Dear ,

It’s been a difficult few days for Nashville, and while parts of East have had power restored, many folks are still without, and I have been moved by how many of you have taken in neighbors without power, helped folks with food, helped others get to warming centers or other warm places, reported dangerous situations to me and NES, and generally been there for each other.

NES crews have been working overtime and around the clock and they will not stop until everyone has power back. At the same time, even understanding that it is difficult to predict how long a complex, technical job will take, especially when working in tough weather in the middle of the night, I know that NES’s communications about the progress of work in specific areas has left many frustrated. Soon there will be a post-storm feedback and improvement process, where I will be weighing in with my concerns about this.

I also won’t stop until everyone is restored, and as I have been prioritizing storm and safety issues this week, working on scarce battery life, please know that if you have reached out to me about something not related to the storm I promise I will get back to you once we all dig out. In the meantime, please see the updates below—and thank you all, again, sincerely, for being the kind, excellent, supportive neighbors that make for a truly great community, in this time when it really counts. See you soon, and please let me know how I can help you.

Warming Centers

Metro is operating warming centers, open 24/7, for those who need somewhere safe to be warm. Over the past few days getting folks to these has been an emphasis of mine and I know they have helped many folks whose homes were dangerously cold. These are lifesavers so please share this info widely with anyone who may need it.

All fire stations (see here for a map), most MNPD Precincts (although not East), and several Parks Dept. community centers are operating as warming locations. There have been some new locations added, so please see graphic below for details and the number to call for Metro-arranged transportation to a warming center:

Road Clearance, Dangerous Trees, and Debris

As you’ve seen, the major roads are relatively clear, and some secondary roads are too, but there are still many trees down as well. NDOT crews are working to clean these up, so please make way for them as you see them out working.

For trees that are leaning over the road (including leaning on power lines or poles), please report those to NDOT’s crews through Hub Nashville, which you can do here. I’ve discussed a lot of these over the past couple days, but in a situation like this, please go ahead and report to make double sure it’s on the work list, and forward your ticket number to me so I can follow up and try and forestall as much danger and disruption as possible.

Also, there’s a ton of debris in yards, etc. NDOT will be collecting that brush if it is stacked at the curb (after the roads and safety issues are taken care of) with dates TBD — please see their graphic info below:

Trash collection and convenience centers

The suspension of trash and recycling collection has also been an extra hassle for many this week. To help relieve that, Waste Services is waiving fees at the convenience centers through at least February 7th. That means trash, recycling, and the other items usually accepted at the convenience centers can be dropped off at no cost during that time. They have modified the hours, though: the East Convenience Center (943 Richard G. Adams Drive) will be have the modified schedule of 8:00am to 3:30pm, through Friday at least. Waste Services will be posting updates to these hours and the restoration of the regular collection schedule through their channels at Facebook and Instagram

As always, please reach out to me directly at [email protected] or 615-864-0008. Yours in service, Clay