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Jacksonville Deals with Property and Businesses Not Meeting Code Standards at Work Session and City Council Meeting 2/28/22

Jacksonville City Counci

Work Session

  1. Call to order.
  2. Roll call.
    1. Tony Taylor – Present
    2. Andy Green – Absent
    3. Terry Wilson – Present
    4. Sherry Laster – Present
    5. Coty Galloway – Present
  3. Acceptance of minutes. – No comments
  4. Community Center Pool Discussion – Janis Burns.
    1. Janis Burns
      Janis Burns

      Janis Burns addressed that the current filtration system was slated to last 10- years and has been running for 22 years. It has reached the end of its life expectancy. She also mentioned that it has had a “bandaid put on” but the time has come to either replace the water pump motor for roughly $5,000-$10,000. This would last approximately one year. The other option is the have a new system designed and built from scratch. This system would cost $73,232.60 and would last for up to an estimated 15 years. The new system would not be an underwater system and would be easier to maintain. The city already has $60,000 budgeted for this purpose. The cost of materials have changed since the budget was initially created. This decision would need to be made quickly to ensure the pool is ready for the summer season. Discussions were held on the exact bidding process and timeframes. It was decided to place the bid publicly and give a two week timeframe for quotes. At that time the council can vote on the best course of action, but it was determined investing in a temporary solution was not the best direction.

  5. Henry Farm Baseball Field – Janis Burns.
    1. Janis Burns spoke about the cost of repairs. The current lowest quote is $26,718. This quote was from Bradshaw and Pitts. Janis will reach out to a representative to get a specific timeframe for repairs to be completed. It was also mentioned that the Jacksonville High School baseball coach would like to see additional improvements made and is open to fundraising with the city and parents to achieve those goals. The council was open to the possibility, but would like to see specific goals and plans.
    2. Janis also wanted it noted that half the Jacksonville Basketball players work for PARD and it is nice when good things happen to good people.
  6. Short-Term Rentals – Mark Stephens.
    1. Mark Stephens could not be present so the Mayor reminded council members that Mr. Stephens had sent out a few sample ordinances to review. The general consensus was to keep the ordnance simple to better encourage business growth in Jacksonville. These ideas will be reviewed and it will be addressed at the next council meeting.
  7. Microsoft 11 Update – Tim Smith.
    1. Tim Smith
      Tim Smith

      Mr. Smith started by saying that this wasn’t going to cost anything now. The council laughed about the “now” comment. Mr. Smith wanted to make the council aware that in in 2025 Windows 10 would no longer be supported or meet required security regulations. He wants to have the authority to do a comprehensive review over what computers would need to be updated between now and then to shift to Widows 11. This would enable to council to do a scheduled update over the next three years and would not put all the costs on one budgetary year.  The council thought this was a great plan and authorized this research to start and be prepared for their review.

  8. Farmers Market Rules and Regulations.
    1. The Mayor mentioned a couple of changes that were suggested for the farmers market. One was the ability to sell up to 30% of manufactured goods be removed and the other was to reduce the cost from $10 to $5 per vendor. These are only suggestions and this item is not on the agenda for tonight. The opening date for the farmers market is scheduled on 4/23/22 from 7:00 am – 12:00 pm.
  9. ALM Annual Convention:
    1. AMIC Voting Delegates, May 12, 2022, 9:15 am.
      1. Suggested delegate was  Andy Green and the Mayor as a proxy.
    2. ALM Voting Delegates, May 12, 2022, 10:30 am Annual Business Meeting
      1. Suggested delegate was  Terry Wilson and Coty Galloway and the Mayor as the two proxies.
  10. Any other business.
    1. The Chief of Police has recommended that the license for XHale Hookah Lounge be revoked due to code enforcement violations.

 

 

