Weaver Selects New Mayor and Councilwoman and Makes Decision to Keep Buckhorn Lake at City Council Meeting

Weaver, AL – Weaver held their regularly scheduled work session and city council meeting on July 26, 2022. Weaver selected a new acting Mayor and Councilwoman after current Mayor Wayne Willis announced his retirement effective September 29th, 2022.

Work Session

All council members were in attendance with Mayor Willis being present via Zoom meeting due to illness. The first matter discussed was with a representative from DG Roofing. The roof on city hall needs a few repairs from insurance and it has been determined that after insurance a new roof can be provided with out-of-pocket expenses around $3,700. The work will take about two days to complete and will consist of 30 year shingles. The work will start in approximately 5-6 weeks.

A representative from East Alabama Planning and Development Commission, Shelby Peterson, spoke about the next steps for the strategic plan. She provided all members with a blank SWOT Analysis form and would like them to fill it out as well as department heads. In August the will being working in a vision statement for the city. She requested all forms be returned via email by 8/9 that would be the meeting to discuss the next step.

A discussion on joining the Calhoun County 9-1-1 EMS Oversight committee is on the agenda for the meeting. Jacksonville and Anniston have already joined and Chief Bunn felt that Weaver would be left out if they didn’t participate. He shared that being a part of this committee would give the city a better means of dealing with poor response times or improperly staffed ambulances being sent to calls. Chief Bush deferred to Chief Bunn’s assessment on joining.

A decision was finally reached on Buckhorn Lake. All council members felt that the majority of the residents wanted the city to keep the lake. A decision was made to remove this as a discussion item because no action would be needed to keep the lake ownership as is. There was an acknowledgment of a vocal concern of the property owner adjacent to the lake, but that seemed to be the minority stance and the council is charged with doing what is in the best interest of the city. By making this decision the next steps will be to determine if the playground equipment will be moved and that area designated parking, there will be maintenance required on the docks. Those decisions will be made over the course of work sessions and city council meetings, but there will be no further discussion on selling the lake or returning it to the previous owners at this time.

The city has received notification that the next installment of the CARES funds should be deposited in the next week.

The picnic tables have been put together and are currently in the park for use.

Terri Summerlin was present and Mayor Pro tempore Jeff Clendenning stated she would be his choice to fill the vacant spot coming up for the council. Mrs. Summerlin has served under seven mayors in Weaver and is well aquatinted with the budget. Mr. Clendenning went on to say she sticks to her guns and does what is right. He also said she is always positive. She is vocal and not shy. Councilwoman Hamby asked what motivates Mrs. Summerlin to be willing to serve. Mrs. Summerlin explained that she does have a passion to serve, but she also understand that this is an important role and the wrong person can create problems and not care about departments and employees. This role has to take all those impacted into account. She all said she cares about Weaver and wants what is best. She also said she had no hard feelings if the council went a different direction.

Mayor Willis brought up the pipe project and wanted to clarify that funding was coming from the gas tax.

Mayor Willis also wanted to not that hooks had been shipped with the BBQ grills and return labels were being emailed to return them.

The date for the Firehouse Grand Opening has been moved to Sept 1st because one of the people the building is being dedicated to had a conflict with the original date.

The website development is coming along and Chief Bunn will be getting with the developer as well as the previous developer to coordinate the transition.

City Council Meeting

• Call to Order
  • Councilmember Clint Burns – Present
  • Councilmember Tim McRae – Present
  • Councilmember Cathy Hamby – Present
  • Councilmember Nick Bowles – Present
  • Mayor Pro tempore Jeff Clendenning – Present
  • Mayor Willis – present via Zoom (no participation in votes)
• Invocation
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Adoption of Agenda – Unanimously Approved
• Adoption of Minutes – Unanimously Approved
• Department Reports
  • Public Works
    • Picnic tables are in place
    • Test for the water will be Thursday
  • Police Department – None
  • Fire Department/Code Enforcement
    • Grand opening has moved to 9/1/22 at 6:00 pm
  • Administrative Department
    • CARES funds will be arriving in the next few weeks and the amount is $363,200.
• Council Reports
  • Councilmember Clint Burns – None
  • Councilmember Tim McRae – None
  • Councilmember Cathy Hamby  – None
  • Councilmember Nick Bowles – None
  • Mayor Pro tempore Jeff Clendenning – The PERK test has been stated and when the bids are opened for the new restrooms the full project can be bid out.
• Old Business
  • Calhoun County 9-1-1 Oversight Committee for EMS Services – Unanimously Approved
    • Chief Bunn was nominated to be the Committee Member representative – Unanimously Approved
  • Buckhorn Lake Issue – Unanimously Approved
    • Removed from the agenda as the city has made the decision to retain ownership of the lake
    • Further discussions will be held on upkeep, maintenance, and development of the areas
  • Alabama Act#2022-229 – Retiree COLA – Unanimously Approved
    • This is a one-time payment totaling $5,204.
• New Business
  • City Hall Repairs – Unanimously Approved
    • DG Roofing will be contracted to complete this work.
  • Executive Session – Council Vacancy – Unanimously Approved
    • Nominations for a new mayor, mayor pro tempore, and for a vacant council seat will be made.0
• The meeting was called back to session.
• Nominations were made for Jeff Clendenning to become acting Mayor as of 9/30/22 – Unanimously Approved
• Nominations were made for Nick Bowls to become acting Mayor Pro Tempore as of 9/30/22 – Unanimously Approved
• Nominations were made for Terry Summerlin to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Clendenning as of 9/30/22 – Unanimously Approved
  • It was noted again that outgoing Mayor Willis did not participate in the selection process or voting process for the new positions.
  • Congratulations were offered to Mrs. Summerlin and it was noted this is the first time there have been two female City Council Members for Weaver.
• Mayor’s Report – None
• Public Comments – None
• Adjournment – Unanimously Approved