Council approves fishing tournaments, Micah Way bid awarded

Clarion Top News

Tuesday, 20 June 2023 07:13

The Scottsboro City Council recently held a regular meeting with a work session immediately following on Monday, June 12, 2023.At the meeting, Council voted to pass the following:
• A $5,000 allocation from the Tourism Grant Fund toward the 2024 Toyota Series Fishing Tournament. This will not go toward the hotel or a shuttle.

• A $5,000 allocation from the Tourism Grant Fund toward the 2024 Angler’s Choice Fishing Tournament.

• A $2,000 allocation from the Tourism Grant Fund toward the May 2024 Alabama Bass Federation Fishing Tournament.

• A $2,000 allocation from the Tourism Grant Fund toward the September 2024 Alabama Bass Federation Fishing Tournament.

• A resolution to award a bid of $359,997.20 and approve a contract for the Micah Way Rehabilitation and Resurfacing Project to Rogers Group. This will come with a 5% contingency. These funds will come out of the 2019 gas tax fund.

• A resolution to award an HVAC bid for the Recreation Department to Southern Heating and Cooling in the amount of $55,878.00. This will cover the replacement of two HVAC units, coming in at $27,939.00 apiece.

At the following work session, public input was expected regarding Ordinance 650 in regards to short-term rentals in the city of Scottsboro. The city’s legal representation stated, at a previous meeting, that more needs to be looked at and done in regards to safety regulations, regulations in general and clarification of some of the language regarding amounts and fees.
Because there was no public participation, and because of the need for further clarification, this was moved to the July 10th work session. This will affect homeowners who short-term rent properties on sites such as Airbnb.
Events and Marketing Coordinator and Main Street Director Katie Kirkland presented two fishing tournaments to Council. The Riverbend Student Angler Trail Fishing Tournament for November of this year, with 300 anglers, came in with a request for $2,500. The Bass Tactix Youth Outdoor Fishing Tournament for September of this year, with 300 anglers, came in with a request at $3,000 and a need for the Goose Pond Civic Center.
Both of these items were moved to the June 26th meeting.

Mayor Jim McCamy presented a request from Five Below that will be installing on Second Street Plaza. Currently, the shopping plaza has a 772 agreement with the city, and Five Below is requesting to utilize this agreement already in place, observing the current expiration dates. The agreement will allow for a 50/50 split with the city until $375,000 or for 10 years, whichever comes first. This agreement will not extend when the original agreement expires. This was moved to the next work session.

Donnie Woods, Director of Recreation, requested $50,000 in addition to the $89,000 already in place for the playground project at the Rec-Com. Woods stated there are some damaged equipment that will require replacement as they are not safe for children at the moment. Woods also stated the equipment will need to be removed, the ground redone, a border installed and ground cover that will consist partly of wood mulch and partly of a rubberized material. Two of the structures are quite large.

Councilmember Ralph Dawe stated the city could save this money by removing only what was deemed unsafe and replacing only those pieces and by diligent, regular maintenance. This was moved to the next work session.
Fire Chief Gene Necklaus requested a budget amendment of $6,600 to allow for the replacement of an HVAC unit at Fire Station 2. The unit is original to the build from 2003. This was moved to the next meeting.

Finally, council members approved the job description for the position of Executive Assistant at City Hall. This was moved to June 26th.

by Martha Smith