Much business was discussed in the over two hour duration of the Tuesday evening North Carrollton Board of Aldermen meeting. Following the call to order and subsequent prayer, the Board immediately jumped into business. The highlights of the meeting are as follows.
For the majority of the meeting, Water/Sewer concerns dominated the discussion. To begin this topic of dis-cussion, the Board received the water/sewer report from Water Operator Josh Pearson. In this report, Pearson explained the need for the replacement of several pumps in addition to listing recent fixes which have been implemented in other areas of the water grid. Following this report, the Board heard from Rural Water Associ-ation’s Tom Abernathy. Abernathy introduced the subject of a dysfunctioning water pump which is in need of repair. After a significant duration of discussion on the subject, the Board ultimately decided to move forward on fixing the pump. The Board took the low quote from Robert Neece from Oxford in the amount of $4,500 to clean and repair the pump. This motion was made by Alderman Eddie Holman and seconded by Alderman Christopher Givens with all in favor.
The next matter was brought before the Board by former Alderwoman and current Carroll County Public Library System representative, Barbara Sheppard. To begin, Sheppard gave a brief recap of the progress on searching for a new director for the libraries, explaining that the search is ongoing but they are hopeful to secure a qualified individual for the position. In addition, Sheppard noted that the recent federal funding cuts would likely affect the number of events and outreach programs that the Library System would be able to pro-vide to the community. Finally, Sheppard presented the Board with a request.
“Tonight, what we want to ask y’all is we have an event that we want to do called ‘A Story Walk’,” Sheppard introduced the topic.
She explained that the event would be a walk through the town of North Carrollton marked/guided by signs. The signs would be interactive, holding a QR code which could be scanned by phone to provide instructions and information to participants.
“What we would like to ask is to have permission to use the area between the 35 crossing and the crossing right here going into Marshall,” Sheppard requested.
She further explained that the signs would be set up at the earliest notice of approval and stay up until August 25. This request was approved on a motion from Alderman Givens and seconded by Alderman Eddie Carpen-ter with all in favor. Following the approval, Alderman Givens stressed the importance of appropriate supervi-sion during the walk as well as vigilance in high traffic areas.
Much later in the meeting, Alderman Carpenter came before the Board with a proposal. Alderman Carpenter requested that the Board consider taking action to make the Board room more easily handicap accessible. Specifically, Alderman Carpenter requested the implementation of a ramp outside of the Board room with a flat surface at the top of the ramp. He explained that without a foothold plateau at the top of the ramp, it could be difficult for wheelchair users to be stable enough to open the door without rolling back down the ramp. This request was motioned by Alderman Carpenter and seconded by Alderman Mitchell Costilow with all in favor. The project is expected to be paid for out of the internet sales tax funds and quotes for the project are expected to be presented to the Board at the next meeting.
For the final matter of business for the evening, Alderman Holman introduced a discussion on health and emergency services for the Town as well as the county. Holman expressed great concern for the closure of the Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital clinic.
“So my question is - I don’t know what we can do but if there’s anything that anybody [can] suggest…” Hol-man stated.
He went on to express interest in possibly reaching out to University of Mississippi Medical Center for assis-tance. He stressed the importance of having a clinic within the Town.
“If you’ve ever done an impact analysis on what one physician does for a town, it’s amazing,” Holman added to the discussion.
During the conversation, Holman also suggested the Town reaching out to the Board of Supervisors for assis-tance in researching possibilities for bringing a clinic back to North Carrollton. Within this conversation, Holman also expressed interest in researching funding and resources to have an Emergency Medical Services truck housed within the county. Ultimately, no other motions were made or votes cast on these subjects.
In other news the Board:
• Approved the Agenda.
• Accepted the minutes of the previous meeting with corrections.
• Read the Fire Department monthly activity report.
• Approved Resolution to Apply for a Delta Regional Authority Grant through North Central Planning and Development District.
• Agreed to present MDOT with a Letter of Concerns regarding the intersection of Highways 17 and 82.
