Dr. James Hickman, DC, was sworn in as the new city councilman for Ward 4 Monday night, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Dan Kirby on March 9.

A special election was called to fill the position. Although five people initially expressed interest in running for the office, Hickman was the only one who filed and so won by default.

At the same time, it was announced that Ward 2 Council Member Nancy Mouser had resigned due to health issues.

City Manager Jeb Jones said the council will decide whether to appoint someone to replace Mouser or hold a special election, the same process used to replace Kirby.

Also at Monday’s meeting, Jones announced that after interviewing several applicants to fill the position of police chief he decided that interim Chief David Bryning was the best qualified and announced that he had been hired.

“He has demonstrated leadership, being a mentor and is knowledgeable about procedures,” Jones said.

Bryning was assistant chief when Mark Goodwin resigned in May.

Vice Mayor Josh Cummings, former officer with the Eufaula Police Department, said he worked with Bryning and had high praise for the new chief.

Another change came with the appointment of a new member of the Planning and Zoning Board.

There were actually two vacancies on the board due to the resignation of Dennis Henson earlier this year and the resignation of Hickman when he became a member of the city council.

Two people applied for the vacancies, Eufaula Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Serina Kleveter and realtor Chelsea Lewis.

However, due to procedure regulations only one of the vacancies could be filled at the August meeting. The other will be filled at the September meeting.

Hickman, impressed with the resumes of both applicants, made the motion to seat Kleveter but encouraged Lewis to resubmit her application for next month.

Other business

Approval was given to rezone a lot on the southwest corner of State Highway 9 and Border Street.

Council members said they thought the lot was commercially zoned, but it was in fact residential.

Roley McIntosh and Donna Wiedel want to buy the lot to put in a car detailing business at the location, but wanted it to be zoned commercial before they move forward with their plans.

The council also approved renewing the annual lease agreement with MC Nutrition Services Corporation, provider for the EODD Senior Meals Program at the Eufaula Community Center.

The lease is for $4,800 per year.

In other action, the council agreed to amend ordinance 20-3-02 dealing with street parking.

Jones said this action was initiated by the Planning and Zoning Commission after a variance request by Family Dollar/Dollar Tree, in the midst of a building project on S. Main St.

The current off-street parking ratio for a retail establishment is one parking spot for every 225 sq. ft. of retail floor space.

Jones said as a result of the discussion during the variance request, it was determined that this ratio was better applied to high-traffic urban retail settings.

This item was placed on the July 17 Planning & Zoning Board meeting for consideration and was voted to be sent to council to be amended to one parking spot for every 250 sq. ft. of retail floor space.

Additional actions

– approved amending ordinance 23-8-2 Decorations, Flowers and Planting Regulations for the cemetery.

Jones said an inquiry was recently made into the possibility of having a headstone placed at the foot of a grave rather than the head of a grave.

“After staff discussions and research, it was determined that the ordinance did not specifically prohibit the placement of a stone at the foot of a grave. It is felt that the practice of a stone placement in this location would establish a precedent that, over the long term, could disrupt and make lawn maintenance at the cemetery more difficult. The most common burial tradition is to have the head of the body to the west and the feet to the east; additionally, the husband is laid to rest on the left side of the spouse, with the wife laid to rest on the right side of their spouse,” Jones said.

– approved a $40,964.80 payment to Voy Construction for the Splash Pad project. The pay application covers the cost of site grading and the initial base rock for the project, splash pad plumbing, playground and splash pad equipment.

Jones said some delays, including a rainy July, slowed construction of the pad but he is hopeful it will be finished by the end of August.