The Mendenhall Mayor and Board of Aldermen unanimously voted at their first June meeting, to rescind the policy that requires travel baseball teams to pay to practice on the fields at the Mendenhall Sportsplex.
The policy was put in place last month and required travel teams to pay $125 to use the facilities for three hours. Board members were deliberate in stating that the charge would not apply to the local sports teams.
Bart Carter, who coaches a tournament baseball team, appeared before the board to discuss concerns of the policy. Carter said his team’s players are mostly from Mendenhall and Puckett. He said his team has practiced at the Mendenhall Sportsplex for the past three years. He said, “We’ve been a good representation of Mendenhall.”
Carter stated that he has eight local players whose parents are Mendenhall taxpayers, and he asked to continue to use the facility for free. He explained that the cost of paying to use the facility would be passed on to the parents, making participation more expensive. Carter did not believe teams would pay that price to use Mendenhall’s facilities. He said for that price teams would seek practice facilities that offer turf fields more similar to the ones used in tournaments.
Alderwoman Sandra Stein spoke in favor of allowing the team to practice for free due to the local ties. After more discussion Alderman Tim Gray moved to rescind the actions taken in May requiring travel teams to pay, adding that the city needed time to put a proper policy in place. The board unanimously agreed, and the Sportsplex is now free for teams to use.
The board discussed making repairs to City Hall. Various repairs were discussed such as replacing windows and redoing parts of the floor. The plan is to use money budgeted for the Employee Appreciation Fund, which has approximately $5,600, to pay for repairs. Alderman Donnie Thomas, who has been adamant about moving City Hall operations to Mendenhall Armory for years, said it would cost less to move City Hall to the armory than to pay to repair the current building.
Thomas said, “We voted not to do anything about moving and I’ve brought it up several times.” The board approved the repairs to City Hall by a majority vote. Thomas was opposed to spending money on repairs.
The board voted to skip the annual summer MML Conference by majority vote. Thomas opposed the decision. The board approved the holiday proclamation for the celebration of July 4 by majority vote and Thomas again opposed.
The Mendenhall Theater will be set for public auction with no reserve. The property comes with a stipulation of one year to have it cleaned up and safety approved.
The board voted to have a work session before each of the regularly scheduled meetings. The work sessions will begin 15 minutes before the regularly scheduled meetings and are open to the public. During this time the aldermen will discuss line items on the upcoming agenda.
Bids will be opened for the paving project on Circle Drive on June 22. The city received bids from J&L Enterprises and Blaine.
Thomas spoke briefly of instituting an ordinance against burning trees and limbs before concluding the meeting. Mayor Todd Booth said some citizens burn leaves and limbs including him, and advised against an ordinance. The board ultimately took no action. Thomas said, “Well there should be something in place with people burning, and all the smoke choking people over 80.”
The board recessed until June 22 for the opening of the bids.
