MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Murfreesboro City Council discussed public safety, homelessness and future school growth among a variety of topics at its annual summit in Manchester last week.

"We use this retreat to talk about what's coming up, not just in the short-term — the year we're working on now — but really talking about the next 10 years,” Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland told News 2.

“The number one thing is transportation and traffic so road projects; second thing is continuing to work on public safety, but we're talking about schools, parks, all of those things that sort of fit into that long term planning,” McFarland added.

Murfreesboro police and fire

Some of the capital improvement projects for fiscal year 2026 focused on public safety include considering setting aside money to design a new Veterans Parkway police precinct, which could break ground as soon as fiscal year 2030. The city is also considering putting money toward the design of a new fire station, which could come to Murfreesboro as soon as fiscal year 2028.

The projects will be discussed again at the Nov. 13 council workshop. In the short term, the city is also funding road improvements, its airport and other city facilities.

Addressing homelessness in Murfreesboro

The Murfreesboro City Council is also working on shaping legislation to lower the number of unhoused people across the city. This includes looking at possible changes to city code and state law to prohibit camping.

Some of the proposed changes to the city code would make it illegal to camp on private property without the owner or tenant's permission. Camping would also be banned in the central business district under the proposed changes.

The council also talked about potentially updating the city code, so commercial property owners would be cited if people are found camping on their property within city limits.

At the state level, the law prohibits camping on any public property not set up for camping. The Murfreesboro City Council is proposing modifying criminal sanctions for camping on certain types of property to align with the City of Grants Pass U.S. Supreme Court decision.

"Murfreesboro has and always has been an open and welcoming community that we want to help those that need help," McFarland explained. "At the same time, as we lend that helping hand, we want to make sure that we continue to make Murfreesboro a safe place. And that's not just talking about homelessness, that's… whatever stage of life you're in that you're going through."

The city also has a partnership with a nonprofit called The Journey Home, which helps manage and serve the homeless population in Murfreesboro. The Journey Home broke ground on its new 20,000 square foot facility on Tuesday in Murfreesboro, where people in need can access medical and mental health care on top of other assistance.

Murfreesboro City Schools' anticipated growth

The City of Murfreesboro will soon decide whether to build a new school or build an addition to one of the existing elementary schools in order to keep up with anticipated future growth.

Even though Murfreesboro City Schools saw a drop in enrollment this year, the district is expecting a larger kindergarten class next year. The school system is also forecasting more growth at Salem Elementary and Black Fox Elementary, which are both almost at 100% capacity.

Murfreesboro City Schools Director Dr. Trey Duke told the city council last week the approximate cost of a brand new school would be about $53 million.

In comparison, an extension would cost anywhere from $9.9 million to $11 million.

While weighing their decision, the city council will also have to factor in the construction of a new RCS elementary school and the changing public education landscape with charter schools and private school vouchers on the table.

"So what we want to look at is how do we make sure that our education system continues to stay one of the best in the state, but we also give them the facilities that they need? And sometimes that doesn't mean building new, it means adding on,” McFarland explained. “So I think one of the things we've looked at… we can add on to our existing facilities. We can pick up about 1,200 students, which is about 15-18% capacity increase of our existing students, so those are some of the things we'll look at."

If the city council decides to add an extension, that would include constructing new classrooms, restrooms, a cafeteria and a gym onto an existing school.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/murfreesboro/murfreesboro-city-council-addresses-growth-public-safety-managing-homelessness-and-schools-at-annual-retreat/