Guns, trash, traffic on council's agenda

Shelbyville's city council will tackle several tough issues Thursday -- guns, garbage and which way Depot Street should flow.

The council is set to meet beginning at 6 p.m. in the courtroom of the Shelbyville Police Department, when they will make a decision whether to allow citizens with valid carry permits to possess their firearms in federal, state or local parks.

Two weeks ago, the council heard area residents give their opinions on the proposed measure, which would give the city an option of "opting out" of the new law.

But many cities have chosen the option of excluding their parks by passing a resolution drawn up by the University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service.

Memphis, Murfreesboro, Brentwood and Chattanooga as well as Williamson and Shelby counties have voted to exempt their parks. Tullahoma is also considering voting to be excluded from the measure and Winchester and Manchester has already banned guns in its parks.

Out of the nine people that spoke on the measure last week, seven supported the right to carry a gun in city parks.

The new law goes into effect Sept. 1, and if Shelbyville chooses to enact the resolution, it would be the last chance to vote for or against it.

Another matter to be voted on will be the direction that two blocks of East Depot Street will take.

The council has debated the issue for months, it was pointed out two weeks ago by city manager Ed Craig that a decision to change the direction to inbound only traffic for 60 days was put on hold.

Since that time, Craig said the city was ready to move forward on the Depot Street direction change. Police have told council members in previous meetings that the street does not need to be inbound toward the square due to safety issues with nearby McGrew Street, which some drivers use as an alternate route.

Council members have heard from merchants on Depot, but found that they are split down the middle on which way they want traffic to flow.

In fact, councilman Al Stephenson said the council made a mistake by changing the street direction in the first place. Mayor Wallace Cartwright also said that merchants do not want McGrew Street closed because that is where they enter a parking lot for the area.

Another vote before the council Thursday will be whether to implement a garbage collection fee to pay for a new collection system.

The proposal could save Shelbyville as much as $700,000 a year -- but residents would also see an additional $9 tacked onto their monthly electric bills as a result.

The fee would be used to pay for a new collection system, a type that uses a style of truck that council members referred to as "one-armed bandits" that only require one person to operate.

If enacted, the new trucks would be able to serve 50 percent more households per day and the containers would give the city a neater appearance. Also, anyone on a low-income-based tax relief program would not be required to pay the additional fee.