City Council meetings at Richmond Hill can be lonely affairs, with few residents bothering to attend.

That wasn’t the case Tuesday night, as dozens showed up for the swearing in of council members Russ Carpenter and Johnny Murphy and Mayor Harold Fowler.

“It’s nice to have a crowd to look out on, because at some meetings we only have two or three people out there,” said Fowler, who, along with Carpenter, is entering his second term after both were re-elected without opposition.

Murphy, a developer and publisher of both Richmond Hill Reflections magazine and the Richmond Hill GA Live website, is in his first term after he defeated former councilman Van Hunter for the Post 1 seat in November.

Also Tuesday, Carpenter was elected by the council to mayor pro tem. All three were sworn in prior to the city’s meeting by state Sen. Buddy Carter, a Pooler Republican who is running for Congress.

As for business, the council approved two planning and zoning issues related to Caesarstone — a site plan and building elevations, and a request for a subdivision plat for the second phase of Creekside subdivision.

In addition, the council approved a request to declare three 1990s-model Ford F150s belonging to the Richmond Hill Police Department as surplus, which allows the city to sell or donate the pickups.

The council also approved RHPD Chief Billy Reynolds’ request to buy four 2014 Dodge Charger police cars from Akins in Winder for a price of $92,000, not including equipment. The cars will be paid for by SPLOST and were approved during the city’s budget process.