By REVIS BLAYLOCK
NEA Town Courier
Manila City Council filled several positions and approved appointments for 2023 at the first meeting of the year held on Monday night.
Newly elected Mayor Tracey Reinhart presided at the meeting. He and newly elected council member Bobby Tate were welcomed by council members. Returning council members include Steven Milligan, William Barnhart, Donnie Wagner, Jason Baltimore and Dale Murphy.
Following an executive session the council voted unanimously to hire Kerry Baker as part-time building inspector/code enforcement officer; Jerry Hitchcock, part-time code enforcement officer and maintenance; Tammy Walker Daniels, full time for the street/sanitation and animal control; and Josh Stacy part-time. Stacy has been working as contract labor. The council voted to hire, retroactive from Jan. 2, Greg Hamlett for street and sanitation supervisor.
Danny Davis will remain as water and sewer supervisor.
Mayor Reinhart presented the appointments for the year including, Cathy Huddleston, city treasurer; Wes Wagner, city attorney; Carla Brewer, court clerk, assistant treasurer; Jackie Hill, police chief; Danny Davis, water and sewer supervisor; Bill Huddleston Jr., park and recreation supervisor; Sonny Ray Dill, fire chief and Shannon Langston, city judge.
The council voted to appoint Councilman Baltimore to serve in the mayor’s absence when necessary.
During the old business, the council followed up on memorials for former Mayor Wayne Wagner and Jim Berry, who provided a lot of materials throughout the park area.
“It was an honor to serve with Mayor Wagner while I was on the fire department,” Mayor Reinhart said. “I knew he did a lot for the city and over the last few weeks, I am seeing even more of his work.”
A motion was made by Councilman Wagner and seconded by Councilman Baltimore to place the wording over the park gate, “Wayne Wagner Memorial Park”, and a granite stone at the park. The motion passed unanimously.
Also, a memorial plaque will be placed on the gate in honor of Jim Berry.
“I appreciate what they did for the town and we can honor them by continuing the work,” Mayor Reinhart said.
Fire Chief Dill gave an update on the fire house expansion informing the council Entergy has the new poles and lights up. The new building should be going up in two weeks if the weather permits. Chief Dill said they had two firefighters, Chris Meacham and Ricky Crawford who will be attending classes to be certified in steel tech. He also announced the annual Blazin BBQ Festival, sponsored by the fire department, will be held on April 15. He also reported the cascade system at the fire house has been repaired and is running.
Mayor Reinhart said he has a proposal for the additional property needed for the city’s water well. His proposal was $40,000 for the property owned by Robert Tate. He also said the city will consider helping with a lift station, up to $10,000, for Tate’s future project on Highway 77.
“I have to respond on the water well loan by March,” Mayor Reinhart said.
The council voted unanimously in favor of the cost and conditions of the proposal.
Mayor Reinhart said he had received messages at city hall from Betty Hall about property on Olympia Street Extended. He asked the council to update him.
He said the council will need to take the next step to either take legal action to stop it or approve it.
Two camping trailers were moved on the property.
Councilman Barnhart said the family was told not to move the mobile home in and they did it anyway.
“If we allow this there will be a lot of others doing it,” Barnhart said.
Councilman Wagner suggested giving them three months to make progress on building a home before moving them out.
“If they are serious about building a home, they should have started,” Councilman Milligan said.
Councilman Tate said there is a problem with a timeline not in place. People could drag out building projects two or three years.
“We need to have a timeline in place with a cutoff date and a plan, the same for everyone,” Councilman Tate said.
After a discussion, it was decided to table it until February.
“I will work on something in place,” Mayor Reinhart said.
The council discussed property on 406 North Boston. Grambling, the builder, received a permit early last year and started the foundation of the house and then discovered it was too close to the property next to it.
Grambling said he hated that it became an issue. He said he was told everything was in order when he started.
Councilman Murphy said Grambling has gone above and beyond to make an agreement with the owner of the neighboring project but has been unable to.
“I am in favor of giving him a variance to continue,” Murphy said.
The council voted to give a variance from the poured foundation to the property line. The motion passed unanimously.
Councilman Baltimore said moving forward with a code enforcement officer will help with these type issues in the future.
“I had the job of code enforcement officer and there are ways to build a house that fits in the plans,” Mayor Reinhart said. “We have to have a process and move forward with guidelines and laws we can follow. People can come in and everyone will have a fair chance.”
In other business:
–The council voted unanimously to buy back Officer Hunter Holt and Chief Hill’s 2022 unused vacation days. Councilman Baltimore said they will revisit the subject in the personnel policy for 2023.
–Council voted to adopt the budget ordinance as read.
–Following the first reading of an ordinance for city clerk/treasurer retirement benefits, it was decided to table it until the February meeting.
–Andrew Fleeman addressed the council about plans to build a Champion Coffee House at 301 Highway 18. He presented the plans. A discussion was held about traffic, property zoning, etc. Fleeman said his goal is to make the city look better and he would build something that looks good. The council voted to allow the project to continue pending all permits.
–The council voted to allow the clerk to submit a letter to the banks for the change in signature cards to include the new mayor, Tracey Reinhart, city treasurer and assistant city treasurer.
–The council agreed to move the regular meetings from the third Monday night of the month to the second Monday night. The next regular meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 13. The meetings are held in the boardroom at the former City Hall on the corner of Baltimore and Olympia Streets.