By Stephen Dawkins

The Jemison City Council on Monday was updated on a couple of road improvement projects.

Mayor Eddie Reed told the council that a project to pave roads in the Oak Grove community, which was annexed into the city last year, is nearing completion.

“I will say that it’s 99.9 percent completed,” Reed said.

Work remains on County Road 141. Reed said the road is rough but that Chilton County Engineer Tony Wearren has assured Reed that county workers aren’t through with the road.

Also, speed limit signs need to be posted. The council decided at an earlier meeting to make the limit 20 miles per hour. Any county road without a posted speed limit has a default limit of 40 miles per hour.

“That’s way too fast,” Jemison Police Chief Shane Fulmer said.

The council also discussed a project to improve Sycamore Street.

Councilman George Brasher said the road needs to be repaved because of instability created by a water line that was installed on top of a sewer line, but the work should wait on workers to connect residents on the street to the newer water line.

“That will save us a lot of money,” Brasher said, because if the road were paved before the work on the water line, the road would have to be paved again after the work was completed.

“Had we done it the way we decided to do before Councilman Brasher came up with this plan, we would have had a lot more complaints,” Reed said.

In other business, the council:

•Hired I.H. McNeill III, P.C., to serve as the city’s public accountant firm

•Discussed a report from Fire Chief John Dennis that included the number of calls the department made in the past month, among other information. The council unanimously praised the department’s work. “I’m just glad we’re moving forward,” Councilman Richard Morris said.

By Ben Flanagan

A Family Dollar discount store will begin construction in Jemison in January or February, according to a company representative who attended the Jemison City Council meeting Monday night.

The council passed three variances recommended by the city planning commission in relation to the arrival of the new business. The site will feature a 32-space parking lot near the 8,000-square-foot facility to be located on U.S. Highway 31. The council also approved the recommendation of the commission to allow the business to construct and erect two signs nearby.

The council passed an ordinance allowing the annexation of property off of County Road 135 into the corporate limits of Jemison.

The council also passed a resolution to allow Mayor Eddie Reed and the city clerk to conduct all city business and sign checks when necessary.

Bids were accepted on three separate city police cars. Those who placed the highest bids have until this Friday to pick up the vehicles. If they do not, then the cars go to the second highest bidders.

Mayor Reed and the rest of the council publicly congratulated the Jemison little league baseball team for their success in the recent Dizzy Dean tournament.

The council also passed a resolution to purchase a $700 advertisement in The Clanton Advertiser’s annual high school football preview magazine.

By Scott Mims

Nearly 40 people attended the first of several public hearings Thursday night organized by the Chilton County Commission on a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase.
The commission presented a plan outlining how the tax revenue would be used if approved by a majority of voters — one third to resurface paved roads, and two thirds to construct new road projects, including bridges.
“A sales tax is probably the fairest tax there is,” said Commissioner Red Turnipseed. “Everybody buys stuff to use.”
Turnipseed estimated the tax would generate annual revenue of about $3 million. County Engineer Tony Wearren said the road department operates on a budget of about $3.2 million.
Wearren said since 2002, the average increase of the cost of paving materials has been 99 percent.
“It’s almost doubled in eight years. In that time, the road department budget has either been level or reduced,” he said.
Wearren explained that chip seal roads, like many of those in the county, are intended to last seven to 10 years. Some in Chilton County are nearing 40 years old, he said.
In addition, there are 110 bridges in the county, 18 of which are 50-plus years old and an additional 19 of which are 40-plus years old.
Currently, five bridges are closed and 16 are rated at a maximum weight of three tons, which is the minimum rating a bridge can have before it must be closed.
“We have a major concern coming up in the next eight or 10 years on what we are going to do with our bridges,” Wearren said.
Most commissioners expressed full support of the increase; Greg Moore and Bobby Agee indicated their ultimate decisions would be based on what the people decided.
Joe Headley said he was not 100 percent in favor of raising taxes. Upon hearing this, resident Pat Glenn asked if he lived on a dirt road.
“You need to live on a dirt road for about 20 years, and then you’ll be in favor of it,” said Glenn.
Commissioner Heedy Hayes pointed out that the commission currently does not receive any sales tax revenue. The percentage allotted to the county goes 100 percent to schools.
Rep. Jimmy Martin confirmed this.
“We don’t get one cent sales tax — not one penny,” Hayes said.
Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed spoke favorably of the proposal but said municipalities should be able to benefit from the tax since the majority of Chilton’s businesses are located within cities and towns.
“We face the same (road) issues that Chilton County faces,” Reed said.
Hayes said the county has helped towns with paving projects, such as County Road 50 that runs into Thorsby and County Road 42 that runs into Jemison. He said the commission could have stopped short in these instances.
Thorsby Mayor Dearl Hilyer echoed Reed’s concerns, as did others.
“I would be for the tax, but I’ve got to stick with our mayors,” said resident Margaret Cobb.
Resident Carl Headley asked if the county could explore alternatives, such as taxing alcoholic beverages.
“It seems a little bit unfair to me that we would consider taxing the necessities of life,” he said, adding he would like to see a percentage of the money go to a capital reserve fund.

