Aldermen, department chiefs bid farewell to Alderman Kevin Dale White on his retirement (1-6-2025) -

Seated left to right:

Parks Smith – Ward 1
Drew Horn – Ward 2
Keith Conlee – Alderman at Large
Kevin Dale White – Ward 3
Will Tucker – Ward 4
Jeff Olson – Mayor
Megan Kirk – City Clerk
Regan Russell – City Attorney

The board heard from department heads and showed their appreciation for Kevin Dale White, who is retiring his position as Ward 3 Alderman. A special Aldermen meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 12, at 5:30P.M. to set a date for a special election for the seat vacated by White.

You can view a copy of the agenda by clicking here and a 30-minute video of the meeting below, courtesy of our videographer Kim Davis.

New Albany Light Gas and Water

(Timestamp 2:00) Bill Mattox from New Albany Light Gas and Water brought four items to the board, all of which were approved.

Payment of $87.400 to Double S as part of a water and wastewater improvements contract.
Approval of new sewer ordinances which were first address at the November aldermen
Declare some old electric transformers as surplus to be sold in a future auction.
A new advertisement for professional services with applying for a block grant to replace old water mains. Three Rivers offered to rerun the ad to include some key information that was previously omitted.

Mattox added that the electric vehicle charging station was now operational and had served 44 motorists in the last month. Major gas and electric improvements are also expected this year

Community Development

(Timestamp 6:55) Billy Jean Stroud from Community Development addressed several developments, including:

Potential improvements and development of three city buildings that are currently empty. Belinda Stewart from Certified Local Government conducted structural analyses and offered ideas for how the buildings could be utilized.
Recertification of New Albany as a designation for an approved retirement community.
Talks with Mississippi Heritage Hills, City of Ripley and City of New Albany to extend the Faulkner Corridor trail. This will be a cultural tourism project

Union County Heritage Museum

(Timestamp 12:28) Jill Smith from the Union County Heritage Museum reported several items to the board, including:

The creation of two new exhibits at the museum, Creative Spirits and the Hands-on Discovery Zone. The construction is supported by Building for the Arts from the Mississippi Arts Commission. She hopes to have those fully up and running by mid-2026.
The Hallelujah Trail event in March at the Magnolia Civic Center

New Albany Police Department

(Timestamp 15:00) Second Ward Alderman Drew Horn thanked Police Chief Chris Robertson for his officers’ efforts in de-escalating a situation at a recent football game. Robertson said some of the people involved were juveniles from Tippah County. With help from the Ripley school system and Tippah County authorities, all those involved have been identified and charges are expected.

Parks and Recreation

(Timestamp 16:15) Chase Jeter from Parks and Recreation reported several items, including:

Youth basketball league has started at Ford Gym with over 170 kids participating
Youth baseball and softball registration will begin January 12 and go through March 1
Quotes being entered to deal with a large tree that recently fell at Shady Dell

Jeter also brought up some items of business for the board:

An equipment swap for a sweeper part that needs about $1100 worth of repairs and isn’t often used. However the repair shop offered an even trade for a cart valued at $7850. Attorney Regan Russell wanted to examine whether bids need to be taken, so the board took no action for now.
Purchase of a piece of John Deere equipment for $20,123.28. The board approved this purchase.

New Albany Fire Department

(Timestamp 20:47) Mark Whiteside from the New Albany Fire Department reported that the department finished 2025 with 1561 calls, up from 1334 in 2024, an increase of about 17%. Whiteside added that the number of calls for fires was about the same as 2024, and shared that firefighters had had two confirmed CPR revivals on medical calls in 2025.

Kevin Dale White’s retirement – Special election for Ward 3 Alderman

(Timestamp 22:15) Mayor Olson addressed the retirement of Alderman Kevin Dale White, announced late last year, and thanked him for his years of service. White said that he would miss working with the board and the city. Fellow aldermen, department heads and citizens thanked White for his wisdom, his guidance, his friendship, and his passion for serving our community.

Mayor Olson announced a special Aldermen meeting for Monday, January 12, at 5:30P.M. to set a special election for the Ward 3 seat which White is vacation. The meeting then adjourned.