Will Alexander Council members have anything to discuss?

The agenda for the next meeting of the Alexander City Council has been released and aside from the potential correction of minutes from the last meeting, actionable items are few. The next regular meeting is scheduled for this Monday, March 16 at 6 pm and will be held in City Hall. The public is invited to attend.

There are two agenda items which were expected to be ready for a vote before or at this meeting, "Appoint Treasurer" and "Appoint City Planning Commission Members." At the February meeting Mayor Paul Mitchell said he wanted to have a workshop before the March meeting so the resumes for those positions could be reviewed and the residents who submitted them could be questioned. That workshop was never scheduled.

Under the "Reports" section of the agenda is listed, "Fire: Chief Mark Ridgeway" who has apparently returned as chief. Ridgeway was the fire chief during the last few years of the Shirley Johnson administration and the two years of the first Paul Mitchell administration, (January 1, 2011 to November 19, 2012). After Mitchell lost a recall election then Recorder Michelle Hobbs was appointed mayor December 17, 2012. In 2013 Ridgeway resigned.

Hobbs eventually replaced the volunteer firefighters with full-time paid staff, even though the budget couldn't afford it. When Mitchell became mayor January 1, 2015 the fire chief and firefighters being paid by the City of Alexander were also serving with the Chrystal Hill Fire Department as volunteers.