The Nashville Town Council is reopening the application period for people interested in serving on the Brown County Board of Zoning Appeals as the town’s representative.
Town council President Jane Gore announced the new deadline as 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5. The council will have a budget work session at that time and also could consider BZA applicants then, she said.
BZA members weigh evidence and make decisions about land use in the town and county. The Nashville Town Council has one appointment to the board.
Former town representative “Buzz” King announced he was stepping down from the BZA in July. His term was to end in January 2025, so the person appointed will fill his spot until at least then.
Applicants can fill out a statement of interest through the town’s website, townofnashville.org, bring an interest statement to Town Hall, 200 Commercial St., or email it to byoung@townofnashvilleorg.
The town’s appointee does not have to be a resident of the town, but he or she must at least be a resident of the county.
The original BZA application deadline had been announced to the public via the newspaper. At the June 25 town council meeting, a reporter asked when the deadline would be for BZA applications and the answer was July 9 at 4 p.m. That was reported in the June 30 paper and on the newspaper’s website and Facebook page. Five people applied by the deadline.
However, the mention of the application deadline and qualifications for applicants did not make it onto the recording of the meeting posted on the town’s website. Council members exchanged messages with Nashville Clerk-Treasurer Brenda Young about this subject when Young emailed to ask them when the applicants should show up to a council meeting. Gore emailed the group on July 27 saying that since the application details were not recorded onto the meeting record, a new application deadline would be set.
The names of all the applicants who made the original application deadline are Sherrie Mitchell, Kevin Fleming, Donna Lutes, Rosemary McQueary and Bandy Russell. Another applicant, John Kennard, sent in his letter in mid-July.
McQueary is ineligible to serve because she is not yet a resident; she wrote on her form that she is building a house, expected to be finished this fall.
Lutes could become ineligible because she also serves on the Gnaw Bone Regional Sewer District board, which is switching from an appointed board to an elected board next fall. BZA rules say that members can’t hold elected offices. Gore was deemed ineligible to serve on the BZA for that reason back in the spring of 2020.
Mitchell filed a petition for judicial review last year in part to challenge Gore’s ability to serve on the BZA. She also has filed lawsuits against the Brown County Area Plan Commission and the county commissioners over past zoning decisions.
Council members received a letter recommending against appointing Mitchell or Fleming from Carol Bowden, president of the APC and the school board. Mitchell included two letters of support in her application from Tim Clark and Paul Navarro.
