PIEDMONT – At its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, the Piedmont City Council discussed the purchase of a dump truck to retro fit it for leaf collection and a new bucket truck for the electrical department.
Concerning the leaf collection vehicle, District 3 councilman Jubal Feazell made a motion to the council, which was approved after the council heard a report from City Project Manager Carl Hinton during its work session.
“It’s a service we’ve provided for several years, as long as I can remember. It’s something people count on. It would be an investment if we went this route. This is something for the long term,” Feazell said. “When this went down Oct. 6, it should have been dealt with then. I know we’ve had a new council since then. Things fall through the cracks, and I understand that, but asking people, especially our seniors, to continue bagging things up, that was only supposed to be a temporary thing, the bagging and using the knuckle boom and taking the leaves that way. I think this is something we should pursue.”
The council also approved the purchase of a bucket truck for the electrical department after a motion was made from District 5 councilman Greg South.
In a letter to Mayor Bill Baker and the council members, Electrical Department Superintendent Casey Ponder stated the department would like to purchase a new bucket truck mounted on a 2020-21 Ford F-550 truck for approximately $181,356.00.
Ponder also stated in the letter the Piedmont Electrical Department currently has a balance of $572,850.30 under the Energy Cost Levelization Rider account, which the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) holds for the electrical department. Currently $200,000 is earmarked for Smart Grid Initiatives funds by the Piedmont City Council, with an approximate balance of $372,850.30 for the use of electrical department operations.
The council also heard from Low Life Construction representative Dallas Whorton, who was checking the status of invoices for a couple of projects his company has done for the city. Hinton suggested setting up a meeting next week to discuss the projects and payment with Whorton. The two discussed a time to meet outside of the council chamber.
In other business, minutes from the last meeting were approved, as were bills for payment totaling $314,410.72.
After Mayor Baker adjourned the regular meeting, Police Chief Freddie Norton met with the council for a brief question-and-answer session informing them on the inner workings of his department.
The next regularly-scheduled meeting is set for Dec. 15.