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Wednesday, 04/04/07, article by
Heather Donahoe, Tennessean staff writer, Copyright © 2007
Tennessean.com
Q & A with City Commission
Candidate Paul Ross
Age:
60
Years in Brentwood: 24
Personal: wife, Susan, and one grown daughter
Occupation: Realtor,
professional musician and former adjunct professor at Manhattan
School of Music
Interesting fact: "I toured
South Africa with Cher."
Why should voters elect you?
"I think I'm one of the few
candidates who actually sees the end vision and is coming up with
solutions to achieve that vision. I really want to get the community
engaged in the future of Brentwood. Right now, everyone is sold on
the notion that everything is wonderful, and this is nirvana. Life
is good right now, but we have start asking the tough questions
about our future."
With build-out projected for 2016, how do you see the city's
leadership adapting to deal with the corresponding changes?
"Build-out is going to be long
before 2016. I don't see things being prepared. One of the things
you hear people talk about is how there's been no increase in
property taxes for 17 years. The reason for that is growth and good
fiscal management, but the growth is ending. We're landlocked, we're
not taking more land, so we have to figure out how increased costs
will be defrayed. The answer is simple: Town Center."
Nearly everyone wants to preserve the city's famous "scenic
views" and green space. What fiscally responsible steps can be taken
to facilitate this?
"Where I see the need is for some
more passive parks and wilderness trails. Some land that can't be
built on, left rough and with small trails put in. I think that's a
tremendous improvement to the quality of life and offers a maximum
benefit to everyone in the community, as opposed to soccer and
baseball fields, which serve only a portion of the population. I'm a
big proponent of green space, but I think we need to do it
sensibly."
The Town Center development hasn't yet come to fruition. Is it
a good idea? If so, how does Brentwood make it happen?
"The primary problem with Town
Center right now is that the majority of citizens can't envision the
finality of it, and a lot of them don't even know where it is. When
I think of Town Center, I see quaint shops, sidewalk cafes, art
galleries, boutiques, a shoe repair shop, a post office, nice
non-chain restaurants. I think the city needs to call in a
redevelopment consultant who has done these redevelopments
successfully, so the leadership can feel it, touch it and understand
the ramifications. Once that's accomplished, the city should invite
major national developers to discuss public-private partnerships."
What, in your opinion, has been Brentwood's biggest blunder
since incorporation?
"Putting the Mallory Lane
extension decision to a referendum. I blame the City Commission for
that. They let 2,000 people determine the future of the city. Their
authority was to lead and they abdicated that authority. That
extension would have alleviated a tremendous amount of traffic on
Concord and Franklin roads." |
