GARDEN CITY – The Town of Garden City held its regular monthly council meeting this week.
In old business, three properties were discussed, two labeled as nuisance properties and sent to district court.
An ordinance for the Kerby property was issued stating the property owners needed to clean up due to complaints from the community. Nothing has been done, so the council voted to go forward and send it to district court.
In addition, an ordinance for the McAnnally property was issued stating the property owners needed to clean up due to complaints from the community. The council noted that just a small amount has been done, so they voted to go forward and send it to district court as well.
There was an Isbell property update. The property has been a source of contention for many years. The Town’s survey map shows the property owners being on Water Avenue which has been unimproved. When original owners purchased the property, it was deeded as “the remaining section of block 50 on the west side of the railroad.” Owners thought their property was much larger than what it actually was. Now that the original owners have passed away, the Town is going to pursue getting the property lines fixed.
The council approved paying Officer Chad Whaley $22.50 per hour to patrol the area of Garden City at random times of the day and night for a total of six to eight hours per month.
Open bids to purchase two lots of scrap tin were approved. Lot A (tin from the town hall) will be sold for $200. Lot B (tin from the fire department) will be sold for $100.
The CSX Closed Crossing Proposal was discussed. CSX wants to double the length of the trains to make it more fluid which means they want two main rails going through Garden City. CSX will bump the train speed up from 35 mph to 55 mph. This will affect some roads and traffic. Nothing has been finalized yet. The council is hoping CSX will help update some of the roads before they add the other set of rails.
The request for Cullman County Soil and Water Conservation funding that had been tabled was discussed. The council will not do anything at this time.
In new business, the council approved the increase of cell phone minutes for Garden City employees. They will go up to 600 minutes per month.
Garden City is looking to add a sixth storm shelter to the community. They are looking for land to be donated and plan to do most of the setup work themselves to cut down on costs.
The council voted to supply meals and snacks to poll workers during next week’s election.
Certificates of Election were given out and other election business was done. Mayor Tim Eskew and council members Scott Arnold, Patsy Chaffin, Gene Norman and Butch Bradford received certificates. Councilwoman Teresa Goodwin will face challenger Michael Black. That race will be the only one on the ballot for Garden City on Aug. 23.
There will be a special meeting to canvass the election results on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at noon.
Eric Allred, Garden City maintenance manager, requested money from the Cullman County Community Development Committee on July 12 for boreholes to help control water flow. He updated the council saying this would be a long process and can cost up to $30,000. The council approved the perusal of the project.
Allred said he finally got a quote for the patchwork on area roads. Dennis Green will do all of the six major areas for $4,000. Garden City will do the clean cutting of the asphalt themselves.
The hay mower that was donated to the town works great. It cuts a lot better and faster than what they had in the past.
The council has not heard from the company that is supposed to move the playground equipment for them yet.
The council discussed the city park in great length. They need to post a sign with park rules on it. The clerk will check around with the other municipalities to see how they have done this with their parks.
The huge farm tractor the Town has needs to be fixed. The council approved the repairs on the tractor then they will turn around and sell it for a profit.
Garden City Volunteer Fire Chief, Steve Ohls, said that Mt. Doom Paintball is doing a fundraiser on Saturday, Aug.20. They have requested the VFD stop by during the day to hose everyone down in an effort to keep everyone cooled off. They agreed to do it.
The Garden City Town Council meets on the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
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