Board of Alderman - Regular Meeting

Make sure you're safe.

good evening everyone i call this meeting of the horn lake mayor and board of aldermen ordered this july 7 2026 at 6 00 pm at horn lake city hall we have a quorum present tonight so we can proceed with our agenda we have an invocation by alderman johnson plays of allegiance by alderman mckinney

Let us bow. Heavenly Father, we come tonight to say thank you. Lord God, we thank you for all the many blessings that you have bestowed upon us. Thank you for all of our employees, Lord God. Thank you for everyone that's out on the streets helping us to stay safe. Lord God, everyone that's doing the hard work, Lord God. Lord God, bless each family that's represented here. Let our meeting be about your business, Lord God, and help us to keep you in mind. These things I ask in your name. Amen.

We now have a roll call by Ms. Carter.

Alderman McKinney.

Here.

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

Here.

Alderwoman Johnson. Here. Alderman Langston.

Here.

Alderman Bostic.

Here. All right. I entertain a motion to accept a municipal docket. Mayor and the motion to approve the Minnesota docket. We have a motion by Alderman Langston and we have a second. I second second by all the woman Johnson in a discussion. Roll call please.

Ms. Carter Alderman by stick.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

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

Aye. Motion on the municipal docket passes unanimously. All right. I entertain a motion to approve the minutes from the June 16th Board of Aldermen meeting.

Mayor.

Alderman Bostick. I'll make that motion. We have a motion by Alderman Bostick. Do we have a 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. Motion passes unanimously. I entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Mayor.

Alderman Bostick.

Make a motion to approve the consent of general items A through Q with one exception of eliminating item D. All right.

We have a motion by Alderman Bostick with the elimination of item D. Do we have a second? Second. Second by Alderman Langston. Any discussion? Roll call, please.

Alderman Bostic.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe.

Aye.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye. The motion passes unanimously. I entertain a motion to approve the claims docket. Alderman Johnson.

I move that we accept the claims docket general fund $359,227.39 library fund $13,848.19 economic development fund $6,395.00 utility fund $896,002.50 for a total docket of $1,275,473.08. All right. We have a motion by Alderman Johnson.

Do we have a second? Second. Second by Alderman Langston. 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 Bobbitt.

All right, a motion passes six to one, one eight, six yeas, one eight. All right, moving on to presentation of special guests. We want introduction of the CEO and manager of the Soto County Economic Council by Courtney Schaffer. I don't see them here. All right, we'll move on to the next. Employee recognition, Ms. AJ.

Meeting Mayor, Board of Aldermen, Alderwomen, Department Directors, employees and guests. Earlier this year in April, the City of Horn Lake began a new tradition of recognizing our employees for their years of dedicated service. We believe it is important to celebrate the individuals who work every day to serve our community. While we recognize milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years as employees reach those anniversaries, not every meeting will include recipients in each category. Tonight, we are pleased to recognize two employees celebrating one year anniversary and one employee celebrating five years of service. We sincerely appreciate their dedication, their commitment and the contributions they make to the city of Horn Lake. Please join us in congratulating these employees and thanking them for their service. The first one this evening is going to be Tanya Carter, our very own city administrator, city clerk for one year of service. the next one is officer benita alexander for one year of service i don't believe he can be here this evening so chief poland will come and accept it deputy chief hoyer and the last one this evening is michael denman he's a fire paramedic in the fire department we're going to have chief white come and accept that this evening as he cannot be here

All right, let's give them a hand again. Our employees. So thankful to those whether you serve one year, five years. We're just thankful to them and all they do. All right, now we're going into planning. We have case number 20-26-067, renewal of a conditional use permit for a lounge, bar, tavern, land use at 6541 Highway 51 North, Villa Simcoe.

