Long list of agenda items for Alexander council

Alexander City Council members have a long list of agenda items to go through Monday evening. Many of them are left over from the May meeting.

The first item listed is the appointment of former council member Lonny Chapman to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Ward-4 council member Melissa Ratliff. Ratliff resigned in February to work full-time in city hall.

Mayor Paul Mitchell will ask council members to approve Chapman’s appointment to fill the Ward-4, Seat-1 vacancy. Chapman lost re-election when he held the Ward-4, Seat-2 position in 2016 to Jeffery Watson, who still currently holds that position.

At the May meeting only four council members were available. While the mayor can be used to provide the fifth member needed for a quorum, mayor’s cannot vote for their nominee to a city position. Since five “Yes” votes are needed to approve the appointment it was postponed until the June meeting.

Other agenda items left over from the May meeting include two ordinances being proposed by the Alexander Planning Commission. One ordinance, the City of Alexander Subdivision Rules and Regulation, establishes rules for developing land within the city. The second is a new set of zoning regulations to replace the current regulations established in 1982. A third ordinance given its first public reading authorizes the electronic transfer of funds.

Each ordinance was able to receive its first public reading. Under normal circumstances, after a first reading, the required second and third readings are suspended making way for voting on the ordinance, all at the same meeting. Unfortunately, suspending the second and third readings requires a two-thirds vote of the council. In this case six members must vote for suspension of the additional readings. With only four members present the remaining process was left for the June meeting.

New items on the June 17 meeting agenda are a review of the “Legislative Audit Findings” for the year 2017, “Replacing Jackie with Amanda for Court Check Signing” and an ordinance concerning fireworks. If approved this will be the first known ordinance dealing with fireworks.

The June 17 city council meeting will be held at 6 PM in the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.