Monday, February 4, 2008

Can't Fight City Hall

They tell nothing because they are making big money deals behind your back.

We are, the general population, struggle to, "hold what we've got" while city hall undermines the quality of our lives.

Are you aware that Franklin City politicians and their developer buddies have decided that the area in the Moores Lane/Franklin Road, (once the beautiful gateway from Nashville to Franklin) has been scheduled to become a "High Density" area?

Meaning: Get ready to live in Nashville's version of the South side of Chicago.
Look out your kitchen window and look into your neighbors bathroom window 8 feet away.

Maybe you work a day job? You have a couple kids? Your time is stretched to the limit. You cannot attend every single Franklin City Hall meeting and spend 24/7 defending your neighborhood.

I was born in Hollywood. When I was a kid I remember riding the electric streetcars downtown LA. I remember Angels Flight. The pond in the park in East LA was clear and pure and you could eat the catfish you caught there.

I haven't looked at the stats but my guess would be that the population of Los Angeles & the San Fernando Valley in 1958 is roughly what the population Tennessee's Williamson and Davidson counties combined would be now.

By the time I was 24 I was working at Price Waterhouse at Pershing Square in Los Angeles. The once beautiful bussling downtown area I remembered from my childhood had become 'Skid Row.' Electric streetcars gone. Replaced by smokey city busses.

At 29 years old, I escaped the City of Angels with its traffic, filth, smog and gangs and
moved to beautiful Williamson County Tennessee.
The clean little town where the curbs were swept and the shops signs were written in English. (Wow. This feels like home!)

Locals loved their town. Beautiful place. No graffitti. Remember those days?

I remember Franklin as a place where parents loved, guided and supervised their children. Raised them with a sense of spirituality to know the difference between right and wrong. Raised them to know they would be disciplined were they caught spray painting city buildings and bridges. (duh?)

Back then, old friends would visit me here.

They were amazed by our exquistly beautiful little town. One friend said,"My God, it's like Beverly Hills or a page out of Homes and
Gardens. Each and everyhome has such a beautifully maintained yard."
and yes, this was before Franklinites started hiring illegal aliens to do their gardening.

Anyway, this post is really a lament for a fight I've most likely lost. The fight to maintain a quality of life I've known and loved here in Franklin Tennessee.

The City of Franklin Annexed our property about 8 years ago. Without notice. YES! Without notice! My neighbors and I were unaware we had been annexed until we received our city property tax bills.

When my husband called the city attorney and inquired as to why we were not notified, he said, "We Take the Position that you were notified."
What kind of talk is that? "We take the Position..."?

If my neighbors and I were notified about the annexation then the city has certified letters on file? Nope. ("Oh Gee... where'd they go, Hoss?")

Please see my small film of how life once was in
Franklin Tennessee. It was paradise on earth.

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