Lakeland BOC Regular Meeting Changed to Wednesday, August 1

The August Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners has been rescheduled to Wednesday, August 1, 2007.

Hunting/Discharge of Weapons in Lakeland

The City of Lakeland has designated certain areas of the City where is it is legal to discharge weapons.

Discharge of weapons, bows, pellet guns is illegal except as follows:

-In the protection of life

-Law Enforcement Officers in the performance of their official duties

-At a legal Firing Range

-Military functions such as parades, funerals etc.

-In areas of Lakeland described as follows:

-Zoned AG (Agricultural) in the Lakeland Zoning Ordinance AND;

-At least 20 acres in size

There is a map of areas where, under Lakeland Ordinances, weapons can be discharged at www.Lakelandtn.gov.

The Shelby County Sheriff may be called at 379-7625 if a resident feels weapons are being discharged illegally.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency regulates hunting and hunting may not be allowed in areas described above. There are restrictions on hunting within a prescribed distance of a public road, a residence etc. The discharge of weapons such as firearms, bow, pellet guns etc. are not authorized in the City limits except as noted above.

Illegal hunting can be reported toTWRA at 1-800-831-1173. Call TWRA at 1-800-372-3928 for general questions on hunting. The TWRA web page is www. Tennessee.gov/twra.

Lakeland Municipal Planning Commission-Postponed Agenda Items

The applicants have requested the following items be postponed to a future agenda for the July 16, 2007 Lakeland Municipal Planning Commission Agenda. The applicants requested that the projects be heard on August 20, 2007.

-Equestria Planned Development (Preliminary Development Plan)

-Arcadia Planned Development (Secondary Detailed Development Plan)

-Lakeland Commons Planned Development at Seed Tick and Highway 70 (Preliminary Development Plan)

MLGW Tree cutting on Memphis Arlington Road

I read in the Commercial Appeal this (Saturday) morning that MLGW had advised they would hold future work until they discussed the matter more with the City of Lakeland.

All we have requested is that the plans be reviewed by the Lakeland Municipal Planning Commission as is required by Tennessee Law.

We hope the matter can be worked out quickly. Obviously we want MLGW construction to proceed as fast as possible. However, as with any construction the plans need to be reviewed to insure that the plans are appropriate for the area.

MLGW Tree cutting on Memphis Arlington Road

MLGW is installing 3-phase service the Estates of Maple Grove, which is on Memphis Arlington, roughly ½ mile east of Seed Tick Road.

For some time, we have been discussing with MLGW the Tennessee State Law requirement (T.S.A. 13-4-104) that they submit plans before they start “improvements” (not maintenance) such as this.

The last discussion included the promise that MLGW would submit documentation on their position (that the State law on this does not apply to them) and also review the State Law that we (including the City Attorney) feel requires such approval.

We understand that there are interpretations to every law and we are willing to discuss this with MLGW.

Yesterday, without any notice, MLGW started construction, including moving several protected trees in the process. They did stop when we issued a “Stop Work” order.

This morning (Friday, July 13) am MLGW representative called the City staff person who issued the Stop Work order and basically advised him (in essence) that the officials who make such decisions at MLGW didn’t care what Lakeland thought and they were proceeding with the project.

The City staff is reviewing our options on this matter but we hope that MLGW will keep their promise to review the Tennessee State Statute involved and submit the information that they feel exempts them from the statutes before taking any further action.

I fully expect that the City of Lakeland will take whatever action is necessary to insure that MLGW complies with Tennessee State Law and City Ordinances.

I will post to this Blog as necessary to update on this matter.

Lakeland Retail Future to be discussed 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 12

A Community Retail Development Program discussion will highlight the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce “Lakeland After Hours” at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 12.

All Lakeland residents are encouraged to attend.

RSVP to Sondra Blondis at 213-2143 or 483-6367. Additional information is available at www.LakelandChamberofCommerce.com. Lakeland After Hours is at the Oakwood Clubhouse at 10133 Matwood Oak Drive.

A Tennessee Valley Authority representative will be present and discuss how the Lakeland community can partner with TVA to design a Retail Attraction Package that is tailored to Lakeland.

The Lakeland Retail Attraction Package will kickoff in September of 2007. The Lakeland Chamber and Lakeland Economic Development Commission encourage any person interested in the future of Lakeland to attend this meeting.

This could be the meeting that sets the pattern for the future of Lakeland! Plan to attend this important meeting. This Lakeland After Hours is sponsored by Trustmark Bank and the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce.

Trash pickup changes week of July 4, 2007

Trash pickup will be delayed one day this week after the July 4 Holiday. Specific changes are:

-Wednesday trash pickup route will be picked up Thursday.

-Thursday trash pickup route will be picked up Friday.

-Friday trash pickup route will be picked up Saturday.

The recycling schedule will not be affected.