MURFREESBORO – What is the role of the Beautification Advisory Board?

That was one of the issues discussed at the Murfreesboro Town Council meeting on Tuesday.

Council Members heard public comments from members of the town’s Beautification Advisory Board concerning work performed by the town’s maintenance crew.

Advisory Board member Lynn Johnson asked the council &uot;why the advisory board wasn’t consulted&uot; before the town’s maintenance crew performed some aesthetic work near the Town Hall.

Mayor Ben McLean and the town council discussed what the actual role of the beautification advisory board is and agreed to provide a written description of the duties of the board at the next council meeting.

The Town Hall windows were another issue brought to the attention of the council by the Advisory Board. The board believes the windows are an &uot;eyesore&uot; and need to be fixed or replaced not only for appearances, but also for safety and efficiency purposes.

The mayor and other council members were unaware of the problem and agreed to look into the problems with the windows.

The town council also discussed locations throughout the town that need to be cleaned up and locations where grass needs to be cut.

Town attorney Bill Lee commented that he is &uot;not trying to discourage anything&uot;, but reminded the council of the &uot;costs&uot; involved in cleaning up property not owned by the town.

Council member Bill Theodorakis added that everyone needs to be &uot;more diligent&uot; and make this more of a priority.

The council informally agreed that when town employees and council members notice potential eyesores, they should report back to the council so the issue can be addressed.

The council also discussed encouraging people to fly Chowan College flags as the new school year for students approaches.

Police Chief Darryl Rowe informed the council of a grant he is applying for to help purchase two new radar units for the Murfreesboro Police Department. The council approved Rowe’s grant application.

&uot;The grant will provide $3200 to the police department&uot; according to Rowe, which will help pay for the radar units and leaving the city responsible for roughly $1000.

The council also agreed to include two more light posts, one on Wynn Street and one on 4th Street, along with the other new light posts that are going to be installed downtown.