Town offices up for election this year
Nashville residents will have the opportunity to vote for two council members and a clerk-treasurer this year — provided that more than one candidate files to run for each office.
If all candidates end up being unopposed, historically, the town has canceled the election.
The council seats representing Districts 2 and 3 are up at the end of this year as well as the clerk-treasurer job. Current council members are Jane Gore from Dist. 3 and Alisha Gredy from Dist. 2. Brenda Young has been the town’s clerk-treasurer for 32 years.
The window in which to file paperwork for any of those offices is between Jan. 9 and July 3. July 1 is the deadline, by noon, for an independent candidate to file a petition of nomination with the county voter registration office. July 3 by noon is the paperwork deadline for write-in candidates.
For details about filing, visit the Brown County clerk’s office at the courthouse. To see a map of council districts, visit townofnashville.org and click on “town council.” Candidates who file for a district-specific seat must live in that district.
Because all town offices have traditionally been nonpartisan, a primary election is not conducted. If there are opposed races, they will be on November ballots.
More volunteers needed for town committees
The Nashville Town Council is looking for a few more people to appoint to town boards and commissions.
At its first meeting of the year on Jan. 3, the council appointed applicants to nine different boards, but came up short of filling all of the available seats on three of them.
Expression of interest forms can be found and filled out on the town’s website, townofnashville.org.
The boards for which applicants are still needed are the Nashville Development Review Commission, Nashville Parking and Public Facilities Development Corporation and Nashville Redevelopment Commission.
The Nashville Development Review Commission (DRC) is the board that reviews changes and additions on business-zoned properties, such as signs, colors and other add-ons. They are responsible for the “look” of the town, said President Penny Scroggins.
Each member of the town council and the town clerk-treasurer can appoint one member to the DRC. Two seats were open as of Jan. 3. If interested in being considered, contact town council members Alisha Gredy, Jane Gore, Nancy Crocker, Anna Hofstetter or David Rudd, or call Town Hall at 812-988-7064. Applicants must be in-town residents of Nashville.
The Nashville Redevelopment Commission (RDC) hears requests from businesses seeking tax abatement, examines the use of tax-increment financing, and reviews applications from restaurants seeking riverfront district liquor licenses. One seat is open on this board. To apply, fill out the expression of interest form at townofnashville.org. Applicants must be residents of Brown County, but they do not have to live within Nashville town limits.
The Nashville Parking and Public Facilities Corporation deals with parking lots, maps, lighting and public restrooms in town. Two seats are open. To apply, fill out the expression of interest form at townofnashville.org. Click on the tabs under “boards and conditions.”
The council will consider the new applicants at their next meeting Thursday, Jan. 17.
Youth council, new sidewalk ideas before town
At the first meeting of the year on Jan. 5, the Nashville Town Council heard proposals for two town projects: Creating a youth council and building a new sidewalk/trail along State Road 46 in town limits.
Nashville Clerk-Treasurer Brenda Young proposed the youth council. Young also has been serving as president of the statewide group AIM, Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, and this is a program that other communities are doing, she said.
The basic idea is to gather junior high or high school-aged students to form the youth council, and that body would be mentored by the town council, she said. They would learn how government works and hopefully be motivated to get involved in their communities, she said. Youth councils in other communities have been able to tour the Statehouse, meet with the governor and state superintendent of public instruction, and even win cash prizes for having the best ideas for community design.
Young lamented that local third- and fourth-graders no longer take a field trip to Nashville Town Hall to learn firsthand about local government. Perhaps this youth council could help replace those lessons, she said.
The council didn’t formally commit to forming a youth council yet, but members were interested in coming up with a plan to make a strong, sustainable program before eventually launching it here.
Newly installed town council member Anna Hofstetter, 30, said that her excitement for politics started when she was a teenager thanks to an incredible government teacher. She advocated for issues before her city council as a teen. “I just believe that it’s a really important skill to teach your young people that they can really make a positive change in our community,” she said.
Later in the meeting, Hofstetter asked the council’s approval to investigate a planning grant through grant administrator ARa. Months before she announced her council candidacy last year, Hofstetter was a part of a group called BC Paths for People which advocated for building a sidewalk along State Road 46 East between CVS and McDonald’s.
BC Paths for People’s request to the town council didn’t pan out last year. Hofstetter asked the council on Jan. 3 to see if ARa could find a grant that would pay for a preliminary study on how much building the sidewalk or trail would cost.
ARa is on retainer for the town, so asking the company to see what grants are available won’t cost the town anything extra, Young said. If a grant opportunity was found, additional approvals and steps would be needed before the town was actually committed to anything, she said.
The council unanimously approved Hofstetter’s request.
In other business, the council voted unanimously to retain James T. Roberts as town attorney for another year.
