By John Howell
Batesville’s mayor and aldermen will meet again Wednesday, October 1 to make a selection for full-time fire chief.

The city officials met Wednesday, Sept. 24, to narrow down the 25 applications from people seeking the position. The mayor and aldermen made the decision to hire a full-time chief in August.

Part-time Batesville Fire Department Chief Tim Taylor has served since his election to head the then-all volunteer department in 1989. Taylor said that he intended to apply for the full-time slot.

 Since the late 1990s, the department has been staffed by a mix of full-time career firefighters and part-time, paid-on-call firefighters.

The portion of Wednesday’s meeting to consider the 25 applicants was held in executive session and closed to the public. The mayor and aldermen are thought to have narrowed the field of applicants and are expected to conduct interviews with finalists at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday. The meetings will be held at the Smith Phillips law office on Lakewood Drive.

In business conducted during the open session of the Sept. 24 meeting, Aldermen voted unanimously to approve Mayor Jerry Autrey’s signing a grant agreement with the Appalachian Regional Council (ARC). The city expects to receive a $300,000 ARC grant to help pay for a new water well to be constructed east of I-55.

The city officials also agreed to add London Cove to the list for 2014 street resurfacing.

Aldermen also gave unanimous approval for a credit of $3,340.10 to be applied to the water bill at PFG. PFG officials had appeared before the mayor and board in August, describing an oversight that failed to establish credit for city water used at the facility that does not enter the sanitary sewer system. City Clerk Susan Berryhill estimated the sewer charge to have amounted to $10,121.49 before company officials discovered their oversight. City officials agreed to credit one third of the amount.

Aldermen Bill Dugger, Ted Stewart, Stan Harrison and Teddy Morrow attended the Sept. 24 meeting. Alderman Eddie Nabors did not attend.