Council & eternal bypass
by brian McNary
“Hardest Blasts Felt so Far” quote & photo by nearby resident Mike Franzese
The July 3, City Council meeting only lasted about 40 minutes and moved quickly. Wayne Olsen and the new city attorney were not present.
Afton Moore and Merlin Spendlove, scheduled to speak during city department reports, were also absent.
As a professional meeting attender, I said a prayer of thanks.
Stay of Execution & Taxes
The meeting began with some talk of the 4th of July activities which included a dunk tank for Mayor Sipp. While tempting, I noted that the event was going to take place at a time long before I stagger out of bed. As such, Mayor Sipp would receive a stay of execution.
There was some talk of further taxes coming from the fire district and a plan to pass some form of option/sales tax onto tourists. This would result in a property tax reduction. Politicians and emergency services love to tax out of towners. It is easy to blame increasing call activity on tourists. This keeps local residents happy while violating the “no taxation without representation” theme of the 1700’s. I can no longer travel to any city in the United States without paying bed and booze taxes despite the fact I have never ordered up an ambulance.
Bypass Update
Bob Lamoreaux gave a report on the eternal bypass project. More drilling, more land acquistion, more money, that sort of thing.
Photo courtesy of Mike Franzese
Mike said they blasted 3 times on Friday July 5. They were the hardest blasts felt so far in his nearby home
Photo courtesy of Charlotte Potter
Charlotte took this picture of water oozing out of the side of the hill where the rock slide has been
Ordinance Complaints & a Resignation
Jason Leavitt, Public Safety Director, said that he has worked through half, perhaps 14 or 15 cases, of the pending city ordinance complaints. He only expected one case to end up in a courtroom. Jason emphasized that he encourages compliance and has had positive results thus far.
Mayor Sipp then mentioned that City Manager Afton Moore had tendered her resignation effective in 30 days. This took me completely by surprise. I considered Afton Moore a fixture at City Hall. She brought good energy and enthusiasm with her to work each day. Small town politics can be brutal (trust me I know) so I hope Afton lands in a good place. Thank you for your time and service.
Public Forum
Stacey Eaton stood up and spoke during the public forum. As the former Planning Commission head who recently quit, Stacey apologized for his behavior and said that existing staff was doing a fine job.
Business
Item 1. An amendment for $100,000 in wages was taken off the agenda with no explanation what that was for.
Item 2.The next item was another $287,000 for land acquistion for the parkway project.
Item 3. An alternate was selected for the Planning Board who was Glen Leavitt.
Item 4. Establishing fees for water from the WCWCD to comply with subdivision requirements.
Item 5. City Council had some housekeeping changes for the policy and procedure manual.
Calendar of events
Fourth of July activity schedule.
The council adjourned the meeting with another closed session on tap.