City makes appointments

The first meeting of the new administration of Holly Springs dealt with various city appointments. There is a shakeup in the top positions.

Evangelist Linda Terry opened the meeting with prayer, calling for unity and obedience to laws governing an orderly meeting.

“Let there be respect and honor at all times...that things will be well for the City of Holly Springs,” she prayed.

There were 24 items on the agenda at the July 6 meeting.

Alderman-at-large Dexter Shipp was approved as vice mayor. He and Mayor Sharon Gipson were authorized as delegates to the Mississippi Municipal League and to participate in the National League of City’s Strong Southern Communities Initiative.

The main focus of the NLC is to work with children and families, Gipson said.

Starting from the top, Gipson asked the board to appoint Southaven attorney John Keith Perry as city attorney. Perry was not present because a of prior commitment. Shipp made a motion to appoint Perry but his motion failed for lack of a second.

Ward 4 alderman Patricia Merriweather asked to hold the motion until July 20, the next board meeting, so aldermen could meet Perry.

Claims were unanimously approved.

Eleanor Clayborn was recommended by Gipson to serve as interim administrative assistant to the mayor. She was unanimously approved and expects to serve until August or September.

Jerrica Jones was appointed city clerk to replace outgoing Belinda Sims Hollowell. The board approved her by a 3 to 1 vote, with Ward 2 alderman Andre Jones recusing himself.

Ward 3 alderman Colter Teel opposed the appointment, saying he does not know Jones.

“This is a job that is incredibly serious,” he said. “I don’t know enough about her.” Jones is the payroll and accounts payable clerk with the Holly Springs Utility Department.

A motion to close the existing bank accounts and reopen new accounts failed.

Merriweather asked if it is necessary or could the signatories be changed on the existing accounts.

“That’s my question as well,” Teel said. “I would just change names (on existing account numbers).” “It was something I was advised to do,” Gipson said. “It will make it better for auditing purposes, cleaner and safer to start out with new accounts.” The city would not change banks.

Merriweather said her experience is that only the signatories are changed, not the account numbers.

Gipson said it would protect the administration from liability to close old accounts and open new ones in the same banks.

Ward 1 alderman Bernita Fountain made a motion to close old accounts and open new ones but the motion failed for lack of a second.

Wanda Scott was unanimously appointed as deputy city clerk/auditor following a motion by Shipp and second by Fountain.

Teel asked if Scott would add a position to the office which already had two deputy city clerks.

Gipson said Scott would make three deputies in the office.

Teel asked if the position was covered in the budget, and Gipson said she was advised the money is in the budget.

Goston Glover, who ran for Ward 2 alderman, was on the agenda to be appointed as constituent services liaison, a fulltime position.

Aldermen opposed the appointment, with Shipp saying the position of chief of staff under the Kelvin Buck administration was opposed by the public.

“I feel like we have enough personnel at this time,” Shipp said.

Gipson said the position would involve working with constituent concerns and tracking the status of citizen complaints to improve communication.

“I’ve seen other administrations where it works,” Gipson said.

Fountain made a motion to table, and Merriweather seconded it.

During discussion, Jones opposed the motion, saying the aldermen are the ones who were elected to represent their constituents.

Grant Glover was appointed chief of police by a 4-1 vote. Chief Darryl Bowens was appointed assistant chief. Bowens had been previously appointed chief by the Buck administration when chief Dwight Harris resigned.

In questioning by aldermen, Shipp asked if Glover can move the city forward.

“I am excited to bring back leadership, integrity and accountability,” Glover said. “I want support from everybody here.”

Glover served on the city force, then was hired recently at the sheriff’s department.

“What can you bring to Holly Springs?” asked Merriweather. “Crime is an issue. What are you going to do to bring about a change?”

Glover said the city has six or eight unfilled positions and he wants to hire people from the Holly Springs area, people who know the citizens. He proposes hiring a shift commander.

“We’re going to be hitting these streets hard,” he said.

Teel asked how Glover is going to build trust back to the department. He expressed concern about curfew not being enforced.

Glover said curfew needs to

be changed. He said officers should be trained with other departments and not only use in-house training.

Teel made a motion to hire Glover and Shipp seconded. The motion passed 4-1 with Jones voting against the move.

Bowens was unanimously approved as assistant chief of police.

Fountain said it was hard to pass Bowens over.

“This was the toughest thing on the agenda for me.” she said. “I’m very torn.” Bowens has spent his 25-year career in law enforcement with the city.

“That’s a lot, because he came in when the police were making $9 an hour, maybe $7 an hour,” Fountain said. “You have a lot of dollar chasers out there. I want to commend assistant chief Bowens. We want our residents to be comfortable that our police department can handle whatever at hand.

“This is tearing for me. For your hard work and commitment, I commend you for your service and what you are sacrificing for the city of Holly Springs.”

Gipson said selecting Glover is not a negative for Bowens.

“We do feel Chief Grant is the right person at this time, but that Bowens is all about customer service,” she said.

In other appointment matters, the board of aldermen: • accepted the resignation of Shamantha Woods-Kirkwood from the police department.

• unanimously approved rehiring of 23-year-old Markavion Anderson to the police department.

• approved transfer of Juanette A. Cummings to the Holly Springs Utility Department as accountant Level 1.

• appointed attorney Carnelia Fondren as municipal court judge and attorney Brooke Reeves as municipal court public defender. Sasha B. Marsh is the new municipal court clerk, replacing Cummings.

Teel voted against appointing Fondren.

Gipson said no one is entitled to the position even if they have served eight years as judge. Amanda Whaley Smith was municipal judge under the Buck administration.

• Jairus O’Neal Leasure was recommended by Gipson as superintendent of streets, a position he once held under another administration. Gipson wanted to reassign current superintendent Viez Todd as supervisor over concrete (sidewalks and curbs).

Shipp made a motion to appoint Leasure as head of the street department, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Gipson asked to hold up on a motion to reassign Todd.