Mayor declares this week Fire Prevention Week, council discusses city construction

MADISON — At their Oct. 8 meeting, Madison Mayor Paul Finley declared this week Fire Prevention Week and Oct. 25 Jumpstart Read for the Record Day in Madison before Madison City Council discussed construction updates across the city.

The meeting began with the presentation of colors, courtesy of the Madison police and fire departments. Fire Chief David Bailey then joined Finley to share some facts before the official declaration.

“We’ve been very fortunate over the last 30 years through better building codes, better fire prevention, activities in the schools that we’re continuing to grow on,” Bailey said. “Alabama, historically and as of the last several years, has about double the fire rate as the rest of the country … fortunately for us here in Madison, we’re much lower, so we’ve got a very good prevention program … and really, we owe that to all of y’all as far as keeping that death rate down.”

Following the Fire Prevention Week declaration, Community Impact Director Cathy Miller of United Way of Madison County joined Finley for the declaration of Oct. 25 as Jumpstart Read for the Record Day. Miller said the initiative focuses on increased reading for children ages 3-8 and includes a “story time” for preschool children. This year’s selected book is “Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood” by Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell.

“The United Way of Madison County and its partners—nonprofit organizations and preschoolers of child development centers throughout the community—have joined together in the principle that educational investment, especially during the early years, is key to the community’s wellbeing and longterm quality of life,” Finley said.

Following the declarations, Debbie Overcash of the local Alabama 200 committee gave an update on Madison’s sesquicentennial, or 150th, anniversary celebration. The celebration involves more than 40 activities. These will include the downtown tour of homes around Christmas and the Christmas Capers of 2019. Sesquicentennial babies will also be featured.

Tim Stone of Madison’s Rotary Club also discussed the upcoming Volksmarch event Oct. 27, Madison’s first ever. The historic walk will benefit the club. Adult participants will be charged either $5 for basic participation or $10 to receive a commemorative mug. There is no fee for children 5 and under.

In council reports, Finley gave an update on the four new traffic lights around town. He said two of these new lights are in flash mode to help drivers begin to notice them—the light at Plaza Boulevard and the light at the entrance of the Bradford Farms subdivision on Hughes Road—and the other two should soon follow suit. Finley noted that all four lights should be fully functional within the next two weeks.

Finley presented Melanie Williard a special pin to commemorate 30 years on the job, and she received a standing ovation from the meeting’s attendees.

Madison City Diability Advocacy Board Chair Jennessa Crosswy had shared information earlier in the meeting on the purpose of MCDAB and the opportunities they offer. District 1 Councilwoman Maura Wroblewski, a strong supporter of MCDAB, proposed a vote to give $5,000 to MCDAB—about $500 more than the original plan to accommodate more projects and initiatives—to help support these projects and opportunities.

All council members expressed support, but District 3 Councilman Teddy Powell had reservations about awarding the funds before MCDAB went through the standard appropriations process. The council voted 5-2 to approve the funds with Powell and District 2 Councilman Steve Smith dissenting.

Council also voted to reschedule the Nov. 12 meeting for the following day, Nov. 13, due to the observance of Veteran’s Day.

In public comments, Bebe Oetjen addressed the council concerning traffic cones in parking spots at the senior center and a general need for more accessible parking there. The center is located next to Discovery Middle School.

“[The road] should be kept open,” Oetjen said. “Discovery has two exits on the other side of the building, and they’ve got one right there in front of the senior center. … To me, that road should never be blocked.”

Kory Alfred, director of Parks and Recreation, said the recent difficulties are due in large part to construction at the school, and recreation was asked to block off some parking spaces to make the car line more efficient for pickup. The car pickup line and bus line have “flip-flopped” because of this construction, and Alfred said he will ask the appropriate people to come up with a solution.

Chris Henke, a resident of Shalerock Drive in the Limestone County portion of Madison, raised concerns about heavy work being done on the greenway where he lives and a lack of notification to him and other neighborhood residents about the details of the work. The council and Gary Chynoweth, director of the Engineering Department, explained the drainage and construction work and committed to creating an accessible document for residents in the area that answers their questions.

Jeff North, who writes extensively about roads in the city, made suggestions including combining repaving costs on Sullivan Street and Hughes Road and expanding all of Hughes Road to five lanes. He also advised the council to wait on the full reimbursement to BallCorps.

In other business, there were four total committee appointments at the meeting. Ron Klein and Kenneth Watson will continue to hold their positions on the Town Madison Cooperative District Board. Taron Thorpe and Laurel Bailey will also hold positions on the Industrial Development Board.

The council voted to approve all items on the consent agenda and finance committee report. In addition to regular and periodic bills, these include the following:

• a payment of $113,022.69 to Turner Construction for construction documents, bidding and construction services phase
• a payment of $3,370.73 to Populous Group, LLC for the professional services phase of the baseball stadium study
• three payments to OMI Inc. for the Palmer Park upgrades: $300 for NPDES inspection services, $287 for construction materials testing and $1,375 for additional work
• a payment of $46,900 to 5R Design for architectural services for Public Works project
• travel advances of $260 for one to attend a C.I.T. response training and $214.50 each for four to attend the Alabama NENA Gulf Coast Conference
• authorizing the purchase of two Ford F150 extended cab trucks for the Public Works Department
• authorizing the purchase of a Ford F150 for $24,107 for the Building Department
• authorizing the purchase of a Ford F450 for $36,901 approved in Public Works
• authorizing the purchase of a 2020 Freightliner dump truck for $106,000, as approved in the Public Works 2019 fiscal year budget
• declaring some Public Works Department vehicles as surplus and selling them through an auction on GovDeals
• the creation of a recreation online account with Synovus Bank and designating authorized signatures on the account

The council also accepted a donation of $20,000 from State Rep. Mike Ball of District 10 for the Home Place Park project, which will entail a new gazebo, seating and paths.

All resolutions for engineering, fire, recreation, police and legal departments were also unanimously approved, including a legal resolution for the “conditional reimbursement of the remaining balance of architectural fees to BallCorps under the license agreement.” Other items include:

• a contract with S&ME for $12,200 for a new environmental assessment for the Balch Road improvements; the first assessment was not acceptable to the highway department simply because of time
• an agreement with Zoll Data Systems in the amount of $32,563.60 for 911 equipment and reporting software
• an agreement with Insanity Skate Park for the annual Halloween party
• a maintenance agreement for software with Hexagon (Intergraph), with $20,586 paid from the Police Department budget
• this year’s renewal of a paving agreement with Madison Utilities