Wastewater Treatment Upgrade Receives State Funds
By PJ Martin
Editor, The Herald-News
The Edmonton City Council met in a special called session on Thursday, April 2, at Edmonton City Hall. Those in attendance were Mayor Doug Smith, Councilmembers Teresa Hamlett, Curt Estes, Cathy Nunn, Faye Word, and City Attorney Brian Pack. Councilmember Tommy England was absent.
Others in attendance were City Clerk/Administrator Dawn Devore, Public Works Superintendent Moe Hensley, Police Chief David Robertson, 911 Director Jordan Crump, ABC Administrator Fred Ray, Park & Recreation Director Brian Garrett, and for The Herald-News PJ Martin.
Mayor Smith opened the meeting by declaring a quorum was present. He then announced that he had good news that he wanted to share.
“I have an email here from Amy Neighbors. Mayor Smith and Council members. I am pleased to share that the City of Edmonton’s budget request for the wastewater treatment plant upgrades has been approved as per House Bill 900 by the 2026 General Assembly.”
“$2 million will be allocated in fiscal year 2026-2027, and $4 million in fiscal year 2027-2028 to help move this important project forward.”
“I understand how critical these improvements are, not only for maintaining reliable infrastructure, but also for supporting future growth and protecting the health and safety of our community. This investment will help position Edmonton for long-term success.”
“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to the City Administrator, Dawn Devore, and Superintendent of Public Works, Moe Hensley, for their assistance in helping secure these funds and move this project forward. I have truly enjoyed working alongside them both. Their professionalism and dedication made this collaboration a pleasure.”
“Thank you, Council, for your continued leadership and your commitment to serving the people of Edmonton. I look forward to working, continuing to work with you in the future.”
“Sincerely, Amy Neighbors, State Representative, 21st District.”
Smith then explained, “This is basically what that means. This is a grant and will keep the sewer rates from increasing on our residents to upgrade our wastewater treatment plant.”
Next, the minutes from the regular meeting on March 2nd were approved as written.
A request was made by Grace Union Church, which is having a car show on June 27th. and has requested that East Stockton Street be closed to traffic between 12 and 5 p.m. on that date. After motions by Estes and Nunn, the motion was approved.
Fair Board members, Chris Huffman and Johnny London, were on the agenda, but neither was present, so that item was skipped over.
Next were the department reports, beginning with Superintendent Hensley, “For the month of March, we’ve done six water taps, fixed two leaks, placed two boxes… We worked on some tiles… Cleaned the low water bridge out a time or two. And we started our yard work.”
Police Chief Robertson presented the department’s March activity: 10 arrests, 4 non-injury accidents, answered 7 alarms, 5 animal complaints, 1 domestic dispute, 1 DUI, served 1 EPO, opened 3 new investigations, assisted 6 motorists,12 medical calls, made 72 traffic stops, served 5 warrants, and did 1 funeral escort. They patrolled 3,737 miles.
The chief also reported that, “One of our officers went to Glasgow. the newest one we had.”
Next was Jordan Crump with the February and March 911 Dispatch reports. “February, we did a total of 491 calls. 62, almost 63% of those were for the county, 32 and a half percent for the city. In March, we did 576 calls, 56% of that was for the county and 40 and a half percent was for the city.”
Crump also stated that they lost one worker and had hired one, “She’s already certified. So, she’s already trained, she’s already hit the ground running, and she’s part-time.”
She then announced that Telecommunicators Week is April 12 – 18.
Fred Ray presented the ABC report, “Everything’s going good, they’re all in compliance.”
Park Director Brian Garrett reported next. “In the month of March, we put up all our shade top structures. We completed our spring fertilization on all the fields. Middle school baseball started playing games every month. We started our concrete work. Pedigo Park is also back up.”
Edmonton Fire Chief Jerry Clemmons was absent due to ill health, and no report was presented.
The mayor asked City Attorney Brian Pack if he had anything to present. He replied, “We are working on, there was a request for us to abandon the portion of Lakeview Drive. Received a call from Ms. Franklin… I tried to call her back several times and cannot connect with her…But I need more information to make that happen. I think everybody is on the same page, but there’s… just some logistics that need to happen, and I need to have that conversation before we can make that happen. I anticipate at some point bringing that to you to abandon a small portion of that road.”
Because of the date change, this was considered a special-called meeting, and with no other items on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned.
