Council calls for single-district voting

By Staff
Jonathan Willis FCT Staff Writer
The Red Bay city council voted to support a proposal for single district voting in Franklin County at Monday night's regular meeting.
The proposal calls for each district's voters to be allowed to vote only on candidates running for a seat in that district. The proposal would change the current format in which county voters take part in selecting commissioners from each district, not just the one in which they live.
The council was also addressed by Frankie Smith of the local VFW American Legion post in Red Bay, who made a proposal for the sale of the group's building on Golden Road to the city to be used as the new fire and training station.
The building is approximately 3,000 square feet and sits on 1.45 acres of land. Smith said that the post would have to speak with representatives of the state VFW board before any transactions could take place.
Smith asked that the VFW be allowed to use the building for approximately 150 evenings throughout the year if the city decides to take action on the property.
In other business, the council unanimously voted to adopt a no smoking policy in all city buildings.
The council also voted to allow city employees to carry over up to 90 days of sick leave in the event of an illness. However, the days cannot be used as an early retirement and a doctor's excuse must be presented to use the time.
In other action, the council voted to purchase a 20 foot side extension bush hog mount for no more than $24,724, which is the state fee for the equipment.
Before closing the meeting, Nelson said that he had received a letter from the students of Red Bay High School who were concerned with the recent actions of the mayor and council, who have made several personal attacks to one another during council meetings since the new administration took office last fall.
Nelson said that the students' letter stated that people learn to be dignified and how to behave at a young age, and that maybe the members of the city's governing body were not as grown as they should be.