City Swears In First Water Valley Park Commissioners, Awards ROW Bid
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Mayor Tommy Reynolds (left) welcomed newly appointed park commissioners (from left) Jessie Gurner, Stacie Defer, Rodney Phillips, Robert Maze, Elizabeth Wright, Larry Stokes and (not pictured) Ben Ifshin.
WATER VALLEY – Seven newly appointed members of the Water Valley Park Commission took the oath of office during a special called meeting of the Board of Aldermen on July 18. The swearing-in marked the first official action under a new ordinance adopted earlier this year to create the commission.
The new commissioners are Jessie Gurner, Stacy Defer, Rodney Phillips, Robert Maze, Elizabeth Wright, Larry Stokes, and Ben Ifshin (not present at the meeting). Each was appointed by the mayor or a member of the board of aldermen, in accordance with the ordinance that sets the commission’s structure.
After taking the oath, each commissioner drew lots to determine the length of their initial term — a one-time process designed to stagger the expirations. Gurner drew a seven-year term; Defer, two years; Phillips, one year; Maze, three years; Wright, four years; Stokes, six years; and Ifshin, five years. All future appointments will serve standard seven-year terms.
Mayor Tommy Reynolds thanked the new commissioners for stepping up.
“I want to thank each of y’all for agreeing to serve on this park commission,” Reynolds said. “We have a task ahead for this town. You see the Civic — we’ve made a lot of progress there. You see the parks — more progress needs to be made.”
The Water Valley Park Commission was created by an ordinance adopted on May 6 by the Water Valley Board of Aldermen. The seven-member board will oversee the management and development of city-owned parks, playgrounds, and recreational facilities. The commission has broad authority to hire a superintendent, oversee employees, establish rules, and manage the operation and maintenance of public recreational areas. Commissioners will report to the mayor and board of aldermen at least quarterly and provide an annual report each December.
City Accepts Bid for Right-of-Way Clearing
In other business, the board unanimously accepted a bid from Looks Great Services of Mississippi, Inc., to complete right-of-way clearing on 37 miles of electric lines. The company submitted the low bid of $327,994.20. Two other bids were received — one for $427,255 and one for $411,093 — though the latter did not meet bid specifications.
The contract will cover vegetation management around the city’s electric infrastructure. The Water Valley Electric Department will complete additional work that was included in the bid as an alternate.
“You can have vegetation that interferes with electric lines and outages, or you can have it properly cleaned and have better electric. You can’t have both,” said Mayor Reynolds before the vote. “Winter will be here. People don’t like their lights going out. That’s not to say this will stop it completely, but I believe it will help.”
The board voted 5–0 in favor of awarding the bid to Looks Great Services.
