Board of Alderman - Regular Meeting

okay that's just gonna say invoice okay

Good evening, everyone. I call this meeting of the Horn Lake Mayor and Board of Aldermen to order this June 16th, 2026 at 6 p.m. at Horn Lake City Hall. We have a quorum present tonight so we can proceed with our agenda. We have an invocation by Alderman Bledsoe and the Pledge of Allegiance by Alderman McKinney.

May he be pleased. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the city of Horn Lake, and thank you for everybody that lives here. We may glorify you in everything we do as a city, and thank you for the board, and thank you for all the department heads and everybody that works for the city. And thank you for letting us grow, and may we do it spiritually, and bless everybody that we can, and talk them to bring them to God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, now we have our roll call by Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Here.

Alderman Bledsoe. Here. Alderwoman Armstrong. Here. Alderman Smith.

Here.

Alderwoman Johnson. Here. Alderman Langston. Here. Alderman Bostick.

Here. All right. I entertain a motion to accept the municipal docket.

Mayor.

Alderman McKinney.

Yes. I'll make the motion that we approve the municipal docket.

We have a second? Second. Motion by Alderman McKinney, second by Alderman Bledsoe. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman Bostick?

Aye.

Alderman Langston? Aye. Alderwoman Johnson? Aye. Alderman Smith?

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong? Aye. Alderman Bledsoe? Aye. Alderman McKinney?

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. I entertain a motion to approve the minutes from the January 2nd, 2026 Board of Aldermen meeting.

Mayor.

Alderman Bostic.

I'll make that motion.

Motion by Alderman Bostic for the minutes on June 2nd. Do we have a second?

Second.

Second by Alderman Langston. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney. Aye.

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderman Bostic.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Now on to the consent agenda. I entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Mayor.

Alderman Bostic.

I'd like to make a motion to approve the consent agenda with two exceptions, moving Item D to Mayor Alderman Correspondence and Item I to Executive Session.

Do we have a second?

Second.

Second by Alderman Blesso. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith. Aye. Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderman Bostick.

Aye. Motion passed unanimously. I entertain a motion to approve the claims docket.

I move that we accept the claims docket general fund one million three hundred forty seven thousand nine hundred seventy one dollars and thirteen cents library fund one thousand seven hundred thirty eight dollars and fifty cents economic development fund seven hundred $65.54. Utility fund, $256,601.50. For a total docket of $1,607,076.67. Do we have a second? Mayor, I second. Alderwoman Armstrong.

Do we have any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman Bostick.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Smith. Aye. Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderman McKinney.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Tonight we have a presentation of special guests. Our first one will be by Police Chief Nikki Pullen. Presentation of retirement plan for Daffy Darby, receptionist and former telecommunicator.

