Sounds, Metro can't agree on lease

By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer(Tennessean) • October 10, 2008 The Nashville Sounds and Metro government continue to disagree about the Sounds' future at Greer Stadium as the baseball team's lease is running out, a top city official said Thursday. Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling said the team has asked for a short-term lease of one to five years after Dec. 31, but the city wants the Sounds to make a long-term commitment to fixing up the 30-year-old ballpark. "We want their ownership to show a commitment to Nashville, to staying in Nashville," Riebeling said. Jeff Diamond, a consultant working for the Sounds, said he couldn't say much about the negotiations. "I would just say discussions continue, and we're talking and meeting and trying to get something worked out," said Diamond, who was president of the Tennessee Titans from 1999 to 2004. "I'll just leave it at that for now." Alhough there are still more than two months to reach an agreement, the impasse reflects the frosty relations between the Sounds and Mayor Karl Dean, who was the city's top attorney during previous negotiations for a new riverfront ballpark on city-owned land. Under the original plan, that facility would have opened in 2007, but the deal fell apart 18 months ago after the Sounds fought with their development partner and missed two financing deadlines. Dean has shown little trust for the Sounds' Chicago-based management since then. He was angry when the Sounds advanced state legislation last winter that would have let them collect sales tax from a future ballpark to help pay off their construction costs. The franchise eventually had the bill withdrawn. Asked if the Sounds would want to be assured that they could build a new stadium before making a long-term commitment to Nashville, Riebeling referred to the earlier deal. "They had an opportunity to build a stadium in downtown Nashville, and they walked away from that transaction," he said. Dean said in a February interview that the Sounds may have missed their best chance to partner with the city. "We're certainly not going to offer a better deal, and we may not be able to offer the same deal," he said. City asks for upgrades Riebeling said the Sounds haven't offered any new proposals or designs. In the meantime, the city has asked the Pacific Coast League franchise to upgrade Greer Stadium, a 10,052-seat facility just south of downtown. Metro wants the Sounds to bring Greer into compliance with standards imposed by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and improve the stadium's restrooms and concessions facilities. "What are they going to do about Greer?" Riebeling said. "Because it's not fair to the fans." He also said it was too easy for the Sounds to say the stadium is old. "Wrigley Field is old," he said. "Fenway Park is old. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's something that can't be maintained in a way that fans appreciate." But many of the Sounds' peers in the minor-league baseball ranks are enjoying newer facilities. Thirteen Triple-A teams will play next season in stadiums built in 2000 or later. "I think they need a new stadium downtown, without a doubt," said Wallace Primm, a longtime Sounds fan and a retired Metro Transit Authority bus driver. "I love baseball. What matters to me is the viability of having baseball in Nashville."

Dean weighs free community college

He wants to review urban mayors' proposal By COLBY SLEDGE • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • July 19, 2008 A proposal for free community college in Davidson County has Nashville Mayor Karl Dean intrigued, but he hasn't accepted an invitation to join mayors of Tennessee's largest counties in making the offer. Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton proposed the idea in a July 11 letter to Dean and Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey. Ragsdale and Wharton asked the two men to join the Tennessee Urban Mayors Forum, a newly formed nonprofit organization. The group's first initiative would be to raise private funds to help make community college free for high school graduates in the mayors' respective counties, according to consultant Robert Gowan. Gowan is a former policy adviser and lobbyist in Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration. "He believes it's a worthy goal, but he needs to review the details," Dean spokeswoman Janel Lacy said Thursday afternoon. Dean has discussed the plan with the mayors, but has not set a time frame for analyzing the proposal, Lacy said. The funds would be in addition to state lottery scholarships, Pell grants and state need-based awards, which mentors and volunteers in the mayors' program would help students obtain, Gowan said. The program would cost $350,000 the first year to fund awards for 450 students in Davidson County, based on estimates from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Gowan said. That figure would double in the second year, and could possibly grow if adult learners were added. Mayors worked together Businesses would have incentive to donate to create a more educated work force, Gowan said, and to potentially have an impact on curriculum at local community colleges. According to the letter, Dean would be secretary of the Tennessee Urban Mayors Forum and Ramsey would be treasurer. Wharton is president of the group, and Ragsdale is vice president. Annual membership dues are $35,000, according to the letter. Ragsdale and Wharton have not yet paid, Gowan said. "The mission is to create a spot where these mayors can work more effectively collectively," Gowan said. The mayors previously worked together in lobbying Bredesen for increased education funding. Ramsey has sounded "very warm to the idea" in talks about the group, said Gowan, who has not heard from Dean.

Metro Council urged to find the money to keep 7 targeted bus routes

Residents tell concerns at public hearing By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • June 4, 2008 Nashville bus riders and others urged the Metro Council on Tuesday to restore funding for seven bus routes that would be dropped as a result of the city's proposed budget for 2008-09. Most speakers at a public hearing on the budget said the city shouldn't remove some people's only transportation option. "Please don't take that away from us, and please don't leave us stranded," said Sheila Hansen, a legally blind woman who said the quality of the bus system was one reason she moved to Nashville from Florida in the 1980s. Mayor Karl Dean has proposed a $400,000 cut to the Metro Transit Authority's budget, but skyrocketing diesel prices caused MTA to ask the city for $2.5 million more than it received this year. The Transit Authority plans to cut its seven least-productive bus routes and raise fares July 1 to help make up the $2.9 million shortfall. Susan Duvenhage, president and CEO of the Adventure Science Center, said some of the museum's staff, volunteers and visitors could be affected by the cuts. "Eliminating routes could have an unintended impact on businesses and nonprofits whose customers rely on them," Duvenhage said. Residents also spoke out against proposed cuts to the Fire Department, reduced hours at some libraries and community centers, and a lack of raises for school support employees such as custodians. Some criticized the city's recent decision to amend the Nashville Predators' lease of Sommet Center and give the Predators' owners millions of additional dollars, though that money is not coming from property tax revenues, which fund most Metro services. Meanwhile, a handful of residents asked the council to approve Dean's proposal, saying it would be good for the arts. In other business, the council approved a change to the "capacity fees" new restaurant owners must pay to hook up to the water and sewer systems. Entrepreneurs now will be able to spread payments that can run as high as $42,000 over 36 months instead of putting the entire amount up at one

Dean hears teachers' ideas on schools

Davidson County Mayor Karl Dean heard from Nashville teachers Thursday about how to solve the district's problems, including the lackluster graduation rate and school truancy. Dean met with teachers at the headquarters of the Metro Nashville Education Association. Teachers used the chance to vent about overwhelming expectations, the need for more professional development and fewer experimental programs, and the lack of resources for teachers and schools. "I want you to feel I'm on your side," Dean said. "I want schools to be a priority the entire time I'm here." — JAIME SARRIOjsarrio@tennessean.com

Dean to give State of Metro speech Tuesday

By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer(Tennesssean) • May 12, 2008 Mayor Karl Dean will deliver the annual State of Metro address - his first since he was elected last year - Tuesday morning. Dean will speak in the Grand Reading Room of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., at 10:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public, but limited seating will be available, the mayor's office said in a news release. Overflow seating will be provided. The library setting will be new this year. State of Metro was held in the Nashville Convention Center for years, then moved to the Public Square in front of the Metro Courthouse last spring amid criticism that the convention center seemed uninviting to average citizens. Many government and business leaders routinely attend the event. Dean is the sixth mayor of Metro government, which formed from the consolidation of the Nashville and Davidson County governments in 1963.