Correspondent

With a unanimous vote, the New Tazewell Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to correct the problems with the city's sign ordinance and scheduled public hearings to hear citizen views on the subject. Specifically, the board voted to make failure to abide by the sign ordinance a Class "C" misdemeanor and established the costs associated with temporary and permanent sign permits.

The board also voted to establish the fine associated for failing to comply with the sign ordinance. Public Hearings on the revised ordinance are scheduled for June 6th and June 13th.

Aldermen also questioned the mayor about the slow progress of hiring a codes enforcement officer for the city. While resumes and letters of interest in the position have been in the city's files for over a month, little action has been taken establish a screening criteria for selection of the position. Discussion among board members also showed a general uncertainty about whether the position would be full-time or part time.

In answering questions about the position, Mayor Charles "Bud" Chadwell responded that he "didn't think it will be a full-time job because that wouldn't be fair. We need to give the new hire three to four months to pass the state inspection qualification test."

None of the current job applicants are currently state certified to perform the job. In explanation, state law allows a new inspector one year to pass the difficult open book exam but the mayor seemed concerned about the credibility of a codes enforcement officer who was still working on his certification. Copies of applications were distributed to several board members for review during the meeting.

In a related topic, Alderman Stan Leonard informed the board that he had been given pictures of smoke coming from Burchfield Trailer Park. It seems that someone had been burning electrical wiring (presumably to recover the copper) in violation of Federal Clean Air regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency had been called to investigate the incident. Leonard noted that the incident was another possible job responsibility for the future Codes Enforcement Officer.

Aldermen also discussed the condition of the city park and expressed a desire to get started on renovations and upgrades that had been discussed periodically during the previous year. The mayor wanted to wait to see if grants requested from the state would become available to minimize the costs to residents. With that lead-in, Aldermen were given copies of the proposed budget for the coming year. Health insurance costs for city employees are expected to rise during the coming year.

Board members also briefly discussed the fact that Wal-Mart had not

exercised their option to purchase the proposed site for the planned super retail center. The board expressed their disappointment in the company's apparent decision to not build in the near future.