Moran election delayed

By Kathy Thomson

The City of Moran is still working to complete the paperwork required before they can begin using the $275,000 in HUD Community Development Block Grant funds earmarked for replacing approximately 2,500 of eight inch sewer lines running along Fisher Avenue and Grand Avenue, and as of press time on Tuesday, commodities were scheduled to be available as normal on Friday, April 3. However, COVID-19 concerns have interrupted most other city activities in Moran.

The city-wide cleanup day sponsored by the Leon Bosque RC&D and originally planned for Saturday, April 4 has been postponed.

“The government shut that down, at least for now,” said Moran secretary Teresa King. “We didn’t make that decision; it was made for us.”

Moran’s March city council meeting was cancelled.

“We weren’t sure we could stay below the 10-person limit,” said King. “We almost always have at least 10, with the mayor and five council members, two city workers, and two residents who always come to the open meeting. Sometimes more residents come, and often we have a guest speaker.”

King said that even if the “no more than 10 persons” limit extends into April, the council should be able to meet for their next scheduled meeting on April 21.

“They are giving us some new options, like teleconferencing,” said King. “Or we may need to move to a different location, so we can have a large enough space to honor social distancing.”

The local election for seats on the Moran city council will not take place on Saturday, May 2.

“We are postponing our election,” said King.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Moran did not have any positive cases of -COVID-19; however, the city is preparing the paperwork and proclamations they will need if someone there does test positive for coronavirus.

For now at least, commodities are expected to be distributed as normal on Friday, April 3, since those are distributed outside, out of the back of a pickup. 

“If anyone is having trouble paying their water bill due to the current epidemic, they can call City Hall at 325-945-3441,” said King. “We will try and work out something to help them. City Hall is still open to the public from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.”