On July 2nd, the new mayor, Robert Blount, and the two new aldermen, Vince McElhenney and Zach Robinson, attended their first alderman meeting. The meeting took place shortly after the swearing-in of the new officials, a reminder to them and the public that their ultimate accountability is to God. During the alderman meeting, excitement and optimism was expressed about the new board.
“I look at these five men, and I know them,” said Mayor Robert Blount. “I’ve served with these three, this past term, and have these two that we’ve got, and just added more power to the board. They have got great ideas. They’ve already been working. They didn’t wait ‘till tonight ‘till they got sworn in.”
“I’m excited because I’m invested in this place,” said alderman Zach Robinson. “I love it. . . . I want to be here; I want my kids to be here. . . . So, I’m super excited about the opportunity.”
“I’m looking forward to the next four years,” said alderman Billy McCune. “I feel good about it, and I feel like we’re going to hit the ground running.”
The first person on the agenda to speak was Tamara Rigby, representing the Union Chamber of Commerce, who requested the board’s approval of a community clean-up of the city park on the 18th and 19th of July. Rigby said that donations for supplies had been asked for, but that she hoped that the city and Chamber of Commerce would pay for any needed supplies that weren’t donated. Rigby also expressed a need for public works assistance and use of city resources and equipment. The board approved to allow the work day to happen at the city park on July 18th and 19th.
After Rigby finished speaking, James Russell came up and brought forward his concerns regarding the farmer’s market area at Laird Park. Russell referenced the signatures he had with him of two hundred people living in the city and expressed his sentiments that the current rules set in place regarding the selling of produce at Larid Park were unfair. Russell suggested that anyone living in the city should be able to sell at the location, saying that letting people from out of town sell at the market but not people in the town was unfair; Russell also stated his suspicion that not all the vendors selling at Laird Park were honest about having actually homegrown their goods.
Mayor Blount acknowledged that the issue had been brought up before and that there were hurt feelings regarding the matter but stressed that the board’s desire was to be fair and not hurt anyone’s feelings. Blount explained that the area in question had been designated as a farmer’s market area and thus anyone with a state tax license and a Union privilege license who grew their own goods could sell their homegrown goods there. Blount said that they had to take people at their word as to whether they actually grew their own goods, but that he would check on other vendors and if proof was found that they did not grow their own goods, then they could be prohibited from selling at the farmer’s market.
In other news from the meeting:
Billy McCune was appointed as Mayor Pro Tempore.
The board approved to appoint Beverly Hart, Don Thomas, and Marie Thompson as city election commissioners.
The board approved to hire Windham & Lacey as accountants for the city of Union for the audit period ending September 30th, 2025.
Billy McCune was appointed to be the delegate for the 2025 Mississippi Municipal League (MML) conference, with Paul Lowery being appointed as an alternate delegate.
The board approved to donate $250 to the Care Lodge in Meridian.
The police department requested and got approval from the board to hire two part-time officers, Herman Fountain and Austin Rowell.
The fire department gave the board an update on the status of grants and insurance rebate money. Repairs on the fire house were brought up as a good area to invest funds in.
City Clerk Tammy Ferguson reminded the board about a meeting with the East Central Planning and Development District on July 7th.
The board approved to purchase a $100 ad in the Union High School football program.
The board approved traveling expenses for the upcoming MML conference.
Ward 1 Alderman Paul Lowery talked about properties in his ward that needed attention and discussed the general topic of property ordinances. Lowery also asked Johnathan Ferguson if the repairs on the sewer line were completed and if the Department of Transportation was planning on coming to repair road damage; Ferguson responded affirmatively to both questions.
Ward 2 Alderman Vince McElhenney said that while he had been going “door to door” most people had suggestions for him; McElhenney stressed that he was only one person on a new board and thus couldn’t make any promises, but was still optimistic about doing work with such things as Union’s city park, community center, baseball fields, and parks and recreation in general. McElhenney also brought up the issue of stray dogs roaming around; McElhenney acknowledged that there wasn’t a clear-cut solution to the long-standing problem but suggested that the public keep their dogs at home.
Ward 3 Alderman Billy McCune discussed the topic of the MML conference, emphasizing that even though only one alderman could vote, he wanted input from all the aldermen in making his decisions. McCune also expressed his excitement and good feelings regarding the next four years.
Ward 4 Alderman Harvey Hickson expressed his gratitude that the board was “still a great board,” his appreciation for “all the city workers,” and his feelings that the board needed to work with them, as well as his optimism that that would happen, saying he felt like they would all work “as a unit.”
Ward 5 Alderman Zach Robinson expressed his excitement about being on the board as well as his desire to stay quiet at first while he got oriented. “There are some things that I would like to discuss moving forward,” said Robinson, “. . . but I don’t think the first meeting is the right time to do it, so I’m going to find some things out first, and talk to some people before I start questioning things.”
Mayor Blount suggested hiring two part-time workers to help out around the city, which the board approved.
Blount also brought up a broken window in the community center they were currently sitting in, stating the need for an estimate of the window replacement.
Blount also suggested the board have a work session at some point to go over financial reports.
The idea of moving the location of regular board meetings to the community center was brought up, but no action was taken on the topic.
The board discussed the topic of replacing the city park’s playground equipment.
The board approved to rehire Tammy Ferguson as city clerk, Billy Pat Walker as chief of police, Seth Curren as city attorney, Kim Walker as deputy clerk, Will Motley as street supervisor, Johnathan Ferguson as water and sewer supervisor, Doug Smith as city prosecutor, and all current employees that work for the city.
The board approved to pay the claim docket.
The Union Board of Alderman is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, August 5th, 2025
