All new employees hired by the City of Red Boiling Springs will be on probation for one year, City Council decided at its monthly meeting Thursday, Nov. 12, at City Hall.

Previously, all new employees were on three-month probationary periods.

The motion was approved by a 4-0 vote, including the vote of Mayor Kenneth Hollis.

Councilmen present were Steve Newberry, Billy Joe Carver and Willie Brown.

Hollis told councilmen three months isn’t enough time to perform adequate evaluations.

“Three months is just not enough,” Hollis said. “In all the other towns and cities they’re on six months to a year on probation.”

Next, council passed a motion by a 4-0 vote to extend Red Boiling Springs Assistant Police Chief Kimball Hall’s probationary by nine months.

Hollis said he and Hall, who wasn’t at the meeting, had discussed the idea prior to the meeting. Hollis said Hall was OK with the move.

Hall had almost completed his three-month probation period.

Hollis said afterwards that it was done so that Hall’s probation period conforms with the new policy of one year for all new hires.

In other news from the meeting:

Engineering and grants

Larry Cato, representing Nashville-based engineering firm Barge and Waggoner, presented the council with a resolution to begin the process for a CDBC project.

Cato said Upper Cumberland expressed doubt as to whether or not the city could obtain a grant for the sewer project. Cato said the city should change to the water project “where we’ve got a whole lot better shot at getting the money.”

The resolution was to begin the survey process.

Cato said the current CDBG project, involving Cotton Hollow and Sabin Spring, is continuing as planned.

“We’re getting close to the finish line,” Cato said. “We’re running right on schedule.”

Christmas bonuses

Council approved Christmas bonuses of $100 each for city employees. Every fireman will receive a turkey.

Paving work

The city had $50,000 budgeted for paving work and received one bid. That bid of $42,960 was approved for road work on several RBS roads, including Spring Street, Donald Drive, McClure Street, Zena Street, Grandview Drive and Heady Ridge Road, among others.

Tank in good shape

A two-year warranty inspection recently was performed on the Osh Kosh tank. It passed, Cato said.

“Our contractor was here, the paint guy was here and our tank expert was here,” Cato said. “They climbed it and went all over it and didn’t find any rusty spots.

“The paint guy himself said it was the cleanest one he’d looked at in two years. He said you could stand up on the top and see the bottom. It might have had double handful of silt at the bottom, but that’s all that had accumulated in two years.”

The warranty on the tank has now expired, Cato said.

Stop sign

Council approved changing a stop sign at Heady Ridge Road and College Street. The sign, currently located at Heady Ridge Road, will be moved to College Street.

Police promotion

Council approved the promotion of Red Boiling Springs Police Department employee Doug McDonald to lieutenant from patrolman. McDonald will not receive a pay increase.

Sanitation services

The city is losing money on its sanitation services. Hollis said there’s been discussion on ways to save money.

Those ways will be discussed further at the next monthly meeting in December.