Maria Gonzalez
Special to the Minden Press-Herald
SPRINGHILL — In a 4-1 vote, the Springhill City Council approved five amendments to the City’s Policy Manual. The changes were discussed during a workshop of the council on March. The single “Nay” came from District 1 Alderman, Nicole Frazier, who expressed her concern that Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd was not in attendance at neither the workshop nor the council meeting, and therefore could not give his input on amendments that could potentially impact his department.
The amendment in question concerned conflicts between policy manuals for the city and policy manuals for city departments. “Any Dept. policy manual will not conflict with the City of Springhill Policy Manual which was adopted by the Springhill Board of Aldermen and put into effect January 1, 2009,” the amendment read.
This amendment essentially means the Springhill Police Department Policy Manual must be revised to avoid any further conflict with city policies already in place.
“What we’ve changed may not directly affect his [Lynd’s] department, but he is one of our administrators and I feel that he should have his input,” said Frazier.
“No, I didn’t vote with the status quo, but only because I have a slightly different opinion. I always try to steer clear of any possible opposition. Because even if it’s indirectly, anything we do, trickles from the top down. It always affects the bottom.”
Despite Lynd’s absence, he told the Press-Herald prior to the meeting, “I do believe that Human Relations should be under one policy, covering police officers as well as other employees of the city. All we want is fair representation,” Lynd said.
“When other departments are closed during inclement weather and natural disasters, police officers are still working around the clock, and that needs to be taken into consideration.”
In other business, the council:
Welcomed a representative from the North Webster Parish Industrial District to address any concerns on the tax renewal proposition for North Webster Parish.
Considered, and approved, the purchase and installation of overhead netting for the Springhill Recreation Complex.
Considered, and approved, authorizing the Mayor to accept the low bid for the Machen Drive and 6th Street NE intersection project.
Considered, and approved, a zoning classification change for properties located at 1002 and 1006 North Arkansas.
Considered, and approved, payment of February 2018 bills in the amount of $96,872.46.