GOOD HOPE – After the fun and games of the last meeting, which was on the night of the college football national championship, the Good Hope City Council was all business Monday night. After the usual invocation (by Maxie Jones), roll call (everyone present except Susan Eller) and approval of the minutes from the last meeting, each of the council members presented his or her committee reports. Councilman John Harris (Finances) said that there was little to report since the financial statements were read and approved at the last meeting. Councilman Maxie Jones (Roads) reported that the closed bridge on Beech Grove Road could possibly be reopened within two or three weeks, depending on the weather, but the deadline for having it reopened is not until the end of March.
Councilwoman Susan Eller (Sewers) was not present, so Grady Parsons – president of Living Water Services – presented on her behalf. He told the council about Good Hope's scores based on the report they submitted to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). The report acts as a sort of report card for the previous calendar year, and points are given based on the results of the report. Like golf, a lower amount of points means a better score, and Good Hope kept up its streak of good scores. Parsons said that high flows resulted in 115 points, but that number was lower than previous years’ due to efforts to fix leaks and reduce flows. The City also scored extremely well for water quality. Parsons stated, "Good Hope does not have problems. They've had a good track record for years; they know what they're doing."
The committee reports concluded with Councilman Greg Brown (Community Service) reporting on a few donations received and Councilman Taft Dillashaw (Parks) stating that sign-ups for baseball start this Wednesday and that he's also looking into getting a new field-fixing machine.
Mayor Jerry Bartlett asked for the police reports, which recommended putting up stoplights in intersections that were known to be dangerous and also made known some complaints of people standing out on the street and harassing motorists and passersby for money. Bartlett said that he was aware of a couple who had been aggressively panhandling for three weeks, that he confronted them and told them about the City's ordinance against panhandling, and that he has not seen them since.
After the reports were finished, the council moved on to the resolutions. The first order of business was the recommended re-zoning of a parcel of land on Mize Road from the B-2 to R-2, which the council approved. The council then voted to renew the Air Evac contract, which would take money raised by alcohol funds and insure every citizen of Good Hope in the event of a necessary medical airlift. The final order of business before adjourning was the adopting of the annual ADEM report that was described earlier.
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.
Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
