Mayor Nail presents a proclamation to club representative Nancy Horton.
HANCEVILLE – On Thursday evening, Mayor Kenneth Nail and the Hanceville City Council opened their regular meeting by honoring the city’s local Civitan Club, and proclaiming May 2017 as Civitan Awareness Month. Nancy Horton accepted the proclamation on behalf of the club.
The proclamation notes the 100th anniversary of Civitan International’s founding in Birmingham in 1917, as well as the 26 years of the local chapter’s service in the Hanceville community.
Afterward, the bulk of the council’s time was taken up with discussion of what to do about houses and other properties in Hanceville that are not being maintained by their owners. A slide presentation from the Hanceville City Planning Commission showed various properties around town, including city-owned buildings, that are in need of improvement or disposal.
“Let’s be honest,” Nail said, “we’re going to make some people mad, and I hate to do it, I really do. But it’s come a time, and we’ve tried to work with some of these people. We’ve tried and tried. It boils down to: the City Council will have to decide how much we’re going to do. Still, I want to work with these people, if they’ll talk with us.”
Ideas proposed included issuing citations to start with and condemning properties when citations do not produce needed improvements. The mayor talked about working with property owners to help them dispose of non-repairable buildings by means like fire department training burns.
The plight of the elderly and others who might not be physically or financially able to cut grass and clean up homes they live in was a topic of discussion for some time. City Attorney Dan Willingham personally offered to assist with gathering volunteer teams to go and help such people. The council also considered the possibilities of using such work to help high school students get their needed community service hours, and even allowing kids facing Saturday detentions to work off their detention instead.
In the end, no motions were made and no action was taken, but the matter is expected to be on the council agenda in May.
In other business:
- The council voted to reappoint Danny Nail to the Zoning Board of Adjustments. Nail is currently on the board, but his term was expiring.
- The mayor related that the City’s pool facility had been broken into, and the pump damaged. Insurance will cover a portion under vandalism, and the City will have to pay part of the repair. Hanceville has contracted with the City of Cullman to purchase two used but fairly new sand filters for a fraction of the cost of new equipment.
- Police Chief Bob Long reminded the council about the upcoming Fish-O-Rama on Friday, Apr. 28 and Saturday, Apr. 29. The police department will also offer a ladies’ firearm class on May 13 and 20.
- The police department’s new patrol vehicles and the fire department’s new Gator rescue ATV are nearing completion, and should be in service in the next month.
- Councilwoman Kim Brown announced that Hanceville Elementary School will host an art show on Saturday, May 13 from 6-8 p.m. in the HES gym. Artwork from HES students will be displayed, and donated pieces from several nationally-recognized artists will be available for purchase via silent auction.
The Hanceville City Council meets in Hanceville City Hall on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. with work sessions at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
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