Two purchases approved to help Alexander Street Department operations

(Corrections made based on new information. See below. 03-01-2019)

The Alexander City Council approved two equipment purchases for the street department, both involving improvement of efficiency. While one will improve the efficiency of the department the other will aid in the efficiency of moving rain water from city streets to the ditches.

The first purchase approved by council members was for a used, six-yard, Freightliner dump truck. The city currently has a five-yard truck, but according to Street Department Superintendent David Durham once the truck is full, after cleaning a ditch for example, he has to wait for that load to be emptied. With a second truck he can continue the process without wasting time.

The price of the truck is $7,250.00 and will be purchased from the City of Dothan, Alabama. Mayor Paul Mitchell said the cost is within his spending limit but he wanted to get council approval to keep them in the loop. City employees will have to travel to Dothan and drive the truck to Alexander.

The second purchase approved by the council is for a new Bobcat with a front bucket and a rotating brush attachment. Durham told council members the street department has been cleaning years of sediment from ditches along city streets and widening creeks that carry rain water away from the ditches. Unfortunately, the one area that also builds up over time is the ground between the edge of a street or road and the ditch. A high spot there can stop rain from running off a street and into the ditch.

In these situations the Bobcat will be used to scrape the dirt, along the street edge, to allow rain water to run into the ditch. The brush can then be used to remove loose dirt from the street.

Durham said he has always tried to buy used equipment to save the city money, but this type of equipment isn’t easily found on the used market. Out of three bids the Bobcat, with the bucket and brush, was priced at $67,810.00. But, it was not the low bid.

Since the city can’t pay the entire amount now the purchase will have to be financed. Durham explained that while all three offered financing Bobcat is the only one that doesn’t charge interest on its four-year plan. Taking that into account buying the Bobcat is cheaper. Durham told council members the monthly payments will be divided two-thirds from the street department and one-third from the parks department.

Durham added the Bobcat will be used in the park as well. Because it’s smaller than the tractor or trackhoe it will do less damage to park grounds and it will fit into tighter places.

Also at the February 25 meeting;

Ward-4 Council Member Melissa Ratliff submitted a letter of resignation, “[E]ffective immediately.”

In the letter she states, “My other commitments have become too great for me to be able to fulfill the requirements of my position on the Alexander City Council.”

(CORRECTION) Since last summer Ratliff has been working part-time at city hall mainly to organize the thousands of files. Now that she is no longer a member of the council she will be working with JoAn Churchill learning the bookkeeping system.

Mayor Mitchell said someone has already shown an interest in filling the position. Anyone who is a registered voter and lives in Ward-4 (see map) should send their resume to:

Mayor Paul Mitchell

P O. Box 610

Alexander, AR 72002-0610.

The expected annexation vote, mentioned in the article announcing Monday night’s meeting, probably won’t occur until March. Saline County did approve allowing a parcel of land next to Ample Storage, along Highway 5, to be annexed into the city. Mayor Mitchell said the city must wait 30 days before annexing the property.

(CORRECTION)

Planning Commission Chairman Michael Huck told council members the commission can now proceed with the next step in approving the new subdivision rules and regulations. He said the city attorney, Pat Marshall, has given her approval on the language of the new regulations.

The next meeting of the Alexander city council is March 18. The meeting is at 6 PM and is held in the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.