By Myra Bean

The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Sardis met Tuesday night in its regular monthly meeting.

The board had a full agenda including grants, insurance and old business updates.

The board approved Sweet Tees’ request for a facade grant of $1,000. The screen printing business bought the building at 110 South Main Street, Sardis and will use brick and glass to help the aesthetics.

The money will be given to the Sardis Chamber of Commerce and come out of the tourism budget, according to Mayor Lula Palmer.

• Granville Sherman of North Delta Planning Development District and city engineer David Evans updated the mayor and board on grant projects.  Panola County will provide the gravel for the parking lot to the walking trail, according to Evans. He said he received a phone call from road manager Lygunnah Bean.

The other grant projects are from the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) for Edwin Circle.

There is the CDBG 2018 Public Facilities grant for railroad tracks west and manholes southwest of the school. The Miss. Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks walking trail grant project is ongoing and the engineer will advertise for the asphalt laying again in the spring because workers have halted for the winter.

The last grant is the $250,000 the town has received from the BP Oil Spill refund money. The board had decided earlier that each ward would get $50,000. Evans cautioned that $50,000 would only do 1/3 to 1/4 mile in each ward and people would get mad if only a small portion of their ward is fixed.

The town applied for a small  municipality grant through the National Park Service for the ballfield. The grant calls for new fence to be put around the ballfield on Highway 51. Also the sign area has to be refurbished and the basketball courts repaired.

However, Palmer said something can be substituted for the basketball court as long as it is some sort of recreation. Years ago, the board voted to close the basketball court. The walking trail should be a suitable replacement, Palmer said.

•Evans presented a $2,000 invoice to be paid for the recreational trail project where they have put down stakes and flags. That $2,000 was added to the claims docket, along with a $4,345 computer tower approval and $325 and $164 for Police Chief Steven McLarty to attend a mandatory training conference in Natchez Dec. 11-14.

•The board heard from Affordable Employee Benefits to consider changing their insurance company. Affordable said they could save the county over $3,700 if they switched and cut down on employee out-of-pocket expense.

Affordable representative Andrew Nowlin also said the company could work really closely with the employees with out-of-network doctors. The town needs to let Affordable know its decision no later than Dec. 21, he said.

•The board has not come up with any specific events for Municipal Government week Jan. 13-19. Palmer said she had some ideas but they were not presented.

•In old business, Palmer reported Rackesh Patel pulled the permit to demolish the condemned portion of the GTL, Inc. Motel, at 608 East Lee Street, Sardis. He has six months to demolish that portion of the Lake Inn Hotel.

Building Inspector John McCollum has not had time to inspect the front part of the hotel that Patel was demanded to correct, he said.

•In department reports, Mitchell Daugherty reported the fire department answered 296 total calls in 2018. There were 19 major wildfires, 47 vehicle extractions and 37 structural fires.

He announced the fire department Christmas dinner will be Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at the fire department. The brush truck is also out of commission. A possible replacement will be discussed at the upcoming special board meeting.

•Public works supervisor Quinn West said the sewer system needs an upgrade. He is taking bids for some work. The contract for the water tower maintenance has been signed. He also reported some of the lift stations need an upgrade.

Mayor’s Report

Palmer said two privilege licenses were issued this month to Smiling Faces Childcare on Highway 51 and Mini-Systems Laundromat in the Fred’s Shopping Center.

The town sponsored an Angel Tree and all were adopted, she said. Tourism coordinator Greg Davis said people were so generous they are able to give each family a ham and some of the things they want in addition to their needs.

The Mayor reminded everyone of Santa’s Christmas Express sponsored by Gifts of Love, Saturday, Dec. 15. The 18-wheeler will be at North Panola High School parking lot at 10 a.m. Toys, food and clothing will be given away. There will be drawings to win bicycles.

The City will honor the holiday season Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 24 and 25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The board approved the proclamation sent down by Gov. Phil Bryant.

Since the first Tuesday in January is New Year’s Day, the next regular board meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 5 p.m.

The Mayor and Board and Aldermen discussed holding a special meeting Dec. 20 but no time was set.

The board went into executive session to discuss police personnel but no decision was made.