Monday evening, May 12, the Duck Hill Board of Alderman held a brief but informative meeting. It was noted at the beginning of the meeting that Alderman Linda Bennet was absent. Following the approval of the docket of claims, the minutes of the previous meeting, and the acceptance of the Chief of Police report, the Board quickly moved to other business.
Firstly, Colby Land with Cook Coggin Engineers gave the Board the Engineer report. Land explained that the next big project for the Town would be to clear out a portion of the sewer line and do an inspection of the line to try and determine where groundwater is getting into the town’s sewer system. He stated that by being able to identify where the groundwater is getting into the system and patching the leak, it should cut down on the use of the pump station, thereby making the system and station more efficient. The Board moved on from the engineer report with no further discussion and no motions made on the subject.
The next matter of business was brought before the Board by a community member and resident of Duck Hill, Stephanie Hollis. Hollis explained that she had a concern with adults and children riding four-wheelers and all terrain vehicles within city limits and on the highway.
“My concern is - these four-wheelers riding on the highway. One, it’s illegal, federal, state, and city - it’s illegal. And not only are adults riding the four-wheelers, kids are riding the four-wheelers. And my concern is; if one of them gets hit by a motorist, who’s responsible for it?” Hollis introduced the topic of discussion.
She went on to state that riders she often sees are rarely using proper protective gear such as helmets, and are often not paying attention to the road or driving recklessly on city streets. Police Chief Tim Gholston addressed the topic, stating that when he sees issues such as these arise, he starts with giving a warning to the offender but if the issues persist he will give citations for repeat offenders. In the case that it is children who are stopped by police for driving ATVs on city streets, the parents may receive a citation for the offense. At this time, Alderwoman Shernell Everett-Brown reported that there was high ATV traffic near the old Head Start building. In response to this, Police Chief Gholston stated that patrols for this area may increase in an effort to deter trespassing in the area. Alderwoman Likisha Small suggested increasing patrols on weekends in an attempt to deter this behavior and protect community members such as children who are riding bikes on town roads. Alderwoman Morgan Eskridge spoke on the subject, stating that she did not believe that the offense was being committed in a mischievous manner and that she believed that it was mostly people new to the area who do not know the laws.
“It’s state law, we probably have an ordinance too, but it’s a state law that you can’t have an ATV of any kind on a public road,” Board Attorney Adam Kirk weighed in.
Following this, the discussion shifted to the next matter of business regarding the Duck Hill Gym. The Board briefly discussed resuming enforcement of the deposit ordinance for the rental of the gym due to recent issues with the gym being left uncleaned after use. This enforcement will require renters to pay an upfront deposit fee for the use of the gym. After use, renters will be required to clean the gym in order to receive their full deposit fee back. City Clerk Lasonja Sizemore quoted the initial deposit for the rental of the gym as $325. However, if the gym is not adequately cleaned after rental the City will keep $100 of the deposit for the purpose of maintaining the gym. If this is the case, renters will only receive $225 of their initial deposit back. The Board agreed to the enforcement of this fee, however no motions were made on the subject as this fee is apparently already on the city’s books and is not a new item being adopted.
The final major issue of the evening’s meeting was regarding the Corner Cafe which was discussed heavily in the previous April meeting. Concern was brought to the Board from community members who supported the continuation of the Cafe. A lengthy discussion ensued, however ultimately no action was taken on the matter. Members of the Board did request for the property owner to attend the upcoming June board meeting so that the Board could ask the owner questions directly instead of basing any action on hear-say. This matter was tabled until the June 9, 2025 Board of Alderman meeting, pending attendance of the Cafe’s owner. This motion was made by Alderwoman Eskridge and seconded by Alderman Chris Caldwell with all in favor.
In other news the Board:
• Approved for Duck Hill Community House to be utilized for the Summer Feeding Program.
• Approved for Mississippi Citizens United for Prosperity (MCUP) to use the Community House twice a month for six weeks.
