david@dresdenenterprise.com
MARTIN (November 9) — The Martin Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the purchase of new equipment for the Public Works Department and a revised Beer Board Policy.
The top item on the agenda under new business was the purchase of an Infrared Paving Machine, costing $189,125, for the improvement of city streets. The machine is capable of patching potholes up to seven-by-seven feet in size.
Mayor Randy Brundige stated the money to purchase the machine would come out of State Street Aid funds, not the city’s general fund. He added no money would be borrowed to buy the Infrared Paving Machine.
“We’re not paying any upfront money,” Mayor Brundige said. “We’re reimbursing them for it.”
The mayor stated the delivery time for the machine is approximately three months.
A motion to approve the purchase was approved by unanimous vote.
The board also approved the purchase of two brush/bulk trucks costing $245,797.43 each, for a total of $491,594.86
Mayor Brundige explained the money needed to purchase the trucks would come out of the Solid Waste fund, and no money will be borrowed. The delivery time for the trucks is estimated to be three months.
The first reading of an ordinance to repeal sections 2-201 through 2-226 of the Martin City Code (beer ordinance), and to adopt a new beer code to regulate the sale of beer or other beverages of like alcoholic content within the corporate limits of the City of Martin, Tennessee, was unanimously approved on first reading.
Mayor Brundige states, the purpose for amending the Beer Board City Code is to clean it up to make it easier to understand, and to update the code to include new categories of vendors that sell beer, such as caterers and other types of businesses not specified in the old ordinance.
There must be a public hearing concerning the revised ordinance, followed by passage on second and final reading before it goes into effect.
Mayor Brundige announced the next formal City Board Meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., Tuesday, December 1, 2020, via Zoom. The called meeting is for swearing in the newly-elected board members, who must be present for the swearing in.