Fairview Leaders Tout Developments at Annual Address

Fairview leaders highlighted ongoing city projects, economic development efforts and student successes during the city’s second annual Fairview address on Thursday.

“We take a lot of pride in what we do in public safety and make a lot of investment in police and fire,” city manager Tom Daugherty told the crowd of around 100 people in Fairview City Hall.

“Probably the biggest thing right now in police going on is a 20-year initiative is a police training facility which will have a classroom, a firing range, and we think we will see it to fruition,” he continued, adding that the city is currently working on closing on the property purchase and hopes to begin construction by the end of the fiscal year.

Other ongoing projects include the planned purchase of a new fire engine in 2027, a new fire station at the intersection of Northwest Highway and Highway 96, as well as traffic light and park upgrades, and a planned criminal justice center near city hall.

Other projects include sidewalk and streetlight improvements, with Daugherty noting what he said is “by far, the largest resurfacing Fairview has ever taken on,” as well as stormwater upgrades, the latter of which uses funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Fairview is also expanding staffing, including plans to hire an assistant city planner.

“Fairview High School is in the 91st percentile statewide for high schools under US News [and World] Report,” Williamson County Schools Superintendent Jason Golden said.

“A reason why Fairview High School is in that top 10% is because of the support at our two elementary schools and our middle school and growing students. We have a clean feeder tab here in Fairview, where two elementary schools feed one middle school, it feeds one high school, and across the county, we can't do that because the variations in growth are the variations in sizes of schools.”

He also touted the FVHS mechatronics program, which launched as a pilot program in 2018, a program that Mayor Lisa Anderson said will benefit from the relocation of manufacturing of California-based LazeStar to Fairview.

“Our mechatronics students, instead of having to go to Smyrna, to Spring Hill, they’re going to be able to do their required hours that is required for them to graduate, right here in Fairview, and LazeStar is making that happen,” Anderson said.

Anderson spoke about the role of economic development in the managed growth of Fairview, a subject also highlighted by Williamson Inc. President and CEO Matt Largen, which hosted the event sponsored by Williamson Health.

“What's important is not just having growth, but having the proper growth,” Anderson said.

“It's the knowledge of the community, the knowledge of Fairview, that we need, and also someone who can funnel the right businesses here… We want what’s best for our community and we want to spend our community’s tax dollars wisely.”

The Fairview annual address can be viewed online in its entirety below: