$120,000 donation to airport is approved

Sparta Board of Mayor and Aldermen had another brief meeting Dec. 18. A few hiring recommendations, approvals, and a resolution calling for the city election in August were some of the highlights from the short meeting.

With a unanimous vote, a city election was called for Aug. 6, 2026, for the election of three alderman and one mayor to four-year terms, something the board has to present to the Election Commission.

The $120,000 donation to the airport was approved as well. The donation matches grant funds that will be used to purchase 61 acres of land for the airport. In the spring, the board had approved a resolution to join in the dealing, and the $120,000 was the result of negotiation.

Next, the board addressed authorizing bids for auction services for surplus items, such as LESO items and guns. Mayor Jerry Lowery asked for some clarification on the reasoning, and City Administrator Tonya Tindle explained. In the past, selling surplus items like these went better when selling through auction rather than going through GovDeals, and GovDeals also gets a small percentage when they sell through it. The authorization was approved unanimously.

Kristipher Jenkins was hired for police officer because of Salvador Segura’s promotion, and Mitchell Alexander Park was hired for reserve police officer.

Mayor Lowery also wanted to thank the departments involved in the Christmas Parade the past weekend, saying, “Listen, every department, we had people involved in it. And as we’re going through there, looking at the roads blocked and see who’s blocking stuff? Done a great job with that. Once again, I want to thank- this is probably the biggest parade Sparta has had in, I don’t know, it was forever. There was a lot of vehicles and participation in it.”

The Jan. 1 meeting for the Board was cancelled since it will be New Year’s Day. The next meeting will be 5 p.m., Jan. 15, at city hall. All of the meetings are open to the public and livestreamed at Sparta TN Media, on YouTube.