Piedmont, AL – While several things were discussed at the Piedmont city council meeting this week, the Solar Easement Agreement was a large item on the agenda.
The council approved the agreement between the city of Piedmont and the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) Tuesday night. “This solar project has been talked about quite a bit in the past.” said Piedmont Mayor Bill Baker.
The solar project will be very similar to the one that was just completed in Fairhope, AL, where they just dedicated their brand new 50-KW solar research project on May 4th.
The proposed site for the Piedmont solar charging station is nine parking spaces, approximately 90ft by 25ft in the west central portion of the Piedmont City Hall parking lot, located at 109 N Center Ave. The solar canopy will consist of 72 to 80 panels mounted on a raised structure under which vehicles will still be able to park. The canopy will cover six parking spaces with the additional three parking spaces used for electrical equipment and clearances.
Two parking spaces would consist of level 2 EV chargers, allowing for anyone with an electric car to have access to a charging station while visiting the downtown Piedmont area.
All of this will be financed and maintained by AMEA, and there will be no expense to the city for this service. Piedmont will be the eleventh and final city to incorporate the solar project. AMEA is a coalition of public power utilities that provide power to the Alabama cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga, and Tuskegee. The project could begin as early as August or September of this year.
Police Chief Nathan Johnson expressed that it was National Police Week. He thanked the city council for all their support, along with the businesses and residents of the city.
The police department had a total of 56 arrests on 78 charges for the month of April. Nine of those arrests being felony arrests with 10 felony charges. Officers issued 38 traffic citations during the month and worked 10 Traffic Accidents. Officers were dispatched on 300 calls for service and of those calls 105 resulted in a report being filed. Officers patrolled a total of 9,681 miles during the month.
The Dispatch Office received 1,894 phone calls. They also dispatched 378 Rescue calls and 36 Piedmont Fire Calls. 194 of the Rescue Calls were inside the Piedmont area, while 184 of the calls were outside of the area.
In the Fire Department Monthly Report for April, they worked one structure fire, one automatic alarm, ten vehicle accidents, four woods fires involving six acres, nine service calls, seven ambulance assists, one hazardous materials call, and one established landing zone. In addition, there was one opened fire investigation within the month. The fire department also hosted a bus extrication class, provided manpower for medical cart for the bike race, and conducted an in-house training course for rope rescue.
Piedmont Park and Rec Director, Jeff Formby, gave us an update on the water issues located on the bottom floor of the civic center. Different ideas were discussed such as putting in a French drain to control rainwater, installing a different sump pump and possibly even a secondary pump that could be utilized as a backup if there were an issue with the primary pump, and possibly installing a dehumidifier in the basement to try and help control the moisture from the shower area. An estimated cost of this project should be available at the next city council meeting. Aside from the water issues at the civic center, there are other issues in need of repair as well such as electrical, flooring, and repainting. Formby expressed that the flooring downstairs in the lobby is coming loose. He says it would be about $9,600 for repairs if they did the work themselves. Mayor Baker expressed paying for the floor repairs using the Alabama Trust Fund.
Many of the district leaders expressed the importance of keeping the city’s website and social media pages up to date to inform the public about events happening around the city. They discussed a few solutions to help stay on top of updating those platforms. The council also voted on purchasing parts to repair the city’s bulldozer that was originally purchased in 2006-07. The purchase was approved in the amount of $9,482.87.
The final item discussed was for parts needed for the Piedmont Electric Department. The purchase was approved in the amount of $10,072.50. Mayor Baker wrapped up the meeting by thanking the police department for all of the hard work that they do. He also recapped a previous conversation that took place right before the meeting with the East Alabama Planning Agency, asking the council how they felt about applying for a $400,000 grant, with the city of Piedmont providing a 10% match. This grant would be used for various downtown revitalization projects. The council was in favor of moving forward with applying for the grant.
He also expressed how things were going well with the city, and that the former Bostrum plant would be hiring 20 new people immediately, with plans to hire 80 additional employees. They will be putting an estimated $2.3 Million into repairs at the facility to upgrade it.
The next council meeting is scheduled for June 7th.
Mr. Hommes is a reporter for WEIS Radio. (Information Provided by WEIS RADIO)
