Holly Pond Mayor Carla Hart speaks to the town council during a November 2021 meeting.

HOLLY POND — The town of Holly Pond’s Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony is set for Dec. 4 in Governor’s Park, and the Holly Pond Town Council discussed some of the specifics of the event during Monday’s meeting.

Councilwoman Julie Ray said the tree will be lit at 6 p.m., and the annual event will also include the Cards in the Park and Civitan Luminaries, which will be lit up at dusk. There will also be food trucks and hot chocolate for sale, and town residents are invited to bring ornaments to decorate the tree after that was a success at the 2020 event, she said.

“That was a fun turnout last year,” she said. “We had a lot of participants with that.”

Ray asked the council to authorize her to go out and buy a live tree for the event, as well as some new lights and decorations to liven up the park and bring in some new amenities for the town’s residents to enjoy.

The council approved the expense of up to $2,000 by Ray to pay for a live tree and new decorations and lights for the park to prepare for the event, and the town also received an unexpected contribution to help pay for more decorations.

Tyler McKeller, general manager of Living Water Services, donated $1,000 from the company to go toward its Christmas event during Monday’s meeting.

“We want to be able to give back,” he said. “Y’all have been great to us, and we want to be able to provide a good thing for the town.”

The council also discussed the possible purchase of a new or used backhoe to help with the town’s sewer work, with the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds covering the cost.

Mayor Carla Hart said the backhoe is used for putting in sewer lines, doing repairs and digging to tap lines for new customer hook ups, and while it is still in working order, it is getting old and parts will be getting harder to come by as it continues to age.

Town Attorney Dan Willingham said wastewater systems are one of the primary uses for the funds that were listed by the federal government when the act was passed, so the purchase of equipment to help maintain the system should be an acceptable use of the funds.

The council agreed that the town should put together a list of some of the wants and needs for the backhoe — such as it being four-wheel drive or including certain attachments — and use that when it comes time to make a purchase.

The council also voted to set a price of $100 per event for the town’s new Holly Pond Event Center, which recently had new cabinets, a sink, refrigerator, stove and microwave installed in preparation for its opening as a new event venue for town residents.

Earlier this year, the council decided to convert the former home of the Carpenter’s Cabinet food pantry into a new event center that will be available for rent to go along with its Lion’s Club building.

Hart said the Event Center still has a few small items that are being worked on, but it should not be long before it is open for private rental.

“We are getting very close to getting this building ready for use,” she said.