CHOCOWINITY — Moving forward was the theme of Chocowinity’s Town Board meeting Tuesday night: a new assistant town clerk, a new dog park, a new tire-changing facility, a new air-conditioning unit for the police department and plans for the town’s next Christmas parade.

Brittany Chrismon, who replaces Carol Chandler at Town Hall, began her new job as Chocowinity’s assistant town clerk on Wednesday. According to Mayor Jimmy Mobley, Chrismon’s fulltime position will consist of working half the time with Joy McRoy, Chocowinity’s town clerk and town representative; the other half, with Chocowinity Police Chief Todd Alligood.

Chocowinity Dog Park’s fences will be up by Friday and the dog park ready to open by the end of August, according to an update by Stan Cohen, director of the dog park’s board. Town commissioners approved a request from Public Works Director Kevin Brickhouse to dig trenches at the town’s recreational center in order to run water to the new dog park and the concession stand at center’s football field.

During discussion about town zoning, the board approved classrooms and a kitchenette to be built on to the existing St. James CEM Church on Gray Road and the building known as “old Barney Hill’s Station” at Highway 17 and Carolina Avenue to be used as a new tire-changing business.

After Chocowinity Police Chief Todd Alligood’s monthly report of 40 calls, two wreck investigations, two arrests and 27 citations issued, Alligood gave a breakdown of the broken air-conditioning unit and how much it would cost to repair or replace the units. With little difference between the cost and new warranty in the mix, commissioners voted to replace the unit at a cost of $2,100.

It was in the final moments of the meeting that Commissioner William Albritton brought up what he, and others, believe to be a discredit to Chocowinity and requested the McRoy send a letter to the United States Postmaster General about the state of Chocowinity’s Post Office.

Albritton described a rundown building and grounds: parking limited to half the lot because the other half is mud; the building’s siding coming off; the front dirty, with cobwebs everywhere; missing floor tiles peeling walls inside. Albritton also pointed out how the Post Office’s mail drop-box is on the wrong side of the road.

“I’ve been all over the country and this is the most horrible, non-functioning Post Office I’ve seen,” Albritton said. “We deserve better than this, folks. I don’t think it very well represents our town or the Post Office. I would like to ask the board to have Joy write a letter.”

Mobley called the move something that “needed to be done a long time ago.”

The next Chocowinity Town Board meeting will be held Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.