Can you hear me? Yes, sir. Thank you, Mary. Um, so this is case number 2026 dash 067. um, I know in the past, the board has requested more of a summary rather than just reading through the whole case. Uh, we can touch on any of the particulars from the, from the case packet, uh, after I get done with the summary. Um, so this is a request to renew the conditional use permit for a lounge bar tavern at 6541 highway 51 North operating as cheers restaurant sports bar, uh, properties located in the C4 zoning district. Surrounded by C4 zoning to the North and M1 zoning to the South. It's approximately 1 acre in size and is located within the flood zone, but there are no site changes or building expansion. Proposed staff reviewed the request using the required conditional use criteria. Staff doesn't believe the renewal will substantially increase traffic or fire hazards and negatively affect the character of the surrounding area. Overtax utilities or be in conflict, the comprehensive plan. Surrounding areas, primarily commercial and industrial with no nearby residential uses that appear to be negatively impacted. Staff does acknowledge that there are concerns related to late night activity on or near the property. Police department is advised that officers responded. To or monitor the property multiple times over the past year, particularly during late night hours. Because of this staff believes the applicant should take responsible, reasonable actions. To prevent loitering, outdoor, alcohol consumption and after hours parking lot disturbances. Uh, the planning planning commission reviewed this request on May 18th, 2026. And recommended approval for a period of 1 year by vote of 5 to 1. Um, planning staff recommends approval of the renewal of the conditional use permit for a lounge bar tavern at 6541 highway 51 North for a period of 1 year. Subject to continue compliance with all applicable city ordinances, alcohol regulations and licensing requirements.

All right, thank you. Mr. Billy boy, having a question as well as the bill.

So this is a renewal from the one year that they had, so they just wanted to renew. Yes, sir. For another year.

All right. Any other questions for Mr. Bivens? All right.

Go ahead, Alderman.

I got one for the chief of police.

No. Chief, have y'all had very much trouble down there after hours that I think it was supposed to be taken care of within the year that they had? Is it still a problem down there that we're still having problems after hours?

Well, so the disturbances aren't what they were, but our problem is just we need a hard closed time for them. We've been called, we were called on May 2nd, April 25th, April 4th, all by employees that work there to help basically for us to go close down that lot after 2 a.m. So which takes basically an entire shift to go shut down that lot.

So the problem wasn't solved?

The disturbance problem was, yes, sir, but not the closing of the business.

All right. What is the close time for the table? It says, 1 a.m. make sure 1 a.m. that's right. Correct. All right. Um, any more questions for Mr. All right, um. African, when you come on up, give your name address.

I'll just speak.

Name and address.

Ted and representing Annie Jackson at Cheers 6541 Highway 51. All right.

Do we have any questions from the board to the applicant? I don't want to judge.

Good evening, sir.

Good evening.

Now, as we spoke about, you do close at 1 a.m., and as our chief has reported, we're still having issues with clearing that parking lot. I have a couple of questions to see if we can remedy this situation. What time do you stop selling alcohol?

The law says we have to stop at 12 o'clock, and that's the law. So up until 12 o'clock we sell and then we stop. Now the people that leave out after we close it, which is at 1 o'clock, they linger on the parking lot. So that's why we sometimes call because when we try to go and say, you got to move, they're coming from somewhere else and they just hang in our parking lot, which we can't do too much about that.

Yes, sir. We may have to shut you down a little earlier. We've got to get that parking lot clear. We can't continue to have a problem with getting calls down there.

Okay.

Yeah, so there's got to be a solution to this.

I'll put some, I guess, order another security person to come in and monitor the parking lot or stop them from coming and hanging in the parking lot.

Sometimes our call is from your security person.

Right. We need another one in the parking lot. We didn't want to argue with anyone about being in the parking lot because sometimes they linger in this parking lot. They linger at other places, parking lot, and they just ride past and come and park. And they don't even come in. They don't even be our customers. They just come in and park. For whatever reason, they don't want to go home, but they don't want to come inside the establishment either.

Your establishment is the only one we get that call to.

I understand. But they're coming to our establishment late after they leave somewhere else.

Can we have someone, as you spoke of, getting an additional security person, someone in the parking lot, when they leave out of your establishment, they need to leave your parking lot. Nobody needs to enter your parking lot after a certain time. You close at a certain time, nobody needs to enter, and we need that parking lot clear. We're trusting you to be able to do that, and if you can't do that, it doesn't look so good for you.

I'll surrender myself if we can't do it.

All right. Any more questions for Mr. Jackson from the board? All right. Thank you, Mr. Jackson.

All right.

At this time, I will open the public hearing. Let the record reflect that notice of this public hearing was published in accordance to the Mississippi law and the city's own ordinance. I will now ask. Okay. Public hearing be limited to three minutes. this is for this case for the nations for this case name and address william gregory uh 5553 cherokee drive Thank you. Good to see you, Mr. William.

