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Board passes bond resolution, chooses city administrator |
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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 |
By Jennifer Gentile
Daily Times Leader
A bond issue for recreation and street repair, which failed earlier this month, will move forward after a special meeting of the Board of Mayor and Selectmen Monday night.
The board also selected Randy Jones, now serving city clerk and deputy city administrator, to replace departing City Administrator Paul McKay.
By a 3-1 vote, the board passed a resolution to issue nearly $3 million in general obligation bonds. Ward 1 Selectman Linda Hannah cast the dissenting vote, and Ward 5 Selectman Jasper Pittman was not present.
The bond issue failed by a 3-2 vote at the board’s Sept. 9 regular meeting.
“This is almost like the one we talked about two or three weeks ago at the board meeting,” Mayor Scott Ross said Monday night, “but several of (you) had some input into some changes.”
At the regular meeting in September, Ward 2 Selectman Marion Wilkerson objected to the distribution of the street repair funds — noting that the amount allocated to his ward was less than to other wards. He also wanted Ridge Street to be included on the list of projects, as it had been previously.
“We rearranged some of the street programs to give all five wards close to a balanced split of money, “ Ross said.
The list of proposed bond projects now includes resurfacing 700 feet of Ridge Street, at a cost of $28,000. The cost of work on Lone Oak Drive, which is an estimated $95,250 after state aid funds are accounted for, was split between Ward 2 and Ward 3,
“The dollar amount (for each ward) can’t all be the same,” Wilkerson said before the meeting, “but I’m more satisfied now.”
Added Ross, “I rode with him to look at Ridge Street, and I agree it needs to be redone.”
Combined, the projected cost of the street projects is about $1.34 million compared to the previous $1.14 million. The amount of the total bond package is now $2.995 million compared to $2.95 million previously.
Ross said that some bond funds were moved from recreation projects and allocated to street repair. A proposed multi-use, open-air market pavilion on Main Street was removed from the list of recreation projects, as was a designated area for frisbee golf.
The estimated cost of those projects was $115,000.
“I think we’d still like to do it,” Ross said of the pavilion. “It’s just a matter of priorities.”
The mayor said the resolution “does not obligate the city to issue any debt at all” or to commit to any certain project. It does set a cap on how much debt the city can issue.
“This simply gets the ball rolling,” he said.
The street repairs would be financed over 10 years, Ross said, while the recreation projects like a skate park, tennis courts, and a basketball pavilion at Zuber Park would be financed over 20 years. He stressed that the proposal would not raise taxes.
Selectman Hannah said while recreation is important, the city must prioritize. Some pressing issues the city must address first, she said, are recruiting industry, job development and residents in some areas who are without city services.
“I think number one, the whole (bond) package needs to be streamlined,” she said. “There are some things in there that are not necessary at this time.”
Hannah said she also sees the need for street improvements, but added, “to take $1.4 million and put it in recreation is not what we need to be doing at this time,”
“We have sewer issues, we have job issues, we have industrial issues,” she said. “We have so many other issues at hand, and that’s what we need to focus on. I’m not saying these other things aren’t important, we just need to prioritize.”
The public will have an opportunity to comment during a public meeting at City Hall, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 23.
The board also addressed the departure of City Administrator Paul McKay, who is leaving to accept a position in Houston with an oilfield technology company. McKay’s last day is Friday, Oct. 3.
With little deliberation or hesitation, the board members who were present voted unanimously to promote City Clerk and Deputy City Administrator Randy Jones to McKay’s position.
“Randy has been a very important person (in City Hall),” said Ward 3 Selectman John Cummings. “He’s never failed to help us in any way. Anything we’ve ever had, he’s always been right there. ... I think he’ll do a good job.”
Ross said Jones was “the obvious choice and an excellent choice” for the position.
“He is excellent at taking on a task and getting it done,” the mayor said.
Jones, a native of West Point, a father of five and a grandfather of two, served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1998.
Regardless of where his travels took him, Jones said he always maintained a commitment to the city. Upon retiring from the military, he began working as an administrative assistant for the city in 1999.
In 2005, he began serving as the city’s deputy chief administrative officer. He has served as a member for the West point School District’s Bright Horizons, Partners in Education, and School to Careers Programs, as well as a WPSD Crisis Management Plan Community Team member, WPSD federal programs volunteer and chairman of the board of directors for Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers, Inc.
He was also president of the local Rotary Club in 2005-2006.
The board determined that Jones’ salary will be equal to McKay’s, which is approximately $80,000 a year. In 2004, he was inducted into the West Point Hall of Fame.
The board has asked Jones to consider his various responsibilities, both in his previous position and his new one, to determine where he will need some help, and to make recommendations about how to proceed.
The city clerk position, Jones said, is one the board may want to consider filling.
In his new role, he said, “The first thing I have to do is pick up the ball on strategic planning,” he said.
According to Selectman Hannah, Jones knows the city well and is “the best choice” for the position.
“Randy’s a good guy,” she said. “He has this community at heart, and I think he’ll do well in that position.”
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 October 2008 )
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