Blythewood council eyeing single-member districts

BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Town Council voted on May 22 to approve first reading of an ordinance calling for a referendum for Blythewood voters to decide whether Town Council should change from at-large voting districts to single-member districts. Currently, Town Council is composed of four council members and a Mayor, all elected at-large. The town would […]

Blythewood council pushes back against attendance law

BLYTHEWOOD – At the Blythewood Town Council’s budget workshop Friday morning, council members discussed for the second time an attendance policy for council members. During the initial discussion on March 27, Councilman Rich McKenrick and Mayor Bryan Franklin called out Councilman Sloan Griffin for allegedly not communicating about his two absences during his deployment to […]

BTC eyes referendum for town council districts

BLYTHEWOOD – The last agenda item at Friday morning’s 4-hour town council meeting called for council members to discuss the possibility of creating election districts for the council and/or adding two additional council seats, which would bring the total number of council members from 5 to 7. “Blythewood is at the point now where we’re […]

Bids being sought for Vet’s Memorial

BLYTHEWOOD – Longtime Blythewood public servant Malcolm Gordge, representing the Blythewood Historical Society & Museum, came before town council April 24 requesting that council release the $40,000 the town had budgeted for the BHS&M to use toward the design and construction of a proposed veterans combat memorial.  Councilmen Donald Brock and Rich McKenrick questioned this […]

MPA files motion to dismiss Blythewood’s counterclaim

BLYTHEWOOD – According to recently filed court documents, Town leaders are using litigation to punish their former marketing firm for requesting public records through the FOIA. MPA Strategies has asked a circuit judge to grant summary judgment to dismiss eight causes of action, including fraud, civil conspiracy, negligence/gross negligence, and another misconduct. The causes of […]

MPA subpoenas Burnett testimony

BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood lawyers want a judge to strike a subpoena seeking testimony from an attorney representing the Town in its legal battle against its former marketing firm. On March 9, attorneys for MPA Strategies subpoenaed Shannon Burnett, an attorney with the Town. Blythewood attorneys promptly responded by filing a motion to quash the subpoena. […]

Blythewood receives glowing audit report

BLYTHEWOOD – The Town received a glowing report from its annual audit. Gary Bailey of Love, Bailey & Associates, reported that general fund revenues from 2021 to 2022 climbed from about $2.2 million to $2.7 million. Revenues climbed $481,000 despite modest declines in business license and franchise fees. Expenses increased by about $100,000, mostly related […]

Athletic fields in Doko Park to undergo renovation

BLYTHEWOOD – After increasing fees for the use of the Doko Park athletic fields earlier this year, council is now in mid-discussion of plans to redesign and upgrade the current fields, possibly adding artificial turf, and designing new fields on property the town recently purchased across McLean Road from the park. “The purpose of this […]

Should Blythewood be divided into council districts?

BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Mayor Bryan Franklin suggested at the Monday night joint town council/planning commission meeting that the town’s residents might want to consider dividing the town into council districts as opposed to all the council members serving at-large as they do now. Franklin said he had not provided the district information to his fellow […]

H- & A- tax committee hosts Town Hall

BLYTHEWOOD  – Groups that rely on Blythewood tourism dollars to survive are pushing back on the town’s desire to take a larger portion for itself. Town leaders, however, say more revenue is needed to fund capital projects like ball fields, recreation venues and tourism-generated projects given the town’s no-millage status. There appeared to be little […]

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