Council considers partnering with two fishing tourneys

Clarion Top News

Wednesday, 15 June 2022 09:37

A resident was present at the last Scottsboro City Council work session to request rezoning a portion of 6326 Alabama Highway 79. The acres the house sits upon have been grandfathered in as residential, while the four acres beside this parcel are zoned as commercial. They stated this presents a problem if one wishes to expand the existing house or the amenities on that particular lot. Council moved this to the next meeting.

Mountain Lakes Chamber President and CEO Rick Roden presented two requests to councilmembers, with two upcoming fishing tournaments. The first, an Alabama Bass Trail (ABT) tournament would come in at a cost of $7,500 that has already been paid by the Chamber. Roden requested the City partner with the Chamber and split the cost. According to Roden, with Scottsboro being an annual member of the ABT, as the Chamber pays the annual membership fee, there will be a cost of hosting the tourney in the form of the fee, 10 hotel room nights and portable restrooms. This brings the total cost to $9,500, with $7,500 already paid by the Chamber. The City would be committing to $4,750.

Roden also stated that according to a 2020 study conducted by Jacksonville State University regarding the ABT, the economic impact is $8.2 million.

The next item presented by Roden was the 2023 Toyota Series Fishing Tournament. Recently the tourney was here in Scottsboro and loved it so much, they are adamant to return and compete here again. The total being requested to bring the tourney here is $17,500, although Roden feels he may be able to negotiate the price a little lower. This is a seven-day event with four practice days and three tournament days. Last year there were 656 anglers and 328 boats. There will also be an estimated 500+ family members in the City for the event. The tournament would take place on February 16th – 18th of 2023. If the City decides to partner with the Chamber for this tournament, the cost for the City would run at about $10,000 for their half. Both of these items were moved to the next meeting.

Scottsboro Airport Director Jonathon Sandlin was present to request a budget amendment in the amount of $2,929.62 to cover the costs of equipment maintenance for their fuel trucks. This would cover meter calibrations at a cost of $1,603.80 and fuel filters coming in at $1,325.82.

One of the 14 HVAC systems currently in operation at the Scottsboro Police Department is leaking. According to Chief Ron Latimer, during a service check, a leak of R22 refrigerant was found in the unit over the Magistrate’s office. Latimer obtained two estimate s to replace the unit. The first came in at $8,907, and the second came in at $8,296. Both of these costs will cover the installation and crane usage to lift the unit onto the building’s roof. Latimer also stated the cost of repair would run an estimated $3,000; however this amount is not definite since the technician stated they wouldn’t be able to directly quote a repair cost until the leak was found and all parts were accounted for as far as what needed to be replaced to complete the repair.

Latimer continued, stating there are currently 14 of these units on the building, with all of them using the R22 refrigerant that is about to be phased out.

“They’re [the service technicians] basically saying if we fix it, we’re just kicking the can on down the road,” Latimer stated, “and at some point the R22 is going to be hard to replace.”

This was moved to the next meeting.

The roll-off exchange buyback program was presented to Council by Solid Waste Director Stacy Ledwell. Recently SWDA put their name to a tentative agreement for three machines needed at SWDA.

“These units will probably be available in the next five to six months, but the savings that we did by doing the tentative agreement, you’re looking at about $25,000 a truck in savings if you so choose to do this route,” Ledwell stated.

Council also moved this to the next meeting.

Mayor Jim McCamy has been nominated to participate in Leadership Alabama Class 32. Leadership Alabama is a statewide program that covers four different sessions between now and May of 2023.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity and honor to be nominated,” stated the Mayor.

“I agree with the Mayor,” stated Council President Pudge Bailey. “It is a great honor to be accepted into this.”

The cost is $3,250 tuition plus rooms for those four sessions that will run Thursday through Saturday.

Property damage repairs were discussed and explained by Bailey who stated there was recently a pursuit involving law enforcement and a suspect. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Scottsboro Police Department in this pursuit, and the chase ended in the front yard of a Scottsboro resident.

“All three vehicles had to be towed out of the yard, so it ended up with some damage to the sod and things like that,” stated Bailey.

The estimated value of damage is $12,460 to repair the lawn and the underlying foundation to the sod. According to the Assistant District Attorney who received this case, after the case is finished in court, the restitution for damages will revert back to the City, and fixing it now will take care of the problem for the resident, thereby eliminating the inconvenience of them waiting until the case is fully processed.

In closings, the Mayor congratulated the three new Scottsboro Fire Department members who have just graduated from the academy. Austin Ayers, Kyle Holt and William Jones will be joining SFD’s ranks. Congratulations to all of you.

Councilmember Mike Ashburn commented he has received lots of good feedback about the newly installed lights on the back of the walking trail at Bynum Park.

Bailey stated, “I’ve heard a lot of good things, too. The lights are set up in a way to not distract anyone if they’re driving at night. If you haven’t gone out there for a walk at night, I encourage you to do so, but watch out for the creepy crawlies this time of year.”