Saint Albans council approves $16,191.49 in invoices; parks festival drew nearly 10,000 cars

The Saint Albans City Council on Jan. 6 approved payment of current invoices totaling $16,191.49 after a motion from Councilman Rowe.

Councilman Rowe asked for a motion "for approval of payment of current invoices in the amount of $16,191.49," which was seconded and approved by voice vote. No recorded opposition was indicated in the meeting transcript.

In related reports, Councilman Knight and other speakers provided a post-event summary of the Festival of Lights: a hayride drew 863 people, a walkthrough drew 439, the Santa House recorded 4,204 visits and staff counted roughly 9,939 cars, which organizers estimated translated to about 45,262 visitors overall. Donations from the event exceeded $35,000.

Parks and public works staff discussed pavement maintenance planning. Council members were asked to prioritize urgent paving requests for the forthcoming paving list (to be submitted in January/February) and to report specific locations to public works staff (Amy or John Boyer). Staff noted asphalt plants had been closed recently but were temporarily open for hot patching "today and tomorrow," and crews were performing short-term repairs.