RED SPRINGS — The changing of the guard at town hall went smoothly Tuesday night, as a roomful of residents witnessed the swearing in of a new mayor and three new commissioners on the town board.

Long-time Commissioner John McNeill took the oath of office as mayor, administered by Judge John Carter, a former resident of Red Springs and a friend of McNeill's.

The judge then administered the oath to two new commissioners, Murray McKeithan and Edward Henderson, and to Commissioner Eula McNeill, who was reelected at the November municipal election.

The trio joined the new mayor and fellow Commissioners E.H. Alexander and Linda McQueen Mack for the board's regular monthly meeting.

"I want to welcome everyone," John McNeill said. "And I hope you all come back for every meeting."

The first order of business was to select a mayor pro tem. John McNeill said the tradition in Red Springs is to bestow that title to the top vote getter in the commissioners' race, and this year it was Eula McNeill. The board unanimously approved a motion naming her mayor pro tem.

Upon becoming mayor, John McNeill's resignation as a commissioner took effect, so the board's next action was to name a replacement to serve out the remaining two years of McNeill's term.

Only one person was nominated — David Shook, a candidate who came in fourth in the commissioners' race — and he was appointed to fill the vacancy. Judge Carter then administered the oath to Shook.

No residents signed up to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting, but the mayor encouraged it. He also advised residents to approach town board members right after the meetings.

"It's a prime time to button hole us," he said, "and we're only as good as your input."

The board's first major action item was awarding a contract to the low bidder, The Tara Group of Lumberton, to work on the town's sanitary sewer system This potion of the wastewater treatment plant upgrade will cost about $2.5 million.

It is part of an overall major upgrade to the sewer plant estimated to cost more than $4.5 million. The bulk of the funding is expected to come from a $1.85 million grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and a $2 million grant from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

In other matters the board:

— Announced a public forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the new community room at Cross Street and Third Avenue to discuss electricity rates and ways to gain energy efficiency.

— Learned that Richard McDuffie will become fire chief effective Jan. 1.

— Revised an ordinance that waives late fees on utility bills if the due date lands on a weekend or holiday and is paid the first following business day.