Pineville Board Discusses Fall Festival

The Pineville Board of Aldermen, at its meeting on Tuesday, discussed the town’s recent inaugural fall festival.

City Clerk Melissa Ziemianin said she hoped everyone heard positive things about the festival. She said she already has next year’s event scheduled and hopes for it to be bigger and better. She noted the town raised about $700 in concessions.

Alderman Shirley “Sam” Alps said she noticed people were looking for a place to sit. Ziemianin said that next year she will get more hay bales.

Ziemianin also commented that, while the crowd did thin a bit between 2 and 3 p.m., the giveaways kept attendance pretty steady.

Alderman Ann Crowder-Sanders said it was as busy as Jesse James Days during some parts of the day, and the children loved the bounce houses.

“Someone told me it was better than the Pelican Festival at Grove,” she said.

Also on Tuesday, the board approved renewing the city’s healthcare plan. Ziemianin said the city’s current plan had a 4%

increase, while other plans they took bids on had a 30 to 50% increase. She said she believed the 4% increase was simply due to the fact that everyone got a year older. The board approved the renewal for United Healthcare.

Alps asked about an ice machine for the community center. Mayor Gregg Sweeten said there was a space for one when the community center was built. His hesitation was that, when people rent the center, sometimes they do not clean properly and they might leave something in the ice machine.

Alderman Scott Dennis said ice machines require a lot of maintenance and are expensive. He said if no one uses the machine for a few weeks, the ice will just be sitting there. No action was taken on the ice machine discussion.

Marshal Chris Owens reported a lot of traffic accidents at the 6.8 mile marker, counting seven in two days.

The board also approved paying bills in the amount of $31,636.