By Stephen Dawkins

With the council chambers inside the Jemison Municipal Complex almost filled to capacity, the city’s council spent most of Monday’s meeting recognizing some of the community’s most outstanding members.

“I think this is the first time since we’ve been in the new building that we’ve had a packed house,” Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed said about the more than 50 people in attendance.

First up was Jemison Elementary School teacher Christin Starr Bashaw, who was named Chilton County Teacher of the Year. Bashaw was presented a plaque by the council.

Next was Tommy Lenoir, coach of Jemison’s 12-year-old Dizzy Dean baseball all-star team. The team over the weekend was invited to participate in the Dizzy Dean World Series tournament, a trip that Lenoir estimated would cost from $5,000-$8,000.

The council voted to donate $2,000, and state representative Jimmy Martin made contributions of both state funds and his own money.

“I have been astounded at how the community has responded to this,” Lenoir said. “We’re living a pipe dream, so we don’t want to come back with anything less than a World Series championship.”

Martin also presented a grant for $25,000 to the Jemison Police Department for the installation of e-ticket hardware in police cruisers.

After most of the 50 attendees had taken their leaves, the council got down to more pressing business.

Reed told three members of the Oak Grove community that roads in their area could be paved as soon as Friday.

Donna Bice presented a petition to the council that included the signatures of six residents on Railroad Street, asking that a speed breaker be installed on their road. The council voted to grant their request.

The council also approved Tammy Miller as court clerk/magistrate for Jemison Municipal Court and approved Shelia Hogge as the new city clerk, replacing Mary Ellison, who is retiring.

“We look forward to working with Ms. Hogge, and we would like thank Ms. Ellison for her years of service,” Reed said.

The council voted to approve a vehicle belonging to the police department as salvage. People now have the opportunity to place bids on the 1996 Ford Crown Victoria, which will be displayed near city hall.

Lastly, the council adjusted the water bill of Betty Adams before voting to pay the bills and adjourning.

By Stephen Dawkins

Jemison has invested about $1.6 million in its new Municipal Complex, according to Mayor Eddie Reed.

The figure is not exact because some aspects of the project–such as a large clock on the outside of the building, exterior lighting and signage–have yet to be completed, Reed said Thursday.

Reed declined to provide more information about costs related to the project.

The city purchased the old ACE Hardware building and accompanying land adjacent to the old city hall after the business had closed, and the renovated 18,000-square foot building opened in early May.

Part of the decision to build a new city hall was that the city had $586,000 left from a bond issue for a sewer project. If the money had not been used–and for some type of construction project–the city would have had to repay the funds.

The Municipal Complex provides the city with more space for municipal court, the police department, council meetings and the library.

Before construction of the building, municipal court was held at the city’s fire station, and council meetings often had more people in attendance than seats.

The facility also features an auditorium that can seat as many as 400 people in front of a stage, a sound system and two drop-down projection screens.

The auditorium can be rented for reunions, banquets and other gatherings.

According to Reed, Popwell Appraisal Service in Clanton recently appraised the property at $2.762 million.

By Stephen Dawkins

A park is usually a peaceful place where people can relax. Jemison City Park has become anything but.

City officials have received reports of loud, profane language and even louder music–and are vowing to take back the park for those that would use it as intended.

City Council member Sam Reed brought up the issue at Monday’s City Council meeting, and Mayor Eddie Reed voiced a strong opinion.

“I think our parks are for the people,” Eddie Reed said. “They should not have to be afraid to go to our city park, so we’re going to stop that in that park.”

Jemison Police Chief Shane Fulmer said the problem is young people–as many as 50-75 on weekends–gathering around the basketball courts and “creating an environment where people just don’t want to go out there.”

Fulmer said the basketball courts are there for people to use, but it’s often the hangers-around that cause problems.

Officials suspect many of the culprits are out-of-towners that have somehow decided on the park as a gathering place.

Fulmer said he doesn’t intend to let that continue.

“We’ve taken steps to try to curb that, and we’re going to continue to do it,” he said.

Playground equipment and bathrooms at the park have been vandalized. Members of the undesirable group are suspected, but Fulmer said no one has yet been arrested or charged with any crimes.

But ramped-up patrols will continue.

“People should be able to enjoy it, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure they do,” Fulmer said.

