Strange Times Call For Special Measures As Nashville Metro Council Meets Amid Outbreak

With the coronavirus outbreak casting its pall, Nashville’s Metro Council took precautions Tuesday night while conducting a sharply abbreviated meeting.

Opening comments by Vice Mayor Jim Shulman captured how the outbreak — and the “social distancing” measures meant to stem its spread — has altered familiar routines.

“We are here tonight under very unique circumstances,” Shulman said. “Council members are spread out all throughout the room. The chamber has been disinfected.”

This handwritten seating chart guided members of council to keep their distance.

Limited city staff attended, and essentially no residents sat in the viewing gallery. In fact, about half the council members sat in that area, spaced far apart in the wooden pews.

The council heard a virus briefing — via teleconference — from health officials.

Michael Caldwell, the city’s health director, shared that Nashville has now confirmed 46 cases. He said he felt the public had recently “turned a corner” in terms of taking the outbreak seriously.

“Our ability to ‘flatten the curve,’ ” he said, “is directly related to our ability as a community … to return to normal life.”

Reminders of the pandemic surfaced through the meeting, with Shulman advising members to use disinfecting wipes — especially for those who had to take turns at a shared microphone, which got more than one scrubbing.

And like a schoolteacher, Shulman kept tabs on anyone who moved, even scolding one member and playfully order her back to her desk.

Only a about a dozen business item were deemed critical enough to take up, mostly related to city finances and recovery efforts for the March 3 tornado.

Councilmember Burkley Allen Submitted

Members of Metro Council sat amid ample empty space throughout the chambers on Tuesday.

Members agreed to refinance several loans to save the city budget nearly $18 million.

They also approved a round of affordable housing grants.

And they signed off on the mayor’s capital spending plan, which was recently amended to add about $26 million for tornado-related repairs to city buildings, schools and infrastructure.

“This is a very difficult time for our city, but the issues remain,” Shulman said in his closing. “That’s why it’s important for government to continue to function and respond.”