At its first regular meeting for 2023, on January 10th, the Eutaw City Council approved a $45,000 contract with PM Roofing to replace the roof on the former National Guard Armory facility on Mesopotamia Street.
Mayor Latasha Johnson said, “We must fix this roof as a first step to saving this important building for use as a meeting and event facility for the City of Eutaw. It is currently raining in the building because the roof leaks. We need to save this building for the people of Eutaw.” On a roll call vote, the contract was approved unanimously 6-0 by the City Council.
The Eutaw City Council also approved a renewal of their agreement with Mason and Gardner CPA’s for payroll and other accounting services for the current year. The Council also approved a resolution declaring two police vehicles, a 2019 Silverado Chevrolet truck and a 2013 Chevrolet Caprice, as surplus, so they can be sold.
The Council also received a copy of a letter to the Greene County Water and Sewer Authority setting out a charge for water from the city water system. “We have provided water to the county at no charge, but in the future, we will have to charge for water, based on the volume they use. This is all part of our program to revitalize and improve the Eutaw-Boligee Water System,” said Corey Martin, Eutaw Water System Operator.
The Council also received and approved a resolution consenting to the purchase of Sky Cable, a local television provider, by Charter Communications. Charter also assumed the franchise rights of the cable company. Knowledgeable observers feel this move is related to Charter’s announced plans to provide broadband services in Greene County.The Council approved a series of travel and per diem requests for the council members and staff to attend various training sessions in the coming months including the Alabama League of Municipalities Annual Convention on May 10-13, 2023, in Birmingham.
William Smith, new Assistant Chief of the Eutaw Police Department was introduced to the Council and the public.
The City Council approved payment of bills and claims for the month of December. Ralph Liverman, City financial adviser gave the Council a partial financial report and said more details would be available at the next meeting. He also informed the Council that the annual payment of $102,218 had been made to USDA Rural Development for the loan for water system improvements.
Mayor Johnson announced several upcoming meetings to review the plans for the Eutaw-Boligee Water and Sewer System. There will be a Special City Council meeting to review and approve the plans on January 17, 2023; there will also be two public meetings on February 7 at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM at Eutaw City Hall for the public to review and comment on the plans. These meeting are advertised in more detail in other parts of this newspaper.
A letter from Chris Jones, Executive Director of the Greene County Emergency Medical Services, was read praising the city for its work to clean up the streets and neighborhoods after the recent tornado. Jones said the city helped make the streets passable for emergency vehicles, like those of the ambulance service.
Tag Archives: city financial adviser
Eutaw City Council approves roof
Eutaw City Council funds debris
clean-up from storm
The Eutaw City Council met on December 9 and December 13, 2022, to discuss dealing with housing for families displaced by the EF-1 tornado that hit Sagewood Apartments and other parts of Eutaw on Tuesday night, December 6, 2022.
The Council also considered debris clean-up in the areas where the tornado hit, including Ezekiel Baptist Church, Sagewood, Mesopotamia Avenue around the Robert Brown Middle School and the neighborhoods behind Kirkwood. Twenty homes were damaged by wind and falling trees in the area north of Mesopotamia Avenue, behind Kirkwood.
Mayor Latasha Johnson and the Eutaw City Council discussed debris removal with several local contractors at the December 9 Special Council meeting. The mayor arranged to meet with the contractors and city street department staff, the next day, to work out an affordable plan for debris removal and disposal.
At the December 15th regular meeting a major issue for discussion was the use of city vehicles and the policy that city police could drive their cars home, even if they live outside of Greene County, to be able to respond to emergency situations in a timely manner.
Chief Tommy Johnson said he supported allowing the city vehicles to be driven home by officers, instead of leaving them parked at City Hall, because this was a more efficient and effective way of combatting crime and responding to emergencies. The Chief said he had developed an inspection checklist to review the cars each week to make sure they were in operating order.
Council members LaJeffrey Carpenter and Valerie Watkins wanted this item on the agenda to be sure the City Council understood the budgetary and insurance cost implications of the vehicle policies.
Ms. Watkins said she met with the chief and was satisfied with his explanation of the vehicle policy. The Council voted to reaffirm the policy concerning use of the police cars and other city vehicles.
The Council referred an invoice with Babbs Engineering Consultants, former City Engineer, to City Attorney Zane Willingham to resolve. The Council approved a pricelist for pumps, motors, and other replacement parts and repair costs, for the water and sewer systems from Shephard Services, LLC of Tuscaloosa. The price list would give the city assurance in advance of costs to repair and replace major pieces of equipment in the coming year.
Ralph Liverman, city financial adviser, gave a financial report on the city revenues and expenses for the months of October and November and said the expenses were in line with budgetary projections and that revenues received were slightly larger than expected. The Council approved opening new bank accounts for the ADEM grants provided to the city for the water and sewage system upgrade and consolidation with Boligee.
Mayor Johnson reported to the City Council that she had re-appointed Teresa Beeker to the Greene County Industrial Development Authority and Jackie Allen to the Eutaw Housing Authority Board. She also appointed Sharon Trammel to the Greene County Emergency Medical Services Board, which supervises the ambulance services.
In other business, the Eutaw City Council:
• Approved purchase of a 2015 silver Chevrolet Tahoe truck for the Police Department
• Approved travel and per diem for Corey Martin to attend a plumber training program.
• Approved City Judge Joshua Swords membership in the Alabama Municipal Judges Association; and City Attorney Zane Willingham for the Alabama Municipal Attorney Association.
• Approved $19,200 contract with P. M. Roofing to complete roofing on the cafeteria of the Robert H. Young Community Center.
• Approved Holiday schedule for employees.
• Approved payment of bills and claims.