VINEMONT – A short agenda doesn't necessarily mean little discussion. Such was the case at this week’s Vinemont Town Council meeting, when council members put considerable thought and deliberation into matters regarding the upkeep and general maintenance of the town's ball park and roads.
The only item discussed under new business was lighting at the ball park. Nine light installations for two softball fields need work, and the council discussed the best way to finance the project. They have a bid from Musco Lighting to provide the materials needed for the job, and three other companies have placed their bids for installation labor. The total amount estimated is $153,156: $112,000 from Musco for the materials and $41,156 from the second bidder for labor. Musco's financial report gave four payment terms – three, five, seven or 10 years – with a change in interest, and subsequent difference of about $10,000, between the five- and seven-year terms.
Several members of the council were worried that the annual payments would drain their accounts for parks and maintenance, so after much discussion and deliberation they chose to forego the installation price and only pay the $112,000 for the materials. A motion was then made to allow Mayor Radginal Dodson to get the contracting process started. The contract, which will provide a 25-year warranty on the light fixtures and cover most repairs except for fuses, is to be drawn up and presented at the next meeting.
In other business was the Town's old Gator 4-wheeler, which an outside party would like to purchase. In order to sell it the council would first have to declare it as surplus. A motion was made to do so, but Town Clerk Amy Johnson pointed out that such an action would require passing a resolution. The motion was amended to draw up a resolution declaring the Gator as surplus, and the resolution will be presented at the June meeting.
Old business gave an update on road maintenance. Dodson estimated that paving the 5 miles of road that need repair would cost about $80,000 per mile, or $400,000 total. Because of this, he looked into repairing just the cracks and bumps in the roads, specifically weighing the pros and cons of chip sealing versus microsurfacing. Chip sealing would get down into the cracks to repair them and would last longer, but microsurfacing would make the road smoother and wouldn't leave as many loose rocks to fly around. In the end, the mayor went with the choice to microsurface the necessary roads noting that even though it wouldn't last as long, the Town could microsurface a road three times for less than the price of paving it.
The Vinemont Town Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Vinemont Town Hall. The public is welcome to attend.
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