RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - After careful consideration and overwhelming community response, Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr has vetoed the resolution renaming the Kittrell Public Health & Safety Building.
On May 16, the Rutherford County Commission voted in a 13-7 decision to rename the Public Health & Safety Building in Kittrell, the P.E.A.Y. Public Health & Safety Building.
According to the resolution, this acronym was intended to honor David Leon Adams, Clyde Montgomery Elrod, Robert (Bob) W. Peay Sr., and William Laughlin Youree. The first letters of the last name were rearranged to spell the acronym P.E.A.Y.
Mayor Carr said, "The veto of the resolution has nothing to do with not recognizing the four individuals and their families named, as they are honorable men who loved and served Rutherford County. Their lives were dedicated to community service, who like so many other members of the community deserve the same recognition. Additionally, the community should have a voice in the process of renaming public buildings. Ever since the County Commission voted to rename the building, I have received hundreds of calls, texts, and emails asking me to veto the resolution. I have had family members of the four individuals to be honored request that the building remain the Kittrell Public Health & Safety Building."
A Change.org petition in opposition to the renaming was created on Friday, May 17, and in less than five days, it has garnered almost 600 signatures.
The Public Health & Safety Buildings are designed to be a Fire Station, EMS Station, Healthcare Facility, and a Storm Shelter for emergency use. The names of these buildings should be easy to understand and denote the geographical area in the name. In the most recent severe weather over 150 individuals used the tornado shelters at the public health & safety buildings throughout the county.
