The town meeting for the month of August was largely focused on three issues: insurance for town employees, upcoming economic developments, and personnel issues within the police department.
Former alderman Frank Boyd was asked by the mayor to lead the invocation, and alderman Eddie Jones followed by leading the room in the Pledge of Allegiance. Alderman Jones then made a motion to add Waggoner Engineering to the agenda, under visitors’ business. The motion carried, and Mayor VanHorn opened the floor to the first visitor.
Sadie Hammersley, a representative of Global Life Insurance Co., spoke to the board regarding life and accident insurance options for city employees. After some discussion, in which it was determined that there would be no costs to the city, alderman Jones made a motion to allow the mayor to sign the employee engagement documents. The motion carried.
The next visitor to speak was a representative from Waggoner Engineering. He provided the board with a task order to proceed with a water pipe relocation project in the future home of the Family Dollar store. This will be located at the NW corner of Highway 80 and Highway 43. The task order was to be billed hourly, up to $30,000 in the “worst case scenario”, according to the representative. Their job would entail rerouting the current line off of Highway 43, and “back around”. It would also include putting in a fire hydrant.
As the board was reviewing the task order, alderman Eddie Jones made a motion to adopt it. Alderman Harrell seconded the motion. Alderman Diane Hill spoke up to say that she had just received this order, and had questions. Her question was whether or not the $30,000 was a cost to the city, which was answered in the affirmative. There was some discussion about who owned the water line, and Mayor VanHorn said that there was 6 feet of city water line under where the new building was going to be built. Attorney Banks asked if there was a Developer’s Agreement in place, and there was not, although the representative said it would be good to get one.
Mayor VanHorn said, “There are other options that we are looking at also,” regarding the water line project, but that this task order would cover a certain amount of work to address the issue. With no further questions, he resumed the voting and the motion carried.
The next item of business was from the police department. Police Chief Mahaffey stated that he had issues to discuss in executive session, regarding a personnel matter. The only other item he had to discuss was in regards to zoning. He stated that a repair was completed on N Brooks St.
The new business passed as follows:
1. Vote to approve minutes from the previous board meeting on July 3, 2023. All voted aye, motion carried.
2. Vote to approve the payment of the unpaid claims docket. All voted aye except for alderman Hill, motion carried 4-1.
3. Vote to approve the disbursement of bank draft payment to Morgan and White Insurance ($1,540.10). All voted aye, motion carried.
4. Approve bank draft payment to Blue Cross Insurance ($6,918.92). All voted aye, motion carried.
5. Approval and ratification of payment of payroll for May 2023 - General ($66,745.97) and Enterprise ($36,057.39). All voted aye, except aldermen Harvey and Hill. Motion carried, 3-2.
At this point, the board voted to go into executive session to discuss personnel matters with the police chief. This executive session went on to last approximately 40 minutes. Afterward, the mayor moved on to aldermans’ business.
When the board returned from executive session, Mayor VanHorn moved on to alderman discussions. Alderman Hill was concerned about large wires laying in or around a ditch in the town. This was noted by maintenance.
Alderman Harvey was concerned about leaning stop signs and street signs in the community, and this was also noted by maintenance to be rectified. She also brought up a complaint from a neighbor regarding a water leak, to which maintenance replied that they had also been to the property twice and determined the leak was not the city’s responsibility. There was some discussion regarding the meter at the property, and it was determined that a new meter might be necessary.
Alderman Warren was very adamant about the need for conscientious employees and residents in the town, stating, “I want everybody to stop, and look, in this town. I’ve gotten concerned about how things are going downhill, and we are not taking care of it like we should. I was sitting in the gazebo the other day, and all around the gazebo, people were eating. It’s ok to eat, but we have garbage cans. Put your garbage in them, instead of just throwing your garbage under the roses.” She went on to further discuss rosebeds that were looking better, thanks to maintenance, and asked whether or not a tree had been cut yet. It was determined that it would be taken care of that week. She went on to say that in her opinion, maintenance needed somebody else to help them, and referred to upcoming events where the town should look nice in preparation.
Alderman Jones said that the town was fortunate to not have any bad weather lately, but that everybody should stay hydrated in these extreme hot temperatures, and remain vigilant. Alderman Harrell had an issue regarding a ditch in the town, and maintenance said that they would look it over. Upon conclusion of alderman’s business, the mayor spoke to the room to let everybody know about the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on August 19th, as well as Muscadine Jubilee on September 2nd, from 10-5. He also thanked the Public Works department for working on getting everything together. Alderman Hill asked who decides who the entertainment is for Muscadine Jubilee, and Mayor VanHorn said it was decided based on the dates and “who we can afford”. Alderman Jones made a motion to adjourn the meeting after these discussions ended, and it was seconded by Alderman Harrell. All voted aye, and the motion carried to adjourn the meeting.
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