Dean: County lines artificial, 'pretty old'

Several of area's mayors talk regionalism at Franklin event

Email | Print By Richard Lawson

Karl Dean

Mayor Karl Dean crossed the border this morning into Williamson County and floated a trial balloon about taking a look at Middle Tennessee's county lines.

Dean didn’t specifically say that the area's counties should merge. But he did point out that their boundaries are artificial and that everyone should at some point think about how and why the lines were formed.

“Some of that stuff is pretty old,” he said.

Dean slipped in his comments during a mayoral summit that also included Franklin Mayor John Schroer, Brentwood Vice Mayor Paul Webb and Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson. The event at the Factory of Franklin was sponsored by the Greater Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce.

Regionalism was the theme and the mayors talked about how the two counties can cooperate now as well as in the future.

“We really need to be thinking big,” Dean said as he brought up the county lines.

The other mayors didn’t take the bait. Still, all agreed that transportation is a key issue for the region. They said funding is a major obstacle since state and federal dollars have dried up and local communities are going to have to figure a way to pay for projects.

“We’re stronger united than separate,” Schroer said about sharing resources.

Dean added that, given the economic situation and environmental concerns locally with air pollution, “this is the time where we can get something done.”

During the summit, Webb said that light rail that connects the region is something that should be discussed, especially since there are projections that Interstate 65 will be clogged with traffic in several years.

“We could do this,” Webb said of rail.