Council - Regular Meeting

for this opportunity to come together, and we just lift you up. We thank you for sending your son, Jesus, that we might have hope of everlasting life. And Father, I pray that your blessing would be upon our council, that you'd give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and they would just govern rightly, as you do in your kingdom. And we pray that your kingdom come, even in this meeting, that your will be done, and they would serve the citizens well. We ask that you bless them. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Mr. Williams, you may call roll.

Council Member Hendricks? Here. Council Member Dixon?

Here.

Council Member Bolling? Here. Council Member Spence? Here. Council Member King?

Here.

Council President Simmons? Mr. Bolling, five council members are in attendance, and quorum is present. Thank you.

So do I have a motion to approve the agenda as presented? So moved.

Second.

Motion by Mr. Spence, second by Ms. Dixon. All in favor of the motion? 5-0. All right. We will now have a message from our mayor.

Thank you, Chairman Bolling. I'll be very quick today. Two quick items that I want to mention. First of all, we are aware, I want the community to know we are aware of the vandalism that occurred at the Sweetwater Mansion with the historical marker. We are in possession of that historical marker. There was damage done, and we are communicating with a company to figure out what the solution to that damage is. And if we can repair it and what a cost is, and we'll be working with some of that organization and those volunteers who help out there. So we are on top of that and working with them. And the second issue that I think needs some clarification. because there's been a lot of discussion, as social media often promotes, that there are no conversations happening with the city of Florence, with Florence Electricity Department, or with the Florence Water Department regarding data centers inside the city limits of Florence. It hasn't happened. It's not happening now. Whatever is going on on social media, the website that is being promoted, if you have seen it, and I don't want to draw any attention to it, is a spoof website. It's not real. So this is a neutral statement. It's not for or against them. It is a statement of fact that the city of Florence, at any level, is not engaged in any conversations with anyone about data centers. So there's been some news activities, some inquiries, lots of social media inquiries. There's been... And effort even at some Freedom of Information Acts at different locations, trying to find out what's going on. And we have no information to give because none of it exists. So I just want to clear that up right now. If you're hearing something about it, there's just absolutely no truth to it. That's all I have.

Thank you, Mayor. Do we have any reports from department heads? Any standing committees?

