Story by Donna Thornton donna@southerntorch.com
The Rainsville City Council approved a contract for sidewalk repairs and will be looking at repairing sidewalks in the city park as well.
Mayor Roger Lingerfelt said the city had an estimate of $13,491.73 from Lambert Construction to do the work, needed in areas where sidewalks are bucked up, uneven, or in small areas, where sidewalk was removed and not replaced. The council approved the work and authorized the mayor to negotiate for repairs on sidewalks in the city park. There are areas, council members said, where sidewalks are uneven by an inch or more, creating a danger for trips and falls.
The council also approved paying for the personal weapon of a Rainsville police officer that was inside his patrol car when it was hit from behind at a traffic light a couple of months ago. The city’s insurance company would not pay for the weapon because it belonged to the officer, not the city.
That raised discussion in recent weeks, of whether officers should have weapons not paid for by the city in vehicles at all. While the city will pay for the gun, discussions indicate the council intends to establish a policy that officers have only city-provided weapons in police vehicles.
Lingerfelt said he’d been looking at guns and had found the kind of rifle with red-dot scope that the officer had in the vehicle, that they city make be able to purchase for officers.
Council members recognized the Rainsville A-Team at Monday’s work session, and later authorized paying for the teams’ Superbowl rings, at a cost of $629.68.
The council approved a one-time pay raise for city employees and authorized Monica Summerford to work as a court translator at a rate of $50 a month.
The following personnel actions were taken:
Promoted Blake Edwards to assistant director in the Public Works Department
Accepted Miles Edmonson’s resignation from the police department effective Nov. 8
Hired Arturo Lopez as a patrolman, $17.59
Hired Donovan King as a patrolman, $17.59
Hired Austin Strickland as a patrolman, $17.59
Hired Brevin George as a patrolman, $17.59
All the officers hired will have to go to the law enforcement academy, Lingerfelt said.
After the meeting the council members and others attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site for Rainsville’s new public works building.
Work is set to begin next week on the building, and it is expected to be complete in April 2025.
