Sparland Looking for New Leadership
By: Eugene Daniel
Updated: September 27, 2012
SPARLAND - The village of Sparland is desperate for new leadership.
After the controversial resignation of its mayor, residents want to know what's next for the community.
"Well we've have a lot of controversial issues," said resident Mike Durham.
Durham just wants Sparland to return to the quiet community it used to be. Lately, the village board has had a lot of controversy. Last week, mayor Bob Lockhart and village clerk Marg Murray resigned following community backlash.
Durham thinks the community is better without them in control.
"It was to the point with them no body was willing to work with them or do anything for the community. Now that they're gone, I think people will come back," he said.
Its the latest in a handful of board resignations since December. Durham, a former board member, was one of them. Now, he says the community needs better direction and communication.
"In the past that's been somewhat of a problem, but I think with some of the new board members they've got now, I think maybe that will happen," he said.
The recent resignations mean the majority of Sparland's board member have less than four months experience, but board member Dave Murphy thinks the lack of experience is not the biggest concern.
"We have very few funds coming in. We have a lot of money that needs to spend on the sewer system, the water system. Those are all not, not even speed bumps. Those are mountains that we need to climb," he said.
However, Murphy says the village must fill three spots on the board, including mayor and village clerk, before addressing those issues.
A special meeting will take place Thursday to see who's interested. The board hopes to select a new mayor and village clerk by next week. He hopes new faces will put an end to the village's recent problems.
"We're not going to focus on what the last year, year and a half has been. What we want to focus on is the near future."
The special meeting will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. in Sparland Village Hall.
After the controversial resignation of its mayor, residents want to know what's next for the community.
"Well we've have a lot of controversial issues," said resident Mike Durham.
Durham just wants Sparland to return to the quiet community it used to be. Lately, the village board has had a lot of controversy. Last week, mayor Bob Lockhart and village clerk Marg Murray resigned following community backlash.
Durham thinks the community is better without them in control.
"It was to the point with them no body was willing to work with them or do anything for the community. Now that they're gone, I think people will come back," he said.
Its the latest in a handful of board resignations since December. Durham, a former board member, was one of them. Now, he says the community needs better direction and communication.
"In the past that's been somewhat of a problem, but I think with some of the new board members they've got now, I think maybe that will happen," he said.
The recent resignations mean the majority of Sparland's board member have less than four months experience, but board member Dave Murphy thinks the lack of experience is not the biggest concern.
"We have very few funds coming in. We have a lot of money that needs to spend on the sewer system, the water system. Those are all not, not even speed bumps. Those are mountains that we need to climb," he said.
However, Murphy says the village must fill three spots on the board, including mayor and village clerk, before addressing those issues.
A special meeting will take place Thursday to see who's interested. The board hopes to select a new mayor and village clerk by next week. He hopes new faces will put an end to the village's recent problems.
"We're not going to focus on what the last year, year and a half has been. What we want to focus on is the near future."
The special meeting will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. in Sparland Village Hall.
Comments
Why are they interviewing Quitter Durham? The guy quit the Board 3 times in a year and had no clue what was going on when he was on the board. He's the biggest problem in Sparland.
Fast E.
September 27, 2012 at 9:46 pm
