Maxton has been approved for two grants totaling more than $130,000 to help poor residents with home repairs, Town Manager Katrina Tatum announced.

Along with Red Springs, Maxton was selected to receive a $75,000 "urgent repair" grant from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to be spent on making vital repairs to the houses of low and very low income residents of the town. Maxton and Red Springs will split the money evenly.

Maxton was also awarded a $100,000 grant from the N.C. Community Development Initiative to go toward rehabilitating properties in Maxton. Two properties are being bid out for rehabilitation. The grant does not require matching funds from the town.

According to Tatum, Maxton had the “best application submitted in North Carolina” for the urgent repairs grant.

Looking to add to the recent grant successes, the board also took time out for a public hearing to discuss going forward with the application process for the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Community Assistance “Capacity Building Grant.” The town had applied once for the grant and was rejected.

Town officials are interested in creating housing for elderly “intergenerational families”, comprised of an elderly guardian or guardians caring for a child or children younger than 18 years of age (or 19, if the child is in school). Under the plan, the housing units would be subsidized with tenants contributing by paying 30 percent of their adjusted monthly income toward the rent. The board approved going forward with the grant application process.

“We need to be sure we concentrate on the needs of all citizens, not just the ones who can contribute greatly to the tax base,” Tatum said.

In other business, Tatum announced that Maxton has once again become a “Tree City.”

Maxton had maintained that designation, which recognizes towns that have committed to the preservation and protection of trees, for 22 years before losing it in 2006 when town staff abandoned the application process. Tatum informed the board that the process of applying has now been “made easier” so that future lapses are less likely to occur.

The board denied a request to allocate money to the Robeson County Athletic Hall of Fame. Officials said the town limits funding to private organizations.

Town Commissioner James McClanathan saidhe would be “glad to” personally donate to the cause, but the board might be opening a “can of worms” by doing so. He said it would violate budget stipulations laid out earlier in the fiscal year. An amendment to the budget would have been required for money to be given due to those stipulations. Following the discussion, Commissioner Ray Oxendine withdrew the request, and the members agreed to give money to the cause privately.

With that precedent set, consideration of the Lumbee Tribe’s request for money in the form of a powwow booklet advertisement was also denied.

Also during the meeting, the board approved paying $6,000, along with Scotland County, Laurinburg and the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, toward hiring Marlowe and Company, a governmental affairs consulting firm, to assist with planning, securing funds for and completing upgrades to the airport’s runway.

Commissioner Oxendinepointed out that a pile of leaves adjacent to the Maxton Town Hall has still not been removed. Oxendine brought up the matter during January’s meeting of the board.

Tatum said that she would discuss the issue with town workers, but Oxendine said she “shouldn’t have to tell them to clean up, especially so near the Town Hall.” Tatum reported that workers had recently been focused on repairing the numerous potholes littering the town.

Also during the meeting:

-Greta Anita Lint, LLC has submitted a proposal of $2,400 per month plus expenses to establish tourism in Maxton focused on the Campbell Soup Company operations in the town. This agenda item was tabled until the proposal makes its way through “correct channels,” including the NC STEP Committee.

- Maxton Chamber of Commerce President Gary Gallman appeared before the board to present a two year proposal outlining the chamber’s expenditures. This agenda item was tabled as funding has not yet been put into place.

-The board approved an ordinance controlling backflow and cross-connections in the town in order to avoid state and federal non-compliance fines.

- The board approved the creation of a budget ordinance for the Town of Maxton’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund Mini-Grant money in the amount of $30,000.

- In order to maintain a comprehensive budget the board approved an amendment recognizing the donated funds which were spent recently on purchasing the Maxton Activity Bus. The bus will be maintained using the town’s 21st Century Community Learning Center grant money.

- Tatum informed the board that Progress Energy has already begun marking areas for construction so that placing underground lines may commence. The work will be done entirely by Progress Energy at a cost of $1,000, a savings of $3,000 when considering what it would have cost the town to do the work. The work is part of the Maxton Downtown Enhancement Project.

- Mayor Gladys Dean has signed a contract with Southeast Pipe Survey Inc. so that Clean Water Management Trust Fund work can begin.

- The Maxton Police Department reported that its recent Crimestoppers fundraiser was a “huge success”, raising more than $500. Tatum encouraged residents to donate to the cause, calling Crimestoppers a “good thing” and an effective crime deterrent.