Saturday, February 12, 2011

Mayor Dean did not even bother to consult Fairgrounds staff before making decision to close it down

It staggers me to hear that Karl Dean, who seemed so passionate about closing and selling off the Fairgrounds, had sought so little feedback before deciding. Via Rev. Jay Voorhees:
Fair/Expo Center CEO Buck Dozier’s comment at the Old Hickory Chamber forum on the fairgrounds today left me flabbergasted. “The mayor and I have never had a full conversation on the fairgrounds?” he revealed to the group.

Huh? Okay, I waded through the e-mails and it was pretty clear that Mr. Dozier and his staff were blindsided by the Hickory Hollow proposal, which originated in the mayor’s office and had little input from Expo Center staff, but I would have thought that at some point in time the mayor would have sat down with the person who has the best perspective on the future prospects for the fairgrounds. Even if he knew that Mr Dozier would disagree with his assessment, it would make sense to take time to gather information to bolster the arguments against the retention of the property. But according to Mr. Dozier, “The mayor and I have never had a full conversation about the fairgrounds.”

16 comments:

  1. I spoke to one of Dean's advisors a few days after the Hickory Hollow Mall proposal was made by Dean. In my mind, such a move made little sense. For one, I thought the location was bad since it would not be centrally located. Two, I didn't think the facility would work for the wide variety of events currently held at the fairgrounds. In short, I thought the idea bad for vendors and attendees. The Dean advisor told me, "The vendors love the idea." The comment struck me as totally a PR statement. When I asked, "What vendors did you talk to?" the advisor said that is what he had heard via Dean staffmembers. It was obvious that Dean and his staff did not give the idea due process by speaking to vendors and event promoters. That said, what was reported above does not surprise me at all. I find Dean's behavior in regard to this matter as absolutely insulting to fairgrounds staff and all citizens of Nasville.

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  2. I have said all along that Dean nor his staff members have talked to any of the vendors or the neighbors, much less the fair board members. Sandra Moore hasn't either other than those "few" that have reached out to her. The Yellow Shirts need to get their act together and read between the lines because the KD will crap on them as well. Buck Dozier is a lame duck that needs to be prepared to take the fatal shot. Dean will definitely shoot him in the back because he wont face you like a real man, but what do you expect from a backstabbing, lying, thieving soul such as KD.

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  3. I wonder what the other people living out in Cheatham county think about the fairgrounds?

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  4. Well, since Mayor Karl Dean keeps wanting us to think more in terms of region-wide development rather than just focusing on Davidson County, it would be inconsistent to exempt the Fairgrounds from those very same terms. What people think in the donut counties, especially those who make economic impact based on the Convention and Visitors Bureau's own equations, should figure in the discussion of the Fairgrounds. Otherwise, we must oppose the construction of the Music City Center because it is being built to serve many people who live no where close to Tennessee.

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  5. The Fair Board Chairman is still stuck on the fine folks of Cheatham County too;)

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  6. Since I'm sure the spineless poster speaking about the residents of Cheatham county was no doubt directing the comment towards me I'll be nice and respond.

    I live in a small neighborhood just about 300 yards across the county line and there are 5 different families within 1/4 mile that all raced at the Fairgrounds.

    Every single one of us grew up in Nashville, and still work in Nashville today. Several are METRO Employees. We spend our money at businesses within Davidson county every day.

    I look at it like this, When Karl Dean's 2007 Mayoral Campaign made the promise in exchange for sponsorship on my race truck that he was THE CANDIDATE to SAVE the Fairgrounds....they never asked me what county I lived in, just as he hasn't returned campaign donations that come in from other counties, and even other states.

    Your 48 residents of Davidson county will never trump our over 50,000 and daily growing number against your foolish arguments.

    Since you're not a fan you may miss the chance to hear that Millionaire from Franklin speak to the half million residents in Middle Tn (20 million nationally)about our Red Shirts and the www.savemyfairgrounds.com website during the Daytona 500 coverage next Sunday.

    Thanks to DW for the shoutout about our efforts during todays Daytona coverage.
    Thanks also go out to Nashville resident Kyle Petty for doing the same.

    signed
    rc

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  7. I'm fine with the property values in Salem Town continuing to go up. If you and your neighbors want to continue carrying more of the tax burden to support Nashville that's fine with me. If the City doesn't do something with the fairgrounds property the area around it will continue to be economically suppressed. However, eventually, the invisible hand of the market will prevail regarding this property. Have a great Sunday.

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  8. So at the Nov. 16 public hearing at the 53:59 on hearing tape did you lie to Metro Council when you told them you lived in Bellevue?

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  9. Anonymous said...
    So at the Nov. 16 public hearing at the 53:59 on hearing tape did you lie to Metro Council when you told them you lived in Bellevue?

