The Town of Walnut Cove Board of Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting at the Walnut Cove Senior Center at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6. In Mayor John Hodgkin’s absence, Mayor Pro Tem Polly Goolsby conducted the meeting.

Among the principal topics of business was the selection of a firm to perform the town’s annual audit. Town Manager Homer Dearmin said that the town had had several strong responses to the town’s request for proposals to conduct the town audit, and that all of the firms responding had been good to work with in the past. He suggested that the board disregard both the lowest and the highest bids, and then consider the other responses.

After discussing the bids prepared by a number of regional firms, the board chose to award the contract for preparing the annual audit to Dixon and Hughes. The bid prepared by Dixon and Hughes was around $2,000 less than the bids prepared by other firms, and Commissioner Lora Carter remarked that Dixon and Hughes had been very good to work with when she was employed as the town clerk.

The board also approved the annual town meeting calendar. Board of Commissioner meetings will continue to be held on the first Tuesday of each month at the Walnut Cove Senior Center, and Walnut Cove Planning Board meetings will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Walnut Cove Main Street meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month. All residents of Walnut Cove are invited and encouraged to attend, and should call the town office at 591-4809 for specific times and locations.

The town manager’s report noted that the town’s Fourth of July celebration, held at Lions Park, had been a great success with many citizens attending and enjoying the festivities. Paving work is scheduled to begin on Montgomery Court during the week of July 12. Jay Stanley, a new public works employee, is scheduled to being work on Tuesday, July 6, on a part-time basis, and an additional part-time employee is in the process of being hired after one staff person left and one employee is out after having back surgery.

The board of commissioners ends most meetings by asking for other general concerns from the members of the board. Commissioner Sharon Conaway noted that her board packet had been delivered in bad shape and suggested that durable folders be used to contain packets for the board. She also noted parking problems behind the town hall along Windmill Street with town employees parking personal vehicles, and suggested that employees be required to park further up the road since space is no longer being rented by the town for employee parking. Goolsby wondered if other space was available for town employees, and when Dearmin noted that there was none that he was aware of, the board moved on without making a decision.

Conaway also noted that the board still had a shortage in the general fund for the town and stated that the board should have been made aware of the shortage. Dearmin replied that the board had been made aware of this situation and that he had complied fully with the laws of North Carolina in addressing the situation. Commissioner Charles Mitchell noted that the town needed to be prepared to pay for the services rendered to the citizens of the town.

Conaway also noted that the board needed to schedule a workshop to review the town policy and procedure manual.

The board then adjourned to go into a closed session to discuss a personnel matter. No decisions were made, and the meeting adjourned.