Nine items listed on Alexander Council Meeting agenda

(Correction in last paragraph. 02-25-2023)

The agenda for the next meeting of the Alexander City Council includes nine items; two “Old Business,” six “New Business” and one “Announcement.” The meeting is scheduled for this Monday, February 27, 6:00 PM in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.

Under “Old Business” there are two tabled items from the January meeting. One is filling the “Vacant alderman position” in Ward-1. The other is a report on the “Use of city buildings for residential housing for employees.”

The three residents who have applied to fill the vacancy in Ward-1 Position-2 are, in alphabetical order, Ross L. Lawhon, Jo E. Shell and Mitchell W. Smith. Lawhon lives in Knollwood Mobile Home Park, Shell lives on Kelli Place and Smith lives on Alexander Road.

The vacancy became available when former Council Member Elizabeth Bland submitted her resignation late in 2022. She did not seek re-election in the 2022 General Election and no one submitted an election petition for that seat. The council declared the seat vacant at its December council meeting. (More on this in a follow-up article.)

Under “New Business” there are eight items. They are “Executive session for HR matter, Approval of insurance deductible fees, Approval of attorney usage for park land issue, Approval of allowance for water connection PRIOR to zoning, Sale of unused fire equipment,” and “Purchase of computer and necessary accessories for City Treasurer.”

Allegedly, Mayor Crystal Herrmann has requested an Executive Session with council members to discuss her putting Fire Chief Mark Ridgeway on administrative leave with pay shortly after becoming mayor in January. The council wanted to discuss the matter at the January meeting, but Herrmann claimed she couldn’t even discuss it in Executive Session because Ridgeway is under investigation.

A “Time study for check signature” is listed in the “Announcements” section of the agenda. It’s been reported city hall staff are concerned that checks might not be able to be signed because no one who is on the list of legal signers works at city hall. It’s been reported a time study will be ordered for the next three months documenting how many times checks failed to be signed on time due to the lack of available signers.

Currently Treasurer JoAn Churchill, Recorder Sharon Bankhead, and Council Member Juanita Wilson are the only ones who can sign checks as established by resolution. A check requires two signatures.