State of the City

State of the City

By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

RAINSVILLE, Ala. — (Full Video on our Website) The Rainsville City Council met on Thursday, February 21 to discuss the progress of the City over the past two years. 

Councilmember Derek Rosson led a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation on the State of the City.

A major discussion of the night was the remodeling of the Tom Bevill Enrichment Center (TBEC). Improvements to the center include new security doors, landscaping, handicap accessible bathrooms and 200 new chairs. The TBEC houses the Rainsville Chamber of Commerce and held approximately 136 events in 2018. 

Work began on the 145-day project at Chavies Bridge in late 2018. Recent weather has stalled the progress, but the expected finish date remains June or July 2019. If not completed within the 145 days, there will be a $1,500-$2,000 per day penalty. 

In 2018, the Rainsville Police Department received several upgrades to their fleet. They acquired new vehicles, cameras, computers, evidence bar coding equipment, and radios. The Department also welcomed its first full-time animal control officer and resource officers for Plainview High School, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Kandieland Daycare and the Rainsville Mission Center.

The Rainsville Fire Department began its Fire Science Program in conjunction with the DeKalb County Board of Education. DeKalb County Superintendent Dr. Jason Barnett and Career Tech Director Jonathan Phillips attended the presentation and stressed the importance of the partnership with the Fire Department stating, “without them, [this] would not be a possibility.”

Other updates in the State of the City address included:

  • Sanitation Department’s purchase of new trucks
  • Paving of City streets and the updating of culverts
  • Sewer expansion of the wastewater treatment plant
  • New City thumbprint time clock
  • Replaced Christmas lights with new LED lights

Rosson concluded his presentation by stating that after annual ticket stubs had been counted, over 360,000 were in town in the last year, averaging 986 daily.

After the presentation, the Council held their regular Council meeting. In the meeting, the Council approved the following:

  • Pyrotecnico Contract for Freedom Fest 2019 fireworks in the amount of $12,000
  • Hired Kennedi Traylor for Sanitation Drive-Thru
  • Surplused a Mack Fire Truck via Resolution 02-21-2019
  • Replaced tile on Mockingbird Lane in the amount of $1,500
  • Repaired a culvert on Nix Street/Boozer in the amount of $3,160
  • Purchase of a sound system for the TBEC in the amount of $2,600
  • Sponsored School Resource Officer Tom Devlin to attend the SRO Conference in Gatlinburg, Tenn. in the amount of $550
  • Announced that the April 27 Tornado Memorial Service will be held at 7pm
  • Promoted Derrick Summerford to Assistant Fire Chief
  • Approved a sponsorhip of $500 to Leadership DeKalb, $250 to Made In DeKalb, $500 to the Alabama High School Rodeo, $500 to the Wildlife and Hunting Expo

The next meeting of the Rainsville City Council will be held on Monday, March 4 at 5pm with a workshop at 4:15pm.