MARKLEVILLE — Markleville is slated to have a final vote on whether to do away with districts for its three-member town council.

The council wants to make all members at-large representatives, a move discussed and approved 3-0 at the council’s May 11 meeting and anticipated to be finalized at a May 25 meeting.

Matt Gustin (District 1), Kevin Allen (District 2) and Daniel Roseberry (District 3) were elected unopposed in 2019.

According to town attorney John Reeder, Markleville met the three requirements to make the change. It has a population of less than 1,000; the change is not being made in a council election year; and the council voted unanimously for the change.

At Reeder’s suggestion, the council will have a second and final vote at the next board meeting.

The change was proposed after Roseberry moved out of his district and into the district represented by Allen. If the change receives the final nod, the current board will remain as the town’s three-member representation.

“I have no problem stepping down from town council if we don’t see fit that this is the right opportunity for the town,” Roseberry told the council. “I don’t want it to be on my behalf, personally, but it became an opportunity that I wanted to present to remove voting districts and have three at-large seats.”

At the start of the May 11 meeting, Roseberry, who had been the town council president, elected to step down from that position prior to discussion of the amendment on the town’s voting procedure. Gustin was named the new president at the start of the proceedings.

“I don’t know why we would remain in a district-representative town,” Gustin said during the meeting. “It’s hard enough to fine people to do it, in general, let alone you have to live (in a particular area).”

It is not uncommon for town’s with smaller populations and with three-member boards to elect officials as at-large candidates.

Becky Perkins, vice-president of the Shirley Town Council, is part of a three-member board for the small town that sits on the Hancock-Henry county border. Perkins, by email, said, “We used to have wards, but that was dissolved because we did not reapply for that consideration.”

In 2018, Markleville’s population was 514. Shirley is a larger community with a population, as of 2018, of 859 (663 in Hancock County and 196 in Henry County).

Perkins said the change, at Shirley, to all at-large council members was just put in prior to their last election.

The Markleville council asked for any remarks or questions about the potential change from the public or those in attendance. There were no responses for or against.

Reeder recommended, in consideration of all COVID-19 issues, the council vote on a draft of the amendment at the meeting. He said a final ordinance could be prepared for a second reading on a different date, “in case the town council needs to hear from anyone in the districts that might have some type of input.

“Technically, it states that it is effective immediately upon passage as long as it is in a year in which there is not a (town council) election. I just think that considering the circumstances we are facing (with the COVID-19 pandemic), you just want to make sure (a resident) can’t say they weren’t given the opportunity to participate.”

Reeder suggested unless there is “strenuous objection” the updated ordinance would go into place immediately after the second reading at the next town council meeting at 7 p.m. May 25.

The town council meeting was attended, in person, by all three council members, as well as other town department leaders. The public meeting was made available to department heads, residents and media by way of gotomeeting.com.

The Monday, May 11 meeting was the first town meeting in nearly two months. On March 18, to comply with the governor’s say-at-home orders for the COVID-19 pandemic, the town posted on its web site that all town activities were postponed until further notice.

In other business, park board president Wayne Fox and the council discussed resuming events at the park on June 14, the date given by the governor’s office for recreational activities to restart.

Fox asked council for recommendations concerning a tractor pull that is scheduled on June 13, one day prior to the governor’s opening date.

They talked about the possibility of still having it, with the event taking place outdoors and the estimate of how many people would be in attendance.

“I don’t know if we should tell (tractor pull organizers) ‘no,’” Fox said. “What’s right today might not be right next week.”

“My biggest concern is, what’s our liability?” Gustin asked.

The consensus was to make a decision at the next council meeting.