Submitted by the Town of Geraldine
GERALDINE, Ala. — The Town of Geraldine met on Tuesday, September 6 for their regular monthly meeting. Minutes from the August 30 and the August 1 meetings were approved.
Councilman Stanley Rooks then asked that the minutes from the August 1 meeting be corrected and Mayor Chuck Ables said he would review the recording and report back at the next meeting.
Ables gave a report about a meeting that he and Police Chief Nelson Gregory attended at The White House in Washington D.C. It was a briefing with the results of a Task Force implemented by President Obama called White House 21st Century Policing Briefing. It is a 116 page report with 59 recommendations with a plan of action as well as some Federal funding to identify best practices and otherwise make recommendations to the President on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust.
The series of briefings at The White House involved all 50 states and only a very few are invited to attend. Rooks expressed concern over spending money for two people to attend a meeting in Washington D.C. Ables explained that it did not cost any extra for him to attend along with Chief Gregory. They only had one nights hotel bill with one room and gasoline for the vehicle and they bought their own food, so there was not any extra expense.
The Mayor stated that it was a very productive meeting just from the contacts they made. The Mayor reported that several streets have been patched with the assistance of the County road department including Salem cut-off road that carries a lot of school traffic.
The Council also discussed the possibility of getting some interim financing to use on the sewer project until grant funds are released. No action was taken.
The Town will sponsor a Trunk or Treat on Monday, October 31 from 5:00 until 6:30 PM. Details will be announced soon. Check the Town Facebook page for more information.
Ables presented a Certificate of Election to newly elected town council members: Stanley Rooks, Larry Lingerfelt, Jackie Rogers, and Terry Harris. Newly elected Councilman Orvil Bearden was not present.
The Council voted to accept the resignation of Danny Evans as maintenance worker effective immediately.
The Mayor and Council began the process of formulating a budget for 2015-2016 and set the date for the next meeting for Monday, September 19 at 5:30 pm at Geraldine Town Hall.
