The new Kenbridge Town Council will hold its first meeting at 8 p.m. on Friday.

That’s no fluke of scheduling. It’s by design and it’s in the town charter.

“We’ve got to get that changed,” Mayor Emory Hodges said with a laugh as the council held its last meeting of the fiscal year on Tuesday, June 14.

“I think we’d have to present it to the general assembly,” Town Attorney Cal Spencer noted.

At the July meeting, R. Michael McGrath will return to the board. McGrath was among the top vote getters in the May election and will take the spot of Thomas Palmore, a long-serving member who was the only one of the council’s six other members who chose not to seek another term.

Shortly after the election, Hodges had noted that McGrath “will be an asset to this board, I do believe.”

D.K. “Ken” Blackburn, C.A. “Cathy” Gilley, Raymond E. Hite Jr., D.G. “Danny” Thompson and Michael Bender were all re-elected.

Bender joined the council in late February when he was appointed to finish the term of Sallie B. Glenn when she stepped down.

Hodges said the town will honor Palmore by recognizing his time on the board at an upcoming meeting, maybe July or August.

“He did an outstanding job for this town for a lot of years and I value his service to this town,” Hodges said.

Meanwhile, Hodges told his fellow council members that the council should begin the years developing a to-do list for the town, and each member should be prepared to offer ideas and suggestions for changes they would like to see.

“I would (like) each of you to pick a couple of things you’d like to take on yourself,” he said.