Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Tuesday June 24, 2008
3:15 PM

After lunch today I went to the Killough road project. They have completed the project with the exception of a small amount of sod that has to be placed on the shoulder. The contractor plans to open the street to traffic in the morning.

This project has gone very smooth and it really looks good. This has been a much needed project and I am glad that we had to money to complete the improvements to the street. I am sure that the citizens who use this section of street will enjoy the wider street.

I have a meeting with the Wynne Water Commission at 4:00 PM today. They will present a plan to overcome the shortfall in revenue for the department. The alderman have been invited to the meeting. The commission met last Tuesday and presented three plans to overcome the shortfall in revenue. I think that they will take the information from that meeting and present a final plan at today's meeting. It is never easy to increase the cost of services that are provided the citizens, but the commission must take in enough money to cover their cost as well as pay for the improvments that were paid for with bonds.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Monday June 23, 2008
9:55 AM

I attended the AML conference in Hot Springs last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The conference was well attended and the program was very good. I enjoyed visiting with my friends from around the state and the vendors who had displays.

I met Greg Tarbutton. He is an engineer with a firm in another state. They do some work in Arkansas and they were there to try to make contacts with possible customers. It was good to visit with Greg. He told me that he had been reading my blog. Who would have ever thought that someone from another state would be reading my blog?

I visited with the Killough road contractor last Saturday. He said that they planned to place the sod today and complete the overlay on Tuesday. I also talked with Mr. Burns last night at church and he thinks that they will be through with the job by Wed. I am looking forward to having the street open again. It is a much needed improvements to that section of street.

This morning I helped with WBC VBS. I drove the church van and picked up some children who are attending VBS. I will drive it again during the noon hour at the end of the VBS day. They have drivers for the rest of the week. I was glad that I was able to be able to help with VBS in a very small way.

I picked up some booklets that explain the duties of a mayor and an alderman during the conference in Hot Springs. I sent them with a letter from me to Terri and Ronnie who will serve on the council beginning in January of 2009. I hope that they become aware of the duties that I have and the duties that they have as an alderman. I have done this in the past with the new alderman and the booklet has been very helpful to the new alderman.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday June 17, 2008
11:20 AM

I talked with the paint lady at Caldwell Lumber company this morning about the sealer we need for the new dog pound. She informed me that we will have to buy a cleaner and apply before we can seal the new concrete. She also informed me that we should wait 60 to 90 days before we apply the sealer to new concrete. I told her to go ahead and order the cleaner and sealer and we would apply it when the time is correct.

I talked with the animal control officer this morning and informed him about the sealer. I told him that he should make plans to start using the new pound the first of July. We have paid WFA to take care of our dogs through June. I also told him to use as few of the pens as possible until we have a opportunity to seal the floor. He said the he would take care of that. I also told him to purchase a small tarp to cover the pens to keep the sun and rain off of the dogs until the roof arrives and is installed. The time frame for the new roof was three to six weeks. The tarps will work as a temporary solution.

I also told Jerry to install a section of fence from the edge of the pound to the existing fence as a safety factor for the animals and the officer. It will take about 50 feet of fence.

I was told yesterday that the fence company will probably be here today to move the gate to the other end of the pens.

I will be going to Hot Springs tomorrow to attend the AML conference.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Monday June 16, 2008
11:30 AM

Amy came to Wynne last Wednesday and she drove the 2008 Pontiac and the 2008 Chevrolet. She said that she wanted the Grand Prix. I ask her if she wanted to drive the Toyota. She said that she did not and she wanted the Grand Prix. We bought it. It has a feature that she says that she will really enjoy---a remote start. I think that she will enjoy this feature.

The fence company has completed the fence on the new dog pound. They made a mistake on the placement of the gate into the pound. They placed it on the wrong end of the complex. I have called West Memphis Fence and they will make the change as soon as possible. They think that they will move the gate on Tuesday.

The plumber is almost through with his work. He needs to cut off two of the drain pipes and install a cover for the clean out on the drain. They will probably complete this today.

I have contacted Caldwell Lumber Company about sealer for the floor of the pound. When they get the information the city will purchase the sealer and install it before we begin using the pound.

