CARBON HILL – Fire Chief Buddy Smith demonstrated a hydraulic chair lift Thursday during the Carbon Hill City Council meeting.
Smith said the new fire and rescue tool was purchased with donation money and thanked Councilwoman Judy Hurst for her fundraising work.
“We’ve used it twice today already,” Smith said.
Smith also spoke with the council about having repairs made to one of the department’s fire engines.
Mayor David Phillips said there had been some theft issues happening in the parks department.
“It’s frustrating for someone to steal from a resident; it’s even more frustrating for someone to steal from a child,” Phillips said speaking of a series of recent break-ins.
Phillips also talked about installing security cameras at the city barn after increased police surveillance at the barn failed to curb vandalism and drug use on the property.“They see the headlights coming and they tear out,” he said.
Scott Jenkins, superintendent of Carbon Hill’s street department left a note to the council expressing his dissatisfaction with Carbon Hill’s transition from its own municipal garbage service to Walker County Solid Waste pickups.
“We need to do something about the garbage all over town. It has been a month. It is time they clean it up,” he said in the note The council also discussed plans to give control of Hillfest’s finances back to town hall after the account was handed over to the city’s industrial board in 2013. Phillips cited the industrial board’s recent inability to form a quorum in order to distribute funds as a reason for the move.
The council voted unanimously Thursday night to renew its gas tax transport plan. The renewal came with an announcement that the city had received enough Rebuild Alabama funding to start work improving some roads on the east side of town. The council did not announce a start date for the work, but did vote to begin issuing work orders in accordance with the plan.
According to letting records obtained from ALDOT, contract bidding will open early next year for a project to replace the Smith Chapel Road bridge over Mill Creek.
(Daniel Haynes was The Community Journal’s correspondent for this piece.)
