoothed the way for MorningPointe development to begin.

On July 27, the three largest chambers of commerce in Williamson County formally announced they would form a single countywide chamber of commerce. The boards of the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber, the Cool Springs Chamber and the Williamson County-Franklin Chamber voted to approve the unification upon the unanimous recommendation of a joint task force that has been studying the issue since December 2011.  In September, a 15-member transition board was named.

At a special meeting held July 28 so all commissioners would be present to vote, the commission voted 6-1 to accept the 7.03 acres of property in the city’s northern commercial district officially into Town Center, making way for Brentwood's first high-density residential community. Mayor Paul Webb cast the lone dissenting vote. In August, the city’s planning commission approved plans for the four-story, mixed-use project with 393 residential units and retail space.

August:

A story that started on the last day of July became one of the “talker” stories of the year in the days immediately following when people across the city started asking each other “Did you see those strange lights” on Saturday? Indeed it did appear the city had been invaded by hundreds of unidentified flying objects – UFOs. It turned out that a wedding reception at Remnant Fellowship Church had ended with the release of glowing sky lanterns. Turns out, however, that the lanterns are illegal, meaning the phenomena experienced this year isn’t likely to be seen again.

September

After a five-month process of development, a master plan for the development of the city’s new 320-acre Marcella Vivrette Smith Park was unanimously approved by the Brentwood City Commission. The plan, designed by Gresham Smith & Partners was developed by a team of consultants with expertise in geology, historic restoration, traffic engineering and recreation. The process included multiple community meetings, recommendations and feedback from the city’s Historic Commission and Parks Board, and city staff. The park will be developed in phases, with the public expected to be able to access the park in late 2013.

At kickoff event attended by close to 200 people, a 15-member transition board was named to guide the creation of a unified chamber of commerce for Williamson County. The Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Cool Springs Chamber and the Williamson County Franklin Chamber voted to approve a merger earlier this year but the specifics of how that merged chamber would operate – from its name, to staffing, to office location -- have not been determined. It will be the job of the transition board to determine those specifics.

October:

With white shovels emblazoned with the word Tapestry, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Brentwood’s first high-density housing development on the property rezoned in July.  A large contingent of city and county officials, representatives and principals with the Bristol Development Group, and representatives of the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber were on hand to take part.

On a cold, foggy Saturday morning with a bit of frosted dew still on the ground, an estimated crowd of 25,000 supporters began gathering as early as 6 a.m. at Race Village for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Around 7 a.m., the sun slowly rose to reveal the glistening pink hue over Maryland Farms in Brentwood. The winner of the 5K race was Bob Evans, a “joggler” -- a person who jogs while juggling. Evans set the record for fastest joggling in the Guinness Book of World Records by finishing first place in the Komen 5K run with a time of 16:52.

Ricky Watson, who became the city’s second police chief 12 years ago, announced his plan to retire early next year. City Manager Mike Walker names Asst. Chief Jeff Hughes as Watson’s successor. Captain Tommy Walsh is tapped to become the new assistant chief.

November:

A fire on a tall ridge off of Murray Lane across from Scales Elementary School overnight on Nov. 12-13 turned an exercise in teamwork, as crews from Brentwood, Williamson County and even neighbors worked together to fight the blaze. The fire’s location and wind gusts of up to 25 to 35 mile per hour winds combined to make it a difficult fire to fight, Fire Chief Brian Goss said. Brentwood Police investigators identified a group of juveniles that had built a campfire in the remote area where the fire erupted. No charges were filed.

December

The biggest story of the month, and ultimately the year, was the return of 24-year-old soldier Andrew Wilson to his Brentwood home on Dec. 20. In the weeks before the BA grad flew home from Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Md., volunteers helped modify his parents’ homes, more than a thousand yellow ribbons were tied onto trees, fences and lampposts, and donations were made to a special account set up in honor of the U.S. Army Specialist 4 who lost one leg above the knee and the other below from an IED blast in Afghanistan in August. On Tuesday, Dec. 20, with a police and Freedom Rider escort, Andrew was greeted by thousands of well-wishers who lined up in the rain along Franklin, Concord and Sunset roads to give him a Hero’s Welcome.