RINCON — During its regularly scheduled meeting Monday night, the Rincon City Council took the first step toward filling the vacancy left by a September 2020 resignation.
The council set March 16 as the special election date to determine James Dasher’s successor. Dasher departed the seven-member body in the middle of his third term because of plans to build a house outside the city limits on a 29-acre piece of property on Midland Road.
The candidate qualifying period is Feb. 8-10. The hours will be 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Feb. 8-9 and 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Feb. 10.
The quaifying cost for 2021 elections was set at $90 for a council post and $120 for the position of mayor. The mayoral post and some council seats will be up for grabs this fall.
In another move, the council unanimously elected Patrick Kirkland to serve as mayor pro tem. He was elected to his first council term in 2019.
Kirkland chuckled sheepishly after he was nominated by Ann Daniel.
“Thank you very much. I appreciate it,” Kirkland said.
“There is no pay increase,” Major Ken Lee joked following the vote.
During the administrative reports section of the meeting, City Manager John Klimm asked the council to set a date for a workshop to discuss TSPLOST projects. The City of Rincon is projected to receive $1.2 million from the voter-approved county sales tax for transportation projects in each of the next five years.
“The question is in what order should we undertake these projects,” Klimm said.
The city manager said Fourth Street from Ga. Hwy 21 to the city limits needs to be repaired and widened. Seventh Street, Ninth Street and Weisenbaker Road are also trouble spots, he noted.
Klimm also told the council that, starting Tuesday, a few City of Rincon workers will help the Effingham County Health Department answer its phones. The department has been inundated with requests for appointments to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The mayor commended Klimm for his decision to help people get vaccinated for the next few days.
Earlier, the council accepted a $2,500 gift from the Georgia Ports Authority for use of the city's shooting range by its security force.
