Leland Board of Aldermen meeting, July 7, 2026

In their two-hour long Board meeting, the Leland Board of Aldermen met for the first time in July on July 7, 2026.

There was a little discussion about the fees for the public records requests. Public records requests are a federally protected right to citizens to request certain records from the city under the Freedom Of Information Act, also known as FOIA. The City Attorney, Heath Franklin, suggested some options to the City as far as raising the prices of those fees to request public records. Right now, City Clerk Andrea Barber said that the City usually charges around $15.38 per hour and $0.50 per page for a public records request. This price could change, as the Board was looking into options of raising those prices; however, no action was taken on the matter, and it was decided that it will be discussed at a later date.

The City of Leland spent some money in repairs since the last Board meeting. Leland Aldermen voted to pay $2,298 in auto repairs on two different police cars. The Leland Police Department was not the only department in need of repairs; the Leland Fire Department had repairs done to its tanker truck in the amount of $7,259.82. That money was provided to the Leland Fire Department by the East Washington County Fire Commission, so there was no direct cost to the City of Leland.

Washington County District Supervisor Mala Brooks gave an update on the Jim Henson Exhibit bridge that has fallen in, stating that the County voted to pay to tear the bridge down as well as repair the sewage line that ran underneath it. She stated that the County was ready to move forward with this project, as it is an eyesore to the city to see the bridge lying in Deer Creek.

Regarding ongoing litigation, the Leland Board of Alderpersons voted unanimously to file a claim and join a class action lawsuit regarding the PFAS “Forever Chemicals.” There are allegedly over 14 cancers and chronic conditions linked to PFAS exposures. The main areas that are stated to have been affected are waterways. City Attorney Heath Franklin stated, “Entering into this litigation does not mean that the City has tested positive for any of these issues or exposures at this time; however, there is a deadline in which the City can file a claim, and we went ahead and did that, just in case we do fit the criteria for the issues outlined in this ongoing litigation.”