Monticello Council Hears from DDA
The Monticello City Council agreed Tuesday to proceed with a Clean-Up Monticello initiative proposed by Mayor Pro-tem Gail Harrell.
Mrs. Harrell contacted a number of civic clubs and churches about “adopting” a segment of the city to be their responsibility to pick up trash. She received favorable responses. She is hoping others that she hasn’t contacted will also jump on board, and a letter asking for help with litter will be included in next month’s utility bills.
The county agreed that Earth Day, April 22, would be a good kick-off day, and Betty Jean Jordan and others are working to expand the trash pick-up initiative beyond the city on that day at least.
After that, at Mrs. Harrell’s urging, the council discussed microphones for the council quarters. She said that she knew there wasn’t a big crowd every meeting, but feels like council should be heard when they speak, and it’s harder for them to be heard when there is a crowd.
She had prices from one vendor, and the total was some $1,700.
Councilman David Wease said the council had tried two times before to purchase microphones, and they just didn’t work in that room. Mrs. Harrell is supposed to go back to the vendor and ask about a guarantee.
The council heard from the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) chairman, Judy Hunsucker, who gave an overview of the past year and shared goals for the coming year. She said the DDA is an arm of the council, and she would like to be included on the agenda either monthly or quarterly.
She told of the success of Monroe, and said her board is learning from other agencies. She said her board members average 40-50 hours of work a month on DDA initiatives. She requested that the council name Virginia Spalter to the DDA to replace Martha King who resigned.
Mrs. Hunsucker talked of the tax credit that the DDA helps businesses with, and those who have received it. She also told of the DDA involvement in Trisha Yearwood’s album release, the Smithsonian, and more. She told of the banners the DDA had purchased, and said more are coming. She said they are introducing “Downtown Dollars” this month, and hope they will be a success.
She mentioned 2020 goals of addressing the traffic/parking problems on the Square. She said they were going to have a big social media impact, and they are starting a “business of the month” highlight on social media.
In other action, the council approved increases to credit card limits for council members as it is needed to cover expenses, and approved a new expense sheet. They went into closed session to discuss personnel and real estate. After that, they voted to abandon the part of Church Street next to Monticello Baptist Church so the church can expand.
