Lynn Horton officially filled Sam McLendon's seat at Monday's Wadesboro Town Council meeting.

Horton was sworn in by the honorable Fetzer Mills.

The council also discussed parking in Wadesboro. In a letter distributed to council members prior to the meeting, and at the meeting itself, councilman Bob Blalock brought up possible solutions, including reducing the spaces currently available for two hours to one hour.

Councilman Lawrence Gatewood said another option would be to adopt parking meters. He said meters could range in price from $300-$350 a piece.

"It's been a problem for 20-plus years," Horton said. She asked if a committee had looked at the options.

Town manager John Witherspoon said recommendations had been made to the council, along with county commissioners, but never adopted.

Mayor Bill Thacker said "they did not feel [the study] was feasible."

It recommended solutions like changing certain streets to one-way streets and adopting angled parking spaces.

Councilwoman Paula Tice said the parallel spaces on East Wade Street beside the new county office were currently unmarked.

Horton said the town needed to know the exact number of spaces in the area.

Witherspoon said he would look at parking meters as an option and would come up with a parking space count. Town clerk Nancy Huntley said Tuesday the town would move forward with marking the spaces on East Wade Street.

A motion by Blalock to adopt one-hour parking where spaces are currently offering spaces for two hours died for lack of a second.

The council also adopted an agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) wherein the DOT will now maintain two traffic signals owned by the town, due to a lack of personnel.

The town will compensate the department for all costs, estimated at $4,000 per year. The signals are at the intersection of Wade Street and Rutherford Street and the intersection of Wade Street and Washington Street.