shirleyNANNEY
Editor
The town of Huntingdon will be embarking on a $2,611,000 wastewater treatment plant lagoon improvements project that gained the approval of all the council members in a reconvened meeting on Thursday that had been recessed on Tuesday.
The project will include the replacement of lagoons on Barnett Street and on the Highway 22 bypass. The entire project has a price tag of $2,611,000.
When the council reconvened on Thursday, council member Lori Nolen presented the proposal on the water plant update plus a change in the bonus amount to be offered town employees that passed unanimously.
The new bonus is $750 for full time employees and $375 for part time which was amended from $36,367.72 to $54,000. There are 58 full and 28 part time employees.
The total grant match required for the lagoon aeration project is $88,947,16 with the total remaining at $2,611,000.
The appreciation amount is expected to be $87,000. After six agenda items had been dealt with during the Tuesday meeting, Vice Mayor John Sanders made a motion to recess the meeting and reconvene it later.
The lagoon improvements was number 7 on the agenda along with employee bonuses attached to it. The $36,367.72 that was left over from lagoon project was to go for the bonuses of $500 each for full time employees and $250 for part time.
However, that had presented somewhat of a problem with council members since employees were given $750 last year for those employed full time and $375 part time.
Apparently shocked at the motion, Mayor Nina Smothers questioned Sanders if there was something that he didn’t understand about the agenda item.
Sanders left his seat at the council table and proceeded to the seats where spectators sit at a meeting and talk with Dylan and Hillary Clefft and then left.
During that meeting the mayor noted that the Bicentennial Cemetery Tour on Oct. 22 turned out excellent. Three tours were enjoyed by 80 people, she said. She commended the committee for the outstanding job with planning and presentation. The next event is the Turkey Trot on Nov. 24.
The first reading was passed for the routine Fiscal Review.
According to Town Recorder Kim Carter, $18,000 was added to the street department and deducted from parks to prepare for the truck purchase and $30,000 was added to the drug fund from prior year reserves.
The appointments of Carl Byars, Carl Nolen, and Gerald Taylor were made to the Huntingdon Municipal-Regional Planning Commission. Sam McCoy has resigned and Earl Was has died. with the mayor’s position being left open as well.
The purchase of six 2023 model Police Interceptor SUV vehicles from Peppers Ford from the Sept. 27 meeting was rejected. Peppers has notified the town that they would not be able to obtain the vehicles.
The council passed a request from the police department for six 2023 model Police Interceptor SUV vehicles and that they be purchased from Lonnie Cobb Ford which is estimated to take 2 to 12 months.
The request from the Street and Parks Department for the purchase of six 2023 pickup trucks from Ford of Murfreesboro at a state bid price of $226,259 was reduced to five trucks due to the budget.
Three pickups plus a service truck with a tool bed will be purchased for the Utility Department at a state bid price of $170,087.
A beer permit for on premise sale of beer was awarded Hillary Clifft for the Monarch Social Cafe during a beer board meeting. It was been approved previously but because of a name error it was rejected and had to be reapproved.
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