The town meeting for Pelahatchie, held on September 6, opened with alderman Eddie Jones giving the invocation and leading attendants in the Pledge of Allegiance. After Mayor VanHorn took roll call, visitor Kenneth Martin with Davis Estates took the podium. Mr. Martin requested that the board consider rezoning 65 acres along Highway 80 that currently belong to him. The area is zoned for light industrial, and he requested that it be changed to residential as he is trying to sell the property and the current zoning has been an issue. He also noted an inability to access some of his property along Highway 43. The mayor and aldermen reviewed the parcels, asked Mr. Martin a few questions, and then Mayor VanHorn advised that they would take it under consideration and be in touch with him soon.
During the police department discussion, police chief Mahaffey referred to two properties that were being handled: 300 College St, and the property next to the Dollar General. There was no business to discuss from the maintenance department, and the clerk also had no business to discuss. The rest of the items on the agenda were then passed, including paying the unpaid claims docket and payroll, and then the mayor and board entered into executive session to discuss the personnel matter within the police department. At the conclusion of the executive session, Mayor VanHorn stated that they had made the decision to add personnel to the police department.
During alderman discussions, alderman Hill stated that she had been requesting to see payroll reports for the last 2 years, and has been denied by the town attorney (who was not in attendance at the meeting). This has caused her concern during budget discussions, as she is not comfortable voting on a budget without knowing anything about payroll, or being provided with enough information to make a decision. The mayor said that the attorney should be able to redact private information from the reports, and provide them to alderman Hill. He also pointed out that alderman Hill has been consistently voting against payroll each month, which is also voting against her own paycheck. She disagreed on that point, and repeated that she has not been given enough information to decide or vote on the budget, or payroll amounts. The mayor again said that the town attorney, Kimberly Banks, should be able to provide those reports with redacted information.
Alderman Harvey agreed with Hill that this was a concern, and she also had not been provided with enough information to make an informed decision on the budget. She also noted that maintenance appeared to be doing a good job in the town, and had no further business to discuss. Alderman Warren and Jones had no business to discuss. Alderman Harrell spoke up about a home in the town that was turning into a large “junk pile”, and requested that somebody look into what could be done to address that property.
Mayor VanHorn stated that MDOT was finishing up the roads and putting white slag at the 4-way stop, and also said that they would be setting it up so that the slag would not come out into the road when it rains. He also asked for approval from the board to enter into a contract with Gallagher, as far as insurance was concerned, due to the fact that none of the current town physicians or nurse practitioners accepted the other insurance that was being considered. After some brief discussion, the board voted to approve the contract, and the motion passed.
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