Mayor Bobbie White called the meeting to order at five o’clock and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance followed with prayer by Councilperson Tom Owings.
Roll Call:
Barbara Morrison 5:00
Tracy Sanders 5:00
Chad Jones 5:00
Tom Owings 5:00
Jerry Conway 5:00
After review a motion to approve the minutes from the August 7, 2023 meeting was made (Owings) and seconded (Morrison). Motion carried.
After a review of accounts payable a motion to approve was made (Conway) and seconded (Jones). Motion carried.
Police Report – Will be submitted at next meeting.
Court Report – Will be submitted at next meeting.
Request to Address Council:
Rev. Larry Moultrie/Spokesperson for Concerned Clergy and Citizens of Brent and Centreville. The following “highlights” were addressed by Rev. Moultrie.
There is a need for the faith community and general community to come together and correct the issues at hand. Our children do not feel comfortable. Ms. Kersey should not be detained. Why is Ms. Kersey being detained? Why was her son handcuffed? The bus driver should have returned to the school and allowed the principal to handle the problem. Brute force should not have been used. This is an injustice to the community. The elected officials should be held responsible for allowing this type behavior. What can we do to bring the community together in order to avoid this type of incident in the future? The black community is afraid of the police. There were officers standing around that could have intervened and did nothing. The community is concerned. If we have no confidence in the police, how can we live peacefully?
Mayor White thanked the group for coming and stated the matter has been turned over to ALEA for an independent investigation.
Other Business:
- Reschedule first September meeting to Septermber 9 due to holiday.
- The Board of Education and the City of Brent is to hire Chris Crocker for the School Resource Officer. A motion to approve the hiring was made (Jones) and seconded (Owings). Motion carried.
- Quail Drive was previously removed from the street reaving project due to the fact a heavy transfer truck causes damage to the street. Peggy Wallace spoke with council member and advised she had talked with the truck driver and this will be discontinued. A motion to reinstate $22,420 for repaving was made (Owings) and seconded (Sanders). Motion carried.
- The Street Department budget was presented and a motion to approve was made (Jones) and seconded (Owings). Motion carried.
- Raises
- General Fund Budget Proposal
The council went into executive session to discuss items 4 and 5.
