No-parking rule reinforced for Wells Drive

Residents will officially no longer be able to park along Wells Drive after the Nashville Town Council addressed a lingering issue about the narrow road.

Chief of Police Ben Seastrom said he’d talked with a resident several times since November after receiving complaints from other residents. The resident owns multiple cars and habitually parks one on the street. He was under the mistaken impression that he owned a section of road since the street had been widened a number of year ago, Seastrom said. A no-parking ordinance is in place for that road, he said.

The developer who built that neighborhood also built the road, and the council at the time didn’t insist on a certain width for it or for the town’s right-of-way, said town council President “Buzz” King. “We’re kind of stuck where we’re at,” he said.

Brown County (Nashville) Volunteer Fire Department Chief Nick Kelp added that he isn’t in favor of anyone parking on Wells because of the road’s narrow width. Plus, the county’s ambulances will be switched to wider bases soon, so they will need more of a turning radius, Seastrom said.

Seastrom said the resident had been receptive to different ideas, but so far, they hadn’t panned out. One of them was building a garage, but he wasn’t able to do that because of zoning rules.

The council opted to send the resident a “nice letter” notifying him that he could not park in the road and needed to find a different place to put his third vehicle.

Town, county may share discounted gas supply

The town and county are working out an agreement that will allow them to share a fuel supply.

The Nashville Town Council habitually spends about $4,000 a month on fuel for town police and other vehicles. Town leaders, including Utility Coordinator Sean Cassiday and Town Attorney James T. Roberts, have been talking with the county highway superintendent about saving money by going in with the county on its discounted fuel supply. At the Dec. 20 council meeting, Roberts estimated this would save the town about 20 cents a gallon.

There’s already an interlocal agreement in place between the town and county for work swaps such as road clearing and street sweeping; this is another item that can be added with a couple steps, Roberts said.

Deck plans to be reviewed by new council

A downtown merchant who wants to add a deck on the side of his building likely will have to wait for the new town council to weigh in on his request.

Robb Besosa wants to add the deck onto his shop, which sits on North Van Buren Street between Mound and East Gould streets. His plan is to put it on or near land formerly known as Printers Lane — an alley portion that isn’t used anymore. However, at the Dec. 20 town council meeting, council President “Buzz” King didn’t think that that part of the alley had ever been formally “abandoned.”

Council members weren’t sure about whether the place Besosa wanted to put his deck was on his own property or actually on Printers Lane.

If it is still town property, Town Attorney James T. Roberts told the council that there’s a procedure they have to follow first if they want to allow Besosa to do this. It will include providing legal notice to people in the area who might want a say in the matter.

Roberts planned to update the council at their next meeting about what the requirements would be.

“I think next year’s council could address this,” said King, who is leaving the council this year.

Brown Bike’s liquor license renewal approved

The new Brown Bike restaurant in downtown Nashville has received permission from the town to keep its riverfront district liquor license for another year.

The owners went before the Nashville Redevelopment Commission in November for their annual review and renewal request. Later that month, the town council supported the RDC’s positive recommendation.

Brown Bike opened in June at the corner of North Van Buren and West Gould streets at a tiny, former insurance office. It had mostly outdoor seating for the majority of the tourist season, later expanding to offer inside seating in the building next door.

The owners, the Crook brothers, reported employing an average staff of 14 to 16 people. The vast majority of their gross sales was from food as opposed to alcohol: 20 percent vs. 80 percent. That’s in line with the goals the RDC and town council set when they first began allowing riverfront district liquor licenses in 2013 — that alcohol sales would just enhance diners’ experience, not be a main attraction.