Myrtle looks at purchase of new water tower

A new water tower for the town of Myrtle is in the talks, as ESI Engineering Solutions were the guest at the January Aldermen meeting, held Tuesday, January 6.

Mayor Joe Rials and company are interested in placing another tower in town to serve as a back-up in the event of another situation such as the one last month where a leak caused half of the town to be without water, as well as placing a boil water notice in the area.

Mike Falkner and Stacey Horton from ESI Engineering Solutions made a presentation to the board, as well as presented a contract town attorney Joe Davis to review. ESI, based out of Pontotoc and Tupelo, works primarily with small towns, and are currently working on a similar project in Guntown.

ESI approached the board with a proposal, but the town will have to advertise for other prospects, as that is the requirement under state law for projects over $25,000.

The Aldermen are seeking a grant from the state in order to have the funding for another tower, as well as a possible well in the area. Myrtle could know as early as February if they are eligible for the grant money. The land they are currently looking at for construction is on County Road 352 off of Jolly Road.

Specifics for the project are in debate, but the Aldermen are looking at adding a new tower of at least 100,000 gallons, which could cost between $450,000-$600,000 to complete, depending on size.

Attorney Davis has two weeks to review the contract, and if necessary, the board will resume their meeting on January 15 to discuss details of the contract.

Among other issues on the table for the January session was the proposed Ordinance # 72, requiring that all residents place their trash in trash containers before pick-up. After discussing the issue with the Aldermen, Mayor Rials and the board agreed to speak with County Representative Terry Johnson to review what the pick-up requirements are for country residents and to stay with those guidelines, as well as remind residents what those regulations are.

A topic discussed at the December meeting was taken care of, as a new street light has been placed by the Family Life Center on North Street, and the board also approved the payment for the County Election Commissioners. This years Commissioners are Graham Spencer, Lanell Hudson, Frances Dunlap, Mike Beam and Wayne Wilhite.

Police Chief Jim White is looking into receiving a $500,000 grant from Homeland Security for the police department to use. He discussed this, and told the board that they would receive 10 percent of that money, $5,000.

David Peeler of the water department had a positive report for the board after the leak last month, and was also given permission to begin pricing tractors for the town to purchase to help with the clean-up efforts in the community.

Before the meeting was closed, Town Clerk Marie White gave good news that the Dollar General is expected to open at the end of January, ahead of schedule.

Mayor Rials ended the meeting and the board is in recess. If need be to discuss the ESI contract, the meeting will resume on January 15. If not, then the board will meet for their regularly scheduled meeting on the first Thursday of February, the 5th of the month.