Council OKs HR firm to help find new chief

MOORESVILLE

It was a relatively short meeting on Tuesday night at the Mooresville Government Center as the Mooresville Town Council heard requests from the police department and commission and tended to matters of old business.

Mooresville Police Commissioner Danny Lundy explained to the council that the commission wanted to use the HR consulting firm Waggoner Irwin Scheele and Associates to handle the recruiting process for the hiring of the new chief.

“I think it’s the most transparent and above board way to do that,” said Lundy.

Mooresville Town Councilman David Rogers said that he liked the idea of it, and Stanley noted that having a third party ensured an open process. He said that the estimate for the process was $8,000 to $10,000 plus expenses, but he noted that there were ways to minimize the expenses.

Rogers made a motion to approve the Mooresville Police Commission’s use of Waggoner Irwin Scheele and Associates to recruit a police chief.

The motion stipulated that the recruiting process would be paid for out of the fuel budget and not exceed $12,000. The motion passed unanimously.

New car request

The Mooresville Town Council heard a request from acting police chief Brad Yarnell for five new police cars. Yarnell explained to the board that every year, the department would trade in five vehicles and receive five new vehicles as a part of a fleet replacement plan.

Mooresville Town Council President Tom Warthen informed those present that the 2020 Explorer came with new features that made it a little different from previous models. Warthen said that he has concerns about possible bugs in the new model, though he noted that he still wanted to go with the Explorer.

Rogers said that he believed that the town should continue the annual rotation of replacing cars.

Town Councilman Mark Mathis said that he wanted to know the dollar amount for the new cars in addition to how much the department would get for the trade-ins.

Rogers made a motion to have Yarnell get estimates for the trade ins and new cars and come back to the town council. The motion passed unanimously.

Clarifier pay request

The town council reviewed a pay request regarding the town’s clarifier at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Warthen explained the pay request had been signed off on by the HNTB representative and the project engineer and said that the request was $143,830.80. Stanley made a motion to approve the pay request, which passed 4-1-0, with Mathis voting against without comment.

In other business

• Stanley informed the council that the fundraising goal for the Safe Haven Baby Box had reached the two-thirds mark and reminded those attending that if they wanted to donate, they could do so at the Mooresville Clerk-Treasurer’s Office or Mayfield Insurance.

• The town council reviewed and approved a resolution regarding the vacation of an alley owned by the VFW. The alley vacate had been discussed at a previous meeting, and it was established that the VFW owned both parcels involved.

Mathis asked Mooresville Street Department Superintendent Dave Moore if he was OK with the vacation, and he said that he was.

Rogers made a motion to approve Resolution 10-2019 that passed unanimously.

• The Mooresville Town Council approved the minutes from the July 16 meeting after a motion from Stanley to do so that passed 3-0-2, with Rogers and Hester abstaining.

• The minutes from the Aug. 6 meeting were approved after a motion from Stanley to do so that passed 3-0-2 with Rogers and Mathis abstaining.

• Roger made a motion to approve claims totaling $962,494.50 that passed unanimously.

The next meeting of the Mooresville Town Council will be at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at the Mooresville Town Government Center, 4 E. Harrison St.

~ By Anthony Woodside | Reporter | Published August 24, 2019 in The Mooresville Times