The Henderson City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. today (Monday, July 11) for its regular monthly meeting, and tops on the agenda is the swearing-in of the newly elected council members.
Outgoing council member William Burnette will be recognized for his time on the council and then Ola Thorpe-Cooper, Sara Coffey, Garry Daeke and Lamont Noel, who beat Burnette for the Ward 2 seat in the May 17 primary, all will be sworn in.
Because the primary elections were delayed until May, Burnette’s term in office was a little longer than normal and Noel’s term will be a little shorter, but terms of office should be back in synch by the 2024 election cycle.
Among agenda items to be discussed include a grant proposal to provide “stop sticks” for use by local law enforcement to aid in car chases and a clarification of council members’ involvement on various boards and committees.
The recommendation before the council during the meeting will be that no more than four council members serve on a single committee or board and that council members not serve on any citizen committee in a role other than ex officio (non-voting) capacity.
Also before the council for its approval are the minutes from the June 13 meeting, which includes an update regarding the Kerr Lake Regional Water expansion project and extension of Franklin County’s current contract.
Vance, Granville and Warren counties share ownership of the water facility, with Vance County being the managing partner; Franklin County is a customer and recently asked for a seventh amendment to its agreement that spells out a request for 3.45 million gallons of water a day – up from the 450,000 gallons a day it currently receives.
The amendment states that Franklin County be granted an extension of the current contract of $4.37 per gallon, effectively freezing the price it will pay for water for the 48 months after the current contract ends.
The water plant expansion project has been years in the making, but according to the minutes from the June 13 meeting, City Manager Terrell Blackmon said “there seems to be a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel regarding the KLRW expansion.”
According to the minutes, the KLRW advisory board voted to accept the GMP for the upgrade and funding has been secured for the project. Next steps include approval from the Local Government Commission and then in a few months’ time, pulling permits for the actual work to begin, hopefully in early 2023.
“At this time, no rate changes are scheduled but there will be increases once the $79,605,000 project begins,” the minutes stated.
Council members in attendance voted unanimously to approve the resolution; Council Member Garry Daeke was absent from the June meeting.
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