Judy Carlisle Elected Bedford City Council President

(BEDFORD) – The Bedford City Council elected a president and made appointments for various boards Monday Night.

  • Judy Carlisle – President Bedford City Council
  • Judy Carlisle and Penny May – Bedford Redevelopment Commission
  • Noah Browning and Angel Hawkins – Bedford Plan Commission
  • Jill Smith (Republican), Harold Turner (Democrat), Ryan Griffin (Business Representative) and Larry Hardman (City Council) will serve on the Bedford Urban Enterprise Association Board
  • Larry Hardman – Lawrence County Solid Waste District Board

Barry Jeskewich’s term with the Plan Commission was not up at the time, however, Mayor Sam Craig asked him to step down since he was a city employee.

Sam Craig Bedford Mayor

“We don’t want public correspondence or issues with city employees being on the board, or him voting on how the city wants something done. We want our boards to be impartial,” Mayor Sam Craig stated.

Greg Jones from the Southern Indiana Development Commission reached out to Bedford City Council members saying they are willing to work with them on grants or projects that they may be interested in the near future.

Greg Jones Southern Indiana Development Corporation talks with Bedford City Council Members Tuesday night

SIDC can assist in the planning of some of these projects, whether they be Economic Development, Water/Sewer Projects, Brownfield Projects, Tourism and/ or Broadband. SIDC has worked on $4.4 million worth of projects within the region. Dan Bortner expressed interest in getting help restoring monuments with the Green Hill Cemetery for Tourism Project.

The Mayor introduced his department heads to the new city council members which include:

  • Dan Kirk – Plan Commission
  • Misty Adams – Water/Sewer Utilities
  • Dennis Parsley – TASC
  • Dewayne Turpen – Bedford Fire Chief
  • Terry Moore – Bedford Police Chief
  • Marla Jones – Business/ Community Affairs
  • Barry Jeskewich – Bedford Parks Director
  • Debbie Andry – Office Assistant
  • Denise Henderson – Administrative Assistant replacing Sam Craig
  • Brandon Woodward – will be replacing Plan Director Dan Kirk in March.

The Mayor stated his appointments to boards will be announced at a later time.

“Hopefully, by the end of this week or next week, I will be making announcements on the board appointments,” Mayor Craig stated.

The city is also looking into the complaints from residents on Lincoln Avenue north of 5th Street. Following the water/sewer repairs the asphalt that was laid down is having issues.

“We are working to find out what caused the issue and will be getting that problem fixed,” Craig noted.

The first few weeks have been very busy for the Mayor with the fire at the Red Brick, Manchester Tank announcement of closure, and various appointments to the board.