The Town of Bell hired a new office employee last week to fill an upcoming opening.
The Town Council voted, 4-1, to hire Amanda Burton to fill the space that will be vacated by Michelle Rose, who submitted her resignation earlier this year.
Burton has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and had done accounting work for her husband’s company.
Councilman Gary Blankenship was the only one to vote against the hire.
The council voted to start her pay at $15 per hour, with a possible increase after 90 days.
At a workshop for the position last week, Burton told the council she was OK with starting at $15 per hour.
The council voted on a start date of May 4 if Burton accepts the position.
Rose said she would be willing to stay on to train Burton, and the council approved increasing her pay to $24 per hour from $18 while she trained Burton.
The council held off on a resolution officially splitting the clerk position from the town manager/office employee position due to concerns over what that would mean for Rose while she trained the new employee.
Mayor Sandy Moore and councilwoman Katie Lovett expressed concern over Rose possibly holding two positions with one being an elected position and whether that was legal under Florida law.
At its last meeting, the council approved a bid from True Force Roofing for work on the siding and roof of town hall.
Town Attorney David Lang said he had emailed a contract to the company and let them know that their proposal for the work had been selected by the town. He said he asked for documents regarding liability and insurance along with the signed contract so he could have it approved by the council at Thursday’s meeting.
Lang said he had not heard back from the company as of the meeting.
However, Council President Michael Moore said that the contract had already been signed and Rose had a copy of the contract.
Lang said nobody had told him, and he had not heard back from the company since emailing them with the contract.
Lovett then said, while looking at town’s financial reports, that the company had been paid the first half of the cost of the project.
“Well, that would have been nice to tell your attorney,” Lang said.
Lang said there were six documents the company needed to provide to the town. On Monday, he said those documents had been provided.
At the beginning of the meeting, Bell Middle High School Principal Dr. Scott LeMaster and teacher Brad Surrency spoke to the council regarding a possible sign recognizing the school’s ECTAC award.
This award recognizes schools that, among other criteria, maintain an “A” or “B” average and are above the 50th percentile in both academic achievement and learning gains. Bell was the only middle high school to receive the award, LeMaster said.
“It’s been too long since Bell has gotten a lot of recognition,” Surrency said.
Although Bell’s land development regulations forbid off-site signs, Lang said he would find a way to allow the sign.
The vote was 5-0 to move forward.