After several months of meetings filled with controversy and tension between council members and the mayor, the Morven Town Council held a relatively calm monthly meeting Monday night, Jan. 4.

At the December meeting, new council members Ben Atkinson, Theodore Carr and Marjorie Cole were sworn in and immediately took several actions to reduce the duties of Mayor Carolyn Solomon. Several members of the audience, Solomon and the new council members had some heated words but this month, the council held its meeting at a new location, the fire department, posted the agenda on a dry-erase board and kept the meeting orderly and organized.

Public comments were moved to the beginning of the meeting, speakers were kept to three minutes by town clerk Shemetra Melton and the mayor no longer allowed audience members to speak out without permission.

One item that had caused some tension between the council members was the creation of a town park in Morven, an issue that has been ongoing for seven years.

Carr proposed that the council look into locating a park downtown, across from Town Hall. "I think we should take a positive step into the development of a park," he said.

Carr added that he felt having the park across from Town Hall would be "a deterrent for malicious behavior."

He also said that he wasn't opposed to a ball park in the location that had already been proposed on Bethel Road.

The council unanimously approved Carr's motion to look into a downtown park.

It also unanimously approved a request to purchase $1,000 worth of needed equipment for the maintenance department, with little discussion.

Maintenance director Sarah Burr also appeared before the council, asking for reimbursement for the use of her personal cell phone for town business. There was some discussion about adding a second phone to the department but Burr said she would rather be reimbursed for the time she uses on her own phone.

Burr said she would bring her phone bills in for the council at its next meeting.

The council had also met in closed session prior to the meeting and in public session, approved a reorganization of Burr's department, setting new hours for her and two other employees.

Carr then brought up a motion to allow Mayor Pro Tem Susan Woodburn to make more of the town's financial decisions, after prodding from Woodburn. "I think we need consistency on the board here, allowing Mrs. Woodburn to take the lead in terms of getting things done around town," Carr said. "I work full time, others work full time and she is retiring. ... I motion that we pass to her the authority to handle the day-to-day operations and make decisions, and not always have to call a meeting."

At that point, the audience began to protest, several of them saying that they had elected Mayor Solomon to perform those duties.

"The town council is management of the town," Carr said. "Now, heretofore, much of that has been allocated, or the mayor has picked up on her own."

"I didn't just pick it up," Solomon said.

"It's written in the state statutes," Carr responded. "The duties of the mayor are ceremonial. Sometimes doing the right thing can come as a shock."

Several audience members said the council needed to vote but Carr stated that it did not require a vote because it was written in the statutes.

Although audience members were still protesting, the meeting moved on, at the urging of the mayor.

There was a bit of discussion about repainting of the town's water tank, which had cost more than expected, due to an interior ladder that was corroded. Cole stated that she wanted more information and paperwork before making a decision so the item was tabled until the next meeting.

After the police report, the meeting adjourned at 8:42 p.m.