Weaver City Council and Work Session October 26, 2021

October 27, 2021   
Lee Evancho  

Work Session

The work session began with a roll call.  Councilmen Clendenning, Bowles, and McRae were present as well as Councilwoman Hamby and Mayor Willis. Councilman Burns was absent due to the birth of his newest child. 

The first subject on the agenda was the pet tethering ordinance. Councilwoman Hamby has been working on the language for this proposed ordnance for the last few months. The newest version started with language stating it is “unlawful to tie a dog outside unless on a running line.” The ordinance  also had a 15 foot requirement on the running line. Several portions of the language gave councilmen Bowles and Clendenning concerns as it seemed to punish responsible pet owners that kept their pets outside. Upon speaking with Chief Bush and Chief Bunn it was noted that there are very few complaints overall and most compants do not find pet owners in violation of state laws. The Anniston ordnance was also reviewed and a decision was made to continue working on the language to support the care of the pets of Weaver, while not punishing responsible pet owners. Once the new draft is created it will be sent to both Chiefs, the council members, the Mayor, and the city attorney for review. Once an draft is agreed upon it will be published publicly prior to the council voting. This will allow the public to weigh in as well.

The next agenda item was to discuss a new Weaver Website. A representative from JLM Communications was present to discuss a proposal. The first change would be to use a .gov domain. This is free and would belong to the city of Weaver. The new website would be designed for easy usability and allow residents to contact the city through the website for items such as pavilion rental, debris pickup, and code enforcement questions. There would be an expanded section on Weaver attractions and businesses among other changes. A secondary proposal will be made at the next meeting so no vote will be taken tonight. 

Council McRae spoke about starting his Operation Weaver Cleanup. This initiative would focus on recycling and trash pickup. He has reached out to the local schools as well as a representative from Keeping Alabama Beautiful. 

Councilman Clendenning wanted to ask if the CARES money that the city is expecting next year could be used for a water tank. He would like to consider allocating $300,000  toward that so that the tank would not be financed or come out of the city’s budget.

He also wanted to provide an update on a designer coming to the park on Thursday to review the area for a disk golf design. 

The next agenda item discussed was the upcoming Weaver Christmas Parade. The parade is set for Sunday, December 5 at 2:00pm. The staging would start at 12:00 pm. This parade is free to participate in. Chief Bunn will work on securing Santa to come to the parade as well.

Chief Bunn also went over the details of the plat that needs to be approved for Lake Buckhorn. The plans were reviewed and this item will be voted on at the city council meeting.

Joey Conger spoke about needing to utilize roughly $7,500 to replace a submersible pump at well two. This item is on the agenda for voting tonight.

City Council

• Call to Order
• Invocation
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Roll Call
  • Clint Burns – Absent
  • Tim McRae – Present
  • Cathy Hamby – Present
  • Nick Bowles – Present
  • Jeff Clendenning – Present
  • Wayne Willis – Present
• Adoption of Agenda – Unanimously Approved
• Adoption of Previous Meeting Minutes – Unanimously Approved with Change
  • Change of mention of Grade 2 changed to grade 1 under Public Works Report 
• Department Reports
  • Public Works
    • A quote was received for  submersible pump for $7,374. This would be for well 2. The lead time would be about two weeks and the existing pump would be held as  backup for emergency use. A motion was made to accept this quote. – Unanimously Approved
  • Police Department – No Report
  • Fire Department/CodeEnforcement
    • Plat for Lake Buckhorn was reviewed. The plans have been approved by the planning  committee. 
  • Administrative Department – No report
• Council Reports
  • Tim McRae – update on Operation Weaver Cleanup was given. He wants to challenge residents to help if they see trash. 
  • Cathy Hamby – No report
  • Nick Bowles – No report
  • Jeff Clendenning – A designer will be coming out to the Weaver Park to work on the disk golf project. He also wanted to request that prices be requested on building an additional pavilion for the park. He also wanted to remind everyone of the Christmas Parade on December 5 at 2:00 pm.
• Old Business
  • Pet Tethering Ordnance – The language is being worked on and changed to not punish responsible pet owners.
• New Business
  • Acceptance of Buckhorn Plats – Unanimously Approved
  • Parking at Buckhorn – the new AG Boutique and NoAlan Event Center  has opened, reducing parking available to residents wanting to visit the lake. The mayor wanted to discuss the options of two city owned lots that might could be paved or have gravel placed to create additional parking. Prices for the parking areas  will be gathered, but no action was taken at this council meeting.
  • City of Weaver Website – the first of two proposal was reviewed at the work session. No action was taken at this time. 
• Spirit of Weaver Committee Report – no representative present
• Mayor’s Report
  • Bids are out for the park restroom and the hope is they can get started soon.
  • The splash pad delivery has been delayed due to COVID. The goal is now to start work in November and have the splash pad ready to go in the spring.
  • The Mayor wanted to discuss the Citizen Advisory Board. This board has an opening and is a great platform for those looking to join the council at some point. Any resident of Weaver is welcome to join. They meet once a month on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and report to the MPO. 
  • Mayor Willis also wanted to compliment all the council members. He noted when they see an issue they take the initiative to start finding a solution. He wanted to say how much he appreciates all the hard work. 
• Public Comments
  • Reverend Martin spoke to ask why the parade was set for Sunday. She was told it was to avoid a conflict with the SEC games and that in previous years there has been a larger turnout on Sunday versus Saturday. 
  • Real Estate Agent Chad Barnet with Keller Williams spoke about a 36 acre property outside of Weaver his clients were considering selling. It appears the only access is an unmaintained road in the city of Weaver. He was trying to determine what the procedure was to use that road. It was explained that it could be used, but it would not be maintained by the city. There were also questions on exactly where the property fell and if the access road was still in existence. A survey was suggested to get a better answer. Once completed, if the property was in the city, then code enforcement would work with the owners or their agents to gain access. The property is located at Old Goat Farm Road. 
• Adjournment – Unanimously Approved