The Regular Meeting of Magnolia Village Council was called to order on March 17, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom by Mayor Travis Boyd. Members present were Grant Downes, Jessica Miller, Jim Miller, Scott Noble, and Eric White. Others present were Molly Murphy, Kevin L’Hommedieu, and guest Bonnie Welker. Mat Hawk and Chief Hager were absent.
MINUTES: Eric White made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Jim Miller seconded the motion. All Ayes.
FISCAL OFFICER’S REPORT: Jessica Miller made the motion to approve the report as presented, which was seconded by Scott Noble. All Ayes.
MAT HAWK’S REPORT: Jessica Miller reported for Mat. There is a broken catch basin and the covers need to be replaced. He is working with Miller on the gas lines. Eric White reported that Mat has been putting the benches and tables together, and Jim Miller reported that an air compressor was recently purchased.
VISITOR’S COMMENTS: None
ADDITIONS TO BUSINESS: None
OLD BUSINESS:
Zoning update: Grant Downes explained the BZA Hearing. It was a good hearing, but the board rejected the request to abate the easement. The land owner is not going to pursue building the new house, but will look to sell the lot.
Wi-Fi Hotspot update: The hotspot came in, and Grant set it up and emailed the school to get their privacy settings. In the process, he learned that a public entity that provides internet to children has to be CIPA compliant. Jim Miller asked if we rented or bought the equipment. Grant stated that the router was purchased but we can cancel the service at any time.
NEW BUSINESS: Eric White reported that The Nest has inquired about using the park for Cruise-Ins the first Wednesdays of each month from May through October. Last year we did not charge for the park. A discussion followed. It was decided to rent it to them for six months for $200. Scott Noble made a motion to charge The Nest $200 for the park rental. Jim Miller seconded the motion. All yes.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PARKS AND PUBLIC BUILDING: Eric White reported that the sandstone caps are done at the village hall and fire station. Jon Clevenger will start to install the windows at the Village Hall in about two weeks. The painter is doing prep work for painting porch, north side door. Soffit and fascia will be done this summer. A discussion follow about the fascia colors and everyone thought that white was a good color, since the windows are white.
Clean up day will be Saturday, May 8. Eric will make arrangements with SV Sanitation.
Trushell building – there are about 5 or 6 leaks in that roof. Will need to be addressed at some point. He is going to talk to Dave Rock. It is a metal roof, so maybe it can be patched.
SAFETY: Grant Downes read the safety report from February 2021: East Sparta, 146 Magnolia, 215; Magnolia traffic stops 4; East Sparta 4. Magnolia traffic arrests 0; East Sparta 3; Magnolia Misdemeanor arrests 2, East Sparta 0; Magnolia felony arrests 0, East Sparta 0. Magnolia calls for service 12; East Sparta 12; Agency assists: 1.
The Dodge Charger is posted for sale. Sealed bids will be opened at the April meeting. The new cruiser is on order but there is no delivery date at this point.
The water department has their own internet service. Mike Schmidt can now print his own OOPS tickets.
There was a complaint about a person speeding on Canal Street. They were told to contact the police.
CEMETERY REPORT: Claudia reported that $300 was collected in February 2021.
March 15 was the deadline to clean off the decorations, and decorations that are left will be cleaned off and disposed of.
There is no new information regarding the cemetery damage.
UTILITIES: Scott Noble reported that Miller is doing a great job with the gas line project. They are currently on Harrison. He is concerned that they are parking down at the village park, which might be a problem during baseball season. A discussion followed about where they can park.
He is working with Spectrum and AT&T about moving the wires.
Street lights – none to report.
FINANCE: Jim Miller reported that he and Molly worked on the appropriations. The process was somewhat different because of the conversion to UAN. Eric White made the motion, which was seconded be Jessica Miller, to approve the permanent appropriations as presented.
Claudia Rogers made a motion to motion to suspend the rules and pass on an emergency basis on the first reading. Scott Noble seconded the motion. All Ayes.
Jim put security software on 5 of the 10 computers. He also purchased LED bulbs for the police station, and will convert them soon.
STREETS AND ALLEYS: Jessica Miller reported that she has a call out to Youngblood, and also another company about paving. Will call Milhoan about Elson and Smith Avenue. Talked to Sonny about Tope’s yard.
Street Sweeping – might have a problem because of the oil project. Probably the best option would be to wait until the project is done.
Grant talked to the Lidderdale’s about that ongoing project. Scott suggested talking to the Columbia Gas project folks to see when they are doing the sidewalks and line something up with them.
SOLICITER’S REPORT: None
CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES: Mayor has been talking to Grant about Ordinances that are already on the books that might need to be updated. This might be a good year to do some updating.
Jessica Miller asked about using high school students for community hour work. Claudia Rogers agreed that it is a good idea.
ACTION ON BILLS: Claudia Rogers made a motion to pay bills in the amount as presented. The motion was seconded by Jim Miller. All Ayes.
Jim brought up the possibility of giving raises for the water board and for the council. Cannot receive increase until their terms are up. Would like to look at that before the end of the year. Water board $50; Council $60. Will check on what other councils do. Will have to be an ordinance with three readings.
MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Boyd reported that a resident complained about non-tenants using his trash dumpster, and he wanted to have the village do something about it. Mayor Boyd told him to talk to Chief Hager because it is a theft of service.
Update on Beck funds: The administrator of the funds call and the first installment of the funds should be deposited soon.
A discussion followed regarding trees and sidewalk damage, and the possibility of grants to help people take down the trees.
The village is scheduled to receive $190K for the American Rescue Plan.
The Mayor is hopeful that everyone should be able to meet in person soon.
There was a discussion about the Sandy Valley senior parade. Jim Miller made a motion to allow them to have the parade, which was seconded by Jessica Miller. All ayes.
ADJOURN
Jim Miller made a motion to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Eric White. The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m.
Travis Boyd, Mayor Molly B. Murphy, Fiscal Officer
Village of Magnolia 