Sworn-In and Sworn At
The Town of Hornsby officially made former Alderman Curtis Vandiver the mayor, replacing former Mayor Megan Hedwall, but his honeymoon in office didn’t last long as the board tackled water issues in the town.
“We have been strongly asked by MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) to meet with them about our water system,” said Alderman Patricia Plunk, adding that no one was working for the water department, jobs and responsibilities were not clearly defined and leaks have been reported throughout the system.
Plunk brought three issues with bills blaming faulty meters to the board, but only asked for one, a situation where the water truck ran over and broke the meter to be fixed in the customer’s favor. The other two, she said, needed more investigation. The board agreed to forgive a portion of the one bill and tabled a decision on the other two.
Hedwall, while in office, suggested the water system could be taken over by the Selmer Utility Division (SUD). When the subject again arose, Plunk read a letter and made a statement that seemed to put that idea to rest.
“They told me they did not want us,” she said. “We have to fix it.”
The letter Plunk read from SUD said in part, “There has never been an offer to take over the Hornsby Water System by Selmer Utility Division. We will continue to provide the Town of Hornsby with water, but at this point, no other options are being discussed.”
In November of 2021, Hedwall told the board that if they wished to sell the water system to Selmer, she would negotiate with them. The suggestion was rejected by the panel, who chose at the time to keep the water system in the hands of the Board of Aldermen.
Vandiver asked during the April 4 meeting to be allowed to hire a temporary employee to run the water system until a permanent choice could be found. A unanimous vote in favor granted him the power.
In the public discussion portion of the meeting, a frustrated Richie Smith took issue with the forgiveness of a portion of the water bill that had been approved earlier, saying he had meter problems at two of his properties, but got no help from the town.
“You didn’t say a dadgum word, while I wrote a dadgum check,” he said, adding he was told no exceptions could be made for meter failure.
Vandiver was appointed mayor due to the resignation of Megan Hedwall, who stepped down in March, citing, among other things, her frustration with the current aldermen. Vandiver’s promotion to mayor means the board must appoint someone to take his place as an alderman.
The next meeting of the Town of Hornsby will be May 2 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Photo: Attorney Harriet Thompson swears-in Hornsby Mayor Curtis Vandiver.