The Warren City Council met Monday evening, August 8, 2022 to conduct their regular monthly business, with all six council members present.
The bulk of the early portion of the meeting involved the proposed renovations of two buildings behind the old National Guard Armory on Martin Street. The plan being looked at would see the Street Department move from the structure that sits near the entrance of the Warren City Park, and taking up residence in the buildings to the north behind the old Armory. Currently, the building that the Street Department utilizes has no air conditioned area for workers to cool off in during the brutal months of summer, nor does it offer sufficient storage for the equipment needed. There is also work needed on the roof of the current building.
In a vote of 4-2, the Council approved $34,144.80 of renovation work to the buildings behind the old Armory in order to move Street Deparment operations to the new location. The amount approved to spend includes two overhead doors with framing and trim, framing of an 8’x10’ bathroom with sheetrock and coverings, as well as plumbing for the bathroom. It also includes the extension of a chainlink fence to make the property more secure.
After the vote, Council member Dorothy Henderson voiced concern that the City should not allow the current Street Department building to fall into a state of disrepair once the Department vacates the structure. “I just want to go on record saying that it(the building) was donated to the City,” she stated. “We should at least keep it” useable she went on to say, particularly since the structure is so visible in the City Park.
The two dissenting votes were from Council members Zack Burks and Joel Tolefree.
During the public statements segment of the meeting, the Council heard from a number of City residents regarding issues from ditch cleanups to unkept property complaints. Sanitation Manager and Building Official Rob Johnson later in the meeting gave an update on the Howard Street property which has been the subject of several meetings in the past six months. He told the Council the property had been cleaned up by the owner.
The regular Department reports were presented, with the discussion of Police officer retention coming up. According to Police Chief Shaun Hildreth, the issue currently is the competitive job market outside of just law enforcement.
Also discussed towards the latter portion of the meeting were future street work, specifically the needed repairs of portions of Warren’s historic brick streets. Council member Henderson asked the question if there is a plan of action to fix the brick streets? Mayor Denisa Pennington explained that at this time there is no master plan for the brick streets, but that the administration is aware of one place in particular where something needs to be done. “We’ll have to bring in some specialists,” she said, noting that the streets are on the National Historic Register. Mayor Pennington went on to state that the brick streets are an issue that will likely need to be addressed in the coming years.