Yeah, it's good seeing you. So I don't really think that it's the fault of the business. I think if there were some form of public transportation to allow people to consume alcohol and get home safely without having to linger until it wears off so they can go back home, because it's illegal to drink and drive. So I think if we provide an alternate solution for transportation without requiring somebody to be put in the situation on whether or not they should or should not drink or drive is a good idea. And I think that it should be a joint solution between not just the city, but also businesses.

Thank you, Mr. William.

Do you have anything else? I also really like nightlife. I'm a really big proponent of that. So I'm a big fan of late-night businesses for my friends and I to have somewhere to go to. Amen.

Mr. Williams, you know we got that Lyft and Uber, too, now. I was going to suggest that.

That's true, but I don't have the money for that. Sometimes people don't have the money for that, and it takes away. They have to choose between.

Alcohol and Uber? Yeah. Yeah.

Thank you, Mr. Williams. Thank you so much.

All right. Anybody else want to speak? Anybody else want to speak concerning this case on the public hearing? I think I got to ask three times. I'm going to ask. That's two. Anybody else want to speak? Public hearing is now closed. All right. Board, do we have a motion? Mr. Jackson, can you come up again?

Yes. Now, how will you remedy, help us remedy this situation with what's going on down there?

Get that extra security. And as the young gentleman spoke, some of them do be calling Ubers, and that's why sometimes there's a stop in the street because they call Uber and they call Lyft. So the place just have people in the parking lot waiting on those rides also, so. But I will have extra security to secure the parking lot to make sure they're not lingering and also instruct everyone to leave on on a timely manner where it won't interfere with the police department or anything of that sort. And I did do everything you asked me to do so.

I want to thank you, too, for hosting our guests from Mississippi State University. Not too long ago, too. We really appreciate y'all providing the dinner.

I want to see everybody there.

You said you're going to get another security officer. Yes. Why hadn't you already?

Pardon me?

Why hadn't you got one already since you've been having problems?

Well, we wouldn't have a serious problems is just that she just said is just overwhelming, but we haven't had no officers call for something that was a disruptive or anything of that sort. We was just trying to not have a confrontation with our security with the customers that was hanging in the parking lot. So we wouldn't thinking it was a serious issue until she just mentioned it.

All right. And more questions for Mr Jackson. Thank you, Mr. Jackson.

Okay, thank you.

All right, board, do we have a motion?

Mayor, I made the motion to approve the renewal of the conditional use permit.

We have a motion by Alderman Langston. Do we have a second?

I second.

Second by Alderwoman Johnson. Any discussion?

Mayor.

Alderman Armstrong.

again like he said the security adding one more person out there to make sure that they're leaving i'm hesitant in saying how is how will we know that that's going to improve i mean are we going to when we say enough is enough that it's too much because we are if listening to police chief she has said there's been numerous things that has happened that's caused the police to come out our concern is if it goes another year and then we have three months in and we're still having the problems then what's going to be our next step the next conditional use approval uh then we make a decision then Thank you, Mayor.

And we can always, uh, I'm going to turn it, uh, you approve one year. If something happened to you, you can remove the board and remove conditional use at the end of the year. Okay. Yeah. It had to be held at the next conditional use. All right, mayor. So does it have to be in writing whatever we decide I mean whether we do a year or six months or whatever All right, we have a motion on the floor any more discussion There was a second by most about the likes of the second bottle on the Johnson. All right roll call miss Carter. I

Alderman Bostic.

Aye.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Smith.

Aye.

Alderwoman Armstrong. Aye. Alderman Bledsoe.

Nay.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

Motion passes with five yays and two nays. All right. All right, we don't have any new business tonight. Do we have any remarks, citizen remarks? Oh. All right, first on this, we have George Dixon. Mr. Dixon, come on up. Give your name and address, please. That's all right.

I'm George Dixon, 3560 Heathcliff Drive, Horn Lake, Mississippi, 38637. Mr. Mayor and Alderman, this is nothing but no reflection on the Chief. They do a heck of a good job out there. However, handicapped parking, I watched a little lady on a push thing walk up nine different pass nine different cars because kids are parking in the handicap. You can't park there. And because grandpa or grandma's got a little sticker that hangs on the windshield, which is not legal for them. It's only legal for the person that's named on that certificate or that hangman. And we're going to have to do something. I don't know what we're going to do, but something's going to have to be done.

