Rockford resolves Utilities Board member terms
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By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
During last Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Rockford Town Council, it seemed the town had resolved the ongoing issue and confusion surrounding the terms of the Utilities Board members.
Councilmember Shirley Ogle was absent from the meeting, with all other members present, including new Councilmember Lynn Anne Castleberry.
Mayor Scott White first stated that he wanted to address “a little issue” they had been having, prior to getting into the regular business of the meeting.
“Let’s make sure that if we’re not on the agenda, we do not speak while we’re doing business,” he said. “If you’d like to be on the agenda, you can get on it before the meeting. We meet the third Tuesday of each month. You can do that by the prior Thursday.”
The meeting then proceeded as usual, and the council heard an update and information regarding the terms of the Utilities Board members.
White explained that on May 2, they called the legal section of the League of Municipalities for direction in reference to the best way of handling the Utilities Board members’ term expiration dates. The matter had come up previously with confusion over exactly when board terms began and expired, and the town expressed needing clarification on the matter.
White read information that was shared from the League of Municipalities. Present in the call were Councilmember Robert Smith, Town Clerk Leslie Nelson and assistant Town Clerk Susan Rogers.
White said they advised attorney Rob Johnston that they had copies of the Town Council meetings starting in 1990. Rogers and Smith read the minutes and wrote a timeline of the board members and their terms.
It was reported that in the early 1990s the board positions expired in September and were appointed in October for a 6-year term. Those seats were always due on even-numbered years as two seats, two seats and one seat, according to the town’s information.
The expired seats were announced in the newspaper and appointed at the council meeting in October. In the late 1990s those seats were not appointed correctly, reportedly being wrong years and wrong term limits.
Attorney Johnston then advised the town that the best way to fix the problem would be to do a timeline from 1990 and map out which seats are due from then to the present time.
White explained that the enclosed timeline for the report named the board positions as seats one through five, stating that those names were only used for the timeline to signify the five separate positions on the board.
After following the timeline forward, the town was able to provide a list of the five seats, the person presently holding the position and the proper date the seats will expire.
Those are as follows:
- Seat one: J.T. McDonald, expiring September 30, 2024
- Seat two: Ronnie Joiner, expiring September 30, 2024
- Seat three: Ronnie Brown, expiring September 30, 2026
- Seat four: Katherleen Larmon, expiring September 30, 2022
- Seat five: Raymond Abrams, expiring September 30, 2022
White added that from this time forward the position coming open will be posted in the newspaper in August or September prior to the expiration date for applicants to apply for the position. The council will then discuss the applications, and the appointment will be made at the September meeting so that the appointed board member can take the position in October.
“This pretty much is what it is, going through the term limits,” White said. “So we solved that issue. Pretty much is what it is.”
Councilmember Robert Smith, who participated in the call, added “From what the League of Municipalities man said, there’s no appointments up right now, and everybody who was on the board is on the board, and it will be that way until September of this year.”
The council then unanimously approved accepting the report as read.
In other business, Smith mentioned a concern with a pipe by the Board of Education building in regards to Central Alabama Electric Cooperative’s subsidiary Central Access putting in fiber in that area.
He said that CAEC had mentioned there being issues with the area filling up with water and an issue with the pipe. He said they wanted to put a hole in the drainage pipe, but he said it would be better to poke a hole in the manhole and let the water drain into the manhole instead.
Smith said that CAEC and Central Access are trying to get something in the town to help everyone out – referring to the broadband internet service – and that he thinks the town should help them.
During discussion he said it is just ground water in that area and that putting a hole in the manhole should not be a problem. Also during discussion the council mentioned having a written agreement with CAEC to take responsibility for it in case it ever does lead to problems further down the road.
After discussion the council unanimously approved a motion to get a written agreement to punch a hole in the manhole and for CAEC to take responsibility for it.
At the meeting the council also heard from Dennis Hill, chair and operations manager of the Coosa County Animal Shelter. He addressed the council to provide an update and also to ask for help.
Hill reviewed information with the council and mentioned the county’s need for an animal shelter, which spurred his efforts to open one.
He mentioned that when they first brought the matter to the County Commission at the beginning of the year that he “honestly thought that we would be able to do this strictly with donations from individuals.”
At last week’s meeting he reported that they were in the third week of the donation drive and had raised about $3,000 in three weeks as of that time. He said that is good, but that they need more help and have a long way to go.
The goal is approximately $70,000, which would cover startup costs and two years of operating expenses. He said at that time that they had hit a snag and donations had slowed down.
Hill said they are continuing to seek donations and that they are asking the municipalities to help come up with $22,000 for operating expenses.
He reviewed the shelter’s financial information and budget proposal, saying they have an estimate of $1,900 per month for operating costs. Those currently on the board and staff for the shelter are 100% volunteer and will not receive pay.
Hill said they will also be looking into corporate donations in the near future. For now, however, he said that they appreciate any help the towns can give, adding that they need the help.
He added that they hope to close the donation drive at the end of July and open the shelter in the fall if all goes well.
However, after his presentation the town did not state whether it would provide any assistance for the animal shelter, and White and council members did not comment on the matter.
The next regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Rockford Town Council will be held at 6 p.m. June 21.