MINUTES OF A REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

OF THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE

CITY OF TALLASSEE, ALABAMA

JUNE 9, 2020

 

 

 

 

The Mayor and the City Council of the City of Tallassee, Alabama convened in regular session on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. at the Tallassee Municipal Complex. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Hammock and the following were recorded as present:

 

Mayor                          John Hammock

Council Members         Jeremy Taunton

Sarah Hill

Damian Carr

Darrell Wilson

Terrel Brown

Bill Godwin

David Stough

 

John Smith was present as city attorney and City Clerk Whitney Moon acted as clerk for the meeting.

 

Mayor Hammock presented the minutes of the regular council meeting held on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. There were no additions or changes. Upon motion of Council Member Taunton and second by Council Member Carr, the minutes were approved by a unanimous vote.

 

Item 1: A resolution concerning a public nuisance at 409 Lilly Avenue was discussed by building inspector Andy Coker. Council Member Godwin made a motion to adopt the Resolution and make three cuts to the yard, seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Resolution 2020-640 was adopted.

 

Item 2: A Resolution concerning a public nuisance at 408 King Street was discussed by building inspector Andy Coker. Council Member Wilson made a motion to adopt the Resolution and make three cuts to the yard, seconded by Council Member Hill. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Resolution 2020-641 was adopted.

 

Item 3: A Resolution concerning a public nuisance at 56 Log Circle was discussed by building inspector Andy Coker. Council Member Carr made a motion to adopt the Resolution and make three cuts to the yard, seconded by Council Member Taunton. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Resolution 2020-642 was adopted.

 

Item 4: The HDD franchise agreement was discussed. Larry Rogers answered questions. Council Member Taunton made a motion to approve the agreement, seconded by Council Member Hill. Upon a vote, the motion passed unanimously.

 

Item 5: Mayor’s Reports.

 

On June 19th at 5PM the first pitch will be at DYB.

 

2020 Cast Iron gas line replacement project. This will touch wards 4, 5, and 7. We advertised for bids this week, bid opening will be 7/9/2020, begin construction week of 8/3/2020, and end construction 11/13/2020.

 

Laney lift station project is getting close to advertise for bid. This will be over a $400,000 project in Ward 3.

 

New waste water plant is still in the design phase. This will be going next to the sewer lagoons in Ward 3.

 

We are checking elevations of utilities in the right of way down Whatley Drive to minimize damage to existing utility lines when we start the Whatley Drive project in Ward 2. Once we finish this we will put it out for bid.

 

Tallaweka Tank project is waiting for pipe to come in for utility department to install a bypass at the Burlington tank. We will make taps, reverse the hydraulic flow and take Tallaweka offline after that. Once we see that there are minimal problems we will let Tank Pros begin work on the water tank. This is in Ward 2.

 

Little Road water line upgrade in Ward 6 and just out of the city limits is on hold. We had to stop to meet with the county administrator and he is going to allow us to leave the pipe that we installed in the ground but the rest of the line will have to go on the back 5 feet of the right of way. We will need to submit for a permit from the county and should have it submitted by the end of the week. We will need to get Larry Rogers from HDD to give us a price to bore the last little bit because of the way the landscape is. We are worried about erosion issues if we trench it ourselves.

 

We have a problem with the line from Laney Lift station to the sewer lagoons. We are looking at this with CDG engineering and should have some idea of what to do soon.

 

The sewer line break behind the hospital is being repaired now. I will keep you updated on the progress.

 

Plans to the Department of Transportation have been submitted for the TAPS grant for the downtown street scape. We are waiting to hear from DOT for approval and the go ahead. Wetumpka just finished their grant and Dadeville is wrapping their project up.

 

House across from East Tallassee Baptist Church has been removed, drainage pipe replaced, and we have put down seed and hay to grow grass. I think we need to put some park benches out in this area for people to sit. Maybe a nice sign that says welcome to East Tallassee. I also would not mind renaming this area Payne Park if the council does not object. Even if you do not agree with everything Bobby Payne did when he was in office, I think a Mayor of 24 years of service needs to be recognized for his many years of service. I have only been Mayor for going on 4 years and I can tell you from experience the toll it takes on the person that does this job as well as their family. Council Member Brown made a motion to name the area Bobby Payne Park, adding the welcome to Tallassee sign, and park benches, seconded by Council Member Stough. Upon a vote, the motion passed unanimously.

 

CDBG grant title work is being done and Leslie York should be getting with John Smith on creating demolition easements.

 

Jeff Baker has pressure washed the river walk in Ward 4. Now he is seal coating it and should be done by Friday. This project was paid for with the 2 cent gasoline tax a majority of the council voted for in 2017.

 

Sidewalks on one block of James Street are complete. This project is in Ward 4 and was paid for out of the 2 cent gasoline tax a majority of the council voted for.

 

East Side Mill site Phase 1 is wrapping up. This is record research being performed by ADEM. ADEM is thinking they might be able to do Phase 2 for us. Phase 2 is soil samples and testing. After phase 2 then we will apply for another Brownsfield clean up grant.

 

Soccer complex grant will be awarded in July or August. I spoke to Congress member Roby about this when I was in Washington DC. She has written a letter of support for the city.

 

I finished my grant writing certificate with Troy University.

 

I spoke with Joel Burdette who is retired Lt Col with the USMC. They are putting on the 6th annual Patriotic Celebration event. They cannot do it in the theater because of Covid-19. They asked Wade Shipman if they could do it at the football stadium. Mr. Shipman said yes but they would have to get liability insurance. The insurance for the event would cost $410. I want the city to pay for this out of the economic development line item. I feel that this will bring people into town and they will eat at our local restaurants. The event will be on Friday, June 26th at 7-8:30PM. Does the council have any objections?

Council Member Godwin made a motion to pay for the liability insurance out of the economic development line item, seconded by Council Member Taunton. Upon a vote, the motion passed unanimously.

 

Jerry Cunningham is wanting to do a sidewalk sale with the Chamber of Commerce. He is requesting to close South Ann Ave from the red light to Studio B. The event would be Saturday, June 27th from 8AM to 12PM. Does the council have any objections? Council Member Hill made a motion to close South Ann Ave from the red light to Studio B on June 27th from 8AM to 12PM, seconded by Council Member Taunton. Upon a vote, the motion passed unanimously.

 

Council, Noah Griggs said to park in the gravel area and come to the front door tonight after the council meeting for food.

 

Item 6: Council Reports:

Council Member Taunton wanted to thank Larry Rogers for what he did for the seniors.

Council Member Hill had no report.

Council Member Carr wanted to thank the Mayor and the Chief for the extra patrol in his ward.

Council Member Wilson had no report.

Council Member Brown had no report.

Council Member Godwin wanted to thank the council for approving the Ad Valorem Tax, not sure where we’d be without it.

Council Member Stough said that he would take full responsibility for stopping the mosquito spraying. He is for spraying as long as it’s according to the guidelines, but not otherwise.

 

Item 7: There being no further business before the Council, upon a motion made by Council Member Hill and a second by Council Member Taunton, all Council Members present voted to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 6:19 p.m.

 

 

 

_____________________________________________

JOHN HAMMOCK, Mayor

ATTEST:

 

 

_______________________________

WHITNEY MOON, City Clerk