SHS cheerleaders, city employees recognized

News

Monday, 21 March 2022 07:27

The cheerleading squad for Scottsboro High School was recognized by Mayor Jim McCamy, Council and the City of Scottsboro at the last Scottsboro City Council meeting held on Monday, March 7, 2022 for winning eighth place at the High School Cheerleading Championship.
“I just want to thank y’all for the hard work,” stated Council President Pudge Bailey. “I appreciate what you all mean to this community. I go to a lot of basketball and football games, and you can tell how much work you put in. We really appreciate the coaches and cheerleaders.”

Employee service awards were also presented to three individuals: Angela Wilbanks for 15 years; Pam Bradford for 20 years; Scottsboro Police Department’s Lt. Gary Shavers for 25 years. These city servants were recognized for their many years of dedicated service to the City of Scottsboro. Congratulations to all of you.

Solid Waste Director Stacy Ledwell discussed the need for two more employees, one at the landfill and one in collections. Ledwell stated the tonnage in garbage collected is increasing substantially since this time last year, and with even more subdivisions popping up or under construction now, the SW department will be at a deficit of manpower. Ledwell estimates he will need around $50,000 to cover the remainder of the year in salary for two employees, also covering benefits. Council moved this to the next regular meeting.

Ledwell also presented a need for a smaller sidearm garbage truck, stating that not only does it have a better buyback than a larger truck, but it is also more cost and time efficient. There are some areas in the city that consist of smaller dead-end streets, and with the hills and mountains, a smaller truck would be best all the way around, according to Ledwell. Council also moved this to next week’s meeting.

Mr. Greg Bell was present to request permission to install two large monitors halfway down each side of the Goose Pond Civic Center. Bell stated if one has to sit in the back during the event, the large monitor in the front is hard to read or discern. He said the Jackson County Sports Hall of Fame is willing to pay the cost of purchasing the monitors, and that he hopes the City and/or Goose Pond can finish the job of having them installed since they will be in use for events other than just for the Hall of Fame. Bell was instructed to come back with pricing, and this was moved to the next work session.

Park and Recreation Director Donnie Wood was present to discuss a bid for an infield finisher for the recreation department. Wood stated this new finisher would be replacing a ten-year old model that’s been pieced together and is barely functioning. The new model is a stand-alone mid-mount that comes with 12 attachments.

“As you break up the soil, it drags a finishing mat behind it, so it makes one trip to do it rather than chewing up the ground, going out and putting a new attachment and then coming back over it again,” stated Wood. “So, it does cut down a little bit on the work.”

The price is $24,846.67, and Council moved this to the next meeting.
Fire Chief Gene Necklaus was present to request a budget amendment for two new employees. The Scottsboro Fire Department currently has two employees who will be retiring soon, one in May, and one in August.
Necklaus stated that because of certification school starting in April, the two qualified candidates need to be hired immediately, so that by the time the positions are officially vacant, there won’t be a gap waiting to be filled until they have completed their certifications. This will cut down on overtime and backfill and will lessen a lot of strain on the SFD’s current staff.

“Based on the numbers Mr. Wheeler and I discussed, I would ask for a budget amendment of $18,902 to cover essentially five months, which would cover both of those employees,” stated Necklaus.

Necklaus estimates this move will save 200+ hours of overtime for those currently employed by SFD, who would need to fill the two empty slots until the new employees were certified. Necklaus also stated that when the retirements do occur, their spots will be filled by the two new recruits, and there will be no recurring expense.

Council moved this to the next meeting.

by Martha Smith