Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rosston Council OK's Sale Of Land; Audit Is Planned

Property owned by the City of Rosston was formally sold Thursday night, Jan. 8.

The Rosston City Council, meeting in regular session, accepted the bids for the community center and a parcel of land formerly used as a dump. Ben Dougan purchased the center for $3,500, while Bobby and Linda Mullin bought the land sold for $2,250.

Rosston Mayor Lewis Jackson said the deeds for the properties are being prepared and will be turned over to the new owners when they pay for their purchases. "These were the highest bids," he said. "They (the property) went for more than I thought."

In other business, the council hired Brenda Tate as the city's newest secretary- recorder. Tate replaces Cindy Taylor, who quit the job after three months.

Tate's job, Jackson said, will be to look after the city's books and make sure the bills get paid.

While Tate was hired at a rate of $135 per month, the council voted to give her a raise, increasing the part-time position's salary to $200 per month.

In recent months, members of the audience had been speaking out of turn at the meetings. Because of this, Jackson spoke with the city's attorney on what could be done to keep the meetings under control.

Now, for members of the public to speak at council meetings, they will have to get on the agenda prior to the meeting date the first Thursday of each month unless otherwise changed.

Jackson informed the council the meetings will be conducted according to agendas. Items will include the opening of the meetings, reading of the last meeting(s), old business and new business.

This, he said, will eliminate a lot of back and forth talk between the audience and members of the council. Jackson said most cities give the public two minutes to speak.

A Fort Smith certified public accountant will be performing the audit of the Rosston Water Department. He will be in town for the audit Feb. 2-3.

There were some minor problems with the city's water pump, but nothing serious. Jackson said, there is no need for alarm.

J.D. Luck, water superintendent, said, some rust had flaked off the inside of the tank and got into the water system. But, the rust was pumped out with the public in no danger.

Luck blamed weak modules as the reason for the problem. He plans to flush the system occasionally to keep it cleaned out.

"We're in good shape with water," Jackson said. "We can hold off on the tank (repairs) and pump for a while."