Howe Library Eye Spy

Walker indicated that he was able to take that information and share it with grocer prospects which was very helpful in the courtship of one particular company.

He told the council that a lot of land along US Highway 75 has turned or is in the process of turning and indicated that COVID-19 could have created more of a sense of urgency to sell land that may have not been there before.

In regards to the Howe Development Foundation, he said that a local church has leased Summit Gardens on a Wednesday night due to spacing requirements during social distancing.

The chamber will be hosting Hotter ‘N Howe Summer Bash in late July as a fundraiser for youth sports. They will also combine their Blue Bell Ice Cream Social with the Howe Hall of Honor for one big Awards Banquet at FBC Howe in early August. He also told the council that Founders Day will be combined with the Downtown Howe-lloween Festival in late October.

City Administrator Joe Shephard told the council that budget workshops will be coming up soon. He also told the council to try and avoid conversations with developers because some try to circumvent the process. He said that all conversations between council members and developers need to take place within the council chambers. The issue of water to a property on Smith Road is still unresolved as Howe passed a plan for water, but Dorchester denied.

orders totaling 73 hours of work. Of those hours, 21 were for water issues, 5.5 hours were for sewer, 11 hours on the streets, 13.5 hours in sanitation and 22 hours for miscellaneous work orders.

Ten tons of asphalt was poured during the month for pot hole repair.

A 12-inch water main is currently being installed and is about halfway done at this point.

Mayor Bill French spoke out about revisiting the contract with the waste company due to the vast majority of the street damage taking place due to the heavy trucks loaded down on the sides of the roads which are the weakest points.

“We’re hoping to have a conversation with them about going back to men on the back of the trucks in the middle of the truck,” said French.

Councilmember Georgia Richardson got clarification that “big trash day” will no longer be on the first Monday, but will now be on the second Friday of each month. This is due to the landfill now closing early on Saturdays.

Howe’s Economic Development Director Monte Walker informed the council that he has never been more proud of the community members for shopping local during the COVID-19 period. He credited the work of the chamber of commerce for being proactive in the information. Local spending was actually up 23 percent