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BULLETIN! Nashville's Musicians Hall of Fame needs our help - please read and respond as soon as possible. 

February 4, 2010

We are asking your help regarding a serious and extremely time sensitive situation regarding the future of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville. The MHOF is a wonderful institution that celebrates the heritage and legacy of musicians everywhere, including those who turned Nashville into "Music City". The Hall is housed in a beautiful facility downtown that unfortunately falls in the footprint of the new convention center, and the building is now scheduled to be demolished. The city of Nashville has yet to make an equitable offer to compensate the owner of the Hall for the loss of his property and business. On February 12th, 2010 the Metro Development and Housing Agency plans to use "eminent domain" to seize the building in a court proceeding. In a town known as "Music City", this is simply not right, and we must let the city know how we feel about this now, or it will soon be too late.

The Musicians Hall of Fame (MHOF) was founded by songwriter and musician Joe Chambers and his wife Linda, mostly with their own funds and with no funding at all from the city. The Hall honors musicians from different eras, genres, and cities across the U.S.A., and their unique stories and priceless instruments are on display there. It also honors producers and arrangers, sidemen and singers as well as musicians who later became stars in their own right. Our own Nashville "A Team" was inducted into the Hall 3 years ago, and there are many others who have been inducted into the museum, including Reggie Young, Jim Horn, Bob Babbitt, Bobby Wood, and Billy Cox.

The basic problem, as we understand it, is that the Metro Development and Housing Authority (MDHA) has made an extremely low offer to the MHOF for the building and property, only a little over 50% of the estimated actual worth. The city has also submitted very low offers for moving expenses and storage of the exhibits until the MHOF can reopen in a new location. They have offered no compensation for disruption of business or loss of income from cancelled events due to the relocation. Talks about including the Hall into the Convention Center plans have so far also been unsuccessful.

When the Musicians Hall of Fame refused the MDHA's lowball offer, the MDHA instituted the "eminent domain" law and now plans to seize the Hall’s property and force them to accept the offer. The MDHA’s low offer would make it impossible for the Hall to buy a new building downtown, finish it out properly, and reopen in a new facility comparable to the original. If an agreement cannot be reached, Music City will face the sad reality of the Musicians Hall of Fame permanently closing in Nashville, or possibly moving to another city.

We are asking the members of our Local and all concerned Nashvillians to email Mayor Dean and ask him to urge the MDHA to reconsider their offer and work out an equitable solution with Mr. Chambers. We are also including Phil Ryan of the MDHA's email address if you want to copy him on your message or write him directly. It is only right to fairly compensate the MHOF for the purchase of their land and building, loss of income, as well as the associated moving and storage costs. Time is of the essence, as the case will go to court on February 12th, at which time the judge is certain to grant eminent domain to the MDHA and allow them to seize the MHOF building and property.

Here are the addresses to contact:

Karl Dean - mayor@nashville.gov

Phil Ryan (MDHA) - pryan@nashville-mdha.org

You can copy and paste this message if you like, or write your own.

Dear Mayor Dean,

I feel that the Musicians Hall of Fame is an important cultural asset to downtown Nashville. As a concerned citizen, I strongly urge you to ask the MDHA to reconsider its current financial offer and fairly compensate the MHOF for its property and business, so that it can remain a vital part of downtown “Music City.”

If you want to write your own email, may we suggest…

*Be polite - to a fault

*Write relatively short emails

*Be clear in explaining what you want and why

*Do not discuss the pros and cons of the convention center (That is a done deal and not the issue for at hand for us)

*Let him know why you feel the MHOF is an important asset to the city of Nashville

To name the new Convention project the "Music City Center" while simultaneously shutting down the Musicians Hall of Fame using "eminent domain" would be a miscarriage of justice and is just plain wrong. We feel that the MHOF deserves to have the full support of the city of Nashville and that to force it out of downtown would be a slap in the face of musicians everywhere. Please help us convince the city of Nashville to keep the Musicians Hall of Fame where it belongs - in downtown Music City! If you have any questions, please contact us at Local 257.

Thanks very much for your help!

Dave Pomeroy, President dave@afm257.org

Craig Krampf, Secretary/Treasurer craig@afm257.org

Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257, AFL-CIO