Byram City council approves consent agenda, hires staff and authorizes emergency pump repair

Byram City’s mayor called the meeting to order and the City Council approved a multi-item consent agenda that included a court-staff promotion, an emergency repair and event logistics for upcoming festivals.

At the meeting the council approved the claims docket totaling $654,432.17 for expenditures from May 6 through May 30. Mayor White asked for and received motions and a roll-call vote to pass the consent items and related payments.

Public-works and project staff updated the council on transportation projects, saying MDOT issued a right-of-way certificate for the Salutary Road intersection and that utility relocation work will begin now that the city has the certificate. Staff said bidding for the Terry Road overlay will be advertised June 4 and 11, with pre-bid activity later in June and bid openings in July.

The council approved two personnel requests from the police department. The department asked permission to hire a part-time records/open-records specialist to respond to public-records requests and handle NIBRS reporting; staff described the position as roughly 6–18 hours per week and explained certification and training limitations. The body voted to authorize the part-time hire by motion and roll call.

Council also approved permission to hire a full-time lateral police officer (level two, three years’ experience) after staff said one vacancy remained to be filled.

Public-works staff reported an emergency at Renfro lift station, the city’s busiest pump station. The repair required an out-of-cycle procurement; staff said the work included a rebuild and professional installation that could not wait for normal purchasing processes. The spoken cost for the rebuild and install was given in the meeting record as “$13.08 72” (spoken transcription as recorded). The council approved the emergency payment by motion and roll call and staff said they will seek additional budget funds to keep at least one replacement pump in stock for critical stations going forward.

Council members also approved a request to add an additional restroom for the Swing Bridal Festival to ease logistics for bands and stage crews, and discussed gate staffing to restrict restroom access to performers.

The meeting closed with event and community announcements, including a planned groundbreaking for a Fleetway store on June 10, described by staff as an approximately $8,000,000 project. The council set follow-up work sessions and pledged to circulate invitations and outreach materials.

The council's motions and votes were conducted by roll call on each item; staff will bring any required contract documents and further scheduling details back to the board at future work sessions.