This one on? Yeah. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Board. Retirements are starting to be too common these days. I don't know whether to take it personal or with pride that this is my fourth one now within three years as the chief, but I am happy to see everyone through to retirement that I'm able to. So tonight we honor Daffy, and I try to come up with the most clever and best-fitting way to honor anyone, but it's kind of impossible when... summing up 26 years of gratitude for someone, and especially someone that has been so involved as Daffy has. Again, she's got 26 years of service to the police department, to the city. And I try to, like I said, think of the most clever and fitting way to sum that up or show my gratitude, but I was nosing through Daffy's social media yesterday, and I noticed that someone had said, a big loss to the department, but so well-deserved. And I thought, you know, that's a brilliant way to sum up what DAFI has given to the department. Anyone that knows DAFI in the county knows that the majority of our time has been spent as a dispatcher and doing that very tough job. And so a few years ago, we had kind of hit a bump in the road with our reception office, and we... We asked her for a huge favor. A lot of integrity is put on that job. And aside from that, it's the face of the department, first one that everyone sees and definitely sets the tone for how things go forward with the police department. And Daffy definitely raised that standard, raised the bar for us there. And so along with everything that she gave with dispatching, which is... her whole heart, you know, she gave and gave and gave in that area and then really fulfilled everything that we wanted out of the reception office. So Daffy, I know it was a, I had to beg and was never too proud to beg you to be here tonight and bribe and everything else, but Daffy did not want anything special for her retirement. and that's just who she is. It also says more about her that she doesn't want any light shed on her for what she does. It's just the person she is. So I appreciate you coming and working with me on this, but I wanted to publicly thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you've done for us, for the police department, for the city, and just how well you have represented us. And thank you just is not enough. So we do have a plaque for you. What month? And the plaque reads, thank you for 26 years of dedicated and loyal service to the city of Horn Lake and the men and women of the Horn Lake Police Department. Throughout your career, you have been the calm and reassuring voice for callers during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, a dependable lifeline for officers facing danger, and most recently, the professional and welcoming face of the department. Your willingness to consistently go above and beyond expectations has always been admirable. No matter the task or the effort required, you were always ready to step in, lend a helping hand, and ensure the job was done right. Your dedication, professionalism, and commitment to serving others have left a lasting impact on this department and the community you serve so faithfully. As you begin this well-earned retirement, may the years ahead be filled with happiness, good health, relaxation, and time spent enjoying the people and moments that matter most. Thank you again for your outstanding service and unwavering dedication. Best wishes for a long, fulfilling, and rewarding retirement. Thank you.

ALL RIGHT. LET'S GIVE HER ANOTHER HAND. NOW WE HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION, SPECIAL PRESENTATION TO HARLAN HANDS. WE WANT TO ASK MS. CUNNING TO COME ON UP. MS. CUNNING, JAMES, COME ON UP RIGHT QUICK.

Trust me, Ms. Conner, trust me.

Connie James is the director of Heartland Hands Food Pantry located from South Haven to Horn Lake in September 2021. Heartland Hands is a non-profit 501c3 organization staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers. It is a faith-based organization dedicated to providing food assistance to families and individuals whose incomes fall below the Mississippi poverty level in Horn Lake and surrounding areas. Connie's love for community and her strong leadership have been instrumental in the success of Heart and Hands Mission. Her top priority is ensuring that no individual goes without food or basic necessities. Her second passion is helping individuals struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. She's been instrumental in assisting individuals who were incarcerated and gained an admission to rehabilitation programs such as John 316 Ministries and the Solo Recovery. Many of these men and women have successfully rebuilt their lives and are now productive members of society. contributing positively to their community. To make this possible, Connie works closely with the Sheriff's Department and various organizations to help individuals receive the support and treatment they desperately need. Connie James has also been a strong advocate for building and maintaining partnerships with the local stores, restaurants, business owners, and donate food to Heartland Hands. She has worked tirelessly with local and state officials to support legislative changes that benefit Heartland Hands and the food pantries throughout Mississippi. In 2023, she played a key role in the passage of the Mississippi Senate bill 2077. This legislation enabled Heartland Hands and many other nonprofit organizations to continue operating without the financial burden of a full audit. CUNY successfully advocated for raising the audit threshold for charitable organizations to $750,000 and for the use of cash-based accounting measurements. Heartland Hands remains committed to providing food and essential support to families living below the poverty level in Horn Lake and surrounding communities. The organization also assists 27 agencies and 37 food pantries throughout Mississippi. The need continues to grow and many families rely on Heartland Hands as a dependable source for assistance during difficult times. In 2025, Heartland Hands served 7,066 families representing 21,257 individuals and distributed 859,678 pounds of food. This is far in 2026. Harlan Hance has served 2,735 families, represented 8,326 individuals, and distributed 414,096 pounds of food, averaging more than 500 families served each month. And I want to tell you, even during the ice storm, when I called Ms. Cunningham, I said, I might need some emergency food resources. She said, hardly hands is prepared to do it, Mayor. You don't need to do anything else. But right now, we want to thank you for all your wonderful things and deeds you have done in this city, for our county. We appreciate you, and we want to make sure you know that you always hold this key to the city of Horn Lake.

