By Terry Schrimscher
SPRINGVILLE — The Springville City Council held a special session to pass an ordinance during the Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 work session to limit certain traffic on Purple Heart Boulevard, the roadway off Highway 174, near the BP station at Interstate 59.
The ordinance, requested by council member Herbert Toles, was in response to a recent influx of dangerous traffic flowing into nearby neighborhoods.
“Big trucks have been coming through and getting up on the sidewalks and tearing down signs,” said Toles. “It’s a mess.”
Councilman Toles represents District 1 which includes the neighborhood most affected by the large trucks.
The new ordinance was prompted by the recent increase in traffic through the neighborhood and recent incidences where large trucks have gotten onto the narrow roads and have been unable to turn around. One recent event required considerable city resources to remedy.
“We had to have the fire department and the police over there wasting six hours trying to get that 18-wheeler out,” added Toles. “He didn’t have a sign and got in there and tore everything up trying to get out.”
The council debated on further restricting trucks by weight limit because the road leading into the adjoining residential area was not originally paved for traffic and is not strong enough to support regular heavy traffic. After a lengthy discussion, they passed the ordinance as written which restricts large trucks with more than two axels.
The penalty for a violation of the order can be up to a $500 fine or as much as three months in jail. The new ordinance was passed unanimously and will be posted at City Hall for five days before becoming law.
Councilmember David Vinson, who represents District 2, proposed the creation of a city personnel board. City Attorney Charlie Waldrep offered some insight into how other cities have created similar boards. The proposal will be addressed in a future meeting of the council.
Bylaws for the proposed Springville Youth Council were presented to Waldrep for review. Once the bylaws are up to standard, the council is expected to vote on approving the project designed to engage local area students in city leadership projects.
Mayor Thomas proposed creating a full-time position for an Assistant City Clerk to train under Lynn Porter. Councilmember Sherry Reaves suggested the new role could also include the proposed Executive Assistant to the Mayor position currently under consideration by the council but noted they might involve too much of a workload for one person.
In other business, Director of Public Works Earl Peoples requested permission to spend money from sewer fee revenues to pump grease from wastewater lift stations. The council agreed to the expenditure from the existing funds.
The next meeting on the council will be Monday night, December 21. The December 28 work session was canceled and the January 4 regular meeting will include a work session prior to the regular session.