Bruce Mayor Rudy Pope presented a plan Tuesday night to cut down one and add back 10 trees to the Bruce Square, but the board elected to postpone the idea until next winter.
Mayor Pope said the city recently had to cut a rotten tree down on the west side of the square and he wants to eliminate the sweet gum, close to the gazebo, that’s in bad shape.
Mayor Pope said he looked into purchasing up to 10 new trees, eight inches in diameter and approximately 25 feet tall, from Shade Tree Farms in Banner, to add to the square.
Bruce Mayor Rudy Pope
Pope proposed putting two on the south side, two on the east side where the sweet gum is dying, two on the north side and the others around the edges.
“We’re going to keep the open space on the square, but we want to replace the bad trees and fill in where needed,” he said.
Mayor Pope asked the board for $5,000 for the project saying it would come out of the Park budget since it is responsible for square maintenance. The mayor said he spoke with Mark Ferguson, park director, and he was OK with it.
Alderman Steve Nelson expressed concern for what it would do to the park budget, and Streets Director Joe Farmer and Alderman Danny Rodgers shared concerns about the timing.
“I think it would be better if you did it in December,” Farmer said.
The board ultimately decided to wait until next year and do it earlier in the winter.
Frances King Bryant addressed the board about the Air Evac program proposing the town start a family plan for all full-time employees and their families that would cover costs if any of them had to be airlifted to a hospital. The cost to the city would be approximately $1,000 a year to cover everyone. The board took the matter under advisement.
•In other news, the board accepted Mike Young’s resignation as an election commissioner. Danny Rodgers proposed Mac Burnett for one of the two vacancies and he was approved by the board. Mayor Pope asked for suggestions on someone to fill the other position.
•The library budget was amended $2,920 for a roof repair.
•The board approved the hiring of Terry Griffin as a full time policeman effective March 16, replacing Phillip Talford who will go part-time at the same date.
•The board approved the hiring of Paul Carroll for the street department starting Feb. 16.
•The board declared a GMC dump truck, Case 580 Super K Backhoe, Tennant Sweeper and New Holland Hay Baler surplus property so they could be sold.
•Mayor Pope said the sewer improvement project is underway and they’ve already bored under Hwy. 9 and Jimmy Beckley Drive. The project is expected to take four months.
•The city has been approved for a $30,000 grant to conduct a complete evaluation of the lagoon by Willis Engineering. Mayor Pope said he is looking for another grant to extend the city sewer line to the nursing home.
•Police Chief Stan Evans said they received a grant for $40,000 that allowed the police department to buy two new Dodge Chargers. The cost to the city for the two new patrol cars was $14,000 total.