The cover for the pound has been ordered. If we complete the sealing process before the cover arrives we will purchase some tarps to cover the pens until the cover arrives.

I talked with the animal control officer last week and he has purchased the water and food pans for the dogs. He has also purchased the dog houses that will be placed in the pens for the dogs. He has also purchased water hoses and a new pressure washer to aid in the cleaning of the pens.

This morning I performed a marriage for a young couple. All they wanted to do was get legally married. I performed the ceremony in a very short amount of time. They had rings, but they did not want a ring ceremony. All in a day of the life of a mayor.

Pat and I went to West Memphis to have lunch with Amy for Father's Day. We enjoyed our visit Amy and had an excellent lunch . Amy gave me a T-shirt for father's day. On the back of the shirt she had attached the following: PROUD PARENT OF A MORTICIAN. I will wear it with a great deal of pride in my daughter and her chosen profession. I am proud of her. I also gave her a small what I though was a hearse, but after talking to Amy and James at the funeral home, I understand that I gave her a Coach...

This week I will be attending the AML convention in Hot Springs. I look forward to seeing and visiting with my friend from around the state and attending the session held at the convention.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

June 10, 2008
9:45 AM

The new dog pound for the dogs the city catches is well under way. The fence company was here last Friday and set the post for the cages. The city crews poured one half of the concrete yesterday and are pouring the rest today. The only concrete left to pour is the bottom of the drain in the center of the compound.

The plumbing has been stubbed in and they will complete their work in a few days. The fence company will return some time in the near future. I talked with the paint department at Caldwell Lumber yesterday about sealer for the floor. She told me that it had to be a special kind because of what will be spread on the floor. She told me that she will call when she has the information. Last Friday I ordered the cover for the pound. It should be here in about three weeks.

The work is continuing well on N. Killough. Gene and George are pleased with the contractor and the work he is doing. I look forward to using the improvement on this street.

Tonight is the regular city council meeting. We have a very short agenda. We only have one item, the report from VDCI. I do not remember, in my years of city government, having an agenda with only one item.

I have been car shopping for Amy. She plans to come to Wynne tomorrow and make her final decision. I think that we will probably buy a 2008 Grand Prix. The one we are looking at is a Bull Motor Company. It is red with a dark interior. It has 8,000 miles on the car. It has been a rental car that Bull purchased. Pat and I are going to make the payment for Amy.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Monday June 2, 2008
3:00 PM

I have just returned to the office from the dentist office. Saturday morning while drinking my coffee I felt a small hard object in my mouth. I removed it and it was a small piece of one of my teeth. I went to the dentist office the first thing this morning and made arrangements to see the dentist. He said that the tooth had a large filling and that he would suggest that the tooth be removed. I told him that he was the doctor and I would do what ever he thought was best. He then removed the tooth.

Work had started on the new dog holding area for the city. The city crews are going to pour the concrete and we will have outside companies do the rest of the work. Steve Stricklin will handle the plumbing. West Memphis Fence company will install the fence and a company out of memphis will place a roof over the cages. We should be able to use them in two to three weeks.

The expansion of North Killough has started. They actually started last monday but today is the first time much progress has been accomplished. The gas company had to move some of the gas lines and the contractor had to wait on them to begin much work.

This morning I was sitting in my truck at the bank working on some personal items when a friend of my tapped on the window. I rolled the window down and he ask me if I had had any complaints about N. Killough. I told him that I had not received a single piece of negative feedback.

I rolled the window back up and began my work again. A few seconds later I heard a peck on my window and I rolled the window down. A woman was standing there and she informed me that she was unhappy with the way we were making improvements to N. Killough. She told me that she wanted curbs and pipes underground for the water. I told her that is was simply money that was available for the project and that the city council had chosen to make the improvements that were underway. She said that the city had plenty of money. I ask her to come to the city hall and I would show her the amount of money that the city has to complete this project and other projects in the city as well as run the city on a daily basis. She said she was not interested in looking at the financial statements of the city.

She told me that we were going to use the money to build a new city hall. I told her that we had no plans to build a new city hall with the funds that we now have to operate the city. She walked off in an angry manner.