Water tower repairs discussed at Turkey Creek meeting

TURKEY CREEK – The Turkey Creek Village Council, during the board’s January 26, regular meeting, discussed the repairs to the water tower.
Council member Joey Ducote was concerned about the quality of the village’s drinking water due to age and wear and tear on the village’s water tower. Adam Janet stated repairs have been being made and he is up there supervising. He said the leak was repaired with welding and a new layer of paint coated the inside.
Janet said seams begin to deteriorate and there is not enough money to paint the entire tower and each individual weld. He said the areas most in need of attention were repaired and the tower is being closely monitored, noting the village could possibly get another five to 10 years out of the interior paint.
Janet also noted the exterior paint was in worse shape than the interior paint. Ducote said the interior is more important because that is the village’s tap water. Janet said there will always be some movement and the tower is built for movement, such as subtle foundation settling.
Janet reassured everyone that the well is being very closely monitored for any issues that may arise. Mayor Heather Cloud stated the village is being proactive about watching the tower closely and that DHH approved the interior paint being used and the repairs are being made with the tower being closely monitored.
Cloud added that while the workers are up on the tower, they are also checking for any other problem areas that they may find. She also noted that this is an aging water system and the village is working to be prepared to handle any issues that may arise.
Cloud discussed the project of connecting the village hall office to the meeting hall, noting this would be done for ease of access in emergencies. She said this is just a very preliminary discussion and the council can hash it out over the course of the next couple of meetings. Cloud and Janet stated there are several routes they could go with the project, and council member Joey Ducote stated he would like to keep costs down on the project, as a lot of funding is needed for road repairs.
Janet said one suggestion is to remove the bathroom in the office and utilize that space, as there are two bathrooms in the meeting hall and this could be a easy solution. Another suggestion was just a simple cat walk connecting the two from the outside.
Cloud stated she had met with a contractor to get estimates on the high priority road repairs and said she and Janet could get some very rough estimates on the hall project based on various ways to go about connecting the two buildings.
When discussing the financial budget, Cloud stated that as the community center is on track to be paid off in 2017, she would like to begin working out a two-three year plan to prioritize a list of roads throughout the village in need of repair, starting with those in most need of maintenance.
The council discussed and then approved Police Chief Robert Glenn Leggett’s recommendation to hire a part-time officer who would probably work three days a week to assist the chief and the other part-time officer, who can only work one day per week. Leggett stated Bryce Kaleb Melancon is completely post certified and has already completed a psychological examination so there would be no training costs to the village. The council unanimously approved Leggett’s recommendation and hired Melancon.
In other business, the council:
•Approved mileage payments for Village Clerk Melissa Ferguson and Assistant Clerk Shelia Deville.
•Approved the minutes of the December 15, January 6, and January 19, meetings.
•Approved expenditures for the month of December.
•Approved utility adjustments.
•Heard the financial report from Ferguson.