By Lee Weyhrich
PINSON — The city of Pinson could have garbage pickup by April 1, 2015, if a bid is accepted.
The Pinson City Council last week voted on amendments to the trash pickup proposal, and extended the period to receive bids through the end of October.
Changes were based on advice from experts and industry standards. The biggest change involved bagged garbage pickup. Since most modern garbage trucks are automatic, only garbage that has been placed in compatible bins can be picked up.
The city has specified that bins be in the 95-gallon range.
In other news, work on the Alabama Department of Transportation sidewalk project near Pinson Valley High School on Innsbrooke Parkway has been completed.
The sidewalks are part of a federal and state program designed to make walking safer in cities. The council received a grant through a federal and state safety program that was supposed to have paid for the entirety of the project, but ALDOT underestimated the cost by $23,607.50. Roughly $10,000 of that overage is for a mounted radar unit that will help with traffic control. The council is responsible for paying for the overage, even though the project went over through no fault of its own, Mayor Hoyt Sanders said.
Sanders recommended the money be taken out of the miscellaneous road funds account, and stressed that even with the unforeseen cost the project cost a fraction of what it would if the city had to foot the entire bill itself.
Sanders hopes the city can save money by doing projects that have historically been outsourced. He’s asked for permission to seek a used bucket truck that has roughly a 30-foot lift and can be used for replacing lights at schools, putting up banners and flags, and decorating for Christmas.
The council briefly discussed the job requirements for a park director as well as annual reviews for city employees. Both will be discussed further at a later meeting.
The Pinson Public Library already has annual reviews for employees, as well as education requirements and pay scales for each position. Library Director April Wallace discussed the process for reviews, and several recent and upcoming library announcements. A recent event with a theme based on the movie “Frozen” brought 120 people into the library in just over an hour, a new record.
The library also received a $1,000 grant from Wells Fargo. That wasn’t even Wallace’s biggest announcement.
“Every year the Jefferson County Public Library association (has) a holiday luncheon in December, and ‘library champions’ are awarded,” Wallace said. “If you have someone in your community who has made a significant contribution to the library, you can nominate them for the award. We nominated (Councilman Robbie Roberts) for the award at our meeting (last) week.”
Wallace said Roberts was nominated for his support of the library, his recruitment and all the extra work he has done for the library.