Bryson City board members elected Alderman Ben King as the town’s mayor pro tem Monday evening in a public vote pitting King and Alderwoman Janine Crisp.
King replaces Mayor Pro Tem Jim Gribble who opted not to seek reelection in November.
Monday’s action came during the reorganizational meeting for the mayor and board as required by state law after November’s election.
Mayor Tom Sutton, along with incumbent board member Heidi Ramsey Woodard and new board member Chad R. Smith, took their oaths of office as witnessed by Clerk Lynn Thomas prior to the meeting.
The first order of business was to select the mayor pro tem position, which serves as mayor when the mayor is absent.
Sutton said the board could select a mayor pro tem by secret ballot, but the results would have to be available to the public and would show how each member voted. The other option was to go ahead and vote publicly.
“I’m not sure I see a need for a secret ballot,” Sutton said.
Sutton noted Alderman Crisp was absent and had expressed interest in the mayor pro tem post, but Sutton said state law required reorganizational decisions to be made no later than the first December meeting of the board and the vote couldn’t be delayed.
Town Manager Regina Mathis said Crisp told her she wanted to run for the spot, but was ill and couldn’t attend.
King said he also wanted the mayor pro tem’s post.
Board members said they were ready to go ahead with the vote.
In a unanimous 3-0 vote, King was elected as mayor pro tem. Voting for King were Woodard, Smith and King. The mayor votes only in the event of a tie.
In other action, the board is considering the hiring of a mass communications company that would call all Bryson City residents to notify them of emergency situations. The need for a calling or communications company was precipitated when a “boil water notice” was caused by a massive water leak Oct. 25 on Bryson Walk.
All of the town’s water customers needed to be notified about the boil notice, but Town Manager Mathis said she had no way to call all the town’s customers to alert them.
Mathis said she relied on The Smoky Mountain Times’ Facebook page and website to alert customers.
Mathis said she received proposals from three companies that provide the call service, including Everbridge-Nexel; Rave Alert; and Civic Plus.
Mathis said Everbridge-Nexel provides service to Waynesville and officials there were pleased with their service. The company has also been in business the longest, she said.
Everbridge’s cost was $3,300 a year, plus $300 startup; Rave was $4,500 the first year and $4,000 subsequently with a 5 percent annual hike; Civic was $2,500 the first year and $2,200 subsequently with a 5 percent annual hike.
King said he liked the fact Everbridge served other towns in the region.
The board gave the go-ahead for Mathis to pursue a contract with Everbridge. The board will formally vote on the contract at a later date.
In other action:
*Reports indicated the town’s wastewater treatment plant’s average flow was 569,500 gallons with a minimum flow of 394,700 gallons and a maximum of 1,293,000 gallons in November. The town has a licensed state flow of 660,000 gallons.
*Reports indicated the town had about 7 million gallons of unaccounted treated water during November with a loss of about $9,300 in lost billable fees.
*Manager Mathis said the Hugh’s Branch project is set to get underway. Hugh’s Branch has been identified as one of the town’s biggest sources of infiltration into the sewer system.
The next board meeting will be Monday, Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in Town Hall.