The Magnolia Springs finance committee suggested a plan for the town to fund a portion of the turning lane constructed to accommodate Family Dollar. Houser said the town will fund up to $90,000 of the project, which is slightly less than half of the total cost of the project.

The finance committee recommended for the town to take the seven-month CD it currently has and convert it to 24 month CD, which would raise the income. The new CD would then be used as collateral on a five-month note.

“We make more income and we pay less interest. It is a no brainer from a financial standpoint. For the balance of the money we think we can pull that from the money market account and still leave $64,000. I think we can replenish that pretty quickly once we start getting income from Family Dollar,” Mayor Charles Houser said in an earlier meeting.

It was decided at Tuesday’s meeting to leave the money market account alone because the town had an unexpected surplus in the general operating budget. Town Clerk Karen Biel was going to move around $40,000 from the general fund to the money market account but the money from the general fund will go towards the turn lane financing instead.

Houser was astonished how well the town’s finances appeared for the year so far.

“We are doing well enough that we can take that out of the operating fund, not go into the money market, keep the money market at $105,000. I think that is interesting,” he said.

The mayor was authorized by the council to enter into an agreement and get the bank to draft a proposal. The resolution to approve the action will be up for a vote at the next council meeting in February.

Biel ws also authorized to purchase a fireproof cabinet of drawers because she is running out of space. She estimates the price to be about $12,000 but she is seeking cheaper alternatives as well. The historic commission has also requested a drawer in town hall to store some of their documents in. The new cabinets will house town documents and the historic commissions paperwork.

Houser also announced a seafood festival, which will take place in the town, was in planning stages. The festival will coincide with the Magnolia Run on April 2 and will be hosted by Jesse’s. The event will take place on the school grounds and include ten restaurants, all serving up local seafood. The event will cost between $20 and $25 and include all you can eat food and complimentary wine.

The town council passed a proclamation declaring February 26 as Arbor Day. This year Arbor Day will be celebrated on Arbor Day, in years past the town was asked to celebrate on an alternate day.