Yes. The utilities committee met August the 26th at four o'clock. In attendance were myself, Council Member Bolling, Council President Simmons, Mary McDuffa, Mark Lovejoy, Sandy Preedom, and Jeff Whitten. The discussion was the utilities budget. I opened the meeting with Ms. McDuffa and explained the general breakdown of the budget. Ms. McDuffa details the operating revenue, including electricity sales and pole rental fees. The total operating revenue is $152 million. Operating expenses and maintenance are discussed. including tree trimming cost and in-house expenses. Ms. McDuff explains the tree trimming expenses for the year totaling $5.7 million with some costs rolling over to the next year. The bidding process for tree trimming contracts is detailed with multiple bids with the financial contracts awarded to Tree Pros and Lewis. I emphasize the importance of tree trimming for resolving electricity issues and power outages. Ms. McDuffa mentions the completion timeline for various tree trimming projects, including large projects like Project 26, Eubanks substation, Project 29, Shoals Creek, and Killen, and that will take a year to complete. Ms. McDuffa discusses capital expenses. including material orders for transformers, meters, and other equipment. The need for additional capital expenditures was highlighted with a focus on replacing substation equipment and maintaining battery packs. Ms. Preedom, Mr. Whitten, and Mr. Lovejoy provide quick review of their sections of the utilities budget, reiterating to the committee that their costs are basic operating costs with additional placeholders for routine maintenance and provisions. Ms. Preedom did mention that provision was made for an increased training in her budget. Ms. McDuffa also explains that Daryl Pickle is working to rotate their transformation fleet to a two-year cycle of buy and sale on gov deals. Maintaining the current cycle provides for almost free truck usage since their resale value shows almost zero depreciation for well-maintenance trucks. The potential for hiring a fifth line locator is mentioned due to the increased workload and the need for better service. This position will come with transformation phase as well. Ms. McDuffer proposes splitting the director of engineering and operations positions into two full-time roles to better manage responsibilities since the department has grown. I question that if mayor Tyler support was, um, on this project. Ms. McDuffa assured that it was. An explanation of the line crews is also proposed with the additional seventh overhead line crew including a foreman and apprentice. Ms. McDuffa shared the addition of the distribution engineer. This engineer will not only share the duties of the department needs but will also learn Ms. McDuffa's role as department head and prepare to manage the department when she retires in six to eight years. President Simmons asked for confirmation that Mayor Tyler had approved all personnel and budget requests by utilities ahead of this meeting, Ms. McDuffa assured he had. Ms. McDuffa introduced two options for rate adjustments and increase for our cash revenues that are needed for the TVA payment. A PCA adjustment and inflation adjustment. The PCA adjustment would allow for recovering revenue losses by adding a small charge to customers' bills who do not pay demand charges. I asked for clarification of what this would look like on a customer's bill. Ms. McDuffa said the estimate would be an average of a couple of dollars. I asked that a cap be considered to the PCA charge. Ms. McDuffa agreed that this was possible, but cautioned the council to remember that this will be added to our multi-code and cap would only be allowed to change in the future by city vote. This would show the bill as a new line item. Councilmember Bolling requested the second proposal for using the TVA's rate adjustment as the source of a small increase to the bill, not the City of Florence. The inflation adjustment would allow for rate increases up to TVA's regulatory guideline amount with the Mayor's approval. Ms. McDuff has suggested that the inflation adjustment would be more beneficial and less burden on some customers. This fee would only be inquired if the adjusted rates schedules by TVA, Mayor Tyler would be able to sign those without coming back to the council each time it fluctuates. I expressed concerns over not knowing about the rates and Ms. McDuffa offers to include a clause that the council would need to be informed ahead of any changes. Council Member Bowling supports a clause providing a 30 day of discussion before any rates are adjusted. See the attached copy of Decatur's ordinance for such an example. I expressed concerns about the impact of rate increases on customers, particularly those on a fixed income. Ms. McDuffa explains the need for rate increases to cover operating costs and capital expenditures, plus a $3 customer charge. The potential for a flat rate increase across all customer accounts is discussed with an estimated impact of approximately $10 per month. Ms. McDuffie emphasizes the importance of maintaining a significant cash reserve to pay power bills and avoid financial instability. I stress again my concern for fixed charges versus the variable amount that could be seen on customers' bills shifting significantly. Mr. Lovejoy underscored the need for an increase of our cash reserves and the review of all options to determine what is best to meet our expenditures. Ms. McDuffis shared that services would be cut if fees or rates increases were not added. Council Member Simmons brought up the difficulty that a fee or rate change would be for her district and many others. The group agrees to meet again and discuss the adjustment proposal in detail. Ms. McDuffa would provide the TVA approved rate schedule for review and consideration. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September the 9th with and the meeting with the plan to review the proposed rate adjustments and decide based on the community's needs and financial stability.

All right, thank you, Ms. King. Any more reports?

