Murfreesboro, TN - The City of Murfreesboro held its third TOWN HALL MEETING Monday night (8/4/2025) at Murfreesboro’s First Presbyterian Church, the corner of College and Spring Streets. Rev. Dr. John Hinkle welcomed the almost capacity crowd.

Hinkle said, “We were a church before there was a city, and our Session decided in 2008 to focus on offering a strong downtown ministry. Where downtown goes, so goes First Presbyterian.”

Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland noted, “Today’s young professionals enjoy living downtown. Look at downtowns in Nashville, Franklin and others. That’s why we now have a City group checking with downtown businesses about converting the second floor of their business on-the-square to residential living spaces.”

Murfreesboro’s Director of Land Management and Planning Ben Newman told of a group of City representatives who visited Oxford, Mississippi, a community that developed unused second floors of downtown businesses into residential space. Then they extended a balcony from that second floor. It went out, over the sidewalk, and gave residents much space to enjoy the beauty of that historic area.”

People were surprised when the topic of affordable housing came up. City Councilman Shawn Wright said that based on Murfreesboro’s median income, that category of home sells for $430,000. Another gasp was heard when the same statistics showed that affordable rent in Murfreesboro is $1,800/month.  

He noted that the Keystone Project and other proposals, all offer space for downtown residential space.

Public transportation is important too, and the new Murfreesboro Transit Center will be fully staffed and open within 2-3 weeks. In addition to the new facility being the hub for the Murfreesboro Transit System, it also accommodates Nashville’s We-Go bus, and Greyhound.  That new facility includes a 2,375 square foot passenger pavilion, and a 3,200 square foot Administrative and Maintenance building. Construction cost on this massive complex on the New Salem Highway at Bridge Avenue was $17.1 million.

They mayor talked about planning ahead and said by 2030 Old Fort Parkway will be widened to six lanes from the Blue Raider bridge to I-24. TDOT gave a thumbs-up to that project. Plus, the traffic confusion and congestion in front of Target and AAA will be corrected in that section of the Old Fort Parkway.

The city’s homeless challenges seemed to create the most verbal response, ranging from applause to shouts of disagreement.

Dr. Leslee Dodd Carl, who serves as chair of The Journey Home's board, told of a local study that shows 36% of Murfreesboro’s homeless population have lived here for less than a year.

An audience member asked if other cities are really giving bus tickets to take their homeless to Murfreesboro?

Mayor McFarland quickly responded, “Yes, it’s a fact.”

The mayor noted, “There are different types of homeless in Murfreesboro. There are those who are in that position because of an unforeseen event and they want help to rejoin society. While others prefer to live in a camp, get free food, and desire to be left alone. Those are the ones who don’t want help and need to go back to their hometown.”

Murfreesboro Police, City administrators, and The Journey Home have been working together developing ways to better serve the homeless’ needs of those who wish to improve.

Under the new plans, when homeless seek help, they would have 30 days to prove that they live in Rutherford County.  If they can’t, those people would have to move on. The Journey Home is part of that planning group, and they are committed to helping people who want help, not just a free handout.

Business owners told of female employees being chased by homeless, while another said they no longer take their children to the Linebaugh Library, because of the large number of homeless using the library’s computers, restrooms, and reading magazines.

One local entrepreneur commented, “We need more public restrooms in the historic downtown area. All of us can walk down the hall at home or at work when we need to use the restroom. It’s not the same for homeless.”  He also noted, “If we build it, they will come!”

At the end of the evening, Mayor Shane McFarland told WGNS News how he felt the Town Hall meeting went...

Sometimes bringing together a large group of people with a variety of opinions, helps to reduce tension between opposing citizens. Hopefully, that happened with the Monday night Town Hall meeting at Murfreesboro’s First Presbyterian Church.

NewsRadio WGNS will continue to keep you informed about the myriad of projects being carried out in the “Heart of Tennessee”.