CUMBERLAND GAP, Tenn. — The Cumberland Gap Board of Mayor and Alderman (BMA) met in regular session on Monday night at the Town Hall building.

Alderman Jerry Hopson spoke about the current state of the town’s streets. He explained that the board could easily improve the town’s roadway conditions by simply attending to some of the troublesome areas. He suggested filling in some of the potholes around town — focusing mainly on the streets near the hotel and in front of the church — which have been slowly eroding due to seasonal weather and drainage issues. The board decided to address the issue within the coming weeks, before more damage is done and breakage becomes increasingly noticeable.

Alderman John Ravnum made the suggestion to use a hot asphalt mix and a heavy roller to fix the problem sufficiently and economically. Mayor John Douglas agreed with his suggestion.

“Let’s just try to do that as money allows and get these fixed up before winter sets in if at all possible,” said Mayor Douglas.

Mayor Douglas then spoke about a local problem concerning fines and the misuse of the town walking trail:

“On the issue of tickets, we are going to need to get some paint to mark our walking trail to let people know... it’s not for parking,” stated Mayor Douglas.

Alderman Jerry Hopson made the suggestion to use stencils of a “bicycle” and “walkers” to mark the trail, in order to help people distinguish trail/parking boundaries. The board approved this decision.

As part of the tourism and events report, Cumberland Gap Volunteer Fire Dept. Chief John Adams spoke about the success of Crazy Aunt Sadie’s Yard Sale, which took place last Saturday.

“All the people seemed to do real well. It was a nice day for it. Everything worked real good, but we just got a few little problems here and there that we need to work through,” said Adams.

Adams requested that next year, the town needs to focus more on the fundraising aspect of the yardsale for the Cumberland Gap Volunteer Fire Department. He stated that rules need to be adjusted and improved, and parking needs to be regulated. Adams suggested creating a form explaining the event rules, customer/vendor parking, and payment agreements, in order to help the event run more smoothly. A date will be set to further discuss planning.

The town of Cumberland Gap has announced its annual Pumpkin Lights festival. The festive event has been scheduled for October 29 - 31. Anyone who wants to be involved, and have a pumpkin judged, needs to be at the city park between 5 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.

In addition, Halloween hours have been set for Cumberland Gap between 5 and 8 p.m. on Oct. 31. The Cumberland Gap Volunteer Fire Department will be giving out candy on that day and are currently in need of any type of donation. Acceptable contributions include candy, soft drinks, hot dogs, buns, chili, condiments and/or money.

Resident Phyllis Hopson was in attendance on Monday evening and wanted to personally thank everyone for their help with the fall decorations. She stated that the town could not have been decorated so appropriately without the support of the community. Hopson is now encouraging the people of Cumberland Gap to decorate for the Christmas season.

Hopson also discussed some upcoming events that will happening around town. She explained that The Olde Mill Inn Bed and Breakfast will be hosting a children’s haunted house on Halloween and refreshments will be available. She stated that planning for a residents dinner has begun, and the Arts Council will be sponsoring a Christmas Tour of Homes on December 4 from 6 - 8:30 p.m. Tickets will be $10 per person and will go on sale some time in November. Tickets will be limited.

In other business, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved/authorized the decision to allow town residents Joe and Linda Creech to build a garage on their property. The board was in agreement as long as construction standards were met and residents were in compliance with building inspector regulations.

Fire Dept. Chief John Adams said that his department has finally taken over the fire coverage of the Tipprell community. Adams is also working with the county to get a fire hydrant installed in the middle of the Tipprell community.

The board also discussed and/or approved the following:

• The minutes of the September 8 meeting

• Financial report and updated budget status

• Monthly bills and payments

• The balance of construction account (Rural Development Fund)

• Sewer concerns/repairs

• Town water affairs and leak updates

• Fire Department report and safety issues

• Proposal by Ian Huff to purchase property

Joan Webb was absent from the meeting.

Contact Staff Writer Adam Young via e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.