Provided by: Steven Walters
Last night’s board meeting went long, but went fairly smoothly. The meeting started with two public hearings, the first on the 2008 Fire District Contracts. Most contracts saw a slight increase from last year, but the companies all did an excellent job working to keep their budgets low. The second hearing was for the proposed Lowes on Southwestern Blvd, across the street from Michaels Banquet Hall. This public hearing last quite some time and opinions were varied. Many of the objections to the store centered around increase traffic/safety concerns, drainage issues and building new when there are existing plazas. Those who voiced their favor of the project pointed to Lowes community service record as well as the fact Lowes wants to keep approximately 50% of the parcel as green space/wooded. Although both sides were strongly opinionated and very passionate, the tenor of the meeting was very respectful. This is going to be a very difficult decision.
The other big news was the realignment of the top administration of the police department. Captains Michael Williams and Jon Conlon were promoted to Assistant Chief of Police in charge of operations and Assistant Chief of Police in charge of administration, respectively. At the same time, the town will be phasing out two captains positions (those vacated by Williams and Conlon). Thus, the overall number of top administrators will be reduced from 6 to 5. This represents a savings to the town of over $80,000.
I would like to congratulate both Assistant Chief Williams and Assistant Chief Conlon in achieving their new roles and commend Chief Kesner for working closely with me and the board in implementing this change.
The next Board Meeting is scheduled for October 15 at 7:00 pm.