By Stephen Dawkins

The Jemison City Council on Monday listened to a contentious public hearing before deciding to reverse the zoning on property off Patton Street.
The property was zoned commercial before citywide rezoning in August 2009 resulted in a residential zoning, which made it impossible for Caton Properties to rent a building it owns to potential businesses.
Two people with Caton Properties addressed the council at the hearing, as did five neighbors that wanted the property to remain residential because of problems they said a business would bring.
The city’s planning commission had recommended the council keep the zoning as it was decided last August, but the council decided differently.
Voting “nay,” to overturn the commission’s recommendation, were council members George Brasher, Donnie Lane, Robert Morris and Sam Reed. Mayor Eddie Reed voted to heed the commission’s recommendation to keep the zoning as is, and councilwoman Faye King abstained.
Two public hearings were held before the city adopted a rezoning plan in August 2009. Wayne Caton of Caton Properties said he attended at least one of the hearings, but said he didn’t understand at the time that his property would be zoned differently.
“When the process for rezoning the city was done, it was published, it was announced,” Reed said. “There were no objections; there was no opposition to it.”
The council’s vote and subsequent explanation did not appease the residents who were at the city’s Municipal Complex to argue against changing the property back to commercial, but council members said any business would have to abide by city ordinances pertaining to noise, etc.
The residents said a building on the property in question had housed a vehicle body shop and wrecker service in the past and the noise created, especially late at night, was a nuisance and lowered surrounding property values.
In other business, the council:
•Changed the city’s ordinance pertaining to the sale of alcohol to read that businesses will have to pay the city 5 percent of gross monthly receipts, instead of 15 percent as the ordinance was originally written.
•Donated $1,047 to a Chilton Medical Center program that helps victims of rape.
•Gave Mayor Reed the power to enter into a contract with a real estate company to find possible tenant or tenants of the old city hall.
•Decided to bring in the top three candidates for the city clerk position for another interview. Mary Ellison resigned from the position effective as soon as a replacement could be found, and Reed said an interview committee initially met with six applicants.

By Stephen Dawkins

Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed has a message: Clean it up or pay the city to do it for you.

City workers this week tore down a house on Old Mars Hill Road, off County Road 38, and Reed said others would suffer the same fate if owners don’t bring their property into compliance with the city’s ordinance.

“That’s something people need to understand,” Reed said. “If you are in violation of our code, then we’re going to do what’s necessary to get that property cleaned up.”

Reed said most cases arise after complaints from neighbors, but the mayor said city employees always keep an eye out for property that needs to be addressed.

A letter is sent to owners of property that violates the ordinance, possibly after it has been inspected by Jemison Fire Chief John Dennis and/or Building Inspector Shannon Welch.

The owner has 30 days to respond to the letter, detailing how he or she plans to bring the property into compliance. The property owner then has 30 more days to complete the work necessary.

If the requirements are not met, the city does the work–which may include tearing down a house–and then places a lien against the property in the amount of money it took to bring the property into compliance.

“This uglies up our city and devalues everyone else’s property,” Reed said. “People don’t want to live next to that, so we’re going to do what we lawfully can.”

By Stephen Dawkins

The Jemison City Council on Monday took steps to improve traffic in the Oak Grove community, which was annexed into the city in March 2009.
The council voted unanimously to install a three-way stop at the intersection of County Roads 138 and 560 and to designate the speed limit for those roads, as well as CR 141, at 20 miles per hour.
“Since we’ve done some improvements in that community, the speeding traffic has been somewhat of a problem,” Mayor Eddie Reed said.
There previously was no posted speed limit on the roads, and council members indicated residents had complained about speeding in the area.
The three-way stop was also an effort to reduce speeding.

In other business, the council:
•Approved five new members of the Jemison Fire Department: Virginia Lawley, Jeffrey Rawlinson, Alberto Salinas, Clay Seyfried and Cameron Emmrick.
•Entered into executive session to discuss “legal ramifications” but took no action on the matter before adjourning.
•Bought a full-page advertisement in the Jemison High football program for $125.
•Adjusted water bills for three residents.

By Stephen Dawkins

Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed has said he thinks the auditorium is perhaps the aspect of the city’s new Municipal Complex that would be of greatest benefit to residents of the city.
And the residents seem to agree.
Interest in the auditorium has been so great that officials have had to put someone in charge of handling reservations.
“The phones have been ringing off the hook,” said Karen McMinn, the city’s contact for auditorium usage. We’ve got three [events] scheduled for 2011 already.
“It’s going to go over really, really well.”
The auditorium is a venue the likes of which the city has not had in the past, and the site is suitable for banquets, parties, reunions, receptions and other events.
The city can offer seating for about 300, though the auditorium could accommodate more seats. There are 32 round tables, which seat eight people each, available for use.
The auditorium has a stage, a sound system and two projection video screens.
The cost to rent the space for an evening is $300. $50 extra is charged if the sound system will be used. The city will even provide someone to operate the sound system, for $20 an hour with a two-hour minimum.
Use of the kitchen costs $50, and, in some instances, a police officer would be required to be present to provide security, at a rate of $20 per hour.
A $150 deposit is required to hold a specific date, and the remaining balance is due 10 days before the date of the event.
Officials would have to be notified of a cancellation five days prior to the event, and $50 of the deposit is non-refundable.
Other guidelines must be agreed upon to rent the auditorium. For a list or any other information about renting the space, call McMinn at the Municipal Complex at 688-4492.
“We want to see them come and enjoy the facility because it’s for the people,” McMinn said.