Public safety. We met on Thursday, August 24th at 3 PM. Those present were Mayor Tyler, Chief Holt, Chief Anderton, myself, Jackie Hendricks, Alisa Dixon, Brad Holmes, Cheryl Jones, and Deputy Chief Angus. And I will say this, that council members Hendrix, Dixon, and myself encourage the committee to communicate with us on any needs that they might would have in the future, you know, in this year, in this budget. Police Department Chief Holt. Chief Holt presented the proposed budget, including reductions needed to address the shortfall. Authorized positions will decrease from 115 to 110, with two retiring sergeants not replaced. No layoffs are planned. Vehicle equipment purchases have also been reduced or eliminated, bringing the department approximately $20,000 below the fiscal year 2026 budget. The department is also seeking a five-year contract to replace aging tasers with Axon Enterprise. The contract would provide 100 new generation tasers, repairs, replacements, and training, including VR training at an annual cost of $123,996 with a 30,000 trade-in credit. This proposal addresses the urgent need to replace the department's current taser devices, which are now three generations behind technology and are approaching end of life manufacturer support. During fiscal year 24 through 25 tasers were deployed 32 times. Chemical spray was used 10 times and impact weapons were not used. The contract would be funded through the fiscal year 2027 software and technology budget. All right, fire department, Chief Anderton. Chief Anderton reported, the new fire station is behind schedule but remains within budget. Increased IT costs are expected to be covered by remaining project funds. The new training center classroom is nearly complete with the handrail and awning still needed. The department has identified approximately $400,000 in reduction as near 2026 funding level. One clerk receptionist position has been eliminated, saving approximately $54,000. Further reductions could affect firefighter staffing or fire inspections. Chief Anderton emphasized that reducing the personnel on fire apparatus would negatively affect fire suppression with public safety and is not recommended. The department currently operates seven in-service fire companies, relies on overtime to cover vacancies, and has lost two mechanics while remaining active. maintaining eight buildings and significant equipment. Committee members agreed that maintaining public safety and keeping fire apparatus in service are top priorities. Animal Control, Cheryl Jones. Cheryl Jones reported that three full-time positions will remain vacant as part of the budget reductions. The department is reducing costs from approximately $10,000 in food expenses and $3,200 by returning them to radios. Additional savings are expected through support from Carolina Biological and Discontinuing Fascial Heartworm Treatment, which will reduce treatment costs to approximately $100 per dog. The shelter took approximately 5,300 animals last year, With intake continuing to increase, reduced staffing and funding will require the shelter to limit the number of animals it can maintain. Jones emphasized the need for a long-term operating plan and cited Huntsville as an example of an improved animal service model. The department is pursuing grants, fundraising, donations, the development of a spay and neuter clinic to expand its ability to provide veterinary services. Jones cautioned that increased Increased intake and limited resources could lead to higher euthanasia rates noting that the shelter maintained a rate below 2% in 2022. She emphasized the continued need to balance available resources with the welfare of animals in the community. Emergency management services EMS, Brad Holmes, the emergency management EMS budget is approximately $54,000 below the prior year and is funded equally by the city and county. Year-to-date expenditures are approximately 32% below budget with significant grant support. The tornado siren system remains a concern with approximately 14 of the 82 sirens currently not functioning. The system has received limited maintenance since the early 1990s and replacement has been deferred due to cost. The department is upgrading existing sirens and conducting silent testing. The ambulance contract expires in April of 2027 and Brad hopes to hopes the procurement process can begin in November with the new contract in place by mid-January. Increasing medical calls, particularly lift assist calls, were discussed. The upcoming contract may provide an opportunity to restructure emergency response services, including the possibility of four response vehicles without adding employees. Average response times are approximately 12 and a half minutes in Lauderdale County and eight minutes within the city. Collaboration between EMS and the fire department were also discussed, although current funding does not support taking an additional lift assist calls. Our overall conclusion was committee members think the department has for identifying significant reductions while protecting essential services. Throughout this meeting, the committee emphasized that public safety, essential operations, and residents' quality of life remain the highest priorities when evaluating budget risk reductions. The meeting ended at 420. There will be a copy of the minutes and additional addendums on file.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Spence. Any more reports of standing committees? We have no public hearings. We will now have business from the floor pertaining to items on the consent and regular agenda with a five-minute time limit. We'll start to my left. In the middle. To my right. All right. Mr. Williams may read the consent agenda.

All matters listed within the consent agenda have been distributed to each member of the Florence City Council for reading and study, are considered to be routine, and will be enacted by one motion of the council with no separate discussion. If a separate discussion is desired, that item may be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda by request.

Do I hear a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? So moved. Second. Motion by Mr. Spence, second by Mr. Hendricks. All in favor of the motion?

5-0. The motion passes. All right. Regular agenda? Yes, sir. Item 12A is a contract with Lewis Tree Service Incorporated for fiscal year 27, tree bed award projects, projects numbered 28 and 30, at a cost of $898,878. And that will come from budgeted funds. Do I hear a motion for immediate consideration? So moved.

Motion by Mr. Hendricks, second by Ms. King. All in favor of the motion? 5-0. Do I hear a motion for adoption? So moved.

Second.

Motion by Mr. Spence, second by Ms. Dixon. All in favor of the motion? Discussion. I'm sorry. Is there any discussion? All in favor of the motion?

5-0. The motion passes. Item 12B is a contract with Tree Professional Incorporated for fiscal year 2027. Tree bid award projects numbered 26, 7, 9, and for a total of $4,823,050. And that also is coming from budgeted funds.

Do I hear a motion for immediate consideration?

Motion.

Second. Motion by Ms. King, second by Mr. Spence. All in favor of the motion? 5-0. Do I hear a motion for the adoption? So moved. And I'll second it. Motion by Mr. Hendricks, second by Mr. Boling. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion?

5-0. The motion passes. Item 12C is a resolution with Florence Electricity Department to install a new three-phase service panel and transformer for the concert area at McFarland Park at a cost of $250,000 from budgeted funds.

Do I hear a motion for immediate consideration?

Motion. Second.

Motion by Ms. King, second by Ms. Dixon. All in favor of the motion? 5-0. Do I hear a motion for the adoption? So moved. Second. Motion by Mr. Hendricks, second by Mr. Spence. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion?

5-0. The motion passes. Item 12D is a resolution declaring the property located at 719 Kendrick Street as a public nuisance as sponsored by Justin Mason.

