The public is encouraged to come and have a conversation with the Nashville Town Council’s during the first ever Town Hall discussion next month.
This is a new type of meeting for the town council. Previously the council met only once a month. The meeting scheduled for the first week of each month is intended to allow the public to come and discuss a pre-determined topic by the council. The topic for Marchwill be public safety, covering drug prevention, EMS, fire and police.
Town Council President Nancy Crocker said that the idea for this meeting format has been an item of discussion among the council for about two years with council asking themselves how they can have meetings to hear what people have to say without having a lengthy town council meeting every time. Most times the monthly town council meetings are nearly two hours long.
“I feel like the people of this community want to have their voices heard, but (regular) town council meetings aren’t the appropriate place for that,” she said.
All community members — whether in town limits or not — are welcome to attend.
Crocker said that Brown County residents, other than the fact that they cannot vote on town matters, are no different than those who reside within Nashville’s limits. They too have a lot to say about what the council does, she added.
It is important to know that these forums will be a conversation and not a place to vent or argue, Crocker said.
“This is a conversation or a meeting where me, as a town council person, can share statistics, information and things like that a regular person wouldn’t know how to access or not have time to access,” she said.
“We’re going to try to have a topic at each meeting with information prepared so we can back up (discussion) with the facts.”
While her opinion weighs on her votes, priority in how Crocker votes and what she does on the council is swayed by looking at the town as a whole and seeing what is best for the town in the future, she said.
At next month’s meeting, Centerstone’s Child and Family Services Manager Amanda Kinnaird will give a presentation about drug prevention.
“If we can prevent one person from using drugs, we can prevent them from committing a crime,” Crocker said.
“We need to look at public safety differently: not being reactive, but proactive.”
They will also address the safety procedures of local EMS, fire and police forces and how they serve the community.
Crocker said they are looking for creative and “out-of-the-box” ideas about how to address community needs.
“Nothing is off the table. Come with ideas,” she said.
This is also a time for people to come with questions and help residents better understand topics or issues.
Voices can also be heard by emailing council members. Their email addresses can be found at www.townofnashville.org/town-council.
Crocker said the council is working on better communication and will respond to emails when received.
Future meeting topics are infrastructure, economic development, boards and commissions.
By the end of this year, Crocker said they will hopefully take all of this conversation and come up with a strategic plan for the town.
“I’m calling this the ‘year of finishing,’” she said. “We started a lot of things when I got elected (to council), COVID put a wrench in those plans. We’re going to finish refurbishing the council room, the strategic plan, looking at our employees and making sure their strengths are being used correctly.”
“This will be a good start.”
The first town hall discussion meeting is Thursday, March. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Nashville Town Hall, 200 Commercial Street.
