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The Magee Board of Alderman meeting became heated Tuesday, February 15, 2022 when Mayor Dale Berry addressed the issues with safety in the city and law enforcement. Berry was very stern with Police Chief Chris Jones when he stated he wanted to see more patrolling, citations, and safety check points taking place.
Robbie Barnes, member of the Simpson County School Consolidation Steering Committee, met before the Board of Alderman asking for consideration adopting a resolution supporting the passage of the school bond on March 29, 2022. The board unanimously voted to support the bond passage and adopt a resolution.
According to the Mayor, a crawfish restaurant will be located in the historical downtown of Magee in the near future.
The Mayor announced that the City will be closed Monday, February 21st in observance of President’s Day. The city will not be collecting garbage on Monday, February 21. Garbage collection with resume on Tuesday. Monday’s route will be collected Tuesday and Tuesday route will be collected Wednesday.
The PriorityOne Senior Citizen Building at the old YMCA has a tentative date of opening March 1, 2022.
All minutes, claims dockets, and agenda were approved.
The board approved switching communication services from Southern Communications to C Spire.
Baseball and softball registration is underway until February 18, 2022. 176 applications have been received at this time. Berry advised a large tournament was scheduled for this weekend in Magee with 30 teams participating.
Brain Hubbard addressed the board with concerns at the airport. Hubbard feels “day-to-day” operations are not being handled properly. Hubbard said, “it is the responsibility of the board to see the duties are being performed and executed.”
Hubbard listed 4 specific items:
- February 11, 2022 a discovery was made that the fuel filters were due for a change in August 2021.
- In August 2019 the field tank was empty.
- Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) are not posted timely or not at all. As of February, 14th there are no NOTAMs although the airport is closed.
- Jet fuel tank certified is out of FAA regulation and has no fuel.
The board agreed to take the request under advisement.
A resignation letter from Booby Applewhite was accepted and approved by the board.
Chief of Police Chris Jones stated the police assisted Magee High School in the recent shooting threats to local schools across the state this past Monday. Officers were assigned at the school during the potential time of the threat. The individual making the threats has been discovered and attained by neighboring cities. Jones stated since January 15, 2022 there have been 916 calls to the station. The average response time is 2:36 per call. A total of 155 traffic stops were made during the month. The city has seen an increase of gun violations in the last month. 12 calls concerning shooting have occurred. A homicide is under investigation at this time. Jones stated a change is being made to police schedules to allow officers to patrol more at different hours.
Jones asked the board to adopt stronger gun laws. Jones provided the board samples of ordinances to consider.
With no further business the board entered executive session.
A video of the meeting is attached for viewing.
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