The City of Magee has big plans for property located near the new Five County Child Development. The property they are eyeing belongs to the Simpson County School.
The property has been used for recreation in the Goodwater Quarters and has been a park since 1971. The city had an interlocal agreement to maintain the property in 1997, but according to Magee Mayor Dale Berry, there is no current agreement.
Mayor Berry estimated that the parcel of property was four acres that contains a baseball field, football field and basketball court.
The city had discussed the possibility of building new basketball courts at the facility and had budgeted $35,000 to do so. A recent decision by the board delayed action dependent upon what Five County was going to do at the old elementary facility.
Alderman Patrick Brown presented the idea to the board that if they were going to spend the budget funds it should be on city property. Mayor Berry reported he had contacted Superintendent Greg Paes about the property. It was proposed that the school district pay the City of Magee $15,000 a year for use of the ballfields the city maintains and that the amount be dropped to $14,000 per year for 15 years. That would have the city paying $15,000 for the four acres of property.
The board did not vote on this action but gave Alderman Brown the nod to go ahead and negotiate the deal. Before this could be finalized the board would have to vote on the action and the school board would also have to approve the transaction. According to Berry, Paes is supposed to present the proposal to the school board.
Alderman Brown reported that Five County was going to spend $8 million to build a new cafeteria at the old elementary facility. He mentioned on August 10 that Five County was planning a reception and he said the board was invited to attend.
In other business the mayor said a budget planning workshop would be held in the near future. The date has not been set but it will be a open meeting to discuss the budget. He told the board that retirement for state employees was going to increase from the existing 15 percent to 17.4 percent, which meant a big increase for withholding from the city.
Berry reported that sales tax collections were up for the city over last year at $2,145,125. He said his stated goal for annual sales tax revenues is $2.5 million.
Berry restated the position that the city of Magee has nothing to do with the legalization of alcohol. He did go on to say, however, that such sales are an economic driver. He told the audience that petitions are available at city hall if someone is interested, but the city is not taking a position on the matter. He said the Secretary of State’s office told him that in order for legalized alcohol sales to be on the ballot, 1,500 signatures must be signed on a petition or 20 percent of the registered voters, whichever is less.
He said no one from the city is working on this and they will not turn in signatures. He did say that someone “needs to take the ball and run with it,” but he said all requirements for getting alcohol sales on the ballot must be done prior to 60 days before the election.
The board heard from Brooks Sullivan, a Lake Circle, resident. Sullivan was complaining about traffic past his house which accessed land which was behind his home. Sullivan told the board he thought it was being used to drop off drugs and wanted access to the area closed to traffic. He said that other residents, Bo Layton, had expressed the same concern. Berry told him that the city limits ended at the end of the pavement. The property is owned by Dr. Tommy Blackledge and according to Sullivan it is accessible from other roads in the county. The property had been subdived at one point by Dr. Blackledge for homesites. The board attorney, Bruce Smith was going to investigate the matter and report back to the board.
The board voted to allow for the city to apply for a small municipality grant in the amount of $150,000. The mayor proposed the funds be spent on improvements and parking at the Magee Sportsplex. The city if approved would have to match $30,000 if they recieve the total amount.
The board approved the closure of the street on Choctaw by The Vault on August 4, for a wedding reception.
The board restated their position that garage sales could only be held once every six months at a location. The reasoning was because other people would have regular yard sales at the same location.
The board approved new firemen Reuben Cohen and Patrick Zilla. The fire department had already done so however the board had to authorize their participation.
The next scheduled meeting of the board is set for August 6 at 6:30.
