Daniel Prince
Town clean-up day in the works
The Carlisle Town Council met Thursday for their regular monthly meeting. Normally it is held the last Tuesday of the month, but it was moved to accommodate the prayer vigil that Sheriff Jeff Bailey organized on Tuesday. Mayor Mary Ferguson-Glenn reminded the council members that the state sees elected officials as full-time employees, and thus the town has to offer health coverage to them if they want it. She noted it is an expensive venture and that anyone taking the insurance would have to do their part in paying a share of the cost. She said she talked to City Administrator Joe Nichols on Wednesday about the wastewater project, and he said that everything seems to be moving smoothly. She noted there are three contractors on the job, and they hope to have everything complete in time to comply with the September 1, 2023 deadline. Mayor Glenn noted the town had 631,000 gallons of water that was unaccounted for in the month of December, noting that the extreme cold temperatures froze the water tower and caused problems there, and a number of citizens had leaks due to frozen pipes. She hoped the large loss was a one-time occurrence due to the weather.
In new business, the mayor said that the modem at the water tower needs replacing. She said it is an electronic system that notifies her by phone of any problems with the tower. She also said six blowoffs were damaged by the cold, and none of the blowoffs were insulated. She said the total cost for the modem, blowoffs, and insulation would run around $2500. Council unanimously voted to make the purchase.
Mayor Glenn told the council members of a situation that came up a couple of months ago, where someone bought property from Union County, and taxes were still owed on it to the Town of Carlisle. She said the buyer was unaware of that fact and was upset that the money was owed to the town, thinking it should have been the seller’s responsibility to take care of that. Glenn said she talked with Jeff Shacker at the Municipal Association, and he suggested that one way to avoid that situation in the future would be to place a lien on the property where it could not be sold until the seller pays the town. Mayor Glenn asked council for approval to begin looking into the lien process, as she said she did not really know how it works. Council unanimously gave her approval to do that.
In her report to council, Mayor Glenn noted that she drives all through the town once a week, and she said this week, the litter was the worst she has ever seen. She said council needs to be creative in ideas of bringing things to Carlisle, especially businesses, and in getting the community involved in the town. She noted that the public does not come to the monthly meetings, and it is a struggle sometimes to make people in the town aware of events and programs offered by the town. She said the town still doesn’t have a maintenance person employed, as no one is applying for that position. If anyone is interested, contact the Carlisle Town Hall at 427-1505.
Glenn said she spoke with Supervisor Phillip Russell about the need to clean up the town, and they agreed to do like the county did several years ago in holding a Town of Carlisle Clean-Up Day, where the citizens would come together to clean up the town, and the county would provide manpower and the means to get trash and bulk items out of the town. She noted a date hasn’t been set yet, but it could happen sometime in March. She also talked with Russell about the town’s baseball field, which she said badly needs attention. Without an employee in place to help maintain it, she said the town needed help with that project. She said Russell agreed to help do that, as well. She noted the big Carlisle Homecoming cookout is set this year for Saturday, May 27, from 8 a.m. to midnight. John Glenn with the Carlisle Fire Department is the contact for that event.