Where is this at, Mr. Dixon?

Kroger, Walmart, just Walmart. It's pitiful. I called it in one time last year, and I don't remember who it was, assistant chief or chief or something. He told me, he said, call me every time, and I'll come down here. I've seen it happen too. But somebody needs to, chief, I don't know what you can do about it, but something's going to have to be done. It's too hot out there for these little old ladies. Old men, too. Too hot for me. And we got parking places for people, but these people don't want to use them. They want to park in the handicap. And they ain't handicapped. All right, that's all I got to say, but I appreciate if we do something. Let's see if we can't do something to eliminate this problem. Appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr. Dixon. And as I recall this private property, pretty much, they have to, how did it go? Chief?

No, sir, we can enforce it.

Okay. Okay. Thank you. All right. Um, next we have, you know, two that's going in an executive session, uh, William Gregory. Remind us three minutes also.

Okay, do I have to say my stuff again here?

Say it name and address for the record.

Hey William Gregory 55 53 Cherokee Drive All right. Okay so

I'm here because there hasn't really been any transparency from the administration here. I haven't really seen anything happen for like the past year or so here. I went through Facebook. I can't find any updates on what's going on. So I'm here to get some updates. So I haven't heard anything about the Horn Lake five-year plan. I did get to those big meetings like a year or so ago. I haven't heard anything about the Greenway. I haven't heard anything about bike lanes. I rode my bike here and it was pretty atrocious. And a lot more people would be riding bikes if there were bike lanes and people felt safe on these roads. And speaking of which, we need sidewalks. I just saw two people walking alongside Goodman Road. And I know that things have gotten messy. People have gotten hit on Goodman Road. So we need crosswalks. We need sidewalks. And public transportation. Public transportation would help. like the problem that y'all have with his business, with the people not leaving, or even with the handicap parking, it would help, um, disabled people, kids to be able to go to stores, go to places that they want to go without needing a car, without needing to drive. We know how dangerous it is for, especially like the older you get, the less you have the ability to go out and drive. Um, And I haven't heard any updates on a community center. And I haven't heard anything about cooling centers for these people that don't have access to AC or don't have the money to run their AC all the time. We're going through deadly, deadly heat waves. I haven't heard anything from anybody here. What is my money going to? Where are my taxes going? I haven't seen any transparency. I came here from Oxford. They have free buses. They have really nice bike lanes. I never really had to drive. It was always on my e-bike. Like, where is that here? I'm not hearing anything from anybody here. It doesn't even sound like you guys even considered public transportation after I brought it up to help fix that guy's issue. But, yeah, that's basically all that I have to say.

Thank you, Mr. Gregor. I want to refer you to our Senate newsletter. Ms. AJ, that newsletter is still on the website? The newsletter with all the things we've done, I know the first six months is on the website, correct? It is. Yeah, you can check out the $4 million we saved on streetlights. That's one issue. If you look, you know you mentioned sidewalks. I know you're close friends with Andrew, but I don't know if you mentioned to you the Safe Streets for All program. We're actually putting new sidewalks right behind Kroger going into that neighborhood. How much did that project bill? I can't remember. Philip, the... For all the sidewalks. What are we doing the sidewalks behind Kroger?

Right, so we, we definitely have a right.

So we did a study last year that identified key spots. So we are looking at them and trying to get the fund and also to do some of the sidewalks. Trying to remember some of the other stuff you said, Mr. Greger.

He said Greenway, bike lane, sidewalks.

Yeah, all of that is inside of our Safe Streaks fall plan, which was a study done last year. So we do have some things coming up. Concerning the community center, we actually got some guys in here now that's working on that. So a lot of things in motion. Government is kind of slow. You try to get the money to get things done. But we woke up working on it, but you ain't going to be around one night.

yeah that's so nice but why has there not been any updates on that like why is that not public information why do i have to come up here it's still in the planning phase mr gregory and i will say that the um the newsletter is only for april i already looked there's only one so it comes first what is it first three months jj it's every quarter so it should be another one coming out soon yeah so it should be okay All right. But just to let y'all know that these are issues that are being talked about and that are needed.

