By Erica Thomas, managing editor
TRUSSVILLE — July 13, 2021, is Alex Rudick Day. The Trussville City Council made the proclamation during its regular meeting on Tuesday.
National Gold Star Girl Scout Alex Rudick was honored during July 13, 2021, Trussville City Council meeting.
Rudick was honored for her efforts in gaining a National Gold Award for her project as a Girl Scout.
Alex Rudick is an ambassador for Girl Scout Troup 872. For her Gold Award project, Rudick was inspired by her cousin, Jessica Butler, of Moody, who was killed in a crash in 2017.
Rudick has made videos, created a website, talked with lawmakers about creating a hands-free law for the state of Alabama and consulted with the CEO of StopDistractions.org. Her videos have also been made available to Driver’s Education instructors statewide.
She was also a voice for a distracted driving bill in the Alabama Legislature. Although the bill did not pass, Rudick said she would not stop working to make changes in the state of Alabama.
She graduated from Hewitt-Trussville High School this year and will attend the University of Alabama with hopes of becoming a nurse.
Councilor Jaime Anderson, who was also a Girl Scout, read the proclamation.
“This is an outstanding award, very much deserved,” she added.
Rudick stood to thank the council for the honor.
“I just want to thank all of you and everybody here,” she said. “This means so much to me. I can’t really express it in words because I’m so nervous.”
Rudick also thanked her mom for all of the support she has given her throughout her years.
State Rep. Danny Garrett was in attendance at the meeting supporting Rudick.
The council approved a proclamation honoring Restaurant Week. The two-week appreciation of local restaurants will be July 18 – 31, 2021.
The council recognized restaurants as a “strong and vital part of the local economy” and for “creating and sustaining human connections while offering enjoyable venues for social interaction and dining out.”
Restaurant Week will kick off Sunday with a double feature at the downtown stage.
Councilor Ben Short abstained from the vote because his company, Trussville To Go, is sponsoring the event.
The council unanimously passed a resolution amending the 2020-2021 budget because of financial events from the first half of the fiscal year.
“After about the mid-term we don’t change the number, we just reallocate some monies in different categories where we overshot or underestimated in some cases,” Choat said.
Choat said it helps department heads by allowing them to plan for their next budget requests for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
“It’s all done to help them be a little bit more accurate and us be a little bit more accurate on where the money is allocated and making sure we are putting it in the right place,” Choat added.
Department heads will present their next budget requests in the next couple of weeks. Choat said some big projects he expects to see in 2022 are the Loop Road Project and the building of a new fire station.
The following Trussville Police Department vehicles were declared as surplus:
• 1998 Ford Expedition
• 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe
• 2007 GMC Yukon
• 2009 Chevrolet Impala
• 2009 Chevrolet Impala
The mayor will now be able to sell, convey, or otherwise dispose of the vehicles.
The following items were approved as part of the Consent Agenda:
• Section X. Auditing Accounts
• Hire Catherine Smith as part-time Parks & Recreation unclassified laborer (Grade 7 – Step 2) assigned to the Senior Center, effective July 17, 2021
• Approve 10% education pay premiums for Police Public Safety Dispatchers Malcolm Northern, Leanna Smith and Adrienne Mixon, effective July 17, 2021
• Approve 5% education pay premium for Firefighter Paramedic Hunter Reid, effective July 17, 2021
• Reappoint Kris Reeves to Design Review Committee, term ending August 23, 2024
• Reappoint Joyce Goodwin to Senior Citizens Advisory Board, term ending April 14, 2025
• Reappoint Jerry Little to the Industrial Development Board, term ending July 14, 2027
X. Auditing accounts
a. Accounts payable
b. Government Finance Officers Association of Alabama Summer Conference & Training for Accountant Jenny Shipp, Aug 11-13 in Orange Beach. $200 registration fee + accommodations
c. Basic Sniper Course for Police Cpl. John Middleton and Officers Jordan Thomas & Sean Roberson, July 26-28 in Wadley, Ala. $160 per person registration fee + accommodations
d. Basic to Advances Forensic Photography for Police Sgt. Joseph Dunn and Officer Gregory Fragola, Aug 25-27 in Tuscaloosa. $595 per person registration fee + accommodations
e. Building Leaders Within – Leadership & Management Skills for Police Sgt. Joshua Payne, Aug 4-6 at Alabama Peace Officers Standards & Training Commission
(APOSTC) Law Enforcement Academy in Stapleton. $350 registration fee + accommodations
f. Alabama Jail Association Fall Conference for Police Lt. Todd Posey, Oct 24-28 in Mobile. $35 registration fee + accommodations
g. TikTok & SnapChat Forensics and Investigations online training for Police Detective Michael Pressley on July 27. $150 registration fee
h. Basic School Resource Officer class training for Police Officer Brian Williams, July 26-30 in Birmingham. $495 registration fee
i. Drug identification, paraphernalia and traffic stop interdiction training for Police Cpl. Casey Shelnutt, Sept 13 in Moody. $199 registration fee
