Unable to purchase a piece of property adjacent to the Newborn Town Hall, the Newborn City Council has empowered the city attorney to proceed with condemnation of the property in order for the town to acquire it for the expansion of a public parking lot.

At their July meeting, the council unanimously approved the action. According to the minutes of the meeting, the city attorney, Joe Reitman, and mayor and council had exhausted "every effort to purchase the adjacent Wilson property."

Newborn's council expressed that the property, adjacent to the town hall, some vacant office space and the Newborn Library, is essential if the town is to provide adequate parking space to accommodate Newborn's growth.

In other recent news from Newborn:

• The council approved the transfer of Newborn Lending Library furniture including bookshelves to the Newton County Service Library Outlet. All of the books that were part of the Newborn Library have become part of the Newton County Library System and eventually will become part of the Pines Library System. Under the agreement, the county library system will provide tables, chairs, bookshelves and computers to the newly renamed Service Library Outlet.

• At their August meeting the city council approved a $765 payment to the Newton County Tax Commissioner's Office for 306 property tax bills at a cost of $2.50 per bill.

• A $4,475 payment to Crawford, Merritt & Company was approved for an audit of the town's 2007 calendar year financial statements.