Story By Hunter Jones
On Monday, the Scottsboro City Council held a city council meeting. There were four items on the agenda, with all four being approved.
The first was the Scottsboro quarry rezoning. Cody Lambert of Lambert Contracting has stated in past meetings that he is wanting a portion of land owned by Justin Lackey rezoned, with Lackey also in favor of this rezoning. It has been stated that this rezoning is important to do now in order to create a mining plan and if they began operations without first allowing the rezoning to happen, the 50 years’ worth of blue limestone rock, used in various construction mixes, would be locked off due to regulations. With the rezoning approved, Lambert estimates that this quarry can last for up to 75 years.
The city council then voted to approve up to $15,000 to purchase a utility vehicle for the Events and Marketing Coordinator and Maintenance Department, with the funds coming from the maintenance budget.
The city council then voted to appoint a new City Council Place One. Of the 17 names, one withdrew theirs earlier that day. City Councli President Richard Bailey then opened the floor up for nominations. Mike Ashburn nominated Patrick Stewart, Nita Tolliver nominated Jonathan McNutt and Donna Frederick nominated Roy Light. Bailey then said they would do a roll call vote on each of the three nominations, with only one needing a majority vote to be appointed to the council. Patrick Stewart would receive all but one vote to be appointed the new City Council Place One, with Nita Tolliver being the lone no vote. Following the vote, Stewart was sworn in and joined the city council.
Stewart served on the city council from 2012-2020, also serving as the city council president for some time. After the meeting, during reports, Stewart spoke about this appointment, thanking the council for appointing him to this spot and reflecting on the work the council does.
“I’ve been on there position twice on having to appoint folks. (Bailey) would be the first one to tell you, he asked me before he ran for public office a few years back what the hardest part of this job is and, in my opinion, it’s appointments, board appointments of any kind. Especially when you are part of a business in town, you’re going to make somebody mad,” Stewart said.
Lastly, the city council voted to approve funds for an emergency order of a police car, approving up to $85,000 from the general funds.
Following the meeting, many spoke about the officer involved shooting that occurred on Saturday. Mayor Jim McCamy asked that people keep Lieutenant Derek Porch in their prayers, as while he sustained non-life threatening injuries, he will need multiple surgeries.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with the Scottsboro Police Department in a civil capacity for about 40 years. The response, cooperation and commitment that I observed this past weekend from Scottsboro Police Department, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, all three neighboring counties and four or five three-letter federal agencies was incredible,” McCamy said.
McCamy then asked for Police Chief Greg Godfrey to share some words.
Godfrey thanked the many people who offered assistance in various ways, from Lambert providing a helicopter to others dropping by to offer food and drinks.
“We live in a great place,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey also stated that Porch is in a lot of pain now but will be fine. He thanked his department for their dedication to finding the suspect, with nobody willing to go home despite being offered.
“We weren’t going to leave if it took us four days to sit there until we found him,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey then thanked the members of the mayor and city council for their support during the incident.
City Council President Richard Bailey said that it has been an emotional couple of weeks, with multiple members of the council also voicing their prayers to Ralph Dawe and his family.
“I’m going to miss Ralph. I want the city to know that I’m going to miss him. He was my right side and he always called me his left side,” Tolliver said. “I appreciate everyone coming out and being a part of this community. We are going to make this community grow because that’s what we’re in here to do, work together and make this community grow.”
Following the meeting, Stewart would immediately join the council for their coming budget session, with Stewart being thankful of his previous time on the council to make the coming meeting much easier to digest, only needing to “get caught up with the numbers.”
“I’m just glad to have this opportunity to get back in and work for the citizens of Scottsboro for the betterment of our town and for them. Dawe worked as the police chief while I was on the council before so I worked with him in that capacity and then also when he was on the council as well. I just hope I can fill those shoes that he had because he did a fantastic job,” Stewart said.