They were, they own our radar. Mr. Gregor stuff is in motion now. All right. All right. Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Greg. Thank you. All right. Um, Scott, Matthew Scott.

name and address mr scott matthew scott 3660 shadows parkway so i got a little bit of a list uh honorable board members i appreciate y'all letting me speak today um thank you for allowing me to speak today i'm here to advocate for my family most importantly for my the health of my son and daughter uh so i live at 3660 shadows parkway as some of you know the street has been flooded for a while Ever since I was a child, 1945, this house has been flooding due to a collapsed storm drain next to it. And it's getting addressed, you know, I appreciate the board for all that. Um, my parents have struggled financially, you know, my entire life. And we're never able really to, you know, fight the city over this issue only can, as I'm doing, bringing it up to the board to get it out there. Now that I'm living in the house, uh, the same plague has been passed down to my children. Ever since it started flooding, the water has been forcing its way up into my house against the ventilation breathing holes of my house for the waves that keep on crashing up against them for people driving down the roads. The city has failed to address the infrastructure up until now. And right now I smell mold inside my son's room. So I've been having to get my son and daughter out of the house into my mother-in-law's house until we can fix this problem. To make matters worse, you know, obviously the city is finally replacing the drain right now and the contractors had to tear down my fence in order to do it. While I understand my fence has been technically on the easement, it has been there for years and my family absolutely cannot afford to replace it right now. Uh, so that's displacing my dog as well, who can not go to my mother-in-law's house. Uh, we're not looking for a fight. We're looking for mercy and accountability. The city left the collapsed drain unchecked for nearly four decades, uh, while directly causing the toxic mold that has currently been making my children sick. Uh, I'm begging for the board to look at this, um, look at the human cost of this delay. We need the city to allocate emergency funds and our hardship assistance to help us remediate this mold damage so my children can come home safely. Help us replace the fence that had been removed to fix the city's problem that should have been fixed 40 years ago. Please help me protect my children and finally end this cycle for my family. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Scott. Some of the issues we talked about this morning about the easement. I'm going to let the attorney address those issues that we spoke of this morning.

Good evening. The issue is this is a public entity. And as I was explaining to the mayor, you can't use public funds to for private improvement to improve private property. And that's the issue. My heart goes out for your issues and all the things that you listed that are going on. However, the fence, from my understanding, was actually on the city's easement. It wasn't in the correct place when it was removed. So the city can't put the fence back in the wrong place, if that makes sense. I understand your concern, but they don't have any authority to put it back, even by law. From my understanding of what's going on, they would be improving private property with public funds. And that's the issue with the fence.

Uh as I told you this morning, Mister Matt, I'm still looking at some other options. Uh I know we can't use public funds on private property, but I'm gonna give you a call again. I told you we're still having a conversation. Philip and I especially on seeing what we could do in the community to see if we get some folks here.

So that will address the fence issue. But, uh, you know, as well as the 41 years of You know, the floodwaters crashing into the house, you know, getting into the breathing vents on the bottom of the house just to, you know, it's hard to take control of all that once it's happening, nor should it be an issue we've been having to take control of for the past 41 years. You know, I removed drywall from my house back in January just to remediate some old and just to kind of, you know, come back and smell it again. You know, so I had to get the family back out there again, you know, and... You know, we haven't went, you know, about it legally to address the problem entirely with the city, but I do feel as if it would be the right thing to do for the city to take up due to a billion, you know, failed infrastructure on their behalf. Because I can sit here and replace drywall every time it floods, but should I have to? You know, morally, I feel like it's y'all's responsibility to do something about it and not so much mine. I can only do what I can do while at the house. I can't be at the house every time it floods. I can't move my cars every time they flood. So on top of all that, I'm dealing with flooding in my cars as well. When I'm out, when I'm out of town or something of the other natures, you know, like I can't control everything, but what I can control is, is having a voice and speaking up about the issue that has been plagued for the past 41 years of, you know, this house. So I would just, you know, really want to request some sort of

Financial help and dealing with the situation that I've already been having to come out of pocket for you know for the past Few years that I've been living back in this house As far as the financial help again, it really kind of boils back down to this is a public entity They can't make unlawful donations To private citizens that is the law just doesn't allow for that So what you're requesting of this board, they don't have the authority to even do. And it's not that, again, our hearts go out to the situation. It's nothing that they have authority to do from my understanding of the situation. And I don't want to litigate it here in front of everybody or go back and forth about it, but they can't improve private property. Whatever they do for you, they would have to be willing to do it for every citizen in the city of Horn Lake, and that's just not reasonable.

