Photo: Councilman Maxie Jones, left and Mayor Jerry Bartlett show off what the new welcome sign will look like.
GOOD HOPE – The Good Hope City Council held a regular meeting Monday evening, where the biggest part of the agenda was to pass a resolution to enter an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to install a boundary/welcome sign on County Road 437.
The sign that the council is proposing will be located where the current Good Hope City Limits sign is located. The city has to receive a permit from ALDOT before the sign can be placed. The resolution, which gives Mayor Jerry Bartlett permission to enter into the agreement with ALDOT, easily passed, with all members being in favor of the sign.
In other business, Cullman County Sheriff’s Deputy Chad Chapman was present to discuss details about the recent burglary at The Cotton Gin restaurant, which he said resulted in a kicked-in back door and a busted up cash register, as well as the theft of minor items. According to Chapman, the sheriff’s office has possible suspects, but he didn’t comment further in order to not hinder the active investigation.
Bartlett brought up repairs to Good Hope City Hall’s basement which will begin Tuesday. New ceiling tiles will be installed, as well as new blinds. Bartlett estimates that the repairs will be completed by election day.
The council also discussed entering two possible agreements.
The first is a possible 35-year agreement with James R. Smith Trucking on Cupp Road. The City would gain the use of a half-acre of the company’s land to build a proposed storm shelter. This would be, according to Bartlett, “in exchange for their people to get to use the shelter.” The alternative agreement would be that Smith would grant the City use of the land for no set amount of years, but “for as long as the City of Good Hope maintains that shelter and as long as it is operational,” said Bartlett.
"We're applying for (a grant for) the shelter, but there's no guarantee that we'll get it," stated Bartlett.
The second possible agreement would be with attorney Tim Culpepper regarding greenlighting new houses or trailers before they can be built or moved into the city. “Currently, we don’t have any say-so about new houses or trailers moving into the city,” Bartlett said.
The Good Hope City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Good Hope City Hall. The public is welcome to attend.
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