Council agrees to pay for work

FLORENCE - The city council agreed Tuesday to invest more than $1.3 million in additional funds into the city's sportsplex project to pay for rock removal.

The council vote was 5-1 for the $1,368,185 work, with Councilman Scott Carrier casting the opposing vote.

Carrier said he had been told earlier Tuesday that the city faces a tight budget, and now the city is authorizing a move to increase the project cost from $9.7 million to $11 million. "This is no small matter."

Councilman James Barnhart later responded to Carrier, pointing out that Carrier was part of a committee that recommended a sportsplex to the council. He said the committee asked the council on three occasions to spend $15 million on it.

The rock removal set back the project by about 60 days, according to Tina Kitchens, parks and recreation director.

Contractors said the work should be completed in four to six weeks.

Portions of the land on Gunwaleford Road had been checked for rock before the project started, but none was found. Once work began this year, the rocks were discovered and stood in the way of land preparation.

Councilman Hermon Graham said the project was well under way when the rock was discovered.

"It's hard to put a price on our young people's future, and we'd already spent $4-5 million on this project," Graham said. "What were we going to do, leave?"

In that same resolution Tuesday, the council approved spending $176,025 for a walk of honor along the River Heritage project.

In a separate matter, two residents complained about the council's Sept. 18 decision to deny Jimmy Carbine a alcohol license in the Sweetwater District. Another resident supported the move.

Carrier, the lone vote in favor of Carbine's application, said the council has pushed for the area to be an entertainment district, knowing that would mean allowing locations that sell alcoholic beverages.

Barnhart replied by showing an artist's rendering of the vision for the district. He said Carrier was on the committee that recommended the notion for the Sweetwater District, and that committee's vision was the basis for the rendering.

Barnhart and other council members said Carbine's proposed site would not have met that vision. They did add, however, that it appears public funds would need to be put into the district if that vision is to become a reality.

In other action Tuesday:

• a contract was approved with Florence Marble Works Inc. to produce a bronze round bust and plaque memorial honoring Don Leslie Michael. The $16,900.23 contract includes $8,000 to be paid by Lauderdale County. Michael, a Lexington resident, was killed in the Vietnam War in a heroic action that saved the lives of his fellow soldiers. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions.
• a $1,972.40 contract, including a cash match of $3,750, was approved for services provided by the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments' Area Agency on Aging. The services include meals, transportation, information and assistance, outreach, recreation and public education for senior residents.
• an ordinance was approved to allow surplus property at 1100 N. Wood Ave. to be sold at no less than $3,000.
• a utility easement vacancy for several lots at Glendale Estates, requested by Penecostals of Florence, UPC, was approved.
• a three-month lease was granted to Patricia Wilkens for a suite at the First Southern Bank building, for $593.76.
• a $36,740 contract with T.J. Construction for natural gas-line repair work at Coffee Road was approved.
• a lawsuit by a cemetery employee was settled for $20,000. The employee's foot was injured when it slipped under a lawn mower that did not have proper guard equipment.
• Richard Morrissey, manager of the city's electricity department, reminded everyone that the Tennessee Valley Authority's 6 percent rate increase took affect Oct. 1. He said that will amount to about $5 a month more for residential bills in Florence.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@timesdaily.com.