By Terry Schrimscher
Argo — The Argo City Council and the Argo Fire Department honored Matthew Griffith as Firefighter of the Year, Monday night February 26. The award was presented during the regular meeting of the Council which began with a work session at 5 p.m.
Chief Scott Payne presented the award to Griffith during the work session.
“The city of Argo would like to expressing gratitude and appreciation to Matthew Griffith for his service,” said Mayor Betty Bradley. “Thank you for the job that you do in the city, she added.
“He has given selflessly in support of the department, the fire service in general and the community,” said Bradley speaking to the Trussville Tribune. “The Fire Department, as a whole, does such an excellent job working together as a team and taking care of the citizens.”
The Council entered new items to the agenda during the pre-meeting work session. One item was the purchase of three new Ford F-150 trucks. The total for the purchase was $146,651.40.
Funds for the trucks came from American Rescue Plan funds allocated to the city. The Council approved up to $200,000 for the purchase to allow for added equipment.
“Due to Vehicle shortages that were expected in 2024, cities have found themselves in a balancing act of maintaining current vehicles while trying to purchase new vehicles,” Bradley said.
“I am thankful to the Argo city council for approving the purchase of the three new vehicles, two for the police department and one for the fire chief. With the purchase of these new vehicles the city hopes to offset some of the high maintenance cost on older vehicles,” Bradley added. “The new police vehicles will further bolster our police department’s ability to serve our citizens and make Argo an even safer place to live and visit.”
Council member Rick Hopkins confirmed the Argo Fall Festival is set for October 19.
The next regular meeting of the Argo council is scheduled for March 11 with a work session at 5 p.m. and the regular meeting following immediately after the session. An agenda for each meeting is posted in local businesses including Hill Top Farms, Argo Hardware, Liberty Automotive, Shell, Southland BBQ, Fox’s Pizza and Buckeye Grocery. Agendas are also posted on the city’s Facebook page.