Two “Old Business” items on Alexander agenda

The Alexander City Council will have the second reading of an annexation ordinance and, once again, discuss the purchase of an electronic sign. The proposed ordinance will annex additional land to property occupied by “My Ample Storage” that’s already in the city. The electronic sign is planned for the front of the municipal complex.

“My Ample Storage” is located along Highway 5 near Alexander Road. In October the city council was presented with a preliminary plan to move some of the storage buildings away from the front of the property. Engineer Jacob White said the widening of Highway 5, between Alexander and Bryant, requires moving the front wall and some storage units. A parking area will also be included in the renovation. After the meeting it was discovered a portion of the property was left out of the original annexation.

The annexation ordinance had its first reading during the November meeting. An ordinance must be read three times at three public meetings unless two-thirds of the council votes to suspend any of the other two readings. That requires six of the eight aldermen to vote “Yes.” Unfortunately only five of the aldermen attended the November meeting.

Mayor Paul Mitchell has been accepting bids for an electronic message board that will replace the wooden sign in front of the City of Alexander Municipal Complex. During the October council meeting Mitchell said because the fire and police departments will be able to use it to post messages along with general city use, he expects to fund the purchase from the general, police and fire department funds.

During that meeting Mitchell requested an appropriation of $25,000 to purchase the sign even though he was still taking bids. Mitchell made the request so he would be able to make the purchase after receiving three bids. At the time he only had one bid. A motion to approve the appropriation was not made.

Alderwoman Andrea Bearden said she wants to see where the city is on “spending” before buying a sign.

The next meeting of the Alexander city council is Monday, December 19. The meeting will be held at 6 PM in the courtroom at the City of Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.