Shelby City Council welcomes new city manager, updates on projects given
- Chuck Thompson
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent
Shelby City Council kicked off 2026 with their first meeting of the new year. It was Justin Merritt’s first public meeting as the new City of Shelby Manager.
The first order of business was to adopt the agenda as presented, which passed unanimously.
Next was the public comments. A Shelby resident spoke about the theme of keeping Shelby beautiful. She noted that littering was a bad issue in her neighborhood and spoke on crime in the area of her home. She said she did have some ideas to help resolve some of her concerns, but did not go into detail, noting she had sent a few emails, and expressing her care for the city and her neighborhood.
Mayor Stan Anthony thanked her for her comments and said they would look into her concerns.
The consent agenda was approved which included the approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on December 15; approval of a resolution honoring City Manager Rick Howell on the occasion of his retirement from employment with the City of Shelby and an approval of a resolution honoring Dee Pollard Greene on the occasion of her retirement from employment with the City of Shelby.
Merritt gave his first report as city manager, “First I do want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve the citizens and businesses of Shelby. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity as I have previously expressed to all of you, and I look forward to working with you and staff and city council to keep Shelby moving forward. Thank you; I can’t be more appreciative.”
Merritt gave an update on the paving improvements, noting the plan is to finish paving Washington Street around Jan 20. Graham Street is also expected to be completed by the same date, but it will be closed in sections during the paving process.
“Hopefully, with some cooperative weather, we will see some progress on those two portions of that project,” Merritt added.
He also mentioned funding in the FY ’26 to replace 15 oak trees in the uptown area. “Now is the time to get those trees in the ground,” Merritt said, stating it will begin soon. Although he said there’s probably more than 15 that need to be replaced.
It was stressed that an arborist has been and will be consulted in the removal and replacement of the trees, and if anyone sees a tree coming down, to please note it is being replaced. Council Member Violet Arth stressed the importance of possibly making social media post as not to alarm the public when they see a tree being removed. The work will begin mid-to-late-January, Merritt noted, and take about four weeks from start to finish.
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The waterline replacement project at various locations across the city is still happening.
The Rail Trail phase 2 construction and business disruption – Merritt said there has been some issues with this construction, but it is expected and they plan to do what they can to help increase traffic at these businesses through various promotions.
Other matters such as the council planning retreat were briefly discussed and some minor IT and wire / electrical systems issues in council chambers were mentioned.
He mentioned a seminar that he will be attending, and the last thing was the frequency of communication between the city manager and city council. He noted if the city council feels they are getting too much information or not enough to let him know and he thanked the council for their patience as he adjusts to the role of city manager.
The board all took turns welcoming Merritt into his new role.
The mayor noted next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the city offices will be closed.
The City Council adjourned after 22 minutes.
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Chuck Thompson is a reporter and columnist for The Shelby Independent.
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