Well, that sounds like an issue about the fence. At the end of the day, I can't sit here and control the flooding that happens due to failed infrastructure of the city.

That's your position. I don't know that to be... I don't know anything about that or for that to be true. That is called for 41 years.

It's been flooded and has been crashing into my house. I mean, there's been countless documents of it. Uh, plenty of times that I've been up here just to speak on it for nothing to happen on top of my parents as a child, you know, come up here and advocating for the issue. If not just calling the police department for them to shut the road down, to stop people from driving through it, to crash waves through the house.

I understand this administration has been here for the last year. And again, they have been working hard to get a lot of the issues that the city has corrected and a lot of things improved as the mayor just listed out numerous things that they've done in this one year. And I think that he'll look into it. And if there's something that this board can do, then I'm sure he'll present it to the board.

All right. Well, I appreciate you guys hearing me out. Thank you, Matt.

all right that'll be the end of the citizen remarks all right um mayor and ultimate correspondence i want to also uh let everybody know don't forget that this weekend the kobe dean will be having his community resource day i think they're giving out backpacks the dream center and the kobe dean from i think nine to noon nine to noon so we want to invite all the families out the children to come out. I know they'll have at least over 3,000 backpacks to give away this weekend in partnership. There'll be a lot of resources there, medical resources. It's going to be a nice, fun day. So come out. And also, I got a special presentation that day. If y'all don't want to miss it, come on out. There's going to be a special presentation also from the city of Juan Lake on that day. So we'll have that this Saturday, the 11th, from 9 to noon. I had another announcement, but I didn't write it down. That's what happened when you get older. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.

All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. Or most of us were able to get down there for that 1, and there's just so much good information that was shared and the community that's down there to be able to speak to other cities and see what everybody else is doing. And 1 of the things that I brought up while down there, and a lot of cities have. been supportive of is being able to do a focus on Mississippi permaculture and native plants and trying to be a part of a resurgence of that because even in the state it's important because they've made April Mississippi permaculture month. So I think that's something that we should look at when we uh look at future projects and future changes and future code changes to be able to put an emphasis on bringing mississippi permaculture back to the greenest city in mississippi which is what we were deemed way before green was a catch-all for alternative energy we are just a green city with trees and plants and everything else so i want to uh put that in everyone's kind of ear while we're thinking about future projects and uh looking at future things to do with the all the parks around the city and all the grants that are available to us through that to kind of have that as a uh a focus for us as a city just as a thing but uh it was a great time up there and uh thank you all for allowing us to be a part of this because this is our first meeting back but we've been here one full year and it's not been a uh anything to be I said to you about honestly as far as to changes by the things we've been able to do has been. I'm proud to be apart and thank you all for allowing me to be.

Thank you all right so I'm just.

Yes, sir, I just want to congratulate this board on being here for one year. It's been nice. As you all see, and citizens, you all hear that nothing happens overnight, okay? There is a process to everything that we do. Just because there is money in the bank does not mean it's allocated for a certain thing. We have to be very careful. And yes, we have something to prove. So we have to be very careful in what we say and do. So congratulations to this board for being here. Young men that came before us tonight, bring your friends back. That's what it's about, having young people involved in our government, getting us moving. We need you guys. We absolutely need you guys to survive and to thrive. So bring somebody back. Thank you so much.

Amen. Thank you all. I did find one of the announcements real quick. I want to thank Tabernacle Church. They're actually in South Haven, but they agreed to be a Red Cross center for us here, even in Horn Lake and folks on Horn Lake. So I want to give them a hand on Highway 51. Bishop Vincent Matthews, give him a hand right quick. So I'm at a call. Chief Linville said his work wasn't in vain. We got a church to step up. And they also will be seeking to be able to work with FEMA also. They also improve facilities for an emergency if we ever have one. Amen. All right. I don't know why I keep talking like I'm at church. All right. Smith, Alderman Smith.

all right i don't know strong thank you mayor um i just want to announce from um horn lake middle school they will have parent orientation july 14th 15th and yeah july 14th and 15th for 7th and 8th grade on the 14th 6th grade on the 15th from 10 to 11 and then also from 5 30 to 6 30. And then also we will have, um, public middle school will have a schedule pick up July 29th and school starts August 3rd. And I also want to add to Mr Gregory. Um, you live in an area that I'm elected and I would love to be able to give you 1 of my cards before you leave that way you could be in direct contact. So, thank you so much for being here tonight. I appreciate your time and your voice.

