During Monday evening’s meeting of the Henderson City Council, member Mike Inscoe exercised the privilege of drawing a vote on new downtown Christmas lights from the consent agenda.
Items in the consent agenda are voted upon by roll call vote without discussion. The consent agenda frequently contains recurring items, such as tax refunds, but may include other city business. Once an item is withdrawn from the consent agenda, it is discussed as a separate agenda item.
During the discussion, Inscoe asked whether or not the purchase of the new lights was originally budgeted by the Downtown Development Commission (DDC) which made the original request for the new holiday fixtures. City Manager Ray Griffin informed Inscoe that it was not previously budgeted.
According to Griffin, the DDC is soliciting funds from its members and from the general public to meet the Christmas light expense. It estimates that the funds raised will be “almost equivalent” to the cost.
Asking what would happen if expectations fell short, Inscoe asked that the director of the DDC be present at the next meeting. Griffin told him that Phil LaKernick, the director of the DDC, would be present at the next short regular meeting.
The total cost of the light refurbishing and replacement project is estimated at approximately between $15,000 and $19,000, with the DDC paying for the refurbishment of old lights and the installation of new ones.