The Franklin Town Council met in called session Monday afternoon to discuss who would fill a two-year term on the board, a vacancy created after Vice Mayor Jack Horton was elected as mayor in the November election. Horton was in the second year of his four-year term on the board.
The town charter gives the council the option of making appointments when a vacancy occurs. At the Dec. 6 meeting, when announcing the called meeting to discuss the appointment, council members encouraged anyone interested in serving to apply. Horton said he received one application, which was from Rhonda Tallent.
At Monday’s meeting, Horton asked each council member to share what they thought would be the qualities or qualifications for a council member. Honesty, integrity, objectivity, open-mindedness, and a heart and vision for the town were some of the traits mentioned.
Joe Collins, who was appointed vice mayor on Dec. 6, nominated former council member Adam Kimsey to serve out the term. “I feel very, very comfortable working with him,” he said.
Collins prefaced his nomination by saying the board was in a somewhat “unique” situation. “We have two brand new members on the board, we have a new mayor, we have a new town manager, there’s a lot of newness in this.”
Kimsey was elected to serve on the town council (then called board of aldermen) in 2015, but did not file for re-election in 2019.
Kimsey did not return requests for a comment before press time on Tuesday.
There were no other nominations from the floor. The town will verify Kimsey’s qualifications to serve on the board again and conduct the swearing-in ceremony at the Jan. 3, 2022, meeting.
Prior to the election in November, there was a vacant seat on the board after Vice Mayor Barbara McRae died in March. Following McRae’s death, the council appointed Horton vice mayor but decided not to fill the seat since the election would be held in the fall.
Horton ran unopposed, so Monday’s appointment was not unexpected. During the campaign the candidates discussed the option of appointing the fourth-highest vote getter to fill the seat.
Rita Salain (269 votes), David Culpepper and Stacy Guffey (266 votes each) won the three seats up for election in November. Next in line was Frances Seay with 193 votes followed by JimBo Ledford with 81 votes.
“I know I did have a lot of support for the appointment from some of the current board members and the public in general, but the vote ended up deciding differently. I’m not sure how the decision was made,” Seay said. “I wish the board luck and hope they will work together to help the town.”
Dec. 6 Town Council votes
At the Dec. 6 meeting, the Town Council:
• Approved the re-appointment of John Henning as town attorney and Travis Tallent as Town Clerk.
• Approved a resolution accepting and appropriating state project grant funds to expand the town water and sewer facilities.
• Adopted the 2022 Town Council meeting schedule – the first Monday of each month, except in July and September when the meeting will be held on the first Tuesday due to the holidays.
• Adopted the town’s 2022 holiday schedule.
• Approved an agreement to replace a damaged DOT signal at the intersection of Palmer and Porter streets at a cost of $1,900.92. The funds will be taken from the Public Works budget.
• Approved Chief Bill Harrell’s request to apply for two grants – a $24,500 Law Enforcement Block Grant and a $75,000 Crisis Intervention Team Training grant.
• Received a report on the annual audit by Martin Starnes, which included no findings or questioned costs.
The next Town Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 3 at Town Hall. The town offices will be closed Thursday and Friday, Dec. 23 and 24 and Monday, Dec. 27 for Christmas, and Friday, Dec. 31 for the New Year’s holiday.