Fremont board votes to spruce up Main Street
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on October 22, 2017 1:45 AM
The Fremont Board of Aldermen voted to spend $2,200 of a $4,000 ElectriCities grant to put new flowers along Main Street at its Tuesday meeting, with the other $1,800 to be allocated later.
The vote came after a discussion on how to spend the grant, which must be used for downtown improvements. In Fremont, that means primarily Main Street and the areas directly around it.
Adding new floral arrangements downtown was just one of several proposed ideas for how to spend the money, though it was the only one with a financial quote ready to go. Town Administrator Barbara Aycock said that swapping the street's current foliage with weather-resistant flowers like pansies would be a good way to keep Main Street looking nice coming out of Winter into Spring, when the town holds its annual daffodil festival.
Members of the board and town staff offered other ideas for downtown improvements. Town finance officer Shameshia Fennel suggested using some of the money to repaint the town's gazebo and add a light, while Alderwoman Joyce Artis proposed brighter street lamps along Main Street. Neither were sure how much it would cost to implement those projects, so the board voted unanimously for the new floral arrangements with the agreement that they would decide how to use the remaining money in November.
In other business, the board voted to proceed in seeking a loan or grant to replace a broken-down truck used by the town's public works department. The truck has been out of commission for around three weeks, said public works director Tim Howell.