Mary Smith addresses the board of commissioners at Tuesday night’s town meeting in Garland.
Brandt Young|Sampson Independent
Citing unreturned phone calls and lack of communication, Antonio Garcia presents his case to Garland’s town commissioners and mayor about filling the empty commissioner seat.
Brandt Young|Sampson Independent
During Tuesday night’s commissioners meeting in Garland, many residents spoke up about issues they were having with the town.
One resident, Antonio Garcia, voiced his concerns about allegedly being ignored in his pursuit to fill an empty seat on the board.
“I’m coming before you today on behalf of the open seat of commissioner,” said Garcia, addressing the board. “I have been requesting that for some time to Mayor (Austin) Brown. I talked to the Board of Elections in Sampson County and they said the mayor can make a motion to give me the open seat.”
Brown responded. “It’s up to the commissioners, who they appoint to that last vacant seat,” said Brown. “The only time I can appoint someone to the seat is like the event where Mr. Ed got onto the board, when we didn’t have a quorum present.”
Debate took place between Garcia and the board as to the application process, with Garcia noting that since he’s not on social media, he didn’t see the posting notifying the town that there were applications available for the seat.
Another resident, Mary Smith, brought forth her concerns about the town taking away its own history by demolishing historic buildings. “The people of our town are the greatest resources we have, as we continue making our way to the bright future of Garland,” Smith shared in her address. “The historical preservation of Garland plays a crucial role in maintaining the cultural identity, heritage, and sense of community that is deeply-rooted in our area.”
Commissioner Carolyn Melvin told Smith she has come before the board multiple times, but she didn’t understand what Smith was needing. After clarifying that she wants buildings saved, like the Garland school building — which the board clarified was only condemned, not scheduled to be demolished — Melvin told Smith to return to next month’s meeting with one actionable item to present to the commissioners.
After a closed session regarding personnel moves, the board reconvened to vote on town matters. Samantha Hobbs was approved to be the town clerk and finance officer, a move from her current position of deputy clerk. A motion was passed to hire Samantha Thornton into the deputy clerk position, filling the role that Hobbs is leaving, pending a drug test and background check.
Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.