MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Ala. — An electronic white board will not be a fixture in the Magnolia Springs Town Hall any time soon.

During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Magnolia Springs Town Council voted to decline the gift of the interactive board offered by resident Rodney Koberg.

“I don’t particularly want it,” Place 1 Representative Dotty Johnson said. “I just don’t think we need it.”

The vote was split with Mayor Ken Underwood casting the lone vote in favor of accepting the board, which ebay estimates to have a resale value of between $1,000 and $2,000, and Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Holk abstaining.

“I know you want this badly,” Place 5 Representative Ben Dykema told Underwood in Tuesday’s discussion.

Underwood said that with training, the board could be connected to the Internet and enable presentations during municipal meetings.

“I don’t think we have to have it,” he said. “But we are in the digital age.”

Despite his abstention, Holk said that while attending a presentation of the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency last week, such a device was used and seemed to cause delays in the meeting.

Koberg introduced the device to the council earlier this year while giving a presentation with the intent of selling it to the town. However, the council voted against the purchase last month, also with Underwood casting the lone vote in its favor. Later that week, it was used during the council’s first town-hall meeting at Magnolia Springs Community Hall and Koberg said he would donate it to the town.

During Tuesday’s discussion, the council pointed out that a projector had already been purchased. That same device was used once, prior to Koberg’s presentation.

Dykema also said, Tuesday, that the town could not purchase anything from Koberg in the future if it accepted a gift from him. He also suggested that if in the future such a device were needed, the council should consider purchasing it.

The electronic board appeared to be well received during last month’s town hall meeting, as some residents attending stressed that they wanted better communication from the town council. However, beginning with July’s workshop, the council began recording its municipal meetings and providing public access on its website, www.TownofMagnoliaSprings.org.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Town Clerk Karen Biel offered another solution for providing additional access.

“I would like to suggest putting a copy of the entire agenda package on our website first,” she said, adding that it’s a practice followed by the Baldwin County Commission.