West Nashville communities hold meeting with questions on Rich Riebeling's decision to purchase car dealership building for police station

I intended to post this earlier today, but got sidetracked. Via a member of the Nashville Neighborhoods e-list, the meeting of concerned citizens was held Belle Meade Methodist Church earlier this evening and it was planned to touch on several controversial notes about Metro Finance:

[Tuesday night there was] a meeting organized by Hillwood and Charlotte Park Neighborhood Associations to further dialog about the relocation of the West Nashville Police Precinct.

Highlights of this issue:

1. Undoubtedly, everyone in Nashville would support a new police building for the West Precinct. Right now, they are crammed into a small, old run down building and a portable.

2. the issue here is PROCESS and LOCATION

• Until this September, all of us on this side of town were led to believe that it would be relocated near where it has been for decades.
• Analysis and cost had been done on the Horizon building down to the light fixtures.

• Suddenly, with no warning, Rich Riebling was requesting permission of the council to spend budgeted $14 Million to purchase property that had been Frensley Ford/Performance Ford beyond the intersection of WBR and Charlotte Pike. Cost of this land/building $4.2 Million. NO sketches/detail of this has been done TO DATE.

CONCERN:
Several of us over here have expressed concern that the Horizon building is over $1 Million less in cost. Additionally, other land closer to Bellevue is available for less though that is land only.

Additionally, the Frensley property is in the 100 year old flood plain and the area backs up to Richland Creek.

It is unknown what the clean up costs will be at a site that has house gas, oil, fluids for years before environmental rules became tighter.

A meeting was organized by CM Baker last week. He has been advocating the Frensley site though it is OUT OF HIS DISTRICT and takes the precinct building further away from the area it serves (the West Precinct goes through Bellevue down to the Williamson County Line, Many questions were asked last week. Few were answered. A financial "analysis" was presented.

NOTE: We have been asking since Sept. 1 in writing and in calls to get financial information. It arrived the day OF the meeting...Nov. 5. Basically, it was reputed to compare the Frensley site with the Horizon building but no actual site drawings or comparisons have even been done for the Frensley site as of yet.Without that, there is no valid comparison.

Still, this project was APPROVED by the Council Budget and Finance Committee (though with no budget and no financial statements). It was then ultimately delayed by council until Nov. 17 "to get more information."

To us, this is a matter if taxpayer dollars and how they are spent.

No true analysis has been done. Maybe we need to spend the $14 million budgeted....maybe we do not.