​Mayor Goldston Womble swore in newly re-elected commissioners Tim Blount, Mike Suggs and Paul Evans to begin the December monthly meeting. Town Clerk, Brenda Clark retired after many years in November. The Town is moving forward with that hiring process and has named Town Administrator Sean Martin as the interim Town Clerk. Mayor Womble, Town Administrator Sean Martin and Commissioners Hilton and Evans will work as a temporary hiring subcommittee to fill the positions of Town Clerk and Public Works Director. 
At one point recently three of the six police officer positions in Town were unfilled. The Board discussed ways to add salary and benefit adjustments that are more than “just a bandaid” and approved a law enforcement recruitment and retention program to assist Police Chief Bruce Smith. 
Once again, a lengthy discussion ensued with lake water quality issues and the report to the board from Diane Lauritsen, Ph.D. The report showed data for monthly rainfall, lake water levels, spring flow rates, and the presence of aquatic weeds. The operation of the decontamination station to be used before launching boats at White Lake Marina and the possibility of moving some of the no wake buoys so that they are all in the same depth of water were also mentioned in the report. The full report can be found at https://whitelakewatch.com. The Board discussed the lack of rainfall and the worrisome declining lake water level. Commissioner Blount expressed his desire to get more involvement from the local representatives in the NC General Assembly.
The town offices will be closed on December 23, 24, 27 and 31 for the holidays. As is customary, a public works employee will be on call for any water or sewer emergencies and can be reached by calling 911.