Trezevant residents will probably be paying more for water/sewer service in the future.
During their August 11 meeting, members of the Trezevant Mayor and Board of Aldermen generally agreed that water/sewer service rates will have to be raised and set a special called meeting and public hearing for September 1 to take action on the issue.
Town financial officer Jeff Goad advised the board that the state is probably going to step in and raise the town’s rates if they don’t keep revenues over expenditures in that department, as is required by state law.
After some discussion, the board generally agreed to increase customer rates by 50 cents per 1,000 gallons used each year for the next three years and passed a motion by Alderman Eddie Granger to set the special called meeting with a public hearing immediately before that meeting at 6 p.m.
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Leon Lyell appointed as alderman
Mayor Bobby Blaylock announced his appointment of Leon Lyell as an alderman at the start of the meeting.
Lyell is replacing former alderman Ricky Browning, who has recently resigned from the board.
Lyell will fill the seat as an appointee until the November 3 election, and he has filed petition to run for the position of alderman in that election.
A three-year Trezevant resident, 61-year-old Lyell was born in Chicago but lived in Skullbone and Christmasville before moving to Trezevant.
Lyell owns Camo Café in Atwood, operates his own cleaning service, does maintenance work at the Carroll County Technical Center, and has driven a school bus for the Carroll County School System for the past 20 years.
Town attorney Charlie Trotter swore Lyell in at the start of the meeting.
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In other business:
•Fire Chief Mike Hayes informed the board that four new firefighters have joined the Trezevant Fire Department.
•Alderman Eddie Granger took issue with a town employee being allowed to violate the town’s dress code ordinance that was passed back in July. The mayor and Trotter explained that the ordinance allows for the mayor to exercise his own discretion as to the application of the dress code. Granger made a motion to have mayoral discretion removed from the ordinance, but it was not seconded. Granger then made a motion to require that decisions by the mayor regarding town employees have to be approved by the board, but Trotter explained that such a motion would violate the town’s charter, which was changed to a strong-mayor-weak-board model under a previous board. After more discussion, the board agreed to table the issue until next month.
•The board approved a $3,000 bid from James Capps to clean up the Hillsman property.
•An ordinance establishing regulations regarding public use of the town’s walking track was approved on a second and final reading.
•After lengthy discussions, the board generally agreed that Trotter should try to renew negotiations with TDOT and CSX Railroad to hopefully provide a solution for fixing the big pothole on Park Street.
•The board agreed to give property owner Will Clark until Dec. 31 to have a condemned house at 5770 East Main Street torn down and cleared away and the property cleaned up, and if he fails to meet that deadline, the town will seek legal action to take possession of the property and charge Clark with a fine and legal fees. Clark agreed to sign a written agreement to that effect.
•The board passed an ordinance adopting and enacting a codification and revision of the town’s ordinances on a first reading.
•The board gave first reading approval to an ordinance prohibiting the sale and shooting of fireworks inside the town limits with the exceptions of fireworks displays conducted by the city for July 4 and the annual Christmas parade.
•An $82,731 low bid from Fisher Construction of Milan was approved for the construction of an additional bay onto the fire station. Other bids were $131,674 from Rhino Construction of Milan, $117,600 from Dill Construction, and $117,600 from EMSB Construction of Jackson.
