By Randy Garrison

I thought I would take this week’s column to update you on some of the happenings and updates from our recent City Council meeting.  

The last meeting occurred Aug. 25. The City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. If necessary, a work session is held prior to the meeting at 6 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public, and all are welcome to attend. 

Each meeting of the council begins with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.  

On last week’s agenda, the city needed to update the Rebuild Alabama Transportation Plan for 2021. This lets the Alabama Department of Transportation know how the funds the city receives from the new gas tax will be spent.  

The city listed Patillo and Corsbie, from Main Street to Longhorn Pass, as planned paving projects for the new tax funds. Currently the city is awaiting Hartselle Utilities to make sewer repairs on both streets, and paving will then be scheduled. 

The council approved me to sign a purchase agreement with MAPCO to purchase approximately 5 acres off Lando Cain Road adjacent to Cracker Barrel. This is the first phase of this project, and once signed, MAPCO will continue its due diligence before the property sale is completed. This will be a great shot in the arm for the City of Hartselle, since much of the traffic would most likely come from the interstate and benefit both Cracker Barrel and MAPCO, as well as others near the interstate and the downtown area as well. 

The council also approved accepting a $50,000 grant from Alabama Mountain Rivers and Lakes RC&D Council. This grant will be used to complete the first phase of the Downtown Greenspace Pathway from downtown to Hickory Street. The next two phases will extend the pathway to the Farmer’s Market. This will be an added feature to our downtown area to encourage shoppers to spend more time in the area as well as provide a lighted and safe pathway to move from downtown to the Farmer’s Market. 

The City Council approved an architectural contract with Leonard Design for renovation of the former Wells Fargo building, which will be the future location of the City of Hartselle Municipal building. This is another forward step for the city, as it will provide much–needed space for city hall, as well as many more parking spaces for those attending meetings and conducting business at City Hall.  

This will be a project the folks of Hartselle can be proud of, as well as signify to those considering Hartselle for business or for home that Hartselle is a progressive, growing and successful city. 

The council approved an alcohol license for Family Dollar on Main Street to sell beer and wine for off–premises use.  

The council approved Frazier Lanier as Bond Underwriter. 

The council also approved the FY2019 Audit performed by Tucker Scott & Wates. The results of the audit were unqualified. An unqualified audit is a thorough audit of a firm’s internal systems of control and its financial statements and all supporting documents. An unqualified report reflects far and transparent financial statements in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and statutory requirements.  

In other words, this is a great audit of the City of Hartselle financials and how your money is accounted for during the fiscal year. 

Hartselle continues to move forward, and I look forward to sharing more good news with you as time moves on.