The Magdalena council approved Mayor Richard Rumpf’s nomination of Michael Thompson to replace Harvan Conrad for the remaining two years of term as a trustee. According to the mayor, Conrad had to step down due to health issues. Thompson also spoke during public comment regarding the library.

Thompson said he is on the board of The Friends of the Magdalena Library and he was nominated to represent the group during public comment. He said the library board was seeking permission to look for additional space. The group has been looking into portable buildings to add to the space. He said they just wanted to make sure there were no objections from the village.

Thompson said that he ran for office last fall and lost to one vote to his friend Harvan Conrad. “I am looking forward to serving with the people there,” he said.
In other business, the council approved an out-of-state training conference in Nevada for two officers: Michaeal Zamora and Brian Waterman. The conference and boarding will be paid for by law enforcement funds.

The council also approved using a grant that was applied for by the county before the village took over the senior center, according to Mayor Rumpf. The money will be used to purchase and install meals equipment and other equipment, he said. The council also discussed other future plans which include getting the bathrooms renovated, an addition on the west side of the building, expansion of the community garden, building a parking structure and plans to plant 15 or 20 trees around the property including adding some fruit trees to the community garden area. The council voted to approve the use of the $108,000 grant. They also explained that the original grant was going to be used to provide more security but after the needs of the senior center were discussed they were approved by the Department of Finance Authority to use the grant on purchasing and installing meals equipment and other equipment. Rumpf said the village requested a scope of work change to use the grant money more appropriately. He said they will have to report to the state finance department on how the money is used.

Tamara Bicknell-Lombardi