Monday, April 14th, 2025
6:30 PM. Community Center
Attending: Mayor Steve T. Nichols, Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins, Council Members Thomas Gary, Josh Burkhalter, and Mike Barfield. Library Manager Rhonda O., City Attorney Jody Campbell, and City Clerk Irma Robles. For public assistance, refer to the attendance sheet. Not present: Finance Director Glenda Cantrell, Public Works Director Doyle Samples, and Mainstreet Newspaper (Draft minutes emailed to Mr. Mike Buffington on 4/15/2025).
CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Steve T. Nichols called the Council Meeting on April 14th, 2025, to order at 6:30 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America flag.
APPROVAL OF APRIL 14TH, 2025, COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA: The Council Meeting Agenda for April 14th, 2025, was approved, with Councilman Josh Burkhalter motioning for approval as presented and Councilman Thomas Gary seconding. There were no discussions, and all were in favor. The agenda was approved.
APPROVAL OF MARCH 3RD, 2025, COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES. Councilman Thomas Gary motioned to approve the Council Meeting Minutes on March 3rd, 2025, as presented; Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins seconded. There were no discussions. All were in favor. The minutes were approved.
APPROVAL OF MARCH 27TH, 2025, SPECIAL CALLED MEETING. Council member Josh Burkhalter motioned to approve the Special Called Meeting Minutes for March 27th, 2025, as presented; Councilman Thomas Gary seconded. There were no discussions. All were in favor. The minutes were approved.
FEBRUARY 2025 FINANCIALS: Councilman Thomas Gary motioned to approve the February 2025 Financials as presented. Council member Mike Barfield seconded this motion. There were no discussions; all were in favor. The financial report was approved.
Mrs. Margaret Ward Dedication. Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins motioned to approve the dedication of the city hall annex building to Mrs. Margaret Ward. Council member Mike Barfield seconded this motion. There were no comments or discussions. All were in favor. The motion was approved.
Proclamation of April as Safe Digging Month. Loonie Robinson from the City of Commerce Gas Department handed out an informational pamphlet about gas services; he recommended calling 811 before any digging was done. If there is any gas smell, it means something. He also mentioned the areas they served, such as Commerce, Nicholson, Center, and Athens. Mayor Nichols asked what those two main lines on 441 are, and Drein Hart from the City of Commerce Gas Department also replied that those are high- and low-pressure gas lines built for capacity purposes. Councilman Josh Burkhalter asked if there is any plan to extend the services to other rural areas. Mr. Robinson told them there were some expansion plans for rural areas, as shown on the map in the pamphlet provided. Councilman Josh Burkhalter added that there is a gas smell between Lakeview Dr and Oak St, and Loonie answered that there are some leak areas in the City of Nicholson that they have found on recent leak surveys. Still, they are working to repair them by following different stages and procedures. There were no further comments or discussions.
2009 Ford F150 Pick-Up Truck – Bid Approval. Councilman Josh Burkhalter motioned to approve the highest bid from Coleman Schwartz for $526.50. Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins seconded this motion. Councilman Thomas Gary asked if the city ever contacted Mr. Schwartz to clarify the year of the truck, which was 2009 and not 2007, as he stated in his bid. City Clerk Irma Robles replied that she called Mr. Schwartz the day after the March 27th, 2025, Work Session, and he had no problem with the year of the truck. There were no comments or discussions. All were in favor. The motion was approved.
OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS: N/A
LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
Rhonda O’Keeffe, Library Manager
April Happenings at the Library:
-Easter Bunny: It was the first time for the library to host the Easter Bunny. They had 145 people come through. The library used Enchanted Events who also provided them with a backdrop for the bunny. A patron loaned a bench. The library will be continuing this event. The library manager chose to go early with the program since so many other events were happening closer to Easter.
-Bear Hollow Zoo: Two representatives from Bear Hollow Zoo with three ambassador animals (opossum, snake and turtle) came to visit. Children were able to learn about the different habitats of each animal. They were able to touch the turtle. Nicholson Library had around 125 people.
-Quilting Hearts of Nicholson: The Quilters had a sewing class. Children aged 10 and up signed up to make their own pillowcase. There were 12 participants. All the children went home with their own pillowcase. Everyone enjoyed the experience.
-SJES: Library Manager Rhonda O. visited SJES for Career Day. She was able to explore the career of a librarian with 4 of the first-grade classes. On the 21st of April, the library will be at SJES for their monthly visit with PuRL. Thursday, April 24th, Rhonda O. will be at the school once again with PuRL for a Family Night Event.
-Daisy Festival: The library will have their sand bracelets again this year. The Quilters will have their own tent. The Library will share its tent with the Friends group.
-SRP: Nicholson Library has the programs arranged, is set to decorate, and is prepared to start signing children up. They will be having free breakfast/lunch again this summer. Sign-ups begin near the end of May.
-Veterans Display: Toyota donated a 65” screen TV and the wall mount to the library for their veteran display. The library will need to buy a few other items that they need. Sherri Stephens, Nicholson Library Assistant, was able to secure this donation. This will wait until the library has the inside painted.
Councilman Mike Barfield asked if the library was selling tickets for the quilt raffle, and Rhonda replied that they had already started selling these tickets. Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins added that the raffle drawing for the quilt will be done at the Independence Day festival on July 3rd, 2025.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Steve T. Nichols
-Mayor Nichols mentioned that the renovation project in the city hall annex building is going well, and the city expects to complete it by the end of April or the beginning of May.
-Mayor Nichols told the city council that the concrete columns at the Community Center have been fixed, and the building is now secured. Still, the city also needs to fix the other concrete columns at the community center meeting room. He added that new lights were put on the outside of the building, and it looks much better. The community center stays busy with rentals.
-Mayor Nichols congratulated City Clerk Irma Robles for finalizing the Spanish/English Legal Interpretation Certificate Program with a 100% score.
-Mayor Nichols asked Matt Hailey, the City of Commerce’s city manager, to introduce himself. He asked about the new subdivision needing sewage, and Matt confirmed that the developers have requested to connect to their sewage system. Councilman Thomas Gary asked if there were plans to bring a hospital to Commerce, and Mr. Hailey replied that they were not at this time. Still, they are currently working on development for clinics, medical offices, and diagnosis centers.
-TSPLOST: Mayor Nichols told the city council about trying to get TSPLOST again in this upcoming November election. The county is working on the IGA with the same categories and amounts as last time. The IGA will be ready next week and will be discussed at the next work session.
-Councilman Thomas Gary reminded everyone about selling tickets for the gun raffle. Tickets are at city hall.
-Councilman Thomas Gary noticed no votes were taken for the April Proclamation as a Safe Digging Month agenda item. He motioned to approve the proclamation as presented, and Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins seconded. There were no discussions; all were in favor. The motion was approved.
-Mayor Steve thanked the city council and staff for a great job done at the past Spring Clean Up event. Since this went well, the city is much cleaner, and twelve dumpsters were filled up and taken to the county station.
CITIZENS REQUESTING TO SPEAK: N/A
ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Pro Tem Lamar Watkins motioned to adjourn the April 14th, 2025, Council Meeting. Councilman Mike Barfield seconded, and all were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 p.m.-
Announcements:
*Next Work Session – April 24th, 2025, at 6:30 pm
*Next Council Meeting– May 5th, 2025, at 6:30 pm
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Approved by City Clerk Irma Robles