Oolitic Town Council provides issue updates during Monday night’s meeting

OOLITIC – During the Oolitic Town Council Meeting Monday night, the council provided updates on the North Oolitic School building and projects to members of the community.

Members of the Oolitic Town Council meeting with President Tangie Young absent

John Dillon and Jon Broglin shared that the North Oolitic School building is being purchased by Bedford resident Jim Deckard to rehab and fix the building to be used for his home health company and apartment options. The purchase is still in the title phase and Dillon is hopeful it will close by the end of the month.

Old North Oolitic High School Building

A document titled “The acceptance and creation of an authorization instrument” will start the process for the town’s loan of the $250,000 for the matched portion for the flood plan loan for the $600,000 grant.

The document consists of several exhibits, certificates of authentication, the creation of an Oolitic stormwater management board of three members including Brenda Corey as President, Jon Broglin as Secretary, and board member Steve Kerr. This board approved the areas that will be updated during the stormwater project.

Two ordinances were approved in conjunction with the stormwater project for improvements and revenue bonds to be used in compliance with the town.

Jon Broglin

Jon Broglin then gave a utilities update referencing a propeller on one of the water pumps being busted, causing the pump to not work properly. This was corrected after replacing the propeller.

If this becomes an issue again, Broglin isn’t concerned as the capacity for the facility can pump through over 3,000,000 gallons per day, and has been running about 75,000 gallons currently.

All of the water meters that were ordered by the town have been fully installed and are reading accurately. The utilities crew can get an accurate reading without having to leave their vehicles, or even town hall for most of the homes and have been able to log usage and issues such as pressure or leaks since the day they were installed.

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Water meters disassembled (Photo from previous town council meeting)

The town, in anticipation of the upcoming winter storm later this week, is planning on three vehicles to service the town with salt/sand to make sure the roadways remain safe for travel.

The council also discussed the possibility of adding an additional full-time employee within the utility department, to better serve the community and help ease the workload for the other employees. This request was tabled with further discussion until the February meeting.

The utilities department also has a new camera system and cable system that has made locating clogs or breaks easier as well as replacing pipes while not tearing up the ground.

Brenda Corey

Brenda Corey then shared a letter from a concerned mother in reference to the yield signs at 10th Street and Eric Avenue. She is concerned of the high rate of speed most vehicles travel at and is requesting the town replace these signs with stop signs or install caution children present signs in the area. The town will look into the request and discuss it during the February meeting.

John Dillon then discussed having the Old Fire Station roof replaced, as he fears it is becoming a similar issue as the North School building and wants to get quotes that will be discussed during the next meeting.

Jon Broglin then shared an ordinance that would change the language of the town council meeting schedule. It currently states the fourth Monday of each month to be used for the meeting, but the town has used the last Monday of the month instead. The change was approved by the council.

Public comments were then made during the meeting that discussed concerns over the presence of the Town Marshal, the water bill rates, and the hiring of the Town Deputy Marshals. All items were heard and discussed by the council before adjourning.