Selden sworn in for Troup council seat
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

During Tuesday night's regular city council meeting in Troup, Sonny Selden was appointed to fill the vacancy in place three left with the resignation of Nancy Boothe. He will remain in that position through the remainder of the term, which is one year.

Because none of the places for council nor the mayor's seat are being challenged in the upcoming election, that election was formally canceled by a vote of the council.

Tim Mager was presented a plaque honoring him as the firefighter of the year while Lanny Becker received one for police officer of the year. These honors were bestowed during the recent Chamber of Commerce banquet; however, the plaques were not available at that time so they were presented at this meeting.

Approval was given to accept the final audits for FY 2006 and 2007. This move will catch the city up on those delinquent audits.

Council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a tax resale deed for two lots behind 4 Oakes Café.

"This gets the city a little bit of money, but more importantly, it gets the property back on the tax rolls and we know who owns the property," said Russ Obar, city administrator.

Cherie Archer came before the council with an issue concerning the placement of a manufactured home at 836 Arp Dr. Archer picked up the application packet back in November of 2007 and still has not completed the required application and has not filed it with the code enforcement officer. However, she did go forward with the placement of the manufactured home on the property. There was a police officer sent to the site when it was discovered that the home was being placed without the required permits and application approvals and told the party not to place it there because the permits were not in order and it was placed anyway.

Archer said there were many reasons for not having everything in order and she wants the council to allow her to continue work on the home until everything can be properly filed.

The council directed Obar to consult with the city attorney on the issue to give a time frame in which to get the required process completed regarding the illegal placement of the manufactured home.

A replat of lots 3 and 4 of the Joey Subdivision unit two were approved by council.

With two years remaining on their current lease, the United States Postal Service sent a lease agreement to the city asking for a new lease that would obligate the use of the building until 2025. After discussion of how overcrowded the current city offices are and how almost all of the post offices boxes are already rented and neither has room for expansion, it was agreed that the council would choose, at this time, not to enter into a lease agreement with the USPS.

Discussion on the zoning issues included only the direction of the council to have the city attorney begin work on wording to include a historic district as well as work on institutional areas while Obar continues to attempt the acquisition of software to make adjustments to the zoning lines on the draft document.

Steve Wick of Stokes and Associates was on hand to present preliminary costs and photos of water towers. The city has already received letters from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality stating that the city's water tanks are not high enough and that they are in serious need of replacement or major repair. The city will face steep fines from the TCEQ if steps are not taken to correct the situation or at least begin the process. Wick will stay in contact with utilities director Jon Hall and council will view their findings at the next council meeting.

Obar informed the council that the two firefighters who are now on duty everyday from 8 to 5 would begin fire hydrant testing soon. Also added to the fire department's equipment was 1,000' of five-inch hose which will improve the ISO rating for the city. All of this was made possible through funding from the ESD #2.