| Holidays on the minds of many, including Obion city officials |
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Posted: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 9:12 pm
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By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
On the eve before today’s General Election, the Obion City Council set its sights on the upcoming holiday season with approval of several holiday matters.
The council set its annual Christmas parade for 7 p.m. Dec. 7. Also, the council ap-proved a $1,400 donation to the Obion Volunteer Fire Department for the Christmas parade.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, the council voted to close Obion City Hall on the Friday following Thanksgiving and voted to give $25 gift cards to city employees and the city’s volunteer firefighters.
Plans were also discussed at Monday night’s meeting to do maintenance on the city’s Christmas decorations and then hang the decorations around town in time for the upcoming holiday season.
Monday night’s meeting was a relatively smooth session, with the council approving the first reading of a new ordinance that essentially prohibits commercial tree trimmers from using the city dump. Second and final approval of the ordinance will come up later this month.
The ordinance sets a $50 fine per incident for violations.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the council was given a thorough report from Public Works director Randy Evans about projects he is working on this fall.
“I think we’ve finally got the water under control at Salant,” he told the council about the vacant factory on the east side of town.
Evans said the clearing out of the ditch at Main Street and Palestine Avenue will begin soon and he is meeting with Newbern Housing Authority officials concerning the installation of a grease trap at the Spring Valley subdivision on the north side of town. The grease trap plan is being tried as a solution to the problem of grease being dumped into the city’s sewer system.
One unresolved issue surfaced during his report. He explained there is a problem with finding a place to dispose of torn down houses that have been condemned through the city’s slum ordinance.
Taking the debris from condemned houses to the county landfill is an expensive option, according to Evans, who said it costs $40 per ton plus $100 per trip. That translates to an estimated $600 for a 1,200-square-foot house.
“I’m telling you, it’s turning into something very serious,” Evans said. “It’s a real problem.”
For the council, it’s a matter of trying to clean up the town while also holding down the cost for getting rid of dilapidated homes.
Evans described the dilemma as complicated and expensive.
The issue was discussed at length, with no solution reached at Monday night’s meeting.
It was also announced at the council meeting that there is a meeting set for tonight to appoint a new assistant fire chief for Obion’s fire department.
In today’s election, Obion voters will decide whether incumbent Glen Parnell will continue as the town’s mayor or whether Rodney Underwood will take his place. Voters in Obion will also be electing six councilmen from a field of nine candidates. All the terms are for two years.
Monday night’s meeting lasted 45 minutes and was opened with a prayer led by James Depriest and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Parnell.
Published in The Messenger 11.6.12 |
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