By Megan Miller, Editor
ARGO – Wednesday was the last regularly scheduled Argo City Council meeting before new leadership is sworn in, but there was no shortage of business to accomplish.
The most pressing items on the agenda were discussing Argo fall cleanup, and a roads report from council-elect Ronnie Bowman.
Mayor Paul Jennings asked that residents remind their neighbors that the cleanup will take place October 22-29, and that items such as paint, tires and chemicals may not be dumped. Jennings predicts dumpsters will arrive no later than Friday.
“Once the dumpster gets full please respect us and give us enough time to have it dumped,” Jennings said. “When you stack stuff on top it costs us time and man power, so show us some respect and help make this a positive cleanup.”
The Argo City Council will likely plan another city-wide cleanup in three months, after new leadership is sworn in.
The biggest topic of discussion was an update on work that will be done to Roulain Road.
Council-elect Ronnie Bowman was appointed to be the liaison for the project. Bowman reported on many issues concerning runoff that has caused parts of the road to wash out, causing the road to shift. However, a written report was never submitted to the City of Argo, so the current administration has been able to do little to assist the project’s completion.
Mayor-elect Betty Bradley said forms to submit a complaint to the city are available in the city clerk’s office or online, with the primary purpose of giving the city a record of a date and time of the complaint, as well as a detailed account of what needs to be done.
Bowman has had communication with the City of Trussville to get recommendations and suggestions on what should be done to the road to address the current problems.
“It would be nice if the City of Trussville would give us their recommendations in writing,” Councilman Bill Rutledge said.
Bowman reported the road’s updates were initially supposed to be complete by November 7, and the City of Trussville needs a letter stating what will be done on file.
Massey Asphalt and Paving will handle the project, and is offering to extend the warranty on the road by a year.
“The letter hasn’t been sent because the letter will be sent when the work is finished, because that’s when the warranty starts,” Council-elect Corky Massey said. “Until it’s completed, I can’t send a letter.”
Both cities will communicate expectations and the council suggested all questions about suggested changes be referred to the City of Trussville.
Other business included approving funding for the Argo Fire Department to purchase a 6×12 utility trailer to haul an ATV that was donated to the department.
“The ATV is a $12,000 piece of equipment and we can’t get it to fires,” Fire Chief Mike Platts said. “One man can do the job of several men if we get it there, and the only answer is to get a trailer so we can get it there.”
The trailer will cost $1,288 with a $460 discount. The equipment is $1,200 and the $88 will cover the title fee. It was proposed half come out of the two cent gas tax fund, because public works will use the trailer as well, and the other half will be paid by the fire department. The motion passed unanimously.
Jennings also entered a BB&T bank statement from September 30 on the record, to show the city’s financial stability on the last day of the fiscal year. The new fiscal year began October 1. The statement is broken down by how much is in each account, with 12 total accounts listed.
“I want to show the funds the city has as we’re going out of office,” Jennings said. “This is the best condition the city has been in in the last eight years. Eight years ago we came and had less than $15,000 total in our accounts.”
Jennings reinforced how the city benefits from those who shop local, because it also helps draw new businesses to the area.
“You can’t do it for everything and we know that,” Jennings said. “There’s a lot of good things happening, and a lot of good things in the future for Argo.”
The council also reminded citizens that the Christmas parade will take place December 10 at 10 a.m. Council-elects Corky Massey and Ann Cowan will organize the parade this year, and all questions should be referred to them.
