City Aldermen Purchase Mowers, Hire Pool Staff

On Tuesday, May 11th, the Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a business session at 5 p.m.

Joe Johnson

Mayor Burrely Loftin reported that a city employee passed away over the weekend. Joe Johnson had worked for the City of Ava for 9 years, both as a floater and for the Water Department (see page A2 for the formal obituary for Mr. Johnson).

City Finances

City Treasurer Peggy Porter said current fund balances were at $3.9 Million, and she was currently working on the 2022 budget. The budget will be submitted to the Aldermen for approval in June.

EPA Transformer Checks

Loftin said the city had received a good report from the EPA during its annual checks of the city transformers.  

Gazebo Remodel

Mayor Loftin said that work had begun on the gazebo in the square. He said that Wayne Mallow was working on adding rock faces to the upright columns, and would later add decorative supports as well.

Community Center Water

Loftin said city workers had recently found a covered up and plugged drain that was contributing to water issues in the basement of the Community Center. Workers cleared out the drain and Center employees reported a dry basement after heavy rains this past weekend. Loftin said the work wasn’t yet done, however, with better drainage needed from the city parking lot just uphill of the center. Loftin said he had a quote of $6400 to improve the drainage and rework two stairwells leading down to the center.

City-wide Cleanup

Mayor Loftin said the trash tonnage from the recent city-wide cleanup had doubled previous efforts at 52.5 tons collected. The brush collected was only half the previous amount, with 45 loads hauled.

Mowers from Heritage Tractor

In a 4-0 vote the Aldermen approved a bid for $17,019 to purchase two mowers from Heritage Tractor. The price reflects $8000 for trading in two current mowers. The funds had already been factored into the 2022 budget.

Pool Staff

In two separate votes, the Aldermen approved both certified and non-certified staff for the Ava City pool. The votes were each 3-0 with one abstention. Pool staff positions are contingent upon prospective employees passing their training.

Attendance

Councilmen present were Billy Stewart, Noel Dye, Keith Jones, and Stan Lovan.

Video

Video from the Ava Board of Aldermen meeting will be posted to the Douglas County Herald’s website at douglascountyherald.com.

Next Meeting

City officials and aldermen will reconvene on Tuesday, May 25th  at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Meetings are open to the public.