Clay Town Council Holds First Meeting of 2016

Clay Town Council met for the first time in 2016 on Tuesday, January 5th. With an agenda that had several action items, the meeting promptly started at 5:00pm with just one council member missing. The minutes of the last meeting and the payment of bills were approved. An update was given on the Blue Knob water project and at this point it is a waiting game. All applications have been turned in on time and W. D. Smith with E. L. Robinson told the council that the USDA finally received their budget for the new federal fiscal year in December and there is nothing to do now but wait for the funding approval letter from the USDA, which he predicts will be arriving soon. The water plant project was the next item on the agenda and there has been no further progress on that project so far. The contact that Dwana Murphy had been working with has retired and now Murphy is waiting on loose ends to be tied up with the new contact for the project.
The meeting proceeded with a discussion of the eligibility of Dwana Murphy, the town recorder, who has moved out of town limits and whether she is still eligible to hold the position of town recorder. Following much research regarding the situation and for the remainder of Murphey’s term, an ordinance can be passed that states that Murphy can continue to act as the town recorder for the rest of her term. At the beginning of a new term, that ordinance will no longer be in effect. A motion was made and passed with a majority vote to create an ordinance to keep Murphy as town recorder for the remainder of this term.
The following items on the agenda which would allow a volunteer town officer to patrol the town from midnight to 8:00AM each night and the repair of the town police car were tabled until further discussion can be held on the subject. The town police car only needs a battery and an alternator to be repaired and ready for use.
The next town meeting will be February 2, 2016 at 5:00 pm at the water plant.