BY MATT KOESTERS
The Clarksville Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to permit two town employees to occupy town-owned buildings rent-free, requiring only that they keep the properties well-maintained and secure.
Brian Zimmerman and Kent Marlin signed agreements with the town to officially recognize the arrangement. Town attorney Chris Sturgeon said that he was unsure how long the properties had been occupied by the town employees, and did not know how the town had come into ownership of the properties nor the reason the deeds were in the town’s name.
Sturgeon said that Zimmerman and Marlin would be receiving 1099 tax forms from the town for the fair-market rental values of the residences. Sturgeon was unable to put a cost to those values.
Last month, the council approved a motion to allow town employee Brittany Montgomery to live at home along the 2400 block of Blackison Mill Road under a similar agreement. That home was purchased in September for $105,000 to allow for the installation of turning lanes and a signal on the road, according to a previous Evening News report.
In other business
• Despite a court ruling last week in Washington County striking down Clarksville’s ordinance regulating the operating hours of adult businesses, the council went on to meet in executive session to discuss pending litigation against adult bookstore Theatair X, because it is considering appealing the ruling.
Sturgeon declined to comment on any aspect of the court’s ruling. The case was moved to Washington County, after several Clark County judges declined to hear the case, which involved fines issued to Theatair X by the town.
• The council witnessed Rebecca Clayton sworn in as the newest member of the parks board.
• The town entered into an agreement with H.J. Umbaugh and Associates to determine the town’s stormwater and wastewater rates. The accounting firm’s services will cost the town between $12,000 and $15,000.
— Matt Koesters is a freelance journalist who lives in Southern Indiana.
