HARRELLS — The only required votes for the Harrells Board of Aldermen during Tuesday night’s meeting was one to approve the minutes of the previous meeting and one to adjourn. However the three members that were present did hear several updates on matters discussed in earlier meetings.
Mayor Jimmy Moore shared with the board that he and town clerk Cindy Ezzell had met with Ronald Bass, Eric Herring and Jerry Cashwell regarding the renovations to the EMS building. The renovations, explained Moore, are to accommodate the county EMS squad that is housed in the building each night.
Ezzell explained that the group was well pleased that they had been included in the planning of the new apartment for the squad members.
“Mr. Bass, Mr. Herring and Mr. Cashwell seemed to be pleased that we had asked them to come see what we have planned for the apartment. They were also very beneficial in giving us information and guidelines regarding building codes and the needs of the EMS members that would be using the facility,” explained the clerk.
The mayor informed the aldermen that plans were to contact Dennis Carr again and have him tweak the preliminary plans to include the needed changes to accommodate their requests.
“We are also looking for funding sources that will assist us in paying for the costs of the renovations. Cindy is going to see if the town can apply for a grant from Four County EMC and USDA, and if any of you have suggestions where we can go for financial assistance, please let Cindy or me know,” requested Moore.
The clerk was asked to explain to the board how the electric charges were made for the ball field because there had been some question at a previous meeting regarding how the town was charged for power usage.
“The ball field lights are on a system for billing that is called on demand.That means once during each billing cycle a charge is made for the first time the lights are turned on during each billing cycle. The rate charged for the first time use is determined by a snapshot of the highest 15 minute usage of the billing cycle at a rate of $2.90 per kilowatt hour used. This usually amounts to between $125 to $150 each month for the initial turn on of the lights. Then we are billed for the actual usage of power at $0.789 per kilowatt hour used during that month,” shared Ezzell.
The other lights in the park are not on the same on demand program. The clerk shared that they were looking into getting a different type timer for the basketball courts that would be similar to a timer used for a heat lamp where you could dial up to an hour of lights being on and then the lights would go off. Currently the lights are on a timer to come on and and go off at a designated time regardless whether anyone is using the court.
“The lights being used on an as needed basis would be a significant savings to the town,” remarked Ezzell.
The mayor announced that the Harrells Community Day would be held Saturday, Oct. 20 with the parade beginning at 10 a.m. The aldermen are to ride in the parade. Later that day, added Moore, the Franklin Alumni Association would be hosting their annual event mainly at Kyle’s Farm but would have some activities at the Alumni Building.
The clerk also shared with the board that mosquito funding had been received and during the month of September spraying had occurred each week due to the high number of days with wet weather. Ezzell informed the aldermen that the Unity in the Community Day had been moved to Union Elementary and would be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. Finally, the clerk stated that the new American/Latino grocery, La Favorita, had opened and is waiting of final inspections before opening the restaurant part of the business, which the owners hope to do so very soon.
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