By Louie Graves
News-Leader staff
The Mineral Springs mayoral vacancy was quickly filled, Monday night, when the town council met for the first time since the resignation of Mayor Bobby Tullis.
The council went unanimously for Alderman Steve Dixon, who is also a former MS mayor.
Mayor Dixon presided over the meeting and explained that the vacancy had to filled either by election by the council, or by special election. The process was set because Mineral Springs is a City of the Second Class by population.
Council member James Jeanes moved to accept the Tullis resignation which was given in a short letter dated May 14. Jeanes also moved that Dixon be named mayor.
“I thank Bobby and we’re going to miss him,” the new mayor said before plunging into the council’s business for the regular meeting of June.
The council will seek input from citizens for a Ward 1 replacement of Dixon.
The June meeting was busy. A proposal to paint the town’s north water tower was tabled until the council could talk with the city’s engineer. A paint vendor had offered substantial savings for painting the tower if the project could be done this year.
The city will ‘borrow’ from the town cemetery fund to make some water tower improvements, and the aldermen also voted to accept a health department mandate to increase monthly meter fees by a dime.
The council also approved a resolution for some street paving. The new mayor laid out five different places for short stretches of city streets will get a new hotmix cover. Streets which will get attention include Crawford, Holcomb, Lewis, Mercer and McClendon Streets.
At the meeting were council members James Jeanes, Frankie Harris, Earle Haddan, Charles Deloney and Vera Marks.