Here are highlights from the Jan. 12, 2021 virtual meeting of the Jackson City Council:
-The City Council approved the sale of a historic train to a museum in Pennsylvania. Locomotive No. 5030, which dates to 1912, has been on display in R.A. Greene Park for several decades. It is currently fenced off because it is in a deteriorating condition. The council accepted a $50,000 purchase offer from the Colebrookedale Railroad Preservation Trust in Boyerstown, PA. The railroad museum plans on putting $2 million into the locomotive to restore it back to working order. The train will not be removed from the park for another five years while the museum raises funds for its transport. Because of its age and condition, the City does not have funds to fully restore the locomotive and believes it will fall into further repair if it’s not restored. A photo of the train is attached for your use.
-Following ethics concerns brought up at the previous meeting, the City Council voted to create an Ethics Task Force which would create informational materials on ethics and lay out procedures for ethics investigations. The City Manager will prepare these plans for consideration at a future meeting.
-A contract was awarded for a road construction project later this year. One block of Clinton Street and Louis Glick Highway between Homecrest Road and N. Blackstone Street will be fully reconstructed with a new water main and road surface. Clinton Street has not received new pavement since 1957.
-The newly-created Racial Equity Commission and MLK Corridor Improvement Authority received their first commissioners following appointments from the City Council. The first five members of the Racial Equity Commission were appointed, along with the first seven members of the MLK Drive Improvement Authority.