City Council Meeting

  • Call to order.
  • Invocation: Rev. Steve West First United Methodist Church
  • Pledge of Allegiance.
  • Roll call.
    • Tony Taylor – Present
    • Andy Green – Absent
    • Terry Wilson – Present
    • Sherry Laster – Present
    • Coty Galloway – Present
  • Adoption of minutes. – Unanimously Approved
  • Adoption of agenda. – Unanimously Approved with changed
    • Add 9a Consideration of Resolution R-2125-22 to Revoke the Business Licenses of JMK, LLC, b/b/a XHale Hookah Lounge.
    • Add 11a Consider action to approve the promotion of the following:
      • Matthew Stambaugh, Fire Engineer/Paramedic, Range 12a, effective March 2, 2022, due to the resignation of Christopher Storey.
      • Seth Graham, Fire Engineer/Paramedic, Rage 12A, effective March 2, 2022, due to the pending promotion of Jeremy Endinger to Fire Lieutenant.
      • Jeremy Edinger, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic, Range 16A, effective March 2 ,2022, due to the resignation of Jason Tiedemann.
    •  Consent Agenda
      • Board/Committees
        • Reappointments
          • Amy Angel, the Public Educational Building Authority of Jacksonville
          • Bruce Cunningham, The Public Educational Building Authority of Jacksonville
        • Appointment
          • Sandra Sudduth, The Public Educational Building Authority of Jacksonville, to replace the unexpired term of Mike Limerick
  • Proclamation: – No proclamations
  • Public comments concerning agenda items. – No comments
  • Hearing regarding “unsafe” property located at 1310 Mountainbrook Drive, Jacksonville, AL.
    • Andrew Sharp spoke as the owner of the property. Hw purchased the property shortly after the tornadoes hit Jacksonville a few weeks shy of four years ago. He intended to fix the property up and rent it out as a source of retirement funds. He has hit hard times and been unable to complete the project as quickly as he has wanted. He stated he has been communicating tight Mark Williams with code enforcement. He also stated he never received his letter. Mark Williams was able to produce the certified letters and verified the address was correct. The letters were never signed for, but the address is correct. Mr. Sharp also stated he hired a company to maintain the yard and was unaware that they were not doing that. He will make arrangements for this to be corrected immediately. He said he hopes to be 100% finished by the end of the calendar year. He asked the council for 60 days to show them progress can be made. The council wanted to know what could be done in 60 days that he hasn’t been able to get done in four years. They also expressed concern with the property being open to mildew and mold. Mark Williams noted that dripping water is visible from the openings of the home. The council agreed to tour the home and then reassess in two weeks and make a determination on a 60 day continuance at that point. Mr. Sharp did also state he was open to selling the home in its current condition as long as he could recoup his investment as well.
    • Mary Jane Peters spoke as a neighbor. She explained that the stumps were still present after four years and the yard was unkempt. She also
      Mary Jane Peters
      Mary Jane Peters

      explained that the home is open from the front and there is whole in the back. There has has been at least one break-in and she would like something to be done about it.

  • Consideration of Resolution R-2125-22 to Revoke the Business Licenses of JMK, LLC, b/b/a XHale Hookah Lounge.- Unanimously Approved *link to full article available
    • Resolution was read in full and can be viewed below.

  • Consider action to approve JPWP#22-104, Henry Farm Baseball Field Repairs, per the attached. – Unanimously Approved
  • Consider action to approve a three (3) member Scholarship Committee to include Council Member Sherry Laster, Council Member Terry Wilson and a subject matter expert in each of the five (5) Scholarship Categories. – Unanimously Approved
    • Councilman Taylor wanted to thank Councimembers Laster and Wilson and also say he hopes the students are excited about the new opportunity.
  • Consider action to approve the promotion of the following: – Unanimously Approved
    • Matthew Stambaugh, Fire Engineer/Paramedic, Range 12a, effective March 2, 2022, due to the resignation of Christopher Storey.
    • Seth Graham, Fire Engineer/Paramedic, Rage 12A, effective March 2, 2022, due to the pending promotion of Jeremy Endinger to Fire Lieutenant.
    • Jeremy Edinger, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Lieutenant/Paramedic, Range 16A, effective March 2 ,2022, due to the resignation of Jason Tiedemann.
      • Councilman Taylor thanked Chief Kadle for allowing him to be a part of this process.
  • Consider action to approve the employment of the following – Unanimously Approved
    • Kimberly Faith Spicer, Library Specialist, Range 8, effective upon compliance with Ordinance No. 273, due to the promotion of Christy Wallace to Library Director.
  • Consider action to accept the following resignation – Unanimously Approved
    • Kelley Ramsey, Van Driver at Senior Center, effective February 18, 2022.
    • Judson Blewster, Corrections Officer, effective March 11, 2022.
    • Cortlin Ingram, Firefighter/EMT, effective March 5, 2022.
  • Consent Agenda – Unanimously Approved
    • Purchases Over $7,500.00.
    • Boards and Committees
  • Public comments for general items. – No comments
  • Council Member Remarks.
    • Councilwoman Laster wanted to congratulate the Jacksonville High School Boys for going to Birmingham and to wish them good luck!
  • Mayor’s report.
    • They Mayor wanted to second the council’s comment about the basketball team and said “Go Eagles.”
    • He also wanted to mention the JSU Discussion on the Ukrainian and Russian Situation that was being held the following day.
  • Adjournment – Unanimously Approved

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Shirley Millwood for Probate

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