During the regular meeting of the Cedar Bluff Town Council Tuesday evening, Mayor Crane informed the Council she had received the resignation of Police Chief Brody Moses effective April 30th. She told the Council she had posted the job opening for applications. Crane said Sgt. Jeremy Stepps is acting as interim Chief until a full time Chief is hired.
The police report for April was given by the Town Clerk with 206 traffic Stops, issuing 115 warnings and 91 traffic citations. Investigated 4 traffic accidents, made 17 arrests with 4 felony charges and 19 misdemeanor charges, prepared 21 incident and offense reports and opened 3 investigations.
The fire fepartment report was given for April with 4 calls answered to building fires, 1 forest and woods fire, 4 medical calls, 1 auto accident with injuries, 2 with no injuries, 1 search for missing persons, 2 calls to control burns, 8 false alarms , and 1 special type incident.
Council member Angela Ritchie questioned several items on the accounts payable. It appeared Mayor Crane answered her questions satisfactorily with the Bills approved for payment.
Mayor Crane told the Council that Cindy Early had resigned from the Utility Board due to relocating to another town. Mayor Crane wanted to postpone appointing someone to fill the vacancy but Council members Bond and Ritchie said it was on the agenda to appoint someone. Bond made a motion to appoint Bobbie Hicks to fill that position with Ritchie seconding the motion. On the vote, Council Member Grace voted “no” along with Mayor Crane. That resulted in a tie vote due to two absent council members.
Ritchie told the Mayor, it appeared there was a different procedure for appointing Board Members each time one comes up. She said she had been there for three appointments and Mayor Crane used a different method each time. Crane said she had received several letters from citizens wishing to serve on the Board and they would appoint someone at the next Town Council meeting. Hicks was in attendance and said she had been applying to serve on a Town Board since 2019 but never appointed.
Mayor Crane read the resignation letter of longtime Council member, Letha Harp. Mrs. Harp cited health reasons for her resignation. The Council voted to vacate the District 5 Seat. The Town’s legal counsel said that would be the first step and then the Council could appoint someone to serve at the next meeting. Council Mmember Jack Bond said he thought the Town would have to hold an election for the seat due to more than a year being left on Mrs. Harp’s term. Attorney for the Town, Laura Lloyd, said she would investigate the proper procedure and inform the counsel at the next meeting.
The Council approved $23,550 for the upcoming Liberty Day Festival on July 1. The funds are to come from the Town’s ARPA funds.
An executive session was called for to discuss “the good name and character” of an employee. After about 20 minutes the Council returned to the Council Chambers and reconvened the regular meeting and then immediately adjourned without taking any further action.
The next Town Council Meeting is set for June 12 at 5 PM.