It is the volunteers.

She was wondering why all the volunteers were coming to a four of me. Why are they here?

Why do they care? They said, well, we're here for Chief Lindholm. We love Chief.

Thank you.

Let's give Ms. Connie James another hand. All right, we don't have any planning for today, but we'll go ahead into new business. We have a resolution to clean private property, a public hearing, which I now declare open. We have a list of properties which have not been maintained. This will give the city authority to access private property clean and make our city look better. Public hearing, you have two minutes to speak. The public hearing is now open. Is there anyone who wants to speak? Public hearing is now open. Public hearing is now open. All right, public hearing is now closed. Oh, there you go. Public hearing is now closed. I entertain a motion to accept the resolution to clean private property.

Mayor.

Alderman Boston.

I make a motion to approve the resolution for cleaning private property. The address is listed. All right, we have a second.

Mayor, I second.

Alderman Armstrong, any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith. Aye. Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Langston. Aye. Alderman Bostick.

Aye. Motion passes six yeas on one name. All right. All right, next we have the acceptance of the municipal attorney agreement between the city of Horn Lake and the city attorney, Ravonda L. Griffin with Perry Griffin, PC, effective July the 1st, 2026. Do we have a motion?

Mayor.

Alderman Armstrong.

I make a motion to accept the Municipal Attorney Agreement between the City of Horn Lake and our City Attorney, Ravonda L. Griffin, with Perry Griffin, PC, effective July 1, 2026.

All right. We have a second. I second, Mayor. Alderman Smith. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Langston. Aye. Alderman Bostick.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. We're down to citizen remarks. There are no citizen remarks. Name signed on the sheet, so we'll move forward. Mayor and Alderman Correspondents. All right, okay, thank you. All right, I would like to make a recommendation to appoint Chief White as Chief, Ronald White to Chief at the annual rate of $93,496, effective July the 1st, 2026. Do we have a motion? No. Alderman Blessel?

It's my great privilege to back your appointment up to Ron White as Chief of the Fire Department after the legend that he'd be following Chief Limbaugh.

All right. We have a motion by Alderman Bledsoe. Do we have a second?

Second.

Second by Alderman Langston. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Chief Limbaugh?

Aye.

I didn't know y'all was going to get me to vote, but thank you.

Alderman McKinney?

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe?

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong? Aye. Alderman Smith?

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson? Aye. Alderman Langston? Aye. Alderman Bostick.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Let's congratulate Chief Ryan White.

Chief Elink. Thank you.

All right, second thing I have in, oh, go ahead.

Okay.

Okay, we'll get it done before y'all leave. All right. Also, another thing we need is a committee to review our interlocal agreements. Our interlocal agreements, some of them need to be updated, so we want to put together a board of the Alderman and Mayor to go ahead and do interlocal agreements, and Alderman Bless will be leading. Can I get a motion to approve a board committed to review interlocal agreements? I'll make that motion. All right, motion by Alderman McKinney.

Second.

Second by Alderman Langston. Any discussion? All right, roll call, Ms. Carter.

Alderman Bossett. Aye.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe.

Aye.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you both for the interlocal agreement committee. And the committee would be Alderman McKinney, Alderman Bledsoe, and Alderman Johnson. All right. I want to take this moment to recognize Chief Linville as this is his final board meeting while serving as our fire chief. We want to thank Chief Linville for all his many years of service, his kindness. I call him the greeter committee for Horn Lake because every smile gets to meet Chief Linville first, and we just thank him. Let's give Chief Linville a hand for his many years of service, and we appreciate it. Look at the standing ovation. Thank you. All right. All right. Alderman Bostic.

