Union residents will head to the polls June 2 to vote in a special election to vote for the Mississippi Power franchise with the city.
In a Board of Aldermen meeting May 5, Mayor Wayne Welch explained the franchise with Mississippi Power is up for renewal and will need to be voted on.
“It’s every 25 years, and it’s coming due,” he said.
Welch said the city needed to do two things to renew the franchise. The first he said, was the Board of Aldermen needed to adopt a resolution sent by Mississippi Power, which the board did May 5 by unanimous vote.
The second, Welch said, was to hold the election. Although the election is not required, Mississippi Power will give the city an additional 1 percent of its collections if an election is held.
“What it is, if you don’t do this, they’re going to get the franchise anyway,” he said. “If you don’t go through this paperwork, they only give you 2 percent, and if you go through the paperwork they give you 3 percent. So, we need to go through all the steps to get the extra 1 percent,” he said.
In other business, the Board of Aldermen approved Mayor Welch’s request to extend the closure of city properties out of precaution against the spread of coronavirus.
Welch said he felt it was necessary to maintain the closures to ensure residents stay safe while coronavirus cases are identified and treated.
“I would like to keep everything closed for another week or longer to make sure,” he said.
The Board of Aldermen also:
Voted to refund registration fees for summer recreation leagues. All summer sports were cancelled due to concerns from the coronavirus;
Approved a lease agreement drafted by City Attorney Doug Smith for the Union Country Club; and
Tabled a $8,893.91 bid from Susan Rodgers of Fergus, MS for a 2006 Dodge truck put up for bids. Welch said the city will soon be in need of a new truck to haul mowers. He suggested examining the Dodge prior to accepting the bid to see if it could be repurposed.
