|
|
|
Concerns of roads and finances sparked a drop in decorum at Macks Creek City Hall Monday night.
City officials will tell you they are sick and tired of negative publicity swirling through the town of 244 people.
Shouts, groans, name-calling, six people speaking at once, breakdowns in parliamentary procedure, whispers and off-microphone conversations in the midst of City Hall meetings illustrate why some of the town's citizens have a strained relationship with their city government. One resident compared the aldermen and mayor to a kindergarten class.
Upper Prairie Hollow Road served as a catalyst for chaos at the latest Macks Creek Board of Aldermen meeting. Fed up with potholes, large rocks, ruts and washboards, resident Joe Crain took action. Crain says he purchased five loads of gravel on his own to patch Upper Prairie Hollow Road. Crain, acting with what he thought was the board of aldermen's blessing, spent more than $900 to haul rock and trim trees along the road. When he was done, he presented the city with an invoice for more than $900.
"I was told Friday night that I messed the roads up, that they were in good shape before. There were one-foot holes in the road," Crain said. "Everyone on this road thanked me for doing it."
Macks Creek owns a road grader and has a city employee, though the road grader has been out of operation with a broken head gasket for some time. Crain says Upper Prairie Hollow Road hasn't been graded since a Camden County road crew did so on Feb. 27, 2011.
"They were supposed to have been on our road in July, and we haven't seen them yet," Crain said.
In January of 2011, Macks Creek terminated a road maintenance agreement with Camden County. In June, the board of aldermen began considering a new agreement with the Camden County Road and Bridge Department, but spent part of Monday night's meeting explaining to a crowd of citizens in the City Hall gallery that the agreement wouldn't work.
"It would cost too much and it would bankrupt the city," Mayor Joel Stoner said. "They wanted more than what we get (in transportation funds)."
City Clerk Dixie Hooker explained that Macks Creek has $9,102 in its city road and bridge fund. The city takes in $961 monthly for road maintenance through state dispersal.
Concerns of roads and finances sparked a drop in decorum at Macks Creek City Hall Monday night.
City officials will tell you they are sick and tired of negative publicity swirling through the town of 244 people.
Shouts, groans, name-calling, six people speaking at once, breakdowns in parliamentary procedure, whispers and off-microphone conversations in the midst of City Hall meetings illustrate why some of the town's citizens have a strained relationship with their city government. One resident compared the aldermen and mayor to a kindergarten class.
Upper Prairie Hollow Road served as a catalyst for chaos at the latest Macks Creek Board of Aldermen meeting. Fed up with potholes, large rocks, ruts and washboards, resident Joe Crain took action. Crain says he purchased five loads of gravel on his own to patch Upper Prairie Hollow Road. Crain, acting with what he thought was the board of aldermen's blessing, spent more than $900 to haul rock and trim trees along the road. When he was done, he presented the city with an invoice for more than $900.
"I was told Friday night that I messed the roads up, that they were in good shape before. There were one-foot holes in the road," Crain said. "Everyone on this road thanked me for doing it."
Macks Creek owns a road grader and has a city employee, though the road grader has been out of operation with a broken head gasket for some time. Crain says Upper Prairie Hollow Road hasn't been graded since a Camden County road crew did so on Feb. 27, 2011.
"They were supposed to have been on our road in July, and we haven't seen them yet," Crain said.
In January of 2011, Macks Creek terminated a road maintenance agreement with Camden County. In June, the board of aldermen began considering a new agreement with the Camden County Road and Bridge Department, but spent part of Monday night's meeting explaining to a crowd of citizens in the City Hall gallery that the agreement wouldn't work.
"It would cost too much and it would bankrupt the city," Mayor Joel Stoner said. "They wanted more than what we get (in transportation funds)."
City Clerk Dixie Hooker explained that Macks Creek has $9,102 in its city road and bridge fund. The city takes in $961 monthly for road maintenance through state dispersal.
"(Camden County) wanted $100 per month more than we get in in funds which would eventually put us to a negative balance. I don't think that we should go that direction because it would be a matter of time (before the city road fund is empty)," Alderman Josh Taylor said.
From the gallery, Crain pointed out that a maintenance agreement with Camden County could last eight years before the city road fund would be depleted. He then joked that the city road grader could be repaired within the 8-year span.
"We can't get them to take care of the road. I even told them that I would run the road grader for them and do it, but they won't let me do it," Crain said.
After approximately five minutes of off-microphone conversation, the board of aldermen scheduled a special meeting to reconsider establishing a road maintenance contract with Camden County.
Aside from ruts and washboard sections on gravel roads that can damage vehicles, the residents of Macks Creek in attendance were concerned about safety.
"If an ambulance can't get down one of these roads because someone is hurt, that's a problem," Macks Creek resident Leslie Chamberlin said.
Crain says he will consider taking the city to court over his road repair and tree trimming expenses if he is not reimbursed.
Some citizens are also circulating a petition for Macks Creek to be downgraded in classification from a city to a village. The petitioners believe that the downgrade would force control of roads in Macks Creek back to Camden County. They hope to have the initiative on ballots in the August election.
The Macks Creek Board of Aldermen scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday at 6 p.m.