Awesome awesome.

uh this weekend uh this whole week uh past week um i like all the aldermen that went down there uh they got a lot of education down there that y'all there's a lot of things that that you didn't know that you're learning about that said well i didn't know that so that's what the whole thing is about for us to educate ourselves to get better and better so we can use our funds in the right and proper manner and that's all i got

autumn we enjoyed you being down there with us why would you the supervisors in our rookie classes and he didn't call me boston not one time and i don't have my cheat sheet yeah all right i don't have anything to add but i just i do want to pay back off of what alderman johnson

and all the women Armstrong were saying that we do welcome your voices. Please come and let's work on the city together. We can't do it without your voices and we appreciate that. That's all I wanted to add.

Thank you, Alderman. All right, any of our directors, Chief Pullen?

Yes, sir, Mayor. I don't want Jenny to miss her time to shine. So she she will not be here for the next board meeting right before she retires, which was on the consent agenda tonight. So if I may. Yes. You want me to come down? Well, I didn't either, so we're just going to wing it.

Is that what Sandra brought you?

Yes, Jenny, yes. I know many of you have worked with Jenny over the years, and so I want to be able to show her our appreciation and each of you to be able to also show her appreciation. Jenny will be presented with this. As I said, I wasn't prepared for this, but since she doesn't want to miss her time to shine, she's going to put me on the spot with it. So Jenny will be presented with a plaque that... Stop. After 34 years of outstanding service, we extend our deepest gratitude and heartfelt congratulations on your retirement. Throughout your career as an emergency telecommunicator and administrative assistant, you have been the steady voice, dependable presence, and trusted professional that our department has relied upon day after day. Your unwavering loyalty, exceptional work ethic, and willingness to go above and beyond have made a lasting impact on both our organization and the countless people who have had the privilege of working alongside you. No task was ever too big or too small, whether answering the call during critical moments, assisting officers and staff behind the scenes, cleaning up my messes, or taking on additional responsibilities without hesitation, you consistently demonstrated a level of dedication that set an example for everyone around you. More than your accomplishments, it is your character that will be remembered most. You helped create an environment where coworkers felt heard, supported, and valued. You earned the respect and admiration of everyone who had the opportunity to work with you, and your presence will truly be missed. Thank you for your remarkable service, your dedication, and your friendship. You have made a difference and your contributions will never be forgotten.

That is so sweet. Now she's gonna have to read that again though on July 15th when the Blue Angels come.

So July 15th from three to six here we will do a circus for Jenny because that's what she wants. uh so what about our speech please please do come if you can july 15th that's next wednesday three to six so coming you don't have to be here three just at some point if you can in between thank you jimmy let's get a picture real quick real quick she y'all know that she's gonna cry when i leave right

I do want to say something. I actually did not expect that at all because I actually asked her to wait to do that for the retirement party. But I did want to say this. I was hoping that y'all would say something to me and give me an out. This Board of Aldermen, this mayor, Mayor Stokes, I have very much enjoyed getting to know you. and I'm glad that I was here your first year to break you in, okay? Between Tanya and I, you've gotten pretty good, I'm just gonna tell ya. Tanya, wouldn't know what to do without you sometimes, I appreciate you. Some of the newer faces, I don't know very much, but Tommy Bledsoe, we started working together when he was Parks Director. And Bostic and I were actually neighbors when I got this job. And then I've gotten to know, you know, Ms. Armstrong quite a bit. She's a very giving heart. And Ms. LaShonda. You are amazing, the things that you do behind the scene that you do not take credit for. And I appreciate you. You and I have twin hearts when it comes to the youth. And we keep those things to ourselves. But I want you to know that you're not invisible. So I appreciate y'all. But I did want to tell y'all congratulations on a year. And I think that y'all are doing a very good job. I do appreciate every one of you. And my heart will always be with Horn Lake, undeniable. And I was going to embarrass Chief White, but decided not to. But I will say that you've got the best, absolutely 100% best police chief there is.

