By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—The Pelham City Council unanimously approved the reappointment of Paul Howell to Place 1 on the Pelham Board of Education during an April 28 specially-called meeting.

“We should note Mr. Howell has been a really excellent board member,” Pelham City Councilman Ron Scott said. “I’m not surprised we find ourselves where we are today with his reappointment.”

The Board of Education Place 1 vacancy was posted on the Pelham city website earlier this month and remained open for applications until April 18, however the City Council received no applications, a sign of the “community’s endorsement” of Howell, Scott said.

Howell was originally named to Place 1 on the Board of Education during a November 18, 2013 City Council meeting, and sworn onto the board during a December 3, 2013 City Council meeting.

When the Board of Education was established, the positions were assigned consecutive roll-off dates, with Place 1 expiring first in June of 2014.

Howell’s reappointment to Place 1 is for a five-year term, expiring June of 2019.

“One of the things that has made the first year on the Board so exciting is the work we have done,” Howell said. “I look forward to kicking the school system off on the first of July.”

The City Council also approved the emergency spending of nearly $17,000 from the Capital Improvement fund to fix a sinkhole on Cambrian Ridge Drive that occurred after the heavy flooding in early April.

“We knew we were in for some deep digging,” Pelham director of Public Works Eddy Jowers said.

After digging 22 feet into the ground, the bottom of the sinkhole was reached, Jowers said. The hole was filled, but the area still requires paving which Jowers estimates will cost between $3,000 and $4,000.

“It was quite a hole, but it could have been a whole lot worse,” Jowers said.