Weaver, AL – The Weaver City Council held its regular work session and city council meeting on Tuesday, August 23rd.
Work Session
During the work session Chuck Chitwood of Canyon Engineering spoke about the SRF Applications and Resolutions. Two resolutions need to be passed to submit the applications. Once the resolutions are passed and signed the applications can be submitted next week.
The 2022-2023 budget that was discussed at the last work session is on the agenda to be voted on tonight. No additional discussion was held.
The business fee has been approved by sate to increase from $12 to $14 and no action is required, but it is on the agenda tonight. No additional discussion was held.
A discussion was held on the cost of a optional second trashcan bins. Currently there is a discounted rate, but they city is responsible for paying the full price. The proposal is to charge the full rate for all bins and offer none at a discounted rate.
The water class action lawsuit was discussed. Currently Jacksonville has joined and Weaver must determine if they want to join as well. The suit is against 3M and DuPont. There is no cost to the city to join. No objections were noted.
The East Alabama Regional Transportation agreement is set to be renewed. This is done annually and provides bus access in Weaver.
There were no reports from Chief Bush or Bunn.
Joey Conger with public works explained that the water samples were back and the trace elements were down significantly. The city is still on quarterly testing and will stay that way until they are below the required number for a full year or until ADEM or the EPA sets a course of action. At this time no requirements are requested.
There was a discussion of possibly starting a Class Action Lawsuit against Fort McCellean Army Base for the toxic dump that may have leached into the water stream. This potentially could have contributed to water issues in Weaver and Jacksonville. Mayor Smith of Jacksonville is on board with starting this process. The current city Attorney, Jason Odom, could not represent due to a conflict of interest. He is the attorney of record for the McClellan Development Authority.
Mayor Pro-tem Clendenning wanted to give an update on the Russell Drive project. The city’s portion would be around $140,000.
The swearing in for the new Mayor and Council position is set for September 30th with a small reception starting at 5:00pm and actually swearing in at 6:00 pm. It was noted that both Mayor Willis and Councilman McRae have prior’s obligations and will not be able to attend.
The grand opening for the firehouse is still on track for September 1st at 6:00 pm.
It was also noted that an agreement had been entered for demo work for the old storage building on Russell Street and the work should be completed within 30 days.
City Council Meeting
- Call to Order
- Invocation
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Roll Call
- Councilmember Clint Burns – Present
- Councilmember Tim McRae – Present
- Councilmember Cathy Hamby – Present (arrived at 5:06pm)
- Councilmember Nick Bowles – Present
- Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Clendenning – Present
- Adoption of Agenda – Unanimously Approved
- Adoption of Minutes – Unanimously Approved
- Department Reports
- Public Works – Latest water testing results are back as discussed in the work session. No action is required at this time. Quarterly testing will continue.
- Police Department – No report
- Fire Department/Code Enforcement – Grand Opening is on scheduled for 9/1 at 6:00 pm.
- Administrative Department – No report
- Council reports
- Councilmember Clint Burns – No report
- Councilmember Tim McRae – No report
- Councilmember Cathy Hamby – A complaint has been received regarding a few homes in Shannon Hills that were removed from the demolition list. Chief Bunn reported that work is still progressing, but he can get a more specific timeline and report at the next meeting.
- Councilmember Nick Bowles – No report
- Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Clendenning – As discussed in the work session the Russell Drive project is progressing. He also requested to move forward with getting the bathroom plans updated. The handicap stalls are now out of code. He is requisiting the architect do this at no cost because it is an update to plans already paid for.
- Old Business
- Chuck Chitwood – Canyon Engineering – SRF Applicaitions and Resolutions
- Resolution # 2022-07 authorizing the mayor to be the point of contact for applications. – Unanimously Approved
- Resolution # 2022 -08 authorizing the mayor to be the point of contact for applications. – Unanimously Approved
- It was noted by Mayor Pro-Tem Clendenning that these two projects were 1.5 million and 1.6 million dollar project respectively.
- Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget – Unanimously Approved
- Mayor Pro-Tem Clendenning wanted to give credit to Mayor Wayne Willis for the strength of this budget and for the solid financial position of the City under his leadership. He also credited the department heads for their hard work. Mayor Willis said all the credit was due to the department heads and especially Chasity Whetstone who really compiled all the numbers. He also noted this was all possible because the council that is currently in place has no personal agenda and it shows what can be accomplished when the council and Mayor all work together.
- Ordinance# 2022-04 Increasing Business License Insurance Fee to $14 – Unanimously Approved
- COVID Reimbursement for Weaver Volunteer Firefighters – Unanimously Approved
- Tim McRae made a motion to change the language from bonus to reimbursement up to $1,100. This amount equals $100 for each active duty firefighter.
- Chuck Chitwood – Canyon Engineering – SRF Applicaitions and Resolutions
- New Business
- Water Contamination Class Action Lawsuit – Unanimously Approved *Cathy Hamby abstained
- East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission
- Resolution # 2022-06 ADA Paratransit Matching Funds for Operational Expenditures – Unanimously Approved
- Agreement FY 2022 Fixed Route and ADA Paratransit Services – Unanimously Approved
- Mayor’s Report
- The grand Opening is set for September 1st and he hopes all will attend.
- Public Comments
- Mike Warren wanted the council to know that Weaver Heritage Day is scheduled for September 10th. They are getting vendors setup now and wanted to see if the city would still contribute as normal. The Council requested a list of needed items be given to Chief Bunn so they could ensure everything was taken care of.
- Adjournment –Unanimously Approved
