WADESBORO — The town of Wadesboro held its monthly town council meeting on Dec. 3, with the main topics addressed included the organizational meeting required by law after every election, options concerning parking and parking enforcement, and an update on Wadesboro’s FEMA grant.
Mayor Bill Thacker, who was re-elected mayor on Nov. 5, called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. and presided. Larry Oakes gave the invocation. The first order of business was the organizational meeting. It was then that retird Superior Court Judge F. Fetzer Mills administered the Oath of Office to Thacker, Councilman John Ballard and Councilman Lewis Evans.
Mayor Thacker and Councilman Ballard were both re-elected to their seats this year while Councilman Evans was newly elected. Councilman Evans was also voted by the board to serve as mayor pro-tem. The mayor pro-tem position is required by law and acts in the mayor’s stead in order to sign documents, preside over town council meetings, as well as other duties in the instance of the mayor’s absence.
The second order of business was to address possible options concerning parking issues. The town council tasked Town Manager David Edwards with collecting data on parking numbers and possible options for reinvigorating parking enforcement. These options may include metered parking or more spaces for uptown business. These options will be addressed further in the upcoming months.
Fire Chief Scott Martin and Publoic Services Director Hugh James updated the city council during the Town Staff Report on the status of Wadesboro’s FEMA grant. The Town of Wadesboro received a grant for $775,000 to replace a ladder truck for the fire department. They have finalized bid documents as well as specifications and are advertising the bid this week.
The council hopes to have a recommendation at next month’s meeting.