At the Monday Duck Hill Board of Alderman meeting, business was handled swiftly, allowing for a short but effective meeting. Firstly, Librarian Dena Rainey presented her quarterly report to the Board, reporting on past events and the rates at which participants attended. She also alluded to future events for Duck Hill residents to look forward to, such as a possible Touch-A-Truck event in June for children and parents to get acquainted with local law enforcement and firefighters as well as a possible Petting Zoo event set for July. On a more present note, she announced a slew of events for this week, National Library Week, including an Open House Palooza on Thursday afternoon involving door prizes and refreshments.
Following Librarian Rainey, the Board was addressed by a representative from Montgomery County’s Men in Black and Blue Fighting Prostate Cancer who officially invited the Board members to their 2024 Health Fair at the Duck Hill Gymnasium on Saturday, April 20. The event is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, wrapping up roughly around 1 p.m. The purpose of the fair is to encourage men’s participation in regular check-ups and raise awareness about prostate cancer. The Health Fair will host a number of vendors and booths for visitors to explore.
For the next major topic of the agenda, the Board assessed and accepted bids for town equipment. As reported by the Board, none of the equipment is functioning and will only be awarded to the highest bidder after payment is received in full in the form of cash or check. The Board accepted the following highest bids on the equipment: $400 for a Zero Turn John Deere Lawnmower, $1,200 for a Bushhog, $2,000 for a Ford Tractor, and $1,375 in total for four cars and one truck.
Following the completion of the bidding business, the Board heard from resident Jennifer Taylor concerning the building beside the Town Caboose.
“The building is really in bad shape; it looks awful sitting next to the Caboose that we’re wantin’ to be a symbol of our town,” Taylor spoke on the matter.
Taylor explained that through her research, she was informed that the Caboose and surrounding land had been annexed by the railroad and the building on the property was constructed illegally. Currently, as neither the railroad nor presumably the Town of Duck Hill have the funds to have the building removed, the railroad is considering offering Taylor a temporary work permit to remove the building from the property. However, a major issue on the topic is that, according to Mayor Al White, the property has had taxes paid on it since the new owner has acquired it. This leads to a possible land dispute, as officials from both the Town and the railroad are unsure of who legally owns the property. Board Attorney Adam Kirk was not present at the meeting to give guidance or comment on the issue at hand, but both Taylor and the Board assured they would seek his advice on the matter.
Next on the agenda, resident Kim Cooley consulted the Board about gaining permission to raise funds on behalf of the gym.
Mayor White advised against it, unsure of the legality of the matter, stating “My understanding, according to the policy, we cannot allow you to raise funds on behalf of the City, so we need to check with Adam, but I think that’s a no no.”
He then referred Cooley to Board Attorney Kirk, who she assured she would email concerning the topic. She also addressed the matter of implementing speed bumps again, giving a quote of less than $2,000 in whole for the project. Mayor White suggested tabling the discussion as the Town was looking to repave first, relying on possible grant funding. Mayor White gave a tentative date of Oct. 1 for the completion of the project, suggesting the issue be revisited after this time. Finally, Cooley discussed the “Ferguson Property” which she stated she had reported to the town for its lack of care many times. Cooley demanded to know when fines would begin for the property owners who have been warned many times about the Town’s ordinances. Mayor White encouraged Cooley to contact Board Attorney Kirk about the matter as well. However, Mayor White and Town Clerk Lasonja Sizemore discussed the matter and agreed that there had been an agreement made in a previous meeting for the official Ordinance Warning letters to have a 30-day period attached for improvements to be made before fines were given.
One of the final matters addressed in Monday’s meeting was an update given by the Board, prompted by Alderwoman Everette-Brown, about the deed to the Duck Hill school property. Town Clerk Sizemore reported that the newly revised deed had been signed and returned to the Duck Hill City Hall.
In other business, the Board:
• Adopted the Agenda.
• Approved the Minutes.
• Heard Fire Chief Michael Woods’ Report.
• Accepted Police Chief Tim Gholston’s Report.
• Heard the Public Works Report from Town Engineer Joe Sutherland.
• Reported on progress of a housing grant applied for by the Town, which was not awarded.
• Accepted a resident’s request for the use of the Town gym for April 27.
• Heard from Alderwoman Shernell Everett-Brown who informed about actively looking into grants for the Police Department.
• Approved the motion by Alderwoman Morgan Eskridge, seconded by Alderwoman Everett-Brown, to require a progress report on ordinance fines by April 30.
• Heard from Alderwoman Eskridge and resident Cooley about recently repaired culverts around town which are too small and are still causing structural damage to driveways and roads.
