It’s nearly time to take down colored lights

To most people, Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day; to Nashville residents and business owners, it’s also the end of the Christmas season.

Town council President “Buzz” King’s ordinance reminder at the January council meeting was to take down or turn off “your colored lights or illegal flashing lights” within town limits by Feb. 14.

New redevelopment commission volunteer needed

Any in-town Nashville resident who wishes to serve on the Nashville Redevelopment Commission for 2018 is encouraged to fill out an expression of interest form by the time of the next town council meeting, Thursday, Feb. 15.

The commission needs five members; it has four right now because one member, Danny Key, was appointed to the Brown County Redevelopment Commission and resigned from the town’s commission.

Town RDC guides the economic strategy for the town of Nashville. It considers changes or developments that could have a positive impact on Nashville’s tax base, job availability and quality of life for residents.

An expression of interest form can be found at townofnashville.org/redevelopment-commission or at Town Hall on Commercial Street.

No decision yet on Bean Blossom sewage treatment

The Nashville Town Council and the Brown County Regional Sewer Board are still negotiating about how the town could treat the Bean Blossom area’s sewage, a year after the town first proposed an arrangement.

Representatives from the two groups were to meet sometime in the next week to answer questions the sewer board brought to the town council earlier this month.

Those included whether or not the town has enough space in its plant to treat the anticipated flow; whether or not “upgrades” will be needed to the town’s sewage collection and conveyance system; and whether not the town will consider dropping a clause about customers signing a waiver regarding annexation.

Two big changes have taken place in the Nashville wastewater system since that proposal was given to the sewer board in December 2016. The Maple Leaf Performing Arts Center, planned for an area adjacent to town, and the Hard Truth Hills expansion at Firecracker Hill hadn’t been announced then, and both will likely be sending wastewater to the town’s plant.

The sewer board also asked about connecting to the plant at a different location than they had originally inquired about.

Town Manager/Economic Development Director Scott Rudd said that all of these issues need to be analyzed, because they could impact the rate that the town charges as well as any future plant expansion.

“We can find out,” he told the sewer board.

“We think there’s a very good win-win situation here for all of us,” said sewer board member Phil LeBlanc. “We just have to move on it.”

Bean Blossom project engineer Gary Ladd said the board is currently looking at including Bean Blossom proper, Woodland Lake, Little Fox Lake and Freeman Ridge Road with this project.

The options it has for treating that sewage is to build a plant in or near Bean Blossom, or to convey the liquids to the Nashville plant.

If conveyance is the answer, the project could pick up other customers along Greasy Creek Road — the proposed route of the line to town, he said.

The board has upped its estimated daily maximum flow from 52,650 gallons to 60,000 gallons, Ladd said, mainly because of adding the Little Fox Lake and Freeman Ridge areas.

In addition to firmed-up costs from the town, the sewer board wants to know if the council would consider striking the part from the treatment agreement about waivers. It said that sewer customers within a 3-mile radius of town boundaries had to sign a waiver saying that they would not fight annexation if the town ever chose to annex them. That was one of the key hang-ups that a previous Brown County Regional Sewer Board had with that original proposal. That previous board chose not to answer the proposal, and instead started planning to build its own plant.

Ladd said the board is concerned that if a sewer customer would refuse to sign that waiver, the board would be stuck with legal fees associated with connecting that customer.

Town council President “Buzz” King said he thinks the town and the board can work something out.

The board had asked for answers by Feb. 6, but agreed to wait 30 days more.

Vicki Perry, the sewer board’s adviser, said the board has submitted a funding application to USDA Rural Development.

She thanked the town council for being willing to talk.

“We feel like we’ve been lost in limbo for the last year, waiting to hear what’s going on,” she said. After a change in leadership earlier this year, “the board is ready and willing to move forward now,” Perry said.

Arts group to represent Brown County in Chicago

The Nashville Arts & Entertainment Commission and the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau will represent Brown County at a travel show in Chicago next month.

The Nashville Town Council approved spending $1,099 to send an A&E Commission member to the show the weekend of Feb. 9.

That is only about a third of the actual cost for a booth, A&E President Nancy Crocker told the council. In the past, the CVB has split the cost three ways with representatives from the Columbus and Bloomington tourism industries, she said. But because the CVB’s budget is being cut due to the Maple Leaf Performing Arts Center project, the CVB asked the A&E Commission for help, Crocker said.

Bills related to the CVB and the Maple Leaf are both being paid out of the same fund, the Brown County innkeeper’s tax. The CVB’s job is to promote tourism.

The CVB also might ask the Brown County Chamber of Commerce to chip in, Crocker said.

Crocker will go to the show and promote Arts Road 46, Arts Village Brown County and local merchants, she said.

“This is a huge travel show. Thousands of people will walk by our booth and it’s a good opportunity to be represented,” she said.

The $1,099 is coming out of the town’s general fund line item which funds the commission, Crocker said.