NL council talks upcoming movie nights, concerts

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

NEW LONDON ? The New London City Council meeting was shorter than usual, despite a lengthy agenda Tuesday evening.

The council seemed to breeze through the bulk of the business items with relative ease and agreeableness.

The meeting kicked off with a public hearing to discuss the proposed budget amendments for the 2015-16 budget. With no comments from the public, the council moved to approve the resolution. The amendment included the addition of $200,000 in revenues and $635,000 in expenditures.

Following the public hearing, the council shifted gears to discuss the upcoming movies and concerts in the park. Last month, the council approved hosting three movie nights and two concerts in the park.

Councilman Greg Malott briefed the council on the movies he has lined up for the first two movie nights ? to be held on June 17 and July 15 ? and the first concert, set to be held on May 28.

?I?ve confirmed availability of the projector for the movies and have a couple of suggested movies for the first two and the third movie, we?re going to open up for a vote,? said Malott.

Malott proposed ?Zootopia? and ?Star Wars: The Force Awakens? as the first two movies. During those showings, Malott suggested having the audience vote on the third and final movie of the summer, which will be held on Aug. 19. Malott added, for the third movie, Two Rivers Bank has offered to cover the concession costs.

?We?ll go back to those who donated last year and with that we should be able to have fully funded concessions,? said Malott.

As for costs, Malott said the city already had the screen to show the movies and the projector was only $25 per rental. The largest cost incurred would be to show the movies, coming in at about $350 per viewing.

As for the concerts, the May 28 concert would feature the Group Smith, which is comprised of local Tim Smith and his band who would play country music. The contract would be for $500.

?I would ask that we approve all of the expenditures associated with the movie night and concerts in the park at this meeting so we?re able to move forward with prompt preparation for these events,? concluded Malott.

Councilman Tom Davis said the movies and concerts seemed to be very popular with the residents last year and he was in full support. The board approved the expenditures associated with the community events.

The council also set an open house for the Waste Water Treatment Plant on June 4, from 10 a.m. to noon. The plant recently went under renovations and the city is ready to show the public what their tax dollars have done.

During the meeting, the council also talked about selling the property at 315 North Maple Street. The city had advertised the property for $6,300, but didn?t have any bites. City Clerk Kasi Howard said the city received an offer from Jerry Crouch to buy the property for $5,000, and would be made in two payments. The council agreed they were willing to accept $5,000 for the property, but would need to advertise the property again, since it was less than the original asking price.

Lastly, the council agreed to move the public comments portion of the meeting to the end to allow for citizens who are unable to make the 5:30 p.m. start time still able to speak during the meeting.

In other business, the council:

? Set a special meeting on Tuesday, May 17, at 6 p.m. Following the meeting to discuss the upcoming sewer project at the school, the council will have an inventory work session.

? Discussed the city?s housing needs and if there was a way to get a private developer interested in the area. Davis and Frank Staley stated they are for more housing in the city, but not for the city to fund it.

? Discussed live streaming the city council meetings. The council advised Howard to look into streaming possibilities on Facebook.

? Approved zoning permits for Meagen Lachapelle, 103 South Pine Street, fence; Steven and Catherine Ort, 104 Orchard Lane, privacy fence; Shawn and Bonnie Mears, 313 East Clevland Street, fence; Kenneth Kracht, 205 South Cottonwood Street, shed; Shanea Ford, 207 South Oak Street, wooden privacy fence; Wyatt Schroeder, 304 South Chestnut Street, fence.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the New London City Council will be held on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, at 5:30 p.m., at the City Office.