Town of Woodland Board Meeting
Date: August 1, 2024
7:00 PM
Board/Staff Present:
Randy Beale – Mayor
Brian Christison - Commissioner
Ricky Morris - Commissioner
Raymond Eaton - ORC
Brittany Burgess - Town Clerk
Call to Order: Mayor Beale called the meeting to order at 7 PM. Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a moment of silent reflection.
Approval of Agenda: The first item of business was the approval or amendment of the agenda. Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve the agenda, Commissioner Christison seconded, and the motion passed.
Approval of Minutes: The next item of business was the approval or amendment of the minutes from the regular board meeting dated July 11, 2024. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular board meeting dated July 11, 2024, Commissioner Morris seconded, and the motion passed.
Consideration of Bills: Commissioner Morris made a motion to approve bills, Commissioner Christison seconded, and the motion passed.
Public Comments: Mrs. Barbara Holloman, mother of Tina Harding, is here for three different reasons. First reason is her daughter who lives on Appletree St. had her water cut off on Monday afternoon and the mother states that Mrs. Harding did not receive a cut off notice so they would like the $50 cut off fee refunded. Mrs. Burgess made sure to mention that the cut-off notices are a courtesy but apologizes for it not getting delivered. Mayor asked if Mrs. Harding received her bill for this current month, Mrs. Holloman believes she did. Commissioner Christison would like to table it until the next meeting when all board members are present, so the board agreed. Second reason is that they cannot cut the ditch because of standing water from where the maintenance crew replaced a pipe a while back. Mr. Robbie Collier said it is the lowest point in town and that pipe runs over top of the sewer line so it cannot go any lower and it must be level so it will not get backed up, he also mentioned it is the worst drainage point in town. Mr. Collier figures the maintenance crew dug too deep when replacing the pipe so that is why water is standing underneath the pipe. The only thing the maintenance crew can do is make sure that there are no leaves or brush there to back it up from flowing correctly. Mrs. Holloman would like to know who is responsible for cutting the grass there, Commissioner Christison says Commissioner Cooper would be better to answer that question, but he is not present. Mrs. Holloman asks about any chemicals being used in the ditch to keep the grass down, Mr. Collier said he is not certain of what is happening in the maintenance crew right now, but she is welcome to use roundup for that. Third reason is there’s a house that burned up on Peachtree St. and is an eyesore, it should be taken care of. She is concerned for her grandkids’ safety. Commissioner Christison says it is the property owner’s and their insurance company’s responsibility, the Town cannot do anything about it. Mayor says we will look into the first two. The Board thanks her for attending and expressing her concerns.
Mrs. Gloria Holloman is in attendance to give a complaint about the property of 603 E Main St. that is a vacant house since at least 2019 and is overgrown with grass and now has snakes coming from it. She also had a complaint about the overgrown area in front of Dollar General, Mrs. Burgess says she has been in contact with the headquarters for 3 weeks now for that issue. Commissioner Christison mentions that Mr. Mann who is in attendance will be our next commissioner and that Mr. Mann plans to call Dollar General HQ to push them along. She also asks about a backed-up pipe in her front yard being her responsibility or ours, Commissioner Christison explains from the T to her house is her responsibility. She asks for the Board to have Raymond Eaton tend to this issue.
Fire Department: Mr. Robbie Collier read the monthly report. He states they should be finished with training next month and once they complete that they can apply for some more grants. Woodland Olney should make updates to their building, but they have not so we are stuck with what they have. Mr. Collier thanks the town for their support, The Board thanks him for that as well.
Police Report: Commissioner Morris reports that he has spoken with the Sheriff’s Department, and they have been very busy. They will be completing their work on Thursday, August 8th. All inventory, nothing purged yet. It probably will take a year to purge everything, they will have to work on that later. Mr. Morris mentioned he gets complaints about speeders, so they are going to start stopping some cars to cut down on that. Mr. Morris reports there was a shooting in Rich Square today. Commissioner Christison says an electrician will be in the Town Hall on Wednesday, August 7th.
Clerk Report:
a. Mrs. Burgess proposed the Capital Project Ordinance for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Lagoon Dewatering and Septage Receiving Station Project. The project will be conducted with the assistance of Rivers & Associates. The overall project will cost $3,830,000. We are receiving this money from the State Budget per Michael Wray but to utilize it, we must apply for the funding through the DEQ. Commissioner Christison made a motion to approve the Capital Project Ordinance for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Lagoon Dewatering and Septage Receiving Station Project, Commissioner Morris seconded, and the motion passed.
Maintenance Report: Mr. Raymond Eaton was absent, so there was no maintenance report. Commissioner Christison mentioned that Mr. Eaton is very weak right now and we need to keep him in our prayers. The Board mentioned the need to hire another person. Commissioner Christison commented that Mr. Eaton really likes the new hire, Mr. Eric Dunlow, as he can run all the machinery.
Comments from the Mayor: Mayor Beale is glad that Mrs. Burgess’ father is doing well. He is glad and thankful to have Mr. Mann joining the Board. He thinks Mr. Mann will be a great addition to our Board. Mayor Beale stated that everything the Board does is for the better of the town.
Comments from the Commissioners: Commissioner Christison and Commissioner Morris also thanked Mr. Mann for joining the Board.
Public Comments: Mr. Mann thanks the Board for the opportunity and will do his very best and will try to be as fair as possible and thanks the Board for accepting him. Commissioner Christison encourages Mr. Mann to ask any questions, and they will be happy to help him.
Adjourn: Commissioner Christion made a motion to adjourn at 7:50, Commissioner Morris seconded, and the motion passed.