by John Brice
Correspondent
The LaFayette City Council met on September 26th of 2022 at the Chambers County Farmers Federation Agricultural Center at the ALFA building in LaFayette. In attendance were Mayor Kenneth Vines, Councilman Terry G. Mangram, Councilman David Ennis and Councilman Toney B. Thomas. Police Chief George Rampey, Fire Chief Jim Doody, City Clerk Louis T. Davidson as well as City Attorney Joseph M. Tucker were also present. The meeting began with a prayer led by Chief Rampey and standard procedures such as roll call.
First up to speak was Mr. Jimmy Stewart representing the LaFayette Main Street downtown revitalization project. Mr. Stewart updated those present on the hard work, time and money invested by the LaFayette Main Street board and its volunteers in pursuit of gaining the approval to be a candidate for an official Main Street Alabama designation from the statewide non-profit organization. He presented the council with a formal request for a $10,000 donation from the City of LaFayette to help pay an outstanding invoice of $7,500 for costs related to the Main Street Alabama application process. The balance of that donation would go toward the expenses associated with hiring a full time director for the project as well as other money needed to launch the effort.
Chris Busby, deputy director of the Chambers County Development Authority clarified that the funds for the donation would be drawn from an already allotted $10,000 grant to the City of LaFayette from the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority. City Clerk Davidson explained that the City of LaFayette would submit a formal request for the funding by drafting and sending a letter to the AMEA who would then pay the funds to be dispersed toward the community development project. The expected time frame for this transaction to process is either by the end of this week or the next. The motion for the donation was approved by unanimous vote.
The timing of this endowment coincides with the October 5th visit to LaFayette by Mary Helmer, President/State Coordinator of Main Street Alabama. During her time to be spent with the leadership and volunteers from the Main Street LaFayette project as well as other participants from the city government and local residents, Ms. Helmer will be providing education and training in the processes and efforts to be undertaken in the course of the enterprise. According to their official website, Main Street Alabama “is focused on bringing jobs, dollars and people back to Alabama’s historic communities. Economic development is at the heart of this statewide organization’s efforts to revitalize downtowns and neighborhoods across the state.’ and is a “nonprofit organization, Main Street Alabama stresses public-private partnerships, broad community engagement, and strategies that create jobs, spark new investment, attract visitors, and spur growth. Main Street builds on the authentic history, culture, and attributes of specific places, to bring sustainable change.”
Mayor Vines took to the podium next to deliver a proclamation declaring that Public Power Week would take place October 2nd through October 8th. This time is set aside to recognize the contribution to the community made by the City of LaFayette Lighting and Power Department who provide safe, low-cost electrical services to residents and educate the public on the benefits of the work performed by these civil servants. This motion was approved unanimously.
Later on in the meeting Councilman Thomas raised the issue of dilapidated houses and junk cars degrading the visual character of the city and the steps needed to address the issue. Councilman Ennis expressed the concern that deadline extensions for the enforcement of city ordinances had allowed delinquent property owners to avoid responsibility for their infractions. This led to an open discussion on the pros and cons of hiring a full time code enforcement agent to pursue these violations versus tasking an already employed officer with the LaFayette Police Department with investigating these complaints. It was agreed upon by the council that this was a matter to be taken up by the city’s Municipal Housing Code Abatement Board in the near future.
Towards the end of the meeting the resolution for acceptance of the bid to renew the currently unoccupied medical building located at 404 9th Avenue was brought forward. The sole bidder for the construction project, Forsyth Building Company Inc, agreed to a contract for $302, 282 to complete the project for the new Chambers County Community Health and Wellness Center. According to the official website for the Auburn University Rural Health Project, the On-Med telehealth center “will engage university students and faculty from diverse disciplines with community members to support their overall well-being.
Nursing students will support diabetes management and asthma education. Pharmacy students will provide medication management education. Speech, language and hearing students will support communication needs. Ongoing COVID-19 vaccinations and testing will be provided during all hours of operation. Examples of other disciplines committed to engagement are kinesiology, social work, nutrition science, human development and family science, and counseling.”
This joint undertaking by Auburn University, the City of LaFayette and the Chambers County Commission was approved by unanimous vote to the applause of all in attendance.