I've got a couple things I'd like to say. First off, I'd like to thank the police department, fire department, and the EMTs for the work that they do. I hear the sirens. I know what's going on. It's a hard job. And I just want to thank them for their protection as they take over all the citizens here in this town and the help throughout this community. Also, David Linville, 35 years ago I met you in Fire Station 1 building up Christmas Float for Torn Lake Elementary. Remember that? It's been great knowing you, working with you. I'm sure you're going to have a great retirement and I appreciate everything that you've done for my family. for this city, and I know you'll continue to make the transition go very well. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Alderman Langston. Alderman Langston. All right, Alderman Johnson.

Yes, sir. I just want to remind everyone, we know school is out, and sometimes there are food insecurities with our students. I want to remind everyone that there are some programs in our city Heartland Hands, Samaritans, Sacred Heart Missions, and the Pantry and Olive Branch provide food. Also, a little closer, we have the YMCA seven-day meal packs that are given out on Thursdays and walls. Horn Lake High School also is giving away, well, there's a program there, seven-day meal boxes from June 3rd to July 15th, and that's on Wednesdays from 7 to 12. If you need these resources, please reach out to these people and try to get to these places. If not, I have no problem with you calling and letting me know that there is a need, and I'll try to do what I can to make sure that no child is hungry this summer while we're out of school.

Thank you, Mayor. Amen. Thank you. Alderman Smith? No, sir. Alderman Armstrong?

Nothing, Mayor.

Alderman Blesso?

Yes, sir. Chief Limbaugh worked with you a long time and enjoyed it. You did a great job. Retirement comes to all of us sometime. I know you're not going to know what to do on Tuesday nights, but you can come to the board meeting and sit back there. We won't let you have a speech or nothing. And Daphne, I think she's gone, but she was a very, very professional person. I worked with her in many storms and stuff, and when she was in there directing traffic for the police and fire, and I just hate to lose her because we're losing two great people. Not only people, but great firemen and police. So... I hate to say these days come, but sooner or later, I'll retire three times, and the next one will be the last. Thank you.

Thank you, Alderman Bless. Alderman McKinney? All right. Going to Mayor and Department Head Correspondents. Chief Pullen? Belinda? Rick Spencer?

All right.

Chief Leville?

It's been a pleasure to serve this many years. I didn't ever think I'd make it that long. When I took the chief's job, I didn't think it would last for a year or two because they get them canned pretty quick. I hope you make it 20 years down there. It's a chopping block. Again, behalf of the city, it's been a pleasure to serve. I have a great fire department, probably the best in the county and the state of Mississippi. I don't include nobody. They're the best. Fire and EMS, hands down, they roll. I do want to remind everybody, it is the last minute, but we do still have some openings for Team Safety Day. It starts at 8 o'clock in the morning. So if you know any teenager from the 13 to 16, we'll go up to 17. If you know of one from 13 to 17 that would like to come over in the morning, we'll sign them up at 8 o'clock. Fire station number three, we're going to do four hours of fire safety, firework safety. We're going to try to make them shoot fireworks safely if they can. and then fire extinguisher, gun safety, and first aid. So if you know anybody or if anybody's listening out there, if they would take their kid over in the morning at 8 o'clock, we'll sign them up, get them in. We've only got about 15 in it, so we'd take another 10 or 15 if they'd show up. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief Linfield. Drew?

Drew? Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Board. I have a couple of announcements tonight. First of all, Mayor, I'd like to say that this past week, we put five teams in the Dizzy Dean State All-Star Tournaments, and I'm very proud of each and every one of those teams. They did outstanding, but Mayor, one of the teams, the seven of you, they actually came in first place in the Senatobia Tournament, so... Second thing I want to mention, there is going to be a Juneteenth celebration this weekend over at Latimer Park. It's going to be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's going to be a big festival. They'll have cornhole vendors, food trucks, dance teams. They'll have speakers. So if anybody's interested in that, it's out at Latimer Park this Saturday. Coming up, we're going to have the city fireworks display out at Latimer Lakes Park. That's going to be on Thursday, July the 2nd at 7 p.m. It'll go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fireworks will shoot off at 9 p.m. And finally, Mayor, I just want to announce that we'll have the Teddy Bear Picnic, which will be on Friday, July the 10th, from 11 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. at Latimer Lakes Park. So if anybody's interested in that, they can go on our website and register. So thank you, sir. Y'all also have the splash events at the library on Wednesday, right? Yes, sir. We will have our Wet and Wild Greg Maxey tomorrow.

