HANCEVILLE – The city of Hanceville convened for a council meeting on Thursday, May 12 and, despite the nasty weather outside, business was smooth sailing at city hall.
With all members of the council present including the city clerk and city attorney, the meeting was called to order and the invocation was given by Councilman Jimmy Sawyer.
Hanceville High School Coach Danny Miller and the council presented five of the six members of the HHS track team who qualified and competed at the Alabama High School Athletic Association Track and Field meet held at Oliver Woodard Stadium in Cullman last weekend with certificates of appreciation for their hard work, dedication and excellent job representing Hanceville at the state meet.
BJ Smalls, Jose Orozco, Romael Simmons, JK Davis and Antonio Bautista were present for the awards; however, Taylor Hollingsworth, the lone female competitor from Hanceville, was unable to attend.
Moving to new business, the council found the bills payable acceptable. The Shoals Electric Company invoice of $5,800, the result of a light pole taken out during an auto accident, is to be paid by the driver’s insurer.
The council began a discussion on the bid for the resurfacing of Forest Drive Northwest from Section Line Road to the cul-de-sac.
“We had the bid opening on Forest Drive and it looks like we have one bid. We did post that like we always do last week,” stated Mayor Kenneth Nail during the work session.
With only one bid, by Richard Cooper Asphalt Paving Company in Hanceville, Council member Charles Wilson asked, “Were these bids sent out to any other surfacing companies, mayor?” to which Nail responded, “All we done was post them like we always do.”
Wilson then asked, “And what’s the normal procedure, mayor?”
Nail stated, “Well, we posted at four places around the city. We posted at city hall, the library, the water department and,” at which point City Clerk Tania Wilcox corrected Nail with, “We just posted on the bulletin board outside the office.”
Wilson made a motion that the bid be rejected until other paving companies are notified and given the opportunity to bid on the project. The mayor sighed audibly and asked for discussion on how to notify other companies of the project. After discussion on how to seek bids for the resurfacing project, Nail shared, “I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t call Good Hope because of what we got into up there on the other street.”
Wilson’s motion to reject the sole bid and reopen the bid letting was carried unanimously and the council moved on to the next order of business which is the upcoming 18th Annual Hanceville Antique Tractor and Engine Show, an event held by the local chapter of the International Harvester Collectors Club. To be held at Wallace State Community College, the Saturday, June 11 event will begin at 9 a.m.
Police Chief Bob Long reported 10 felony reports with 29 misdemeanors last month and 72 total reports. Discussion went to the possibility of making the Fish-o-Rama a two-day event next year instead of the usual two weekend event that it has been previously.
The Ladies’ Firearms Training will begin on Saturday, May 14 at 8 a.m. with another class slated for the following Saturday, May 21. Although the first two classes are filled and waitlisted, the decision has not yet been made to open up a class on May 28. Long shared that 249 women have been trained over the past four years.
Many upcoming events were discussed including the Hanceville Farmer’s Market, which is held each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. at 200 Bangor Ave. between Commercial Street and Blountsville Street. Also, the grand opening event for several new businesses in the downtown revitalization area will be held on Saturday, May 21. The new businesses include a salon, café and antique store.
Members of the Hanceville City Council include Charles Wilson, Greg Baker, Kim Brown, Mayor Kenneth Nail, Jimmy Sawyer and Doug Batemon. City Clerk Tania Wilcox and City Attorney Dan Willingham were also present.
The Hanceville City Council meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month with work sessions beginning at 6:30 p.m. and meetings at 7 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend both. The next meeting will be held on May 26 and the downtown (Main Street/ Historic Downtown Hanceville Revitalization) meeting will be on Monday, June 13 at 6 p.m.
