By Crystal McGough
ARGO – The Argo City Council, in a 4-0 vote on Monday, Aug. 22, appointed Thomas Suggs to fill the vacant seat on the council left by the resignation of Michael Hicks. Hicks resigned due to moving outside of city limits and the council formally accepted his resignation on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022.
“I’m very excited,” Suggs said. “(Argo has) a great mayor and great council, and I just feel that my knowledge will make it even that much better.”
According to Resolution No. 2022-08-22, “after accepting Councilor Hicks’ resignation, the City Council enacted Resolution No. 2022-08-08 that declared a vacancy … and the City received letters of interest for the vacant council position through noon on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022.”
There were three applicants for the position: Thomas Suggs, Mike King and Bob Carter. After hearing from the applicants at a pre-council work session, Mayor Pro-Tem Dusty Stinson offered a motion during the regular meeting to approve Resolution No. 2022-08-22, with the recommendation that Suggs be appointed to fill Council Place 2. The motion was approved 4-0, with Councilor Ann Brown being absent from the meeting.
“It’s a hard choice,” Councilor Dennis Griffin said. “(They were) all good choices. All the candidates are very capable of sitting up here and doing this, and the city appreciates everything everybody does.”
Suggs will serve the remainder of the unexpired term, which will end the first Monday of November 2025.
“I also would like to say to Mr. (Bob) Carter and Mike (King), even though you may not have gotten to sit up here as a councilperson, I appreciate all the work that y’all do in this city,” Mayor Betty Bradley said. “There’s other opportunities, other boards for you guys to sit on, and I’d appreciate it if y’all would just keep hanging in there with us because there’s a lot of other things to be done in this city. I appreciate all the effort that y’all do in the city already.”
Suggs will be officially sworn in by a judge at the next Argo City Council meeting, which will be held on Sept. 12, 2022.
In other business, the council approved Resolution No. 2022-08-22A, authorizing the city to join the state of Alabama and other local governments as participants in current opioid settlements.
The Resolution states, in part, “the opioid epidemic continues to impact communities in the United States … (and) the City of Argo has suffered harm and will continue to suffer harm as a result of the opioid epidemic; and … the State of Alabama and some Alabama local governments have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers … (and) the State of Alabama has entered into various Settlement Agreements …; and whereas the City of Argo finds the terms of the current Settlement Agreements acceptable and in the best interest of the community … That the City of Argo finds that participation in the various Opioid Settlements and Settlement Agreements is in the best interest of the City of Argo and its citizens…”
The council also approved Resolution No. 2022-08-22B, adopting a transportation plan for the 2022-2023 fiscal year for the city of Argo, in accordance with the Rebuild Alabama Act.
Contact Crystal McGough at mcgoughcrystal@gmail.com