Mount Pleasant City Council’s meeting Wednesday night marked the final meeting for two longtime public servants. Ward One Councilman Kent White is stepping down from the council as he and his wife, Pat, downsize and move to another part of Mount Pleasant outside Ward One. And Mount Pleasant Police Chief Lyle Murray will retire Friday, September 11, after 23 years with the Mount Pleasant Police Department, including seven years as chief.
White’s resignation from the council was formally approved Wednesday night. White and his wife are staying in Mount Pleasant, but their move outside Ward One means White can no longer represent the ward on the city council.
White returned to Mount Pleasant with his wife in 2005. His public service has included serving on the Henry County Conservation Board, one term as a Henry County supervisor, and his time on the Mount Pleasant City Council. He’s also been involved in volunteer work, including providing medical transportation through RSVP.
White says his favorite part of serving on the council has been helping residents solve problems and address their concerns. His work on the city’s streets, particularly as chairman of the Streets Committee, has been especially rewarding.
“You get the feeling if you can solve a problem or if you can solve a person’s concerns, I get a good feeling. But that’s always part of being in a position like that, is you’re trying to benefit the people, not so much myself, but for the people.”
White says street improvements have been one of the accomplishments he’s most proud of, including the reconstruction of downtown Mount Pleasant. He says he’s always believed street projects should be prioritized based on how many people a particular street serves.
And as he prepares to leave the council, White says his message to the next generation of community leaders is simple.
“Get involved. We have trouble on many levels of getting younger generations to get involved in what I consider necessary actions that need to be taken. And that can be from city government to county government to the Veterans Hall. Participation. I mean, anything where you need volunteers to step up and say, yeah, I’ll do that, I’ll do that.”
White says he and his wife plan to continue volunteering and being involved in the community.
Murray’s retirement also makes Wednesday night’s meeting his final Mount Pleasant City Council meeting as police chief. Murray has spent 23 years with the Mount Pleasant Police Department and nearly 30 years in law enforcement. He’s been police chief for the past seven years.
KILJ spoke with Murray about his retirement and his time leading the department. Murray says one of the things he’ll remember most is the support the Mount Pleasant community has given police.
“Our community’s been fantastic. We’ve had several large incidents, and they’ve been really good about coming forward and saying what they saw, what they heard, videos, Ring cameras. You know, a lot of communities around us don’t come forward and it makes our job a lot easier when communities step forward, you know, and we can’t do our job without, without the citizens of Mount Pleasant doing that. So that’s, I don’t think people realize how fantastic they are.”
Murray says he’ll miss the people he works with at the department.
“I will miss the guys, the office. You know, we have a lot of fun, have fun when it’s time to have fun and work hard when it’s time to work hard. But yeah, I will definitely miss the guys for sure.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, city council members also praised Murray’s leadership of the police department. Murray says he’s made mistakes during his career and learned from them, but he’s proud of the department and confident in its future. Ryan Pilling will take over as police chief, while Nate Ensminger was promoted to lieutenant during Wednesday night’s meeting. Murray says the city is in good hands.
“I think it’s great. You know, I think it’s— he’ll do a fantastic job. And Nate Ensminger, you know, got promoted to lieutenant tonight, and they’ll do a great job. And yeah, city’s in good hands.”
There were also several city project updates during Wednesday night’s meeting.
City Engineer Jim Warner says the Winfield Avenue reconstruction project is well ahead of schedule, with approximately 90 percent of the paving work completed. Once the paving is finished, crews will move into grading and seeding.
The council also approved an engineering services agreement with JEO Consulting Group for the South Walnut Street over Heather Branch Creek Culvert Replacement Project. JEO will handle the design work for the project after Calhoun-Burns and Associates withdrew from consideration because of current workload constraints and concerns about its ability to provide the level of service and responsiveness needed to complete the project. The city has already been awarded about two-thirds of the project with grant funds so they do not want to delay the timeline.
The council also authorized City Clerk Lori Davis to execute and sign the FY-26 Road Use Tax report, which covers Road Use Tax revenues and expenses, equipment purchases and the use of bond funds for street improvements.
The next regular session of the Mount Pleasant City Council will be Wednesday, September 23rd at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. As always, the public is welcome to attend.