Pocomoke City council approves farm lease extension, $60,100 Center Street paving contract and authorizes bills for payment

Pocomoke City's mayor and council voted on April 21 to approve routine bills for payment, extend a city farm lease on Old Virginia Road and award a contract to repave Center Street.

The council approved a motion to pay the bills as presented. The motion was made and seconded and carried on a voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.

The council then approved an extension of the Lambert farming contract for property on Old Virginia Road from a one-year term to a three-year term. A man identified in the meeting as Mr. Lambert asked for the longer term after soil testing showed the parcel had a pH of about 5. "It's showing a 5 pH, which will take 2 or 3 years to build that back up," Mr. Lambert said. Council members voted in favor of extending the lease; council approved the extension and staff said paperwork would be processed. Council recorded the contract end date as 12/31/2028 during a clarification in the meeting.

Later the council approved a procurement to repave Center Street, awarding Bosman Paving & Grading LLC a contract for $60,100. The presenter said Bosman is on the city's procurement list and that being on the list meant the work did not require a separate rebid. The council member describing the proposal said the work would cover "100 percent of Center Street, beginning to end," and listed the project extents as from Linden through Winterthur. The motion to approve the Bosman proposal was made, seconded and carried on a voice vote.

A resident who spoke during public comment, Beverly Cowher of Center Street, urged use of a hot-mix surface rather than temporary stone fills and asked when paving would occur. The city said staff would check the contractor schedule and update the mayor and council on a date.

Votes at the meeting were taken by voice; the transcript records the motions, seconding and that those present answered "aye." The meeting did not include roll-call vote tallies in the record provided.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting include: the Bosman paving proposal amount of $60,100; the farm soil pH of about 5 and the three-year term requested for the farming contract; and the council-stated Center Street scope from Linden to Winterthur.

The council moved on to other agenda items after the votes, including administrative updates and public comments.