McCaysville Chief of Police Michael Earley announced that the concrete bridge on Blue Ridge Drive in McCaysville will be replaced in the near future.
Earley made the announcement during a city council meeting Tuesday, May 12.
No other information on the replacement was available other than that one lane will remain open during the project.
“I did speak with a representative with DOT,” Earley said. “He told me that they were gonna start on that bridge very soon. He wouldn’t give me the exact date, but he said we’re gonna go ahead and start putting some things in motion, and the first thing that had to be put in motion was looking at the fiber optic lines and later on the, of course, the utility lines as far as the sewer and water ... But they did say they were gonna have to replace the concrete bridge very soon.”
AT&T ran fiber optics on the bridge two and three weeks back, Earley explained.
Mayor Thomas Seabolt announced that the city will hold municipal court Thursday, May 21, and the city hall will re-open to the public June 1.
A $1.50 raise for Wyatt Starnes was approved, bringing the employee up to $16 an hour.
“I’ve talked to Davey about him,” Councilman Jason Woody said. “He said he’s a real good worker. He’s been a real good asset to the water department, so I feel that the pay increase would be warranted.”
Starnes recently acquired his commercial drivers license, according to Seabolt.
The raise will come from the water fund.
Earley provided quotes for four new computers for the police department totaling $3,931.18. The price does not include a charge for installation, virus protection or Microsoft Word software.
The item was tabled for next month’s meeting.
Bills for the month of May include $3,547.24 in administrative costs, $2,503.43 for the police department, $519.60 in court costs, $4,107.81 for the street department, $944.39 for the city park and $2,397.31 for the water and sewer plant.
A motion to pay the bills was made and approved unanimously.
In addition, April expenses exceeded income by $47,364.97, according to Councilwoman Gilita Carter.
Earley explained that the police department will be around $30,000 over budget, which accounts for two extra full time employees.
“Everything’s starting to open back up. The restaurants have opened back up. Some of the businesses have opened back up,” Earley said. “... our restaurants, I know they’re doing very well right now, and they are following the guidelines. I went and checked all of them last week. They’re following the guidelines the governor has put in place, and they’re doing the best they can.”
A workshop is scheduled for Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m.