Summit is losing a deputy town clerk but hiring someone with plenty of experience as a contractor to help fill the void.
The council met for about 20 minutes in executive session in a special meeting preceding Tuesday’s work session before unanimously voting to hire Monzella Tickles as a deputy clerk on contract for $25 an hour and accept the immediate resignation of deputy clerk DeLean Robertson.
The hiring of Tickles, a longtime former town clerk in Gloster, is pending the approval of her contract.
The board also agreed to name court clerk Suzonne Perkins as interim deputy clerk and add her to all town accounts and remove Robertson from town accounts.
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Councilmen heard from Michael Stewart of Mitchell Technical Services, which operates the town’s wastewater treatment plant, after councilmen requested a meeting with a company representative.
“I’m here answering any questions you may have,” Stewart said in giving an outline of what his company does.
Mitchell charges a flat rate of $12,000 per year to perform weekly tests and maintenance on the 7-year-old plant.
Stewart said the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality requires tests be run five days a week.
“We also take care of basic preventative maintenance” and “basic housekeeping,” he said. “If we see something that’s not good we will work with there town to develop the best course of action for the town.
“What you have out there is a biological process. … It’s actually a living, breathing organism,” he said of the activated sludge plant.
Mayor Percy Robinson asked Stewart to explain a $13,478 invoice for the annual maintenance and “chemical reconciliation.” Stewart said that figure represent how much more was spent in the past year to maintain the plant excluding the $12,000 annual maintenance fee. That money went to fixing a plug line, piping and renting equipment to make the repair.
Stewart said the company plans to have three certified operators overseeing the facility by the end of the year.
Stewart went over a litany of routine tests, maintenance and clerical work the company provides each week.
Daniels said he visited the facility and saw evidence of rodents.
“I don’t know if it would affect the integrity of the machinery, but it’s something we need to do a better job of housekeeping, whether it’s the town’s responsibility or Mitchell’s responsibility,” he said.
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The council also heard from Ryan Holmes of Dungan Engineering, who gave updates on meeting with Robinson and Town Superintendent Tim Baylor on possible uses for some $385,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding coming to the town.
“This American Rescue Plan has got everyone’s attention on things, how we can use this money,” Holmes said.
Holmes noted that he, Robinson, Baylor and grant administrator Mary Helen Ferguson hold similar talks for Community Development Block funds that become available about every other year.
Some of the biggest infrastructure uses facing the town are water treatment plants on Thomas and Peters streets and sewage lift stations in need of repair. He said the town could also use the money to install automated water meters.
State regulators have cited the town for deficiencies at the Thomas Street water plant, which needs the most work. It’s unclear if that project will be the one to get ARPA funds, however, since it might have better prospects for getting CDBG funds, proposals for which are prioritized in part by greatest need.
Holmes said Ferguson’s input could be key since she knows which projects “score better” for grant proposals.
“If we know we’ve got a good grant candidate for next year, then we may not want to spend ARPA money on it and spend the ARPA money on something else,” he said.
Holmes said all of the proposals are all needs, some of them more short-term than long-term.
And he noted that there is talk of the Legislature possibly using its share of the $1.8 million in ARPA funding that it received to provide matching grants to municipalities and counties.
“There’s lots of speculation on what the Legislature may do,” Holmes said. “We’ll find out all of that in the next three months. The $385,000 that y’all are expecting to get, I’m hoping we can synergies it with something else and get a lot more.”
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Holmes also gave an update on a project funded by the National Resources Conservation Service to clean out a major drainage ditch on the west side of town.
The prior board authorized a grant project for drainage improvement work, which requires a 20% local match.
“For the most part cleaning out the ditch, getting debris out, making sure the water will flow a little bit easier,” Holmes said.
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Zoning Administrator Gerald Alexander noted that the council had previously voted to demolish the house at 508 John D. Shaw St., but it had recently been acquired by a new owner in a tax sale. Alexander said the news owner, who lives in Arkansas, told him she has plans to remodel the property.
In another matter, Alexander noted that a new house is near completion on Beech Street and should soon be inspected.
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Town officials also expressed hesitancy on approving a contract with TechRadium to provide emergency alerts to residents.
Mayor Percy Robinson said he’s gotten good reviews about the service from officials in Brookhaven, where it is used. Councilmen are concerned about the amount of clerical work involved to input cell phone numbers and email addresses for everyone with a water account.
“It is certainly something that we need to do,” Councilman Chris Daniels said. “The only problem that’s going to come up with this is that there is going to be a lot of manual entering of information.” Daniels said, adding that town clerks are already short staffed.
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Robinson said he recently met with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials about getting reimbursement for Hurricane Ida debris removal.
The council will soon vote on a contractor for the work, and the town expects to open bids at a special meeting on Jan. 24.
