New Lamar Mayor and council hold first meeting
Lamar Town Council (left to right): Angele White-Bradley, Inez B. Lee, Lang Howell, Mayor Darnell McPherson, and Tamron McManus. Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
A crowd of fresh faces greeted guests at Lamar Town Council’s January 8 meeting, their first since the election of a new Mayor and three new Council members.
Mayor Darnell McPherson joined new Town Council members Lang Howell, Inez B. Lee, and Tamron McManus, all of whom won their seats in the November 2017 election as former Mayor Randy Reynolds and Council members Jackie Thomas, Willie Howell, and Mike Lloyd all retired from service. Lamar Town Council’s lone holdover is two-year veteran Angele White-Bradley.
McPherson began the meeting by taking roll call of Council members and asking them to sign in, citing a need to keep a record of attendance at these public meetings.
McManus was officially sworn in at this meeting. McPherson, Howell, and Lee were sworn in at a January 6 ceremony held at the Barbara J. Hines Memorial Chapel in Lamar.
“It is my honor to serve on this Council,” said McPherson. “I look forward to a great experience. And to all of you in our audience, thank you so much for coming. You honor us with your presence.”
McPherson expressed thanks to the citizens in attendance and hoped that they would continue making the effort to attend meetings. She said it was the Council’s intent to “move the community forward, but with your help and your input because it is by working together that we get things done.”
On that topic, Howell formally motioned that the start time for Lamar Town Council’s regular monthly meeting be changed from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. to make it more convenient for citizens to attend.
“That would give town members a chance to come, and the ones that haven’t been getting to the meetings could have a chance to get off work, come home, and then meet with us,” said Howell.
White-Bradley seconded the motion, and Council voted unanimously to change the meeting time. Regular meetings will still take place on the second Monday of the month.
With Council’s approval, McPherson named Lee to serve as Council’s chaplain, citing her service as a lay servant in the United Methodist Church.
On the regular agenda, there was only one item: McPherson announced that a bid opening will be held at 2 p.m. on February 1 at the Florence offices of Hanna Engineering on Pisgah Road. These bids are for the repair and insulation of one of Lamar’s water towers, a project that is part of the town’s roughly $3 million plan to rehab and restart its dormant municipal water system. The bid opening meeting is open to the public.
