Story and photo by RUBY KEARCE
At its monthly meeting on July 19, the Paxton’s City Council passed a motion to match last year’s donation of $500 to the Key Club’s back-to-school drive again this year.
Council member Donna Smith then updated the council on preparations for the Bobby Kemp Festival. She reported that there is now a sponsor for the Color Run, as the list of sponsors continues to grow. The money raised during the event will go toward scholarships for one Paxton and one Florala High School Senior. Four food trucks are planning to be there, with one donating a percentage of the day’s profits to the Bobby Kemp scholarships. A car show is planned, and the Big Red Bus will be making an appearance. Scholarship applications are being created so that Bobby Kemp’s family can choose the two seniors to be awarded the scholarships.
The council also discussed two water bill waivers that were made prior to the meeting by Mayor Ann Sexton. The council was concerned that according to ordinance and procedures, the mayor does not have authority to do so and that everyone must come before the council. So a motion was passed for the accounts to be charged and the residents given an opportunity to approach the council for the waiver.
A quote from AR Social Media was discussed, for the archiving of everything the city posts on their social media page. The service will protect the city if someone requests a record, since Facebook does not currently meet Florida standards for retaining information. A motion was passed to accept the quote from AR Social Media.
Because the city did not receive income survey results in time, they cannot submit the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application. However, there is a separate grant, for rural areas, that gives the city more time to collect the information and submit the application. Accordingly a motion was passed to authorize the city to apply for the new grant application.
Attendee Brieson Lowry, who owns a water sports business, approached the board asking for permission for his clients to not only rent his inflatables but for them to also rent the city’s agricultural building for setting up. A motion was passed with the condition that they pay a separate water fee, if the water- filled inflatables are used.
In other business, the mayor will be hiring a part-time billing clerk and will start advertising for the position soon. The council also announced the date of the first meeting for the cemetery board to be Monday, August 1, at 2 p.m. Council member Jenice Armstrong mentioned wanting to discuss expanding the cemetery.
The Paxton City Council holds its regular monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.