Last night was the second board meeting of the newly elected mayor and board of aldermen. From the start, we could see that there was a lot of power tripping going on. We are in the second month of this administration and it's clear that lines are being drawn and there are those that will do anything to have control (power). Be careful Mayor Winston, I can see your agenda showing. At the onset of the meeting, it was said that comments should be held until the end of the meeting; however, there were some that were allowed to comment on almost every agenda item; whereas others were told to remain silent. If you are going to allow your supporters to speak, then you must allow others to speak as well. This is not a classroom where we wait for the teacher to acknowledge us and neither is this a game of mother may I. If the rule cannot apply to all, then it should not apply to none. But that wasn't the only confusing portion of the meeting. For some reason, this board has not re-appointed anyone. I will blog about that later. This is the review and I will try to stick to the subject at hand and give a review.
Chief Elsie Cowart reported there is an increase in crime and she also provided a number for the tip line. The number to call is 601-543-3940. You are not required to give your name and this is not an emergency line. If you are in an emergent situation, call 911. Mayor Winston gave a report on his plans to build a retirement center and turn the city of Lumberton into a retirement center.
There was a plan to reinstate the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee and the Airport Advisory Committee. Alderwoman at Large, Cora Rogers made the suggestion that the individuals appointed to the committee should submit applications to be considered for the appointment. I thought and still think this is a useless measure. There are people that already know the details of the Planning and Zoning Committee and if you don't want those individuals to serve then say so. Before getting involved in the committee, I didn't know anything about Miss. Code 18-11-3 or Ordinance 187, but it's something you must learn if you want to be a productive member of the committee. On the very next agenda item, they were to select members to serve on the Airport Advisory Committee and the board deemed that some Joe guy (he's a retired pilot) was the only one knowledgeable about airplanes so they gave him the authority to select those that will serve on the airport advisory committee. Now, is that a déjà vu moment, I was just saying the same thing regarding the planning and zoning committee, but I guess the board did not get the correlation in the comparison. Not surprising.
Several individuals were hired, including, but not limited to Certified Public Worker, Mrs. Keenon Johnson. I think she's is going to be a wonderful edition to the City of Lumberton. When I saw her, I was like, she's too pretty to be doing that type of work and then I saw the stack of certifications and I was a fan. Finally, we have someone in place that could step up to become the next Public Works Director. She lacks sewer certification and that's just one class and test away. From the way things looked last night, we may need a new Public Works Director sooner than anticipated. Ryan Easley was not pleased that he is being required to have his workers submit time sheets. It seems to be in response to a pending workers' compensation claim and now they must try to correct what went wrong. (I will blog about that later too.).
Last night, the board voted to implement the new fire support group, Fire Proof Panthers. This move was also confusing. I thought it was for a new fire support group but Walters said it was for a new department. What I don't understand is why the current members of the Lumberton Fire Support Group cannot work with the Fire Proof Panthers. If you all claim to love the city and want to see the best for the city, why would you leave the department because you are no longer chief? Maybe I could get some clarity on the situation. Hopefully, they will be able to resolve their differences and work together. But it seems that Jerry is not that type of person. He's the type that will scoop up all his marbles if he lost a game.
Oh, the City of Lumberton sold the Lumberton Public Library to Lamar County for $1. I thought there was some sort of contract that prevented the sale of the library because the land belonged to Mississippi Power. I don't like the move, but I can see that it may have been a fiscal decision, but all the board could see was they would no longer be required to pay the insurance bill. Since they were making a deal, they should have tried to make it a buy one get one free deal and throw in the museum as a bonus. Also, there will be a fundraiser to help pay for the new roof and termite control for the museum. There will be a donation jar at the Lumberton (Lamar County) Public Library and the museum will be open Saturday in case anyone wanted to make a donation. I almost forgot, the new parks have been adopted by area clubs and businesses. Olen Bounds and his wife will keep the park across from the post office clean and mowed while the Lion's Club will maintain the park across from Ward's. Anyone interested in adopting the remaining parks could let the city clerk know. That's it for the review; I have more to blog about and will have other updates throughout the week.
