Dateline: May 19, 2005

City begins advertising for paving project bids

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The City of Clarendon began advertising for bids this week for the 2005 proposed paving project.

Sealed bids will be opened and read aloud at City Hall on June 2 for 27,800 linear feet of two-course penetration paving and concrete curbs and gutters.

City engineer Michael Adams said the numbers correlate into an estimated 60 blocks of paving and roadways 30 feet wide inside the curbs. Depending on how hungry potential contractors are and on how quickly a winning bidder mobilizes, Adams said construction could begin three weeks after the bid is let.

Adams updated city aldermen on the paving project when the board held its regular meeting last Tuesday. Among the items discussed was the roadway at the intersection of Kearney St. and Wood Ave., which Adams said is not in the city’s right of way.

Board members agreed that the city should try to obtain easements for that intersection from the property owner but also said they would prefer to see that section of street eliminated from the program if it was going to cause any problems.

“The city does not want this to delay the program,” Mayor Tex Selvidge said.

Alderman Tommy Hill talked about the proposed roadway on Seventh Street and suggested it be shifted north because of some property owners’ concerns. But Aldermen Janice Knorpp and Bobbie Kidd disagreed.

“We can’t change things every time someone complains,” Kidd said. “If we do, we’ll be here for four years and still not get any paving.”

“Like hell,” the mayor responded. “We are going to get paving.”

In other city business, oathes of office were administered to Mayor Selvidge, Aldermen Kidd, Alderman Michael Tibbets, and Municipal Judge Jimmy Johnson. The judge reported that his office had collected about $48,000 in the last 12 months and returned some $12,000 to local businesses for collecting bad checks.

The board reappointed Alderman Mark White to serve as the city’s mayor pro-tem.

City Administrator Sean Pate reported that the federal Help America Vote Act does apply to municipalities and said the city would be required to have an electronic voting device for the next election. The mayor said the city would see about leasing one from the county or possibly contract with the county to conduct the city’s election.