Do I hear a motion for immediate consideration? So moved. I will second it. Motion by Mr. Hendricks, second by Mr. Bolling. All in favor of the motion? 5-0. Do I hear a motion for the adoption? So moved. Second. Motion by Mr. Spence, second by Mr. Hendricks. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion?

5-0, the motion passes. Item 13A is a resolution to approve an alcoholic beverage license, special events for Event Hospitality Solutions, LLC, doing business at Shoals Fest, located at 333 Jim Spain Drive in Florence. This is a special event license of less than seven days for on-premise liquor, beer, and wine, with the event to be held on October 3rd and 4th.

Do I hear a motion for immediate consideration?

Motion.

Second. Motion by Ms. King, second by Mr. Hendricks. All in favor of the motion? 5-0. Do I hear a motion for the adoption? All motion. Second. Motion by Mr. Bowling, second by Mr. Hendricks. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion?

5-0, the motion passes.

We will now have business from the public with a five minute time limit. And we will start to my right.

Katie Palmer, 1630 Decatur Avenue. The city should consider recording committee meetings and uploading them to the existing city YouTube page as this would enhance public access to important discussions. Activating the camera is a simple step that could significantly improve transparency, allowing residents to stay informed rather than relying solely on lengthy oral report from community chairs at city council meetings. By providing direct access to these meetings via live streaming, the city would facilitate a more informed community as these sessions often address critical issues and decisions. Transparency was a key promise made by many city council candidates in the last election, emphasizing the importance of open governance, financial clarity, and the availability of public information as central views of their campaigns.

Thank you.

To my knowledge, the only resurfacing and strapping project for physical year 2026 was the $1 million of two miles of Pine Street to benefit UNA. Any plans in the near future for the rest of the city? I must emphasize that the lack of visible strapping causes severe safety hazard, which is a major problem all over the city, especially during rainy weather and at night. Thank you.

thank you anyone else to my right in the middle to my left all right we'll have council member reports uh starting with mr spence

Well, I thank everyone for being here tonight and those who are watching online. We appreciate you being here and present and with us. And just want to invite those that can or are able to. We have these committee meetings, and they're open. They're open to the public. So if somebody can have transportation or whatever, you're welcome to come and meet with each and every one of us on the committees that we lead. Again, thank you to our city employees for the hard work they do each and every day, and we appreciate them for how they carry our city and their dedication to our city. Again, join us first Fridays. It's Friday night. We'll have a table there, and we'll be there ready to talk with you. But lastly, I'd just like to say let's pack the stands and muscle shells for the Florence Falcons on Friday night and show them our support for that game. That's a big game for the city. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Spence.

Ms. King?

thank you everyone that came out tonight and miss Palmer thank you for coming and speaking to us and everyone watching from home reminder I do have my district meeting September the 10th at 6 p.m. at Florence High School and so if you're in district 6 I would love for you to come out and attend that meeting we're gonna have a lot of people coming to speak about different things from city departments so it'll be very educational we'll take questions and hopefully get some answers if you have those my number is 256-956-9621 feel free to reach out to me at any time if you have any questions earlier we were talking about the animal shelter and you know we've talked about budget cuts and it's very important for our community To come together anytime you're welcome. They're open seven days a week. You're welcome to go volunteer. Go walk a dog. You can take one home for the day for the weekend. Have a spend the night or just take them out for the day. Take them to go get a pup cup. Take them to McDonald's. Take them to the park. Very important because most of the time when people do that they put that animal on social media and that helps get them seen and helps get them adopted and the less animals we have the better our shelter will be we are also having the spay and neuter coalition is having a fundraiser october the 5th at buffalo wild wings from 5 to 8 pm that is very important to support that because if we're able to get that up and running the sooner we are then the less animals we will have locally and that will be a huge benefit to our city department so that board is working very hard getting that up and running we have blinking lights on grisham road i don't know if anybody has come down through there to see those they still have tape over the front of those with paper we are working on those there has been some issues and they're working on getting some parts to correct that one of the lights was blinking way too fast they were not communicating with each other so hopefully we'll have those fixed in the next few days to a week So if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I'm always available. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. King. Mr. Hendricks?

