May 6, 2021
Jennifer Haynes
On a rainy Tuesday evening the Piedmont City Council met for their work session and council meeting. Piedmont’s Fire Chief Mike Ledbetter pleaded with the council on behalf of the fire department and City to hire more employees. They currently have part time candidates that would be able to go full time if allowed. Chief Ledbetter spoke on how hard it was to find people willing to become a firefighter at this time and the devastation this could cause if they didn’t have more man power. He stated “Getting the man power we need quickly on the scene, enough people to do the necessary job of saving lives, and putting out the fires. That’s what I’m asking for.” The council unanimously approved the hiring of two new employees, and the purchase of a Lucas Device. This is a mechanical CPR device that gives chest compressions to the person in need while the firefighter works to save their life. The cost of the machine is $14,993 and would be purchased with fire tax money. Mayor Baker briefly spoke on the importance of the fire department recalling a family member’s ordeal with a house fire, and the fire department’s efficiency in extinguishing the fire. Councilman Greg South also commented that these new employees and the Lucas Device would greatly help the fire department keep our citizens safe.
Next on the agenda the council spoke about the two head start trailers located behind the old Southside Elementary school. It was discussed and voted to make them surplus property. This would allow one to be donated to the high school as a replacement for the old booster club building, and the other to be sold and added to the City’s funds.
Jackie Black, a Piedmont resident, approached the council regarding a zoning issue with his mother’s home located off Hwy 9. He asked about the de-annexation of his mother’s property. The trailer previously resided a mere 200 feet from her property on a neighbors lot. The neighbor is building a home on that location so she was asked to move her home. The Piedmont ordinances have specific requirements for a trailer on agricultural land. A clause states it must be two-thirds the value of the property. Mr. Black stated, “They placed a pretty discriminatory clause in there saying it had to meet 90 percent of $230,000. No mobile home can do that. It’s on agriculture. It allows for a mobile home, but that clause says nobody could ever put a mobile home there.” Councilman Caleb Pope said he felt this was a discriminatory clause that keeps the poor from being able to have a mobile home on their land. He said, “It’s like a punishment for being poor.” Councilman Greg South stated the ordinance was put in place so surrounding homes would not be devalued. Pope said policies such as this were meant to push the poor people out of Piedmont. South stated standards were set for everyone to adhere to and if we made an exception for this home, they’d have to continue to make exceptions. Councilman Jubal Feazzell asked to look into the situation further. He felt it was unwise to de-annex the property as it was set up for Piedmont utilities and would be serviced by the Piedmont emergency services. Mayor Baker said the matter will be discussed further after seeking advice from the legal team. Feazzell said the clause needed to be looked into as well.
The minutes from the last meeting were approved, as were the bills for payment totaling $273,478.43. Fire Chief Ledbetter got up to say a heartfelt thank you for the support of the council for the device and two new hires. He said he was pleasantly surprised by the outcome and excited for the future. All of the district council members thanked the chief for his exceptional work and said they were happy this could happen on this special day, International Firefighters Day. Discussions were had on wooden posts that have come in and will be distributed as needed. Jubal Feazzel also mentioned the Piedmont mural needed some touching up.
Greg South spoke on the 4th of July fireworks. Piedmont resident Terry Batey said he has a 20 minute firework display planned for the city donated by a vendor. There are several other vendors interested in the event including a laser tag vendor. He said he just needed someone to shoot them off safely. The fire chief said he’d contact someone to oversee the fireworks.
Wrapping up the meeting was Ms. Flowers-Barnwell. She explained the damaging water levels near her home, and the need for our water levels to be watched and recorded. She is a retired road contractor and had many ideas on how to fix the situation using her knowledge and 21 years of experience. “I can give you 21 years experience on how to deal with the infrastructure,” she said. “We’ve got to start out with the drainage ditches and the pipes that are on the right of way. The ditches are clogged up. They’re in dire need of cleaning out and the proper structures put in place to protect them.” Other ideas she discussed were using the prisoners from the jail to help keep the city’s pipes cleaned out while they work off money owed. It’s a win win. Barnwell offered to buy four rain gages and monitor them if the city would mount them on poles. Mayor Baker agreed to mount the gages after their purchase. Councilman Feazzell said the increased drainage clogs could be from the excess leaves. He said it’s been a year since they’ve used a real street sweeper and believes it’s time for a new truck. Greg South commented a trench could be dug in this area to keep surrounding homes from flooding. Meeting was adjourned.
