MAXTON — Maxton residents present for the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday were introduced to the town’s new manager, Roosevelt Henegan Jr.
Henegan began on Aug. 1, taking the place of former Town Manager Kate Bordeaux, who resigned May 13. Finance Officer Myra Tyndall served as interim town manager from May 15 to July 31.
“He’s getting his feet wet,” Mayor Emmett Morton said. “He’s easing in slow instead of coming in like a bull, and I think he’ll be great.”
Henegan served as manager of the town of Kingstree, South Carolina, for a year, and on the City Council for Bennettsville, South Carolina, for 12 years. He lives in Florence.
He hopes to see industrial growth for Maxton, Henegan said.
“I’d love for some major manufacturing to come,” he said.
He hopes to rid the town of some of the old and dilapidated houses, an issue the board has addressed for months.
“That’s something we want to address and muscle down on,” he said.
Henegan said his goal is to not change what is set in place but to evaluate how things are running and see if it could be more efficient.
“The town of Maxton was incorporated in 1874 and they’ve made it this far without me,” Henegan said. “There is a tremendous amount of potential here, and I just look forward to helping bring out the best.”
In other business, the commissioners agreed to send a letter to the Robeson County Board of Commissioners petitioning for possession of the building that once housed R.B. Dean Elementary School. The Board of Education for the Public Schools of Robeson County voted on June 18 to close R.B. Dean and three other schools as part of a consolidation plan.
Commissioner James McDougald said he already has noticed the grass at R.B. Dean is knee-high.
“The last school that closed in Maxton (Maxton High School), they let run down and then it was too expensive to fix up,” McDougald said. “There’s a lot of opportunities that could be there.”
Mayor Morton said the school has several classrooms that could be used as learning centers, an updated gym and the cafeteria could be useful when the building is being used as an emergency shelter.
“We need something like this in Maxton,” McDougald said.
Also on Tuesday, Maxton Rescue Squad Chief Wilbur Harris told the commissioners that the squad needs volunteers.
“We’re very shorthanded,” Harris said. “We’re losing all of our volunteers to paying positions.
“We’re looking to the town for some help.”
Harris said he recently went through some health issues, and has not been able to operate the squad’s truck.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep it afloat,” Harris said. “It’s a tough situation.”
In other business, the board:
— Decided to apply for Community Development Block Grant.
— Amended the town’s budget, allocating $98,000 for repairs to town’s water tank.
— Amended the town’s budget to allow $7,500 to be put toward limb and debris removal at Oak Grove Cemetery, which is owned by the town.
— Appointed Commissioners Virgil Hutchinson and Victor Womack, Henegan, Public Works Director Dennis Freeman, and Zoning Board member Larry Graham to the Transportation Committee.
