by Lee Weyhrich
The Pinson City Council met Thursday night to discuss the payment of bills, plans for city repairs and improvements, as well as the annexation of new territory into the corporate limits of Pinson.
The city of Pinson’s total billing expenditure for the month is $72,766.25. The largest of these expenditures was to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department for $28,324.19. The bulk of the rest went to schools, infrastructure and miscellaneous repairs, respectively. More than $3,360 was spent for the upcoming run-off elections.
A bid to repair Pinson City Hall’s failing roof was approved unanimously. The bid, in the amount of $4880 from Murphree Roofing Company, LLC is supposed to address leaks at the rear of the building. The problems stem from the fact that the roof is flat.
“Our seams are actually failing,” Councilman John Churchwell said. “We need to address this problem.”
Mayor Hoyt Sanders joked that the easiest way to fix the problem of a flat roof is to pitch it so that it is no longer flat. Councilmen agreed a more permanent solution to the leak problem might be in order as flat roof problems tend to be recurring.
The council also voted unanimously to support an Alabama Department of Transportation project designed to create safe walking routes to Pinson Schools. According to the ALDOT proposal, $101,710 from a federal project called Safe Routes to School will provide 100% of all costs for the project. According to the federal website, saferoutesinfo.org, the project is designed to encourage walking to school as a way to promote health and exercise by improving sidewalks, curbs, right-of-ways, walking trails and crosswalk improvements in cities throughoutAmerica.
Another construction project is a tennis court for the high school which will be available for public use during non-school hours. The city will only be responsible for lighting the court whilePinsonValleyHigh Schoolwill be responsible for the court itself. Pinnacle Electrical Contractors has estimated the cost of this project to be $136,900 The project will provide 16 light poles with single lights, three poles with quad lights, two poles with double lights, a 200 amp panel to power the lights, ground fault interrupters, pole bases and other considerations as well as taxes, work and fees.
The mayor also recommended work to begin on clearing Dry Creek atMain Street. According to Sanders the creek was cleared of debris last year and must be cleared from time to time depending on weather conditions. The total cost of the project is estimated at $8000 by TNT contracting
. TNT also did the creek clearing last year but will make improvements to the area this year in order to simplify and quicken the cleaning process in the future.
“They will build a small ramp suitable for Bobcats cleaning from the railroad trestle to the sewer line,” Sanders said.
The mayor’s motion was passed unanimously.
The council also voted to annex several parcels of land nearGlen Brook Roadbelonging toJeffersonCounty, Pinson Church of Christ and Sylvia L. Hill.
In other business, plans for abatement at 6240 Lane Street will be postponed until the next meeting due to work being done on site.