Mayor: Boaz aware of need to improve recycling area
By DONNA THORNTON, Editor
Council member Steven Bates said the Boaz Street Department continues to wait for the Rogers Group to return to finish up some small paving jobs in the city, including a place on Elizabeth Street where pavement slid, and a small spot on Henderson Road where the asphalt did not stick.
The company also will repave the intersection of Darnell and Maple streets, where a new pipe has been installed.
The city has required work done to repair a dip in the street to be redone. Over that last couple of months council members have discussed the problem there — significant enough to cause damage to vehicles.
Citizens have voiced concerns as well, and displeasure that work must be done and redone at the intersection without giving drivers and their vehicles relief.
Mayor Tim Walker said it is a concern, even more so given its location near Boaz High School, where school buses must travel. He said the city wants to bring the paving crew back so that these small projects can be completed at the same time.
He hopes to see that happen within the next three or four weeks but did not have a set timeline for the pavers’ return.
Brown Street resident Betty Gilbreath spoke to council members about conditions at the Boaz Recycling area. She said as she practiced her civic duty by recycling, she noticed the ramp there was in disrepair — “an accident waiting to happen,” she said.
“I imagined myself sliding off and not being found for days,” Gilbreath said. She spoke to the previous administration about it. She was assured it would be fixed. Eventually there was some work — a mat placed over a broken slat.
She talked to the current council, too, and returned to see overgrown grass and the mat still there. Later the slat was repaired, but she said a new ramp is needed there.
“I realize everything takes money,” Gilbreath said.
Walker told her they have an idea of doing something different there, and he thanked her for comments.
Cowboy Church Pastor Michael Marsh thanked the city for its donation of a generator to the church — an action taken in recent weeks so that the church can assist the city in the event of natural disasters.
He said the church got the generator serviced (“it’s purring like a kitten,” he said) and it is ready to run.
Walker thanked the church for its willingness to provide parking, meals, perhaps even shelter if there is a need.
Marsh said the church had talked and prayed for about a year about putting together a disaster relief team. “God has put all of this together,” he said.
He said the church, located at 912 McVille Road, will host a Fall Festival Oct 17 and the public is invited.
Council members talked about what’s going on in the department’s they supervise. The library’s summer reading programs was a great success, Council member Rodney Frix said, with 334 children, teens, and adults taking part. They logged an incredible 234,228 minutes of reading time – 3,904 hours during 163 days, he said.
The library staff offered thanks to everyone who participated and to the Boaz Parks and Recreation Department for making facilities available for some of the events during the summer reading program, as well as the Boaz Fire Department for helping to make the back to school party a fun and memorable event.
The library is planning an open house in September to mark the library’s 20th year at its Thomas Avenue location.
Council member Caleb Williams said Parks and Recreation is now promoting a evening water aerobics class, from 6-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting this week.
He said the staff is starting the class on a trial run to gauge interest. He applauded the department for doing so, to try out new activities and programs that will improve the quality of life for residents. Williams said that is something prospective businesses and residents look at when they consider the city.
Walker announced the next city council meeting will be Aug. 24.
In other action, the council approved accounts payable from July 24-Aug. 6 totaling $156,416.37, and heard reports from city departments for July.
A paving crew will return to complete small jobs in the City of Boaz, including paving at the intersection of Maple and Darnell streets, where a pipe was replaced and efforts have continued to smooth a deep dip that residents say has caused damage to vehicles. Photo by DONNA THORNTON l The Leader