    Sun Feb 13, 12:46:00 AM CST

    No I did not lie.Please I encourage everyone to watch the video and here is the link. mms://streaming.nashville.gov/VOD/mc/councilmeetings/101116/meeting.wmv
    I start speaking at the 53.15 mark, and I don't stutter.

    I make my home address and zip code perfectly clear before I spoke. 5575 Zapata Drive, 37143.

    I do "live" in Bellevue. I'm sponsored by Subway BELLEVUE, I fished in the pond that sat where the empty Dillards store of the vacant BELLEVUE mall is today.I still shop at the BELLEVUE MALL Sears store,I opened the BELLEVUE Kroger in High School,I opened the original PaPa Johns BELLEVUE, I opened the orginal BELLEVUE Applebees, met my wife and mother of my daughter during training to open that store.
    I played Football for the BELLEVUE Steelers, I grew up going along with the rest of the entire community of BELLEVUE to watch games at the BELLEVUE High School,I went to BELLEVUE middle school.....
    Today I shop at the BELLEVUE Publix, I eat out in BELLEVUE,I buy my gas in BELLEVUE,I could go on and on

    So when I say I live in Bellevue it's because I do.

    Your arguments are as lame as you are. Keep throwing fuel on the fire and I'll keep working harder to make sure you and those like you are defeated.

    I am Ronnie Campbell, and I AM NASHVILLE !
    And we are sick and damn tired of people like you

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  10. Sir, with all do respect you live in Cheatham County and it doesn't matter how close to the Davidson County line you live, it's still Cheatham County. It pisses me off to hear folks who do not live here bash the city for which I'm resident of. I don't always agree with Mayor Dean (Neither does the blogger on this site) or the Metro Council but they were put into office by the residents that are registered voters of Davidson County not Cheatham County. I love the surrounding counties but I don't want other folks living in other counties trying to tell Davidson County what we can and cannot do nor would I want Davidson County residents trying to tell the surrounding counties what to do. If someone is part of an organization that is based in Nashville maybe that is different but I'm speaking of folks as individuals. I suggest you put a for sale sign in your yard move 301 yards to the East and pay property taxes in Davidson County like those of us who live here and register to vote in Davidson County if you want to have a say in how are legislative and executive branches of Metro government should function. Thanks Mr. Byrd for having this blog. Thanks to Mr. Smiley as well for being a respectable gentleman during the fairgrounds debate. Have a nice day everyone.

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  11. I've lived within two miles of the track for 25 years. I'm a Vanderbilt grad and attend events at the fairgrounds. I go to the races as well. And I thank those Cheatham County folks for their support.

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  12. Thanks for clearly that up. It makes sense that you do business in Davidson County. There is not a whole lot of places to shop or have dinner in Cheatham County. Just trying to get some clarification on why you said you lived in Belleuve and not on the Cheatham County side of Pegram and it makes sense to why you said you lived in Bellevue. Thanks for doing business in Davidson County and for supporting the Belleuve area.

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  13. Well said, Ronnie!
    The opposition wants to sling mud and distract everyone from our objective of saving the historic Fairgrounds from this proposed land grab.

    If the Fairgrounds haters would come to the table and work on finding common ground instead of doing whatever it is that they are attempting to do now, we would be on our way to a solution that benefitted everyone. (except the land grabbers)

    Ronnie, you and many others have devoted countless hours to saving the Fairgrounds. You have helped uncover the facts that show what a misguided, underhanded scheme the Mayors office has been trying to railroad thru.
    Keep up the good work.

    My name is Shane Smiley and I AM NASHVILLE!
    Stand up and be proud!
    Make Dean a 1 term Mayor!!!

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  14. Before the January Council meeting Karl Dean enlisted the Nashville Chamber of Commerce to endorse his "demolish the racetrack" bill.

    According to their website (link below):

    "The Nashville Area Chamber is Middle Tennessee's largest business federation, representing more than 2,000 member businesses in 10 counties (Davidson, DICKSON, MONTGOMERY, CHEATHAM, ROBERTSON, WILSON, SUMNER, WILLIAMSON, RUTHERFORD and MAURY). Through a wide variety of programs and initiatives, the Chamber works to positively impact the economic vitality and enhance the quality of life in the REGION,..."

    This came from their website at:

    http://www.nashvillechamber.com/Homepage/AboutUs.aspx

    -----

    If Dean can get Chamber members from outside Davidson County to petition for him and his "redevelopment" plans, then Fairgrounds supporters who live outside of Davidson County also have the right to petition the Council, Governor, Attorney General, and State Legislators regarding this issue also.

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  15. Dozier was taking his staff out to Hickory Hollow many months before it hit the press.

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