Henderson Council in Brief

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 | midnight

Council appoints new mayor pro-tem

The Henderson City Council voted 4-0 Aug. 18 to install Councilwoman Gerri Schroder as mayor pro tem.

Mayor James B. Gibson was excused from the meeting.

Schroder, a first-term councilwoman, is one of only two council members who will remain in office following next May's municipal elections. Councilman Steve Kirk is the other. Gibson and Councilmen Jack Clark and Andy Hafen will be unable to run because of term limits.

As mayor pro tem, Schroder will be charged with conducting council meetings when the mayor is absent or abstaining from a vote. The term is one year.

Clark, whom Schroder is replacing as mayor pro tem, offered Schroder a chance to make an acceptance speech after the appointment and then quipped when she declined, "I'm going to have to sit down and brief her on the significance and importance of this position."

Proposed police horses to get a home

The Henderson Police Department's plan to begin a mounted division is closer to reality after the City Council appropriated the money for a horse shed Aug. 19.

The council set aside $75,000 for a pre-fabricated shed to house the two horses that the Police Department plans to purchase in the near future.

The horse patrol will be used for crowd control at public events, rural patrol and public relations, according to a memo provided to council members.

City to extend Volunteer Boulevard

Volunteer Boulevard will soon be extended from Executive Airport Drive west to Gilespie Street, a distance of about 1.5 miles, after the City Council voted 4-0 to open bids for the project.

Volunteer, which presently curves and turns into Executive Airport, is planned to be a major arterial for future development in the sprawling, mostly empty southwest side of Henderson.

The city has been working to develop the infrastructure in the area to keep up with the growth, though the urgency has lessened as the housing market has slowed.

Crews are nearing completion of a major sewer line along Volunteer's future path. Construction on the road is expected to begin shortly after the sewer line is completed.

Compiled by Jeremy Twitchell