COLONY, Ala. – As the Colony Town council gathered for its pre-meeting work session Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Donnis Leeth welcomed Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail and Councilman/Mayor Pro Tem Jim Sawyer. Invited by Leeth, Nail took a few minutes to talk about the relationship between the two municipalities and recent statements he made.
Nail told the council, “I appreciate the relationship that Hanceville and the Colony has. The mayor knows I love him; we’re friends, and I got no doubt that if somebody was about to woop me, they’d have to woop him, too. (Leeth chimed in, “You know that’s right!”)
“But I understand it’s- we all know and we understand right now we’re in some troubled times in our world, and I don’t have the answers to all of it. I know our Lord does; no doubt about it. I have to search my heart.”
Nail shared that he had made certain unspecified remarks recently that could offend some, and that Sawyer had asked him to reconsider what he had said. Nail admitted that his councilman was right, and that he himself “might get a little too passionate about things.”
Nail continued, “I basically just wanted to tell you guys that we love you, we appreciate you, and, you know, if there’s ever an issue or if there’s ever a problem- regardless of what it is- if there’s something we can do to help y’all, we don’t have a whole bunch of resources, but me and the mayor’s talked a few times. We’ve been able to help with a couple of little things here and there.
“But I just want y’all to know we appreciate y’all, appreciate y’all trading in Hanceville, appreciate y’all buying your groceries there and coming up there. You’re always welcome at events that we have.
“I’ll tell you: we were talking just a few days ago, and, you know, there is no doubt Hanceville is the most diverse city in Cullman County. Now, back in the day, have we had some hiccups? Yes. Have we had some few issues here? You know we have.”
Nail recounted the days in the 1960s when Colony’s school was closed and the students were integrated into the Hanceville schools, noting that neither community was very happy with the situation at the time.
“But I’m going to tell you something, and I honestly believe this,” added Nail, “Hanceville is a better place today because of what happened. Now back in the 60s, everybody become mad at everybody and blah, blah, blah. But Hanceville, because we all, we all got to figure out how to get along, and I think we get along great. You know, I’m very proud of the relationship that we have.”
Colony candidates share platforms
Leeth asked each of the council members present to talk about their platforms for the upcoming Municipal Election, happening Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Samuel Ashford was absent.
Ethel Alexander noted that this will be her first election, since she was appointed to the council to fill a mid-term vacancy. She said that she hoped to build on the progress of her first term, to continue developing Colony’s historical landmarks and to “make Colony a place to visit.”
Melvin Hammond recounted numerous council accomplishments he has seen during his term. As the finance committee chairman, he especially pointed to the substantial reduction in the Town’s loan debt through his and Town Clerk Patricia Ponder’s efforts. He said he is happy with the progress he has seen on road repairs, and hopes to see more roads fixed in his next term.
Curtis Johnson announced that he intends to run against Leeth for the mayor’s seat, saying that he would not have anything further to say until after candidate qualification in July.
Leeth, who sat next to Johnson as me made his announcement, showed no visible surprise or anger at the announcement, but portions of his platform statement were clearly directed at his new opponent.
Leeth told the council that when he came back to Colony from 21 years of Army service in 2002, he found the town the same as he left it until something told him, “If you want a change, step up.” He recounted the work he had done for the town before holding elected office, even after losing a previous election, saying that he had learned how to get things done by learning how to talk to people and by building relationships with a wide variety of people.
Said Leeth, “I’m just a peon in politics, but I know a lot of big boys.”
Leeth pointed to the town’s Morehouse College-supported community garden, storm shelter and nearby Dollar General as his most visible accomplishments, along with other things like the community food pantry and food distributions.
While he never looked at Johnson, he did say, “If you can beat me, you can have it,” adding that he would continue to offer assistance to council members but would not assist Johnson as mayor.
To Johnson he also remarked, “You want to be the big boy, you got to fill the shoe.”
Desperation Church to hold work day at gym
Leeth reported that Desperation Church’s Pastor (Andy Heis, not named during the meeting) recently visited Colony’s gym, and plans to return with a work team July 11 for a community service day to do painting, tile work, light repairs, cleaning, lawn mowing and work on the baseball field. Alexander called on kids from the community who will use the gym to come out and help with the work day, and to be responsible for taking care of the facility once it is ready.
Council business
Hammond reported that someone is coming to look at the HVAC unit at the Educational Complex, and that the kitchen will need to be recertified since it did not have running water at its last inspection. He also said that he is working on getting the gym open, but cannot commit enough time to operating the facility, saying that Kim Carwell has offered to help out and recommending that she be given a key to the building. Hammond also said that road repairs on the paved portion of Ward Hill Road will begin later this week.
Johnson reported that the library at the Educational Complex re-opened Tuesday, and that AT&T will be at the library later this week, with plans to install internet later this year.
Alexander reported that Colony made it into phase I of the upcoming Sprout/Cullman Electric Cooperative fiber internet project. The company’s service should reach Colony in January 2021 at a cost of around $60 per month.
The Colony Town Council meets for work sessions at 5 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month in Colony Town Hall, with regular meetings following. The public is invited to attend.
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