Well, first of all, Mr. Bowling, job well done. Congratulations on getting through your first... council meeting that you've had to run. Very good job tonight. Very good. So it's not even five 30 and we're going to be leaving here shortly. So, yeah. Um, I've got some thank yous to some departments last Wednesday during the storm. Um, my business took a direct strike, lightning strike, uh, blew out our meter, um, smoked up the, the, the, the, in front of the panel. I was out of town, my employees called 911, fire department came out, and what I was really impressed with, something I didn't know they did, would not have thought about this myself, But they just didn't look to make sure that there wasn't a fire. They went up on my roof. They inspected my entire roof. And then they came in their walls for hot spots because it did hit our power grid in the system to make sure that we weren't going to have a fire later that night. So they were very, very thorough. Electricity department was involved. Obviously, they had to pull our meter. Building department had to come out and check the building. They were great to work with. And we were back up and running within about 48 hours once we got an electrician there the next day, put everything in, went through the inspection process. But they could not have made it easier. So my hat's off to the building, electricity, and the fire departments for that. Got an update today on Pine Street. If you watch the work session earlier, Chase also gave an update, but today they were painting the lion's head. They were also painting the raised crosswalks. They need a few days for that to dry. They got some striping to do. and then once the street opens, they'll continue to stripe with equipment that they can drive, but they can do that with the street open. So we are very, very, very close. I've gotten several calls from Wood Avenue residents who want that extra traffic off their street. I don't blame them, but we're close. So if they'll be patient for just a little longer, we'll have that street open. Also got some help today from the street department and engineering department. I had a somewhat of a potential dangerous situation at a business over on Tuscaloosa cars were parking and pinching the entrance to their parking lot which kind of goes downhill and there's trees at the top and there was just no line of sight to get out of there and they requested to have their curbs painted back just a little bit so that they could have a little bit of angle I reported that yesterday and the curbs were painted today so great job with the street department doing that I also want to thank Bill Jordan for coming by tonight and giving us our World Series t-shirts from the World Series that was here. So looking forward to wearing that. So thank you, Bill, for that. And then I'll finish with the same remarks. We look forward to seeing everyone this Friday night at First Fridays. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hendricks. Ms. Dixon?

I don't have a lot for tonight, which is probably good since I took so much time last time. So I heard. However, we are also getting very, very, very close to having the campground at McFarland Park open. I'm not giving any dates out right now, but because we have a few final walkthroughs to go through. But we are really close, and I know that there are a lot of people really excited about that. So we will probably, I imagine, be posting something about that on the city Facebook page, I would imagine, or the website when that's actually officially open and you can start booking those campsites. And when the campsites are open, that means the pier will also be open. So it is beautiful, and I'm excited about it. And you all should be excited about it too. I think we've got a lot of people excited. So I also wanted to say thank you to all of our city employees that do so much, particularly our public safety. I know sitting in that committee meeting, it was a heavy meeting as our department heads, our chiefs were having to explain the cuts that they were having to make so that we can meet these budgets that the mayor has set really encouraged and saying needs to happen, and it was heavy, and I hate that, but they are doing their best with the resources they have. They really are, and I just want to just say I'm really grateful for those that work in our public safety departments and all of our departments. We truly have great departments, and they really do their best and keep our city running, so... Thank you.

Well, thank you, Ms. Dixon. Just thank everyone for being here tonight. Obviously, President Simmons is not here, and I hope I did okay. She's out of town, and we wish her safe travels. But we do appreciate everyone online. Now I know where she sits, where everybody says what you want to say. So I do want to applaud our department heads, our different departments, and electricity department especially. And Jackie, your crew actually did a good job because they kept busy. And I had ordered a tent, and it was still delivered on time, even though y'all were going through that. So we appreciate that. But I did want to mention this. We had a wild game dinner at our church on Saturday and had Rick Burgess in town to speak at that. And I just want to brag on that for a second because we were able to raise $30,000 for toys and coats during Christmas time. And I think that's an amazing thing. We have a lot of great people in this town. I know sometimes we get caught up on social media a little too much with the negativity, but we've got a lot of great people. We have a lot of great... city employees great departments and you know and right now in the situation that we're in with the budget and we're trying to make decisions to where we don't take services away but services cost money too so we are in that situation so i would just ask that you other on social media encourage us our departments because this is a very difficult time but we're gonna be okay we're gonna get through it and you know there's nothing but good times ahead so that's really all I have if everyone would stand with me and we'll close out in prayer by mr. Spence

Let us pray. Father God, we just thank you for this time together. We just thank you for our city and what it represents, Lord God. And I just pray a hedge of protection around our city and what we continue to do as a mayor and a council to lead and just guide us and direct us in the ways that you see that we need to go, Father God. And I just pray protection over our mayor and over Ms. Simmons and Mr. Hendricks as they travel and represent our city in Montgomery, Lord God. And I just pray for... for just to guide us, Lord God, and that, you know, we're doing the right things for our city, Lord Jesus. Give us the strength to walk through this together, Lord Jesus. We give you all the praise, glory, and honor. For it's in your name we pray. Amen.