Alexander Mayor gets approval to buy sign with spending limit

(Corrected January meeting date to 16 on 12/26/16 @11:35 PM. Additional name, last paragraph; 12/31/16.)

The Alexander City Council has given Mayor Paul Mitchell approval to buy an electronic message sign with a spending limit of $25,000. However, thanks to one of the new incoming aldermen Mitchell expects to get a sign for much less.

“One of the new elected council members that’s what that person does for a living (sell electronic signs),” Mitchell said. “And, she’s managed to get us the wholesale price on that.”

“I’m trying to get the taxpayers the best quality, cheapest sign that we can,” Mitchell added.

Mitchell has been seeking bids for a 4X8 electronic message board that will replace the wooden sign in front of the City of Alexander Municipal Complex. This has been an on-going process for at least the past six months. He said he has received a bid from Ace Signs and Alderman Lonny Chapman has also been talking to a sign company. So far he said prices are anywhere from $18,000 to $35,000 depending on the specifications.

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. Besides messages concerning events hosted by the police and fire departments and city Mitchell said this would be another way the fire department can post burn bans.

All six of the council members attending the December 19 meeting voted “Yes” on the $25,000 appropriation. Present were Stephanie Beck, Lonny Chapman, Dan Church, Louis Hobbs, Melissa Ratliff, and Farren Wadley. Absent were Andrea Bearden and Andy Mullins who, by law, were counted as “No” votes.

Also at the meeting;

An ordinance annexing approximately 3.27 acres into the city was read for a second time. The additional acreage is part of a moving and expansion project for owners of “My Ample Storage,” located along Highway 5 near Alexander Road. 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 along with the construction of an indoor storage facility. Currently, all of the storage units are accessed from outside.

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. None of the six council members at the December meeting proposed a motion to suspend the third reading, therefore the final reading and a vote to approve the ordinance will be held at the January 16 meeting.

Fire Chief Mark Ridgeway reported there have been 590 calls for 2016 as of December 19. In 2015 there were a total of 511 calls.

The next meeting of the Alexander city council is Monday, January 16, 2017. The meeting will be held at 6 PM in the courtroom at the City of Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.

This will be the first meeting of the new city council. During the November 8 election voters decided to not return Andrea Bearden, Stephanie Beck, Lonny Chapman, Louis Hobbs, Andy Mullins, and Farren Wadley to the council. They are being replaced by Elizabeth Bland, Joy Gray, Joe Pollard, Harold Timmerman, Jeffery Watson, and Juanita Wilson. Dan Church and Melissa Ratliff were re-elected. All council members will be sworn-in by Mayor Mitchell on January 1 at the City Municipal Complex.

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.