By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — The Rainsville City Council held it's first council meeting. Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt was absent due to a death in the family, as Council Pro Tem Ricky Byrum explained.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family," said Byrum.
Councilman Bejan Taheri lead the prayer, who had good news to share regarding his ongoing battle with cancer.
"Before we pray I want to testify. For those of you that don't know, I've been going through cancer the past few years. I had a good report last week, and I want to give all the praise and glory to God. Please remember me, because I'm still not out of the woods," Taheri said.
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To begin the workshop, Chuck Chitwood of CDG Engineering, as promised in the last meeting, briefed the council on the Chavies Road Bridge project. The engineering process on the bridge has been ongoing for years, with the process starting once again last October.
Chitwood reported that they were currently addressing comments on the design from ALDOT, and the right-of-way issues had been resolved. CDG placed the tentative bid-letting date for March 26th, with a projected construction time of 6 - 7 months. Chitwood hoped that by this time next year the bridge will be complete.
Adam Lea of LADD Environmental, gave the council an update on the Boozer Bridge project. He reported that all the alignments and cross sections were completed. The project is estimated to cost around $600,000.00, according to Lea. LADD is currently working on acquiring the right-of-ways for the project.
When asked how long the Boozer Bridge will be out of service, Lea explained, "They should be able to minimize the amount of time to about a month, maybe two months."
Kay Guffey addressed the council on officially proclaiming Thursday, March 16, 2017 as Arbor Day in Rainsville. Beginning at 4 pm that day at the city shop (located behind the city annex), the city will be giving out 275 trees to be planted in honor of the day. The city will be purchasing and donating the trees, at a cost of $275.00.
Items addressed in the meeting:
- Authorized Mayor to sign Freedom Fest Contract for $7500.00 (Byrum)
- Appointed Councilmen Brandon Freeman, Derek Rosson, and Ricky Byrum to a committee to review the city's pay scale. (Byrum)
- Re-Appointed City Clerk Kelly Frazier after her 90-Day Probationary Period ended. (Byrum)
- Voted to change the next meeting in lieu of the President's Day holiday. (Byrum)
- Empowered City Attorney Nikki Scott to send a letter to Republic over discrepancies regarding a landfill contract. (Byrum)
- Voted to repair street lights at the intersection of Love Road and Highway 35, as well as Ivy Creek. (Taheri)
- Hired Jamie Chapman as a new patrol officer. (Taheri)
- Purchased 3x 20 yard dumpsters and 1x 30 yard dumpsters for $15,495.00 (Stiefel)
- Purchased two laptop computers for the court system for $2049.31.(Taheri)
- Purchased three computers for the Police Department for $1619.94. (Taheri)
- Approved purchase of body cameras for the Police Department for $200 a unit (Taheri)
- Approved purchase of new Christmas lights for $4892.00. (Freeman)
- Voted to proclaim Thursday, March 16, "Arbor Day" in Rainsville, and give out 275 trees to it's citizens. (Freeman)
- Hired summer workers for the Field of Dreams and the city pool. (Freeman)
- Hired David Holt as the swimming pool manager. (Freeman)
- Replaced six doors at the Tom Bevill Enrichment Center for $11,700.00. (Rosson)
- Voted to send several members of the Rainsville Fire Department to the Fire College in Athens for Training. (Rosson)
- Appointed Zane Mitchell to the Tom Bevill Center Board. (Rosson)
- Voted to replace the lighting in the Children's Section at the Rainsville Public Library for $3200.00. (Rosson)
- Appointed Darryl Samples, Jerry Smith, Fred Bobo, Dave Hallmark, Lester Black, Tim Bartsill, and Joey Graham to the Sewer Board. (Rosson)
At the end of the meeting, Councilman Ricky Byrum explained his motion during the last meeting to purchase thumbprint scanner time clocks for the city. Councilman Stiefel also further explained his opposition.
In lieu of the the President's Day holiday, the council voted to move the next meeting from Monday, February 20th to Tuesday, February 21st. The meeting will be held at the Rainsville City Annex, with the workshop beginning at 4:15 pm and the regular meeting at 5 pm.