Thank y'all. Amen. Thank you, Ms. Shannon. We want to let you know we appreciate you. You're going to truly be missed on that side. I call it the south wing over that police side.

You're going to miss me too, though.

I know I'm going to miss you. I know I'm going to miss you. We really appreciate you and all your hard work.

I want coffee, Mayor. I want coffee.

All right. Come on, have coffee. Call me once in a while. We're going to have coffee. All right. Thank you, Chief Pulley. You have anything else? All right, Belinda? Greg? Chief White?

No, sir. I don't have anything.

Thank you, Mayor.

Drew, I'm sorry.

Just one quick thing. We're going to have the teddy bear picnic this Friday at 11 to 1.30 at Lighterman. That's all I have, sir.

Thank you, Drew. Thank you for all your hard work in the park. And I forgot to mention the fireworks show. We thank you so much for you and your crew. and the work you've done, and we thank you for the improvements that did reduce a lot of the activity, the unwanted activity this year. We thank the police department. I want to also publicly on record make sure we thank Sheriff Togo for the officers, the sheriff officers that attended this year. I also had a good conversation with him last night about also helping us in the time we're trying to have a public event trying to maintain the safety of those events so we just thankful for the park and our law enforcement officers all right all right Olivia thank you mayor board I dropped off a packet really update for everybody review if you got any questions you know how to reach me give me a call

We've got street management streets out. So looking forward to getting going on that. And that's all I've got tonight.

Thank you. Thank you, Phillip. We really appreciate you all getting that study done so we can find out which streets need the most attention first. So each of you should have that in your email also to check and see those streets that came back as the worst streets in Horn Lake that we can focus on. All right. All right, Alexis.

Nothing to report.

No cute dogs and cats to talk about. All right. Billion.

Nothing from the planning department.

All right. City attorney.

Good evening. I don't have anything. I don't know if anyone has any questions for me.

All right. We're now about to go into executive session. Can I get a motion for going close to termination?

Mayor, I'll make that motion.

We have a motion by Alderman Bostick. Is there a 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. Motion passes unanimously. We're now in closed determination. all right all right uh can i get a get a motion to come out of closed determination i'll make that motion most about all the best so second i second Any discussion? Any discussion? Roll call, please, Ms. Carter.

Alderman Bostick. Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson.

Aye.

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

Aye. Motion passed with six yays, one absent. All right, I entertain a motion to go into executive session.

Mayor, I made the motion to go into executive session.

Motion by Alderman Langston. Second. Do we have a second?

Second.

Alderman McKinney. Any discussion? Roll call, please.

Alderman McKinney.

Aye.

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

Aye.

Alderwoman Johnson. Aye. Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderman Bostic.

Motion passes with six yays, one absent. We are now in executive session.

I entertain a motion to come out of executive session.

Mayor, I move that we come out of the executive session. Can I get a second?

Mayor, I second. Mayor, I second.

Got you, Ms. Armstrong. Alderman Armstrong, second. 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 Bostick.

Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Are there any motions coming out of executive session?

Mayor.

Alderman Langston.

I make a motion to accept the resignation of employee number 521 effective immediately. We have a second.

Second.

Alderman McKinney. 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. Are there any other motions coming out of the executive session?

No.

Alderman Nykstra?

Excuse me. I make a motion to terminate employee number 889 effective immediately. All right. Do we have a second?

Mayor, second.

McKenna second any discussion roll call please all the woman Armstrong I alderman Smith alderwoman Johnson I alderman Langston I motion passes unanimously

All right. Are there any other motions coming out of executive session?

Mayor.

Alderman Langston.

Motion to appoint employee 747 as interim director of planning department until 12-31-26. All right. Do we have a second?

Second.

Alderman McKinney, second. Langston, motion. Alderman McKinney, second. Any discussion?

roll call please miss Carter motion passes unanimously are there any more emotions coming out executive session

All right, we'll move on on adjourn. Do we have a motion to adjourn?

May I make a motion to adjourn?

We have a motion to adjourn by Alderman Langston. Do we have a second?

Second.

Alderman Smith second. Any discussion? Roll call, please.

Alderman Bostick.

I guess so.

Alderman Langston.

Aye.

Alderman Johnson.

Aye.

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

Aye. Motion passes unanimously.