Linden City Council meets

The Linden City Council voted Monday, March 9, to appoint a new member to replace the vacancy left by former councilwoman Mary Dowd.

Linden resident Heath Endsley will be sworn in to fill the position during the April city council meeting and will assume his duties at that time.

As the meeting got underway, Tommy Kessler addressed the city council during the March 9 meeting to discuss placement of a mobile home at the corner of West Broad and North Oak streets.

Kessler owns approximately fifteen (15) homes within city limits and said all the homes he has purchased have been updated and repaired, which meant an increase in the tax rolls for the city.

He said the mobile home would not be any different. Prior to moving a mobile home into a neighborhood, requirements are that the buyer must send out a notification to residents within 500 feet of the property.

A few of those present at the meeting were asked their thoughts about the home being there, with the residents stating they did not have a problem with it as there was a mobile home on the site in years past.

Kessler provided the city council with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) created printout of what he intends for the home to look like, complete with landscaping, which he intends to do to the property.

“For all intents and purposes, once I’m done, you won’t be able to tell it’s a mobile home,” Kessler said.

Councilman Bill Thomas used the saying “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig” and laughingly told Kessler he’s going to need a lot of lipstick.

After hearing Kessler’s presentation and from members of that neighborhood, the council voted unanimously to approve the mobile home placement.

The city council discussed a proposed policy for water service in the city that would prevent residents from running their homes off of wells, rather than using the city’s services.

Brent Sheets, city administrator, informed the council that the city should have a policy in place to protect the city’s water rights.

Concerns were voiced that current residents in the city have wells and use them for agricultural purposes and have for years, but it is unknown if the homes were also on the wells or if they were on the city’s service.

“There are residents with acreage scattered throughout the city who run cattle. I am concerned about them,” said Councilwoman Lynn Reynolds.

Sheets said those residents could be grandfathered in and a line could be added to the proposed policy.

He also said it would be looked at on a case-by-case as far as new residents and properties were concerned and if the city couldn’t handle the amount of water supply needed those residents or properties could possibly be approved to have a well for agricultural use.

The council voted to postpone a decision until after the policy had been edited.

In other matters, the council: - Voted to appoint Kenny Powers to the Linden Economic Development Corporation.

- Approved a policy for rights-of-way for companies, requiring permits, providing for construction standards and prescribing penalties.

- Approved a resolution suspending the CenterPoint Energy 2026 Annual GRIP Adjustment. The proposed increase will be $2.47 per residential customer per month, $4.18 per small general service customer per month, and $55.23 per large volume general service customer per month. By approving the resolution, the increase will not take effect on the proposed April 18 date, but will be suspended for 45 days.