New Rutherford County mayor Randy Allen describes himself as an optimist.
Allen, who was scheduled to be sworn in Aug. 31, might need a lot of that optimism after mentioning challenges for the county mayor like solid waste disposal, traffic and taxes.
He inherits a state Choice Lanes project that will establish toll lanes between Nashville and Murfreesboro. The $9.2 billion project will affect areas in La Vergne, Murfreesboro and Smyrna…