By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — Mike Mahaley made a triumphant return to the Landis town board as mayor following the November election and presided over his first meeting earlier this month.

Mahaley, who recaptured the seat he left about eight years ago says he’s learned a lot from his past tenure and has a list of goals he wants to accomplish.

“It feels great to be back on the board. It just feels good,” Mahaley said.

He was quick to point out although he’s excited to be back on the board, there is a lot to do.

Mahaley said there’s never enough money to go around for all the projects to get done, but the board’s objective is to find the ones that are necessary and make them a priority. His high priority list includes lowering what he calls excessive electric rates, searching for a quality water/sewer supplier, and repairing/paving some much needed roads in town.

When he left office as mayor he estimates the town was paying close to 4 percent more in utility rates than neighboring towns that were receiving services from Duke Energy and now believes that number is closer to 18 to 20 percent higher.

“It’s too much mark up being put on it,” he said.

Landis buys its power from ElectriCities, an electric co-op, but Mahaley believes the town should negotiate for lower rates. Most of Rowan County receives electricity from Duke Energy. Water and sewer is provided to Landis by Kannapolis and Salisbury-Rowan Utilities, respectively.

He says the town has to honor the current contract with SRU, but once the contract is up for renewal, Mahaley said, it should be re-evaluated.

As to the roads, Mahaley said he thinks they haven’t been paved in about nine years. He admits some of the reason the roads haven’t been paved is because of ongoing water and sewer projects that require the roads to be torn up for repairs. He also adds that the water/sewer project has been in the works since he was in office and it still isn’t complete.

Mahaley said one of the biggest lessons he’s learned from his past experiences on the board are to “listen a little more and talk a little less.”

“I’ve got a really good board, two will be with me for the full term. We did get some stuff done, but there’s a lot of bad feelings that did show up in town business,” he said of his past time on the board.

Mahaley readily adds the bad feelings didn’t come from him. Some of those bad feelings he felt were creeping back in when, the night he was sworn in, three of the aldermen didn’t show up for the meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Brown, outgoing Mayor James Furr and Alderman Tony Hilton were not in attendance.

Mahaley did initially take their absence as a slight to the newly elected incoming board, but he heard from both Furr and Brown as to the reasons they were not able to attend.

Furr had a work conflict and even called Mahaley to apologize for not being able to attend. Other than missing a meeting for the birth of his grandson, the Dec. 7 meeting was the first meeting since being on the board that Furr was not able to attend.

“I certainly would never want anyone to interpret my absence as any reflection against the new board,” Furr said.

Brown said he hurt his back while working and was physically unable to sit or stand for any length of time. He also said it was the first meeting he recalled missing in his time on the board.

Hilton declined to comment as to the reason he did not attend.

Since the three men were not in attendance, it presented a perplexing problem for staff and the board members, Roger Safrit and Dorland Abernathy, who did attend. The men could not conduct town business because there weren’t enough voting members, or what’s called a quorum.

Safrit, who is the senior board member, opened the meeting and led the Pledge of Allegiance. The town staff then conducted a swearing-in ceremony for Mahaley, as well as newcomers Seth Moore and Tommy Garver, who were also elected in November.

Clerk of Court Jeff Barger conducted the ceremony. Barger said in the years he’s sworn in officials, he’s never seen the old board members not attend. Town Attorney Rick Locklear said he and Town Administrator Reed Linn had to consult the town’s charter and Robert’s Rules of Order to determine what the board should do if there wasn’t a quorum prior to the swearing-in ceremony.

Locklear said the ceremony is merely a formality, and although it’s something many towns perform, the members being sworn in already have the rights and privileges of presiding at meetings just as long as the board of elections certifies them to do so.

“A quorum is not needed to conduct the installation,” Locklear said.

Linn called the meeting a “unique situation.”

“We had to check our protocol,” he said.

Linn said they couldn’t take any action whatsoever, which the board did not do until after the new members were sworn in.

“They adopted the agenda and carried on with business. It was a short and sweet changing of the guard,” Linn said.

The board meets at 7 p.m. the first Monday of every month.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.