11 October 2007 Candidate Forum Tonight The Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a candidate forum tonight beginning at 7:00pm. This forum will be held in the boardroom at City Hall. If you still are undecided about whom you intend to vote for in this month's critical election, here's one more opportunity to hear what the candidates have to say. I encourage you to attend. Early Voting Continues This Week Election day for mayor and alderman at-large races is Tuesday, October 23, with early voting at the Williamson County Administrative Complex continuing through next Thursday, October 18. Hours for early voting are from 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday, and from 8:00am to noon on Saturday. Police Building Update The site of the new Police Headquarters building on Columbia Avenue is nearly cleared. If you have been by this site you might have noticed piles of debris and other materials. Some of this will remain on site and will be used for fill during construction. Most of the materials will be recycled. The intent is to reuse or recycle 75% of the materials from demolition, with 25% or less going to the landfill. City staff and our design team have been working diligently toward obtaining LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification - recycling is one component of the process. Design documents were submitted for review and we have been notified of receiving 20 points out of a possible 21 - a great start toward obtaining certification. My compliments to Kennon/Taylor, the architectural firm leading this effort. Five construction firms have been pre-qualified and invited to bid on the construction of the building. Bid documents will be available on October 25, with bids due by November 27. The intent is to have a contractor selected in time for the December 11 meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Construction is expected to begin early in January, and will take 16-18 months to complete. For more information about green building and LEED certification, visit www.usgbc.org. City Hall Update The city received qualification proposals from five firms, and selected four who met the requirements set forth in the Request for Qualifications. These four pre-qualified firms have been invited to provide creative design proposals and their recommendations for the highest and best use of the city hall site, to include a new city hall on the square. Proposals are due in mid-January. BOMA Action from Tuesday Old Business 1.    Approved the new Zoning Ordinance on final reading. I voted against this ordinance because I believe it contains significant deficiencies. 2.    Approved rezoning of 7.13 acres from PC to PO and approve concept plan for Carothers Professional Center located on Liberty Pike between Edward Curd Land and Carothers Road. 3.    Approved rezoning of 51.09 acres from GO to PR and concept plan for Creekstone Commons at Creekstone Boulevard and South Royal Oaks. 4.    Approved rezoning of 48.90 acres from LI and GC to PC and concept plan for Through the Green on Columbia Avenue at Southeast Parkway. 5.    Approved annexation and zoning for 7.16 acres on Clovercroft Road south of Kirkwood Drive. 6.    Approved annexation and zoning for 22.29 acres on south Carothers Road east of Falcon Creek Subdivision. 7.    Approved annexation and zoning for 11.49 acres along Clovercroft Road. New Business 1.    Defeated rezoning 36.18 acres from AG to PR 2.65 and the concept plan for Rizer Point, north of Del Rio Pike and south of the Harpeth River. 2.    Defeated rezoning 3.58 acres from PR 16.4 to PR 15.37 and the concept plan revision for Generals Retreat on Columbia Avenue south of Gist Street. 3.    Approved emergency water restrictions, increase in disconnect charges, and provision for administrative cost recovery. 4.    Approved professional service agreement for Liberty Park phase III. 5.    Approved bid award for Phase I improvements to the Park at Harlinsdale Farm. 6.    Approved authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds for public works projects. 7.    Approved a resolution concerning decisions on the Police Headquarters building project. 8.    Defeated signalization on McEwen Drive between I-65 and Mallory Lane. 9.    Approved property acquisition for the Third Avenue North Extension and Bicentennial Park projects. Water/Wastewater 1.    Approved statement of revenues and expenditures for Water and Sewer Fund. 2.    Approved professional service agreements for design of the water main and reclaimed water main along Downs Boulevard. 3.    Referred to Enterprise Committee the pump and haul agreement with Ladd Farms development.