And it's every Wednesday? Yes, sir. About the summer? Okay. A few days Friday, too.

We won't have field day Friday this week.

Okay. Okay.

Thank you, Drew. All right. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mayor, Board. Just a few quick things. Our preliminary pavement plan that we're going to be rolling out next is getting really close for me to review with you. Looking at maybe the end of the week or early next week, we'll get together and review it. The Dunbarton Drainage Project is going on. You've probably seen the work on Shadow Oaks. They will be working in the street for the next three days or so, we think. Hopefully after that, all the work is gonna be off the street. Disruption will be limited. Last thing, the Horn Lake EWP project, which helps prevent erosion in our ditch line projects. We're wrapping that up. I just sent the punch list out to the contractor and copied y'all And that was a hundred percent grant that we were able to secure and To help improve the city and not hurt the pocketbook is always good.

So you may Thank you Philip, thank you so much All right, Alexis Thank you. Just a reminder that we have an adoption event at the Hollywood Feed South Haven this Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. We'll be showcasing some documents that are available for adoption during that time. That's it. Thank you, Alexis. All right, Andrew. Yes, sir. All right, Attorney Griffin.

I'm not working. I'll just talk loud. Good evening, everyone. Thank you, Board, Mayor, again, for trusting me and my firm another year to handle the city's legal affairs. And thank you, Chief Linville. I know you don't like the attention, but I appreciate everything from the beginning, the day that I met you. You were super-duper nice. And that means a lot that that was warming, you know a good Invitation to the city. Thank you for serving the city of Horn Lake alongside me and helping me along the way and welcome Chief white and I look forward to working with you as well. So I don't know if there are any questions for me All right, thank you All right

I entertain a motion to go into a closed determination for item I on the consent agenda. Do we have a motion?

Mayor, I'll make that motion.

All right, we have a motion by Alderman Bostick. Second?

Second.

Second by Alderman Bledsoe. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Langston. Aye. Alderman Bostick.

Aye. We are now in closed determination. I need a motion to come out of closed termination.

Mayor, I made the motion to come out of closed termination.

Alderman Langston? Second. Second. McKinney? Any discussion? All right. Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderman Bostick.

Motion passes six, but one absent. All right. Can I get a motion to go into executive session?

Mayor. I want to make the motion to go into executive session to get us to have a second.

Mayor second.

Motion by all the woman just in second by all the woman Armstrong in the discussion. Roll call please miss card.

Alderman by sick. Alderman Langston. Alderwoman Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe.

Aye.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye. Motion passes six yeas and one absent.

We are now in executive session. Now.

That's so.

Second.

Second by Alderman McKinney. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Here. No, aye. Aye, sorry.

Aye. Alderman Bledsoe?

Aye, yeah.

Alderwoman Armstrong? Aye. Alderman Smith?

Yeah, I'll be aye.

Alderwoman Johnson?

Aye.

Alderman Langston?

Aye.

Aye. Alderman Bostick?

Aye. The votes are passing unanimously. Are there any motions coming out of the executive session? Mayor. Alderman Langston.

Make a motion to accept the resignation of Andrew Hockensmith and the Planning Department effective immediately.

Do I have a second?

Second.

Alderman Bostic? A second. Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman Bostic. Aye.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderman McKinney.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. All right. I entertain a motion to adjourn. Are there any more motions coming out of the executive session? All right. I entertain a motion to adjourn.

May I make that motion?

Motion by Alderman Bostic. Second. Second. Alderman Langston. Roll call, please.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

Alderman Bledsoe. Aye. Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Langston. Aye. Alderman Bostic.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. We are now...