I will seek re-election to the Clarksville Town Council

I am announcing that I will seek re-election to the Clarksville Town Council this year representing the town’s second district which is the area east of Eastern Boulevard from the town boundary on the south to just north of the Kroger complex and west of Blackiston Mill Road. I have started some ambitious projects and want to see them through.

My goal on the Council has been to improve the quality of life in Clarksville, create new jobs and keep taxes as low as possible. I looked at the Eastern Boulevard corridor back in 2011 and saw an area of our town that was sliding backwards. I decided it would be my primary goal. But at the same time, I have worked to improve conditions throughout the entire town. You may represent a specific district, but your responsibility is to the whole town.

Serving on the Town Council requires the ability to work across party lines in order to achieve goals that will benefit the entire community. I am proud to have placed party lines aside and worked with my fellow council members to benefit town residents. Party lines mean very little at the town level. What is important is being able to work with others to attain consensus and get the job done. If anything, I might be a little more conservative that the Republicans on the council.

One of only two Democrats on the Council, I served most of 2018 with the late at-large councilman David Fisher and has served with Fisher’s replacement, named by a caucus of Democratic precinct committeepersons, since that time. Jamie Hunt was selected as Fisher’s replacement in August of this year.

I have worked with the Clarksville Community School Corporation to help create the Renaissance Academy in the development that replaced the former Value City retail store complex. Creation of Gateway Park is one of the things of which I am most proud. That development has given Clarksville a meeting place for major events. I started promoting such a project during my tenure with Clarksville Rotary and am proud to see that the town has carried forward with the project. I also started and have coordinated the town’s Independence Day Concert which held its fourth concert in 2018 to a crowd of more than 400 at the Clarksville High School Auditorium.

I have been involved in developments such as the Strike and Spare amusement center, attraction of Mobile Initiative, a firm promising high paying jobs in the tech field located in a part of the former Lowes building, new businesses in what was once the Value City parking lot and renovation of Ray Lawrence Park which includes an expanded storm water detention pond to help with resolution of flooding problems in its vicinity.

Flooding has been a major concern for the town. To address that issue, I have been involved in the installation of a major storm water mitigation system being installed in parallel with the acquisition of the abandoned CSX rail line presently being converted into a trail system for the town. The Ohio River Greenway connection across Silver Creek has added to the town’s recreational facilities and will become a major asset to the town’s south end development.

Clark’s Landing, as the development is known, will involve redevelopment of the area from the former Colgate Plant to the Ohio River. The town is in early stages of land acquisition and is completing planning and zoning changes necessary for the project.

I also serve on the town’s Redevelopment Commission and have been instrumental in the construction of a new fire station on Stansifer Avenue. That station will significantly enhance fire protection for south end residents. It is the second fire station constructed in my tenure. The first is on Sam Gwin Drive adjacent to the town’s administrative campus.

I represent Clarksville on the Clark-Floyd Counties Convention Bureau Board of Managers and have worked diligently to ensure that agency serves Clarksville in a fashion commensurate to the revenue it receives in hotel taxes from hotels and motels in the town.

I am also proud to have been the council member with oversight of the town’s new wastewater treatment plant. It was a major undertaking and required constant supervision to ensure it was completed on time and on budget. The project was the largest municipal undertaking to date in the town. I look forward to continuing my work to building a better life for the residents of Clarksville.