Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council on Monday, Jan. 12, the council continued discussion on the contract between the town and the Madison County District School Board over the purchase of the former Greenville Elementary School (GES) property. Dr. Shamarial Roberson, CEO of DSR Consulting and Management, spoke of potential plans for the building space. Dr. Roberson spoke of grant monies either having been awarded or possibly available for services such as HIV prevention, health screening technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy, a potential food pantry, training and crime prevention programs with the Department of Juvenile Justice and more. There is even a possibility to apply for funding to bring primary health care to the facility in order to serve the community. “It’s jobs,” said Dr. Roberson of the driving force behind the proposed programs. The proposed programs are expected to increase job opportunities. According to Dr. Roberson, the timing is prime to pursue funding for these programs. “There is a great deal of interest in improving rural areas [such as Madison County],” added Dr. Roberson.
A final agreement between the School Board and the town has yet to be reached, with negotiations continuing over the School Board’s proposed requirements for the property after an agreement is made. Greenville Town Attorney John Reid stated the School Board had been open to the concerns of the town. No action was taken by the town during the meeting. It is expected an agreement between the two parties should be reached soon.
The Town Council did pass a resolution to ratify a Letter of Intent with Landmark Dividend, LLC regarding the lease of space on the town’s water tower to be used for cell phone antennas. Landmark has submitted a proposal to the town to “acquire the town’s lessor interest in the existing T-Mobile lease and to obtain a long-term telecommunications easement over the town’s water tower and related access areas.” In exchange, the town would receive a total price of $580,000 to be paid in yearly installments of $52,200 for nine years and a final payment of $58,000 to be paid in year 10. An initial payment of $52,200 is to be paid at the closing of the agreement. One stipulation the town insisted on was that the agreement would “be void if the telecommunications use poses an actual or reasonably foreseeable risk to the environment or interferes with the continued operation of the Town of Greenville’s water tower.”
The Town Council approved a request to purchase a bushing mower. This purchase will allow for greater efficiency by the public works department and will save the expense of hiring outside companies to perform heavy mowing the current equipment is unable to handle. The price for the mower is $11,648 and will be purchased from Crystal Tractor Company.
Town Manager Dr. Victoria Kingston updated the Town Council of work continuing on the Greenville Public Library. The roof and work on the air conditioning unit has been completed. No final completion date for the remainder of the work being done has been set.
The next regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council is scheduled to take place on Monday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Greenville Senior/Youth Center, located at 152 SW Onslow St., in Greenville.