PIEDMONT – The Piedmont City Council approved the purchase of four new police vehicles at Tuesday’s regularly-scheduled meeting.
Two Ford Explorers were approved from Stivers Ford for immediate purchase for $31,760 apiece. The other two vehicles – two Chevy Tahoes – will be purchased next fiscal year from Donahoo Chevrolet in Fort Payne. City clerk Carl Hinton said the city would be put on a waiting list for the Tahoes in May, with the base price for each at $33,500.
Piedmont Police Chief Nathan Johnson thanked the council for their decision before giving his March department report.
The police department had a total of 52 arrests on 60 charges for the month, with 13 of those arrests being felony arrests with 16 felony charges.
Officers issued 33 traffic citations and worked 13 traffic accidents for the month. They were dispatched on 339 calls for service, with 112 of those calls resulting in a report being filed. Officers patrolled 11,120 miles during the month.
The police dispatch office received 2,035 calls, with 391 rescue calls, 69 fire calls, and eight after-hour utility calls.
In rescue squad calls, 183 calls for service were made inside of Piedmont, while 208 calls were outside of the city.
Court collections in the amount of $18,898 were made for the month.
In the abatement report for March, there were 20 total cases, with nine of those being yard cases. There were nine new cases and six old cases being worked on. Eight cases were completed. There were two contracts on structure, six court appearances, two verbal contacts and four contacts for building permits.
In animal control, there were six calls for service during the month. Sixteen animals were picked up, with six taken to the shelter and 10 reclaimed by owners.
Piedmont Fire Chief Mike Ledbetter updated the council on several items from his department, including his monthly report.
The fire department worked five structure fires, four automatic alarms, one false alarm, 14 woods/grass fires involving an estimated 110 acres, 10 vehicle accidents, eight ambulance assists, 16 calls for service, two hazardous materials calls, and six calls establishing a landing zone. The fire department also opened two fire investigations.
Ledbetter also presented the council a couple of pictures he had taken of the new fire tower under construction and gave an update on its construction progress.
“We’ve got the building stacked,” Ledbetter said. “They are welded together and they are anchored to the concrete. We plan to do some excavation work in the rear within the next month. We’re going to try to take the bank down a little more in the back and plant some grass and try to do a little bit of landscaping to prevent water and erosion and so forth in the back. Once we get our excavation work done, then we plan on putting up a fence around it to secure it.
“I got fencing bids from Piedmont fencing back last year, but with the prices of metal and everything going up with the pandemic, we put that on hold. I’m going to get back with him in the next couple of weeks and see what the prices on fencing are. We plan to put a fence up all the way around it and secure it and then we can go in and start putting steps and landings and railings and cutting doors and windows where we want those.
“It’s a very slow process. The pandemic has not helped, but it’s starting to pick up a little bit and we’re starting to get a little closer. We’ve got several chiefs in area departments to ask me several times lately when we’re going to get it done because they’re ready for us to give them an invitation to come out and train with us. It’s going to look top notch once we get everything finished.”
Ledbetter also updated the council on the new radios for the fire department.
“All of the radio equipment is in except for the radios that go in the dispatch console itself. It’s basically the base units is what we’re waiting on,” Ledbetter said.
“Radio companies and car manufacturers are still in a battle trying to get certain computer components that both use. I was told the other day that Motorola now has acquired most of the components that they need. We’re one of the departments in the area that has been put at the top of the list to get these. They’ve made it a priority.”
Ledbetter said he was told the radios should be in by either June or July.
The council approved the minutes from the previous meeting, as well as bills for payment totaling $612,270.24. It also approved the Municipal Water Pollution Prevention annual report, presented by Water, Gas and Sewer Manager Byrian Watts.
In his closing comments, Mayor Bill Baker applauded the efforts and attendance of the downtown bicycle race and the Easter egg hunt at the Piedmont Sports Complex last weekend.
Baker also mentioned the Piedmont High School students Alabama Municipal Electrical Authority’s scholarship winners. This year’s scholarship recipients are Emily Farmer, Dawson Blake Morrison, Cayla Leann Parris and Emily Lynn Parris.
The next council meeting is scheduled for May 3.
Mr. Fagan is a reporter for WEIS Radio. (Information Provided by WEIS RADIO)
