Our country’s economic recession has affected everyone.
Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed, though, is happy to say his city has weathered the storm quite well.
According to a presentation by Yolanda Watkins, a regional account manager with Revenue Discovery Systems, Jemison’s sales tax revenue has dropped 2 percent since 2007.
“Some cities are down 30 percent,” Watkins told the Jemison City Council on Feb. 15.
“You don’t want to say you’re down, but at least you’re not down by that much.”
Almost one-quarter of Jemison’s sales tax revenue comes from grocers, according to the RDS report. The next biggest contributor is gas stations, with 16 percent; then limited-service restaurants, with 15 percent; and then discount department stores, with nine percent.
Reed said the city’s diverse tax base is what has allowed it, so far, to withstand the economic downturn.
“That is due to the fact that we don’t have the big malls or the strip malls,” Reed said. “We have done extremely well.”
The city has seen the number of tax-paying businesses increase from 600 in 2004 to 1,500 in 2009.

By Stephen Dawkins

The Jemison City Council on Monday granted its first two alcohol licenses.
City residents voted on Jan. 12 to allow alcohol sales, and the council passed an ordinance on Jan. 18.
Jemison Exxon, near Interstate 65 Exit 219, and Stop and Shop, on Highway 31 north of Jemison High School, are the first businesses licensed to sell alcohol in city limits.
“Ya’ll just made history,” Mayor Eddie Reed told the council after its unanimous vote.
Before being granted licenses, businesses are scrutinized by Police Chief Shane Fulmer, who runs background checks on the business owners, and Fire Chief John Dennis and Building Inspector Shannon Welch, who both ensure the business is compliant with local and state fire and building codes.
All three officials were present at the meeting and approved granting licenses to the businesses.
Jemison’s ordinance also allows for public debate before licenses are granted, but no one was present at the regularly scheduled meeting at Jemison City Hall to voice opposition.
“This is a historic moment for the city of Jemison,” Reed said. “It’s gone smoothly because we have the people in place.”
In other business, the council:
•Heard a presentation from Diane Calloway about regulations that could apply to the auditorium in the new city hall that is still under construction.
Calloway previously had volunteered to gather information about rental rates and other usage regulations adopted for Helen Jenkins Chapel in Thorsby and Calera Community Center.
The council thanked Calloway for her help and indicated action could be taken on the matter in a future meeting.
•Heard from Dennis about the Alabama Smoke Alarm Initiative, which Jemison will participate in. The state initiative is a way of ensuring all residents have working smoke alarms.

By Neal Wagner | Shelby County Reporter

American citizens have come a long way since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, but they still have much work to do, Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed told a group of more than 100 gathered in Montevallo Jan. 18.
Reed joined other local officials and pastors in Montevallo’s George Dailey Park as the city held its annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.
During his speech, Reed encouraged black Americans to concentrate on their values, education and God as they sought to “renew (King’s) dream.”
“We must stop the evil plaguing our youth’s thinking, and take back our communities from the drug dealers and gangs,” Reed said. “Dr. King would be truly sad to see our communities have failed to destroy the drug use plaguing our communities.”
During the event, Reed urged black Americans to keep up with the ever-changing United States economy, and warned them not to consider President Barack Obama’s election the “ultimate victory.”
“African-Americans who are unskilled and unprepared for the upcoming economic changes will be the victims of what we once overcame,” Reed said. “The economic system being put into place now is the greatest threat to African-Americans.
“There are men in power now who have not yet learned the lessons of Dr. King, and our nation continues to be segregated,” Reed said. “Blacks compared to whites are disproportionately poor and uneducated.”
But the Jemison mayor also praised the progress America has made since King was assassinated in 1968.
“He would be happy to see all of the bigotry forced to the fringes of American society,” Reed said. “Some of Dr. King’s dreams have come true.
“The sons of slaves and the sons of slave owners now sit at the same table,” he added. “To truly know Dr. King, we must learn his lessons so we can truly be free at last.”

The Chilton County Commission plans to revisit the issue of establishing county satellite offices next year.
Commissioner Allen Caton said that while several commissioners and other elected officials support the idea, the county cannot easily fund another office at the present time.
“It’s not a dead issue by any means,” Caton said.
Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed fully supports a satellite office in Jemison.
A facility might be available at little cost to the county, but equipment and operating costs could come to around $5,000 per office, Caton estimated.
There was also talk of opening  a satellite office in the town of Maplesville.
Supporters have said a satellite office might reduce traffic in the courthouse, which has been overcrowded for quite some time.
The Department of Motor Vehicles, under the umbrella of the Chilton County Tax Collector’s office, moved into a vacant building across the street from the courthouse several years ago.
Also, the county commission office expanded into a former meeting room for more space.
“It’s a great idea. I would love to have it, but if we don’t have the money, we just don’t have the money,” Tax Collector Tim Little said.
Even if an office were open for just one day per week, Caton said the funding just isn’t there.
“With the financial situation the county’s in, even coming up with the $5,000 would be a struggle,” he said.

By Scott Mims

As north Chilton County prepares for 2010 and a new decade, local leaders are eyeing new projects and goals.
Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed hopes to see the city’s new municipal complex come to completion in 2010. The building is located on U.S. 31  just south of the current City Hall.
While Reed would not release a ballpark figure, he said the building’s cost will likely be significantly less than estimated because the city is doing about 75 percent of the work with city employees.
“We have not yet finalized all the investments,” Reed said Monday.
Meanwhile, businesses will soon start popping up along I-65 Exit 219, partially due to the new lights along the Interstate. Waffle House is the first business to close a land deal, and two more businesses have committed, Reed said.
Commercial and residential growth on the east side of Jemison will increase the need for utilities in the area. A new wastewater treatment plant is on the horizon for east Jemison, as well as sewer upgrades.
The appropriation for a new plant would be $5.3 million.
“The funding has been down on wastewater treatment plants and water systems, but we understand that some of the stimulus funding may be returned to that,” Reed said.
Annexation expanded Jemison’s territory in 2009 and will continue to do so in 2010, Reed added. The newly annexed Oak Grove community has received water upgrades, sewer upgrades and streetlights. The next step is to pave roads in the area.
“We hope to manage the growth and make sure it coincides with the new zoning ordinance we’ve put into place,” Reed said, adding, “We want to continue to annex areas that request annexation.”
On a lighthearted note, the mayor offered a New Year’s prayer for peace and prosperity on behalf of the city.