Review of May 6, 2014 Board Meeting

This post is a review of the regularly scheduled board meeting. This post is for those that are not able to attend the meeting due to their job schedules, health issues or any other reason that may prevent you from attending the meeting. This blog post is written by Jonathan F. Griffith and will include his perspectives. So, for those of you that have a problem with the way I blog, you may log off now. Now that I am speaking to those that are actually concerned about the City of Lumberton, the board meeting was as follows: The first person on the agenda was Mr. Russell Heidelberg, member of the Prichard, Alabama water board. Heidleberg addressed the board on issues that he felt could help the City of Lumberton regarding economic development. Heidleberg will meet with board members again to give more details about his plan of action. The board voted to discuss and receive quotes for appraisal services for the 2014 FAA-AIP project. The board accepted the quote from Lightsey & Associates in the amount of $2,400 to complete the appraisal services for the 2014 FAA-AIP project. There was another order to accept a quote from Wheeler Realty in the amount of $1,200 to complete review appraisal services for the 2014 FAA-AIP project. The board and members of the airport committee discussed with, Gary Hickman, a proposal for the location of the airport beacon; pending approval from the FAA.

Next on the agenda were the department head reports. Elsie Cowart, Chief of Police reported there was an increase in identity theft crimes. She advised citizens to be very careful when using their debit cards at gas station pumps or ATM's. Chief Cowart advised people to use cash whenever possible and go into the store to pay for gas. She also advised citizens to be aware of their surroundings and to cover their entry of their PIN numbers. Chief Cowart recommended the hiring of two additional officers: Robert Dewayne Crowe (part time officer) and William Lane Musgrove (training officers). The board approved the hiring of both officers. Merlene Wall, City Clerk reported there were fewer cutoff notices this month. Currently, there's $70,341.77 for active water bill accounts over 90 days. Wall also completed BBI budget training. Wall reported that she currently has a 93 average in her city clerk training classes. She scored 100 on all five of her last assessments. Kudos to Merlene Wall for her high scores. Daniel Davis, Public Works Director reported on the need to get the aerator for the lagoon replaced. The board said they would look into the matter. Davis also reported that the City of Sumrall has a lagoon similar to the size of the one on Lumberton and they have seven aerators and the City of Lumberton only has two. Jay McGraw urged the board to get this matter addressed and corrected before we're literally in a funk. Davis presented the applications for the hiring of two individuals for grass cutting. The two will be seasonal workers and he wants them on staff throughout the grass cutting season. However, the board said they need to review the guidelines to see if the workers would be listed as part time or seasonal. Abner Keith, Chief, Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department, reported that the fire was under control. There were some in the audience that did not agree since the fire was still smoldering. Abner also reported that he currently have 12 certified firefighters on the roster. There was no word on any others submitting applications or the rejection of any applicants. I guess he will address that at the next board meeting. Keith also stated that there was a need to contact the Overhead Door Company regarding the large bay doors at the fire department. He said the boxes appear to be new and hopefully they're still under warranty. The board allowed Mayor Winston to give a report to the board. Again I must say these monthly reports seem odd. Especially when one take into consideration that the previous mayor was always prevented from addressing the board. Winston essentially said that we should look out for one another and help keep the city clean. Winston also advised citizens to lend a helping hand to their neighbor if you see they need some help with the maintenance of their yard. The board approved the minutes of the regular call meeting on April 4, 2014, the special called meeting on April 15, 2014 and the emergency meeting on April 29, 2014. There was an order to approve the paid and unpaid claims for the month of April, 2014; paid claims $166,201.46, unpaid claims, $16,664.31 and payroll $64,868.00 (5 weeks). The board approved to allow Mrs. Annie B. Holder to use the Lumberton Head Start Building for a graduation dinner on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The board also voted to allow the KeKe B Foundation to use the 5th Avenue Park for an event on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The decision to allow Mrs. Rachel Jefferson to develop a website for the City of Lumberton was tabled for further review. The board voted to declare May 4, 2014 through May 10, 2014 as Municipal Clerks Week. The board voted to allow the mayor to sign the Interlocal Agreement relating to the delinquent taxes between the City of Lumberton and the Chancery Clerk of Lamar County, Mississippi. At the behest of Alderman Tommy Dukes, the board voted to discuss the procedure for use of all city parks located in Lumberton, Ms. Alderman Quincy Rogers stated, these are public parks and many in the audience could not understand the need to regulate who can gather at the park. For those of you that don't know, the other week, a group of young men, black and white, decided to give back to the community by hosting an appreciation day for the kids of the community. They had jumpers, free food, music and other activities. At some point during the event, Alderman Tommy Dukes took it upon himself to go to the 5th Avenue Park and try to shut down the event. So, let's call a thing a thing. The giving away of free food (barbeque and crawfish) apparently was cutting into his sale of those overpriced, under-cooked smoked turkey legs. So he wanted to shut it down. Not because the event was disruptive but because it was not adding to his pockets. Now he's using his authority as an alderman to set some guidelines for who can and cannot use the public park and the other alderpersons, with the exception of Alderman Quincy Rogers, is signing off on this foolish vendetta. It is not often that we have anyone wanting to give of their time and resources freely. Now, we have a lot of opportunistic people that will use any situation to make a dollar but these young men wanted to give back to a community they love and because of a personal agenda, the ability to do so in the future is now in jeopardy. Now, Alderman Tommy Dukes and Alderwoman Cora Rogers are going to develop a usage plan for all the public parks in the City of Lumberton and I think that is the epitome of ridiculousness. For the record, Alderwoman Rogers said the guides are needed. She gave the following scenario: what if someone brings a swimming pool to the park and the person drowns; the City of Lumberton will be liable. For the record, no one has ever set up a swimming pool at any of the parks and no one has drowned. Since trampolines and swimming pools seem to be a concern of our elected officials, I suggest the board invest in posting a sign at the park stating "No Swimming Pools...No Trampolines...No whatever else they have convinced themselves that could be a liability for the City of Lumberton. While they're at it, they may want to remove all swings, monkey bars and any other item that could be used by a child because they could lead to injuries as well. This is micro-management at its worst. If they would take that same energy they use to shut down events and use it to try and bring business to this city, we might have a tax base. Instead, they sit on the board and look for more ways to take from the citizens. I asked the chief if she knew about the event and she said she was unaware of the event. Just to be clear, I am all for anyone hosting a peaceful, fun filled event at the parks, but I also think the people organizing the event should, out of courtesy, call the Chief of Police and let her know the event is taking place so they can make adjustments to the police schedules, if necessary but implementing a set of rules because of an angry alderman is so unnecessary. The board voted to accept the proposal submitted by McNeil-Rhoades for an energy conservation equipment and services contract for the City of Lumberton. The board voted to allow the Lamar County Democratic Party use of the City of Lumberton board room on Saturday, July 26, 2014. Side note: I didn't know they still had Democrats in Mississippi. The board did not accept the proposal submitted for waste disposal from Red River Waste Solutions. The board then went into executive session. Before going into executive session, several women asked Mayor Winston why they wouldn't allow citizen comments before they went into executive session. Winston responded that he hoped the citizens would be gone when they come out of executive session and that's why it's the last thing on the agenda. When the board came out of executive session, they said no actions were taken, there were a few citizen comments (the repair of a citizen's driveway and the need for uniforms for public works employees) and then the meeting was adjourned.