Wartrace Town Hall to close Wednesday afternoons

Wartrace Town Hall will soon begin closing its doors from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The board of mayor and alderman approved a motion Monday night that would allow the employees of the town hall to close to the public during those hours.

"It's so they won't be interrupted in their work," said Wartrace Mayor Don Gallagher. "The ladies can work more efficiently."

Laura Gentry, the recorder and treasurer for Wartrace, thanked the board and said the change would take effect Sept. 1. A message would be added to utility bills, a sign would be placed on the door and a notice placed in the Times-Gazette to alert everyone.

"We do just about everything here," she said later about why she requested the closing. "We do all the things all those departments in Shelbyville do, and we only have two people."

Besides routine paperwork for the city and billing, the women have to complete paperwork and reports for state agencies as well.

Alderman Jean Gallagher asked if more time was needed.

"I don't think so," said Gentry. "We want to be able to serve the public."

In other board business, the board passed the first reading of the fiscal year 2009 budget, although Gallagher said it still needed work.

"So far, we have not made real progress on it," he said. The board recently voted to extend the FY 2008 budget while it works on the next one.

Jeff Phillips, the town's newly chosen volunteer fire chief, told the board the old tanks at the fire hall needed to be removed and he has been working with the EPA on getting a permit from the state. The cost was projected at $1,500 at the highest, which Phillips said could be reimbursed by Volunteer Fire Services Inc.

Phillips, a Georgia native, is a full-time firefighter with VFSI, although his job as the Wartrace chief is unpaid. After the meeting, Phillips explained how during the interim after the resignation of former fire chief Roy Ferguson, the crew governed itself.

"Everybody stuck together and voted on stuff. We plan to keep it that way," he said. "Everybody does it for the love of it; they don't get paid. I want everyone to feel a part of it."

Jean Gallagher announced that $4,372 was raised during the town's fundraising month of July from the auction and the hamburger cookout, and the $750 for parking at the Wartrace horse show had been received. She said they did not have the expenses yet, but she didn't expect them to be that much.

The meter readers for the town will soon be more visible. Day-Glo bright green T-shirts were approved for the public works employees.

"It's good and visible, that's for sure," said the mayor as he looked at the neon-bright sample.

The plans for the water department's move to connect with Tullahoma have been approved, he told the board, and all Wartrace was waiting on was word from the Rural Development agency about funding. Gallagher said the town didn't have to have the improvements or changes in place until September 2009, but the town's goal was to get it going by October of this year.