Last night was the second board meeting of the newly elected mayor and board of aldermen. From the start, we could see that there was a lot of power tripping going on. We are in the second month of this administration and it's clear that lines are being drawn and there are those that will do anything to have control (power). Be careful Mayor Winston, I can see your agenda showing. At the onset of the meeting, it was said that comments should be held until the end of the meeting; however, there were some that were allowed to comment on almost every agenda item; whereas others were told to remain silent. If you are going to allow your supporters to speak, then you must allow others to speak as well. This is not a classroom where we wait for the teacher to acknowledge us and neither is this a game of mother may I. If the rule cannot apply to all, then it should not apply to none. But that wasn't the only confusing portion of the meeting. For some reason, this board has not re-appointed anyone. I will blog about that later. This is the review and I will try to stick to the subject at hand and give a review.
Chief Elsie Cowart reported there is an increase in crime and she also provided a number for the tip line. The number to call is 601-543-3940. You are not required to give your name and this is not an emergency line. If you are in an emergent situation, call 911. Mayor Winston gave a report on his plans to build a retirement center and turn the city of Lumberton into a retirement center.
There was a plan to reinstate the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee and the Airport Advisory Committee. Alderwoman at Large, Cora Rogers made the suggestion that the individuals appointed to the committee should submit applications to be considered for the appointment. I thought and still think this is a useless measure. There are people that already know the details of the Planning and Zoning Committee and if you don't want those individuals to serve then say so. Before getting involved in the committee, I didn't know anything about Miss. Code 18-11-3 or Ordinance 187, but it's something you must learn if you want to be a productive member of the committee. On the very next agenda item, they were to select members to serve on the Airport Advisory Committee and the board deemed that some Joe guy (he's a retired pilot) was the only one knowledgeable about airplanes so they gave him the authority to select those that will serve on the airport advisory committee. Now, is that a déjà vu moment, I was just saying the same thing regarding the planning and zoning committee, but I guess the board did not get the correlation in the comparison. Not surprising.
Several individuals were hired, including, but not limited to Certified Public Worker, Mrs. Keenon Johnson. I think she's is going to be a wonderful edition to the City of Lumberton. When I saw her, I was like, she's too pretty to be doing that type of work and then I saw the stack of certifications and I was a fan. Finally, we have someone in place that could step up to become the next Public Works Director. She lacks sewer certification and that's just one class and test away. From the way things looked last night, we may need a new Public Works Director sooner than anticipated. Ryan Easley was not pleased that he is being required to have his workers submit time sheets. It seems to be in response to a pending workers' compensation claim and now they must try to correct what went wrong. (I will blog about that later too.).
Last night, the board voted to implement the new fire support group, Fire Proof Panthers. This move was also confusing. I thought it was for a new fire support group but Walters said it was for a new department. What I don't understand is why the current members of the Lumberton Fire Support Group cannot work with the Fire Proof Panthers. If you all claim to love the city and want to see the best for the city, why would you leave the department because you are no longer chief? Maybe I could get some clarity on the situation. Hopefully, they will be able to resolve their differences and work together. But it seems that Jerry is not that type of person. He's the type that will scoop up all his marbles if he lost a game.
Oh, the City of Lumberton sold the Lumberton Public Library to Lamar County for $1. I thought there was some sort of contract that prevented the sale of the library because the land belonged to Mississippi Power. I don't like the move, but I can see that it may have been a fiscal decision, but all the board could see was they would no longer be required to pay the insurance bill. Since they were making a deal, they should have tried to make it a buy one get one free deal and throw in the museum as a bonus. Also, there will be a fundraiser to help pay for the new roof and termite control for the museum. There will be a donation jar at the Lumberton (Lamar County) Public Library and the museum will be open Saturday in case anyone wanted to make a donation. I almost forgot, the new parks have been adopted by area clubs and businesses. Olen Bounds and his wife will keep the park across from the post office clean and mowed while the Lion's Club will maintain the park across from Ward's. Anyone interested in adopting the remaining parks could let the city clerk know. That's it for the review; I have more to blog about and will have other updates throughout the week.
The fire proof panthers are replacements the old fire fighters where thrown out of the fire department and told if they step foot on the property they would be arrested.
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