Winfield, TN (2008-11-18) The Winfield City Council met in reorganizational session on Tuesday, swearing in the two men that recently won election to the Board. A first grade student at Winfield Elementary School has won a $50 savings bond from the municipality for making good grades.
At the onset of Tuesday night’s regularly schedule meeting of the Winfield City Council, Mayor Kenneth L. (Kenny) Burchfield swore in Virgil “David” Cecil and Harold L. Chambers, the two men that recently won election to the Board. Cecil won re-election to another four-year term on November 4, 2008, while Chambers garnered the most votes of any candidate in the election to unseat Alderman Clarence Ryan, Jr. Tuesday night was the first meeting since the election, as last week’s meeting was rescheduled because of the Veterans’ Day holiday.
In business Tuesday night, the Board voted to hire Adam Shinkle, making him a full-time employee of the Town’s street department. Shinkle, who had been working on a temporary basis, was permanently hired upon the completion of a 90-day probationary period. While the Board voted unanimously to hire him, the process of hiring employees became a continuous topic. Alderman Chambers questioned the Town’s hiring practices, asserting the municipality’s personnel policy regarding the hiring of all full-time employees required public notice of the job opening and action by the full Board. In the recent past, job vacancies have temporarily been filled by the Mayor, and then brought to the Council. While Chambers initially called for an amendment to the hiring policy, he settled for a “gentlemen’s agreement”, after Mayor Burchfield agreed to make the Board fully aware of any job openings, potential candidates for employment and to bring the Board into the hiring process at the onset of such proceedings.
Winfield homeowners will have until December 12, 2008 to apply for home rehabilitation assistance through the Town. The municipality recently received a $375,000 HOME grant, which will provide assistance to homeowners living in dilapidated housing. In order to qualify for assistance, the home must be the owners’ primary residence for the past year. The homeowner will also be required to make a $500 down payment toward the renovations. If the house is beyond repair, select homes may be replaced. Given the grant award, an estimated eight to ten homes will be funded by the project. Recipients will be selected based on income, family size, age, disability and other federal criteria. Applications for homeowner assistance may be picked up at the Winfield Municipal Services building, 24961 Scott Highway, Winfield. For more information regarding the grant, homeowners may call Winfield City Hall at 423.569.6139.
Abby Marcum, a first grade student at Winfield Elementary School received a $50 savings bond from the Town. Abby’s name was randomly drawn from sixteen students that earned straight A’s on their report cards for the first, nine weeks of the school year. Others eligible for honor were: First Grade: Nathaniel Byrge, Kade Chitwood, Jazlyn King, Victoria Roe, Tyrese Slaven and Cash Tucker; Second Grade: Tyler Ayers and Brooklyn Norris; Third Grade: Erin Coffman, Kellan Duncan and Holly Sauls; Fourth Grade: Thomas Phillips; Seventh and Eight Grades: Nick Anderson, Tasha Meadows and Ashley Stephens. Each nine weeks, the Winfield Mayor and Board of Aldermen awards one student a $50 savings bond for earning perfect marks on his or her report card.
Little other action was taken Tuesday night, as the Board opted to defer action on a number of issues pending an upcoming work session. Among those items tabled were: 1) the hiring of a zoning officer; 2) naming U.S. 27 inside the Town’s corporate limits the “Veterans’ Memorial Highway”; and 3) operating the Town on a four-day work schedule.