Albany City Council, meeting for the final time (barring a special meeting) in 2020, bid farewell to two outgoing council members at its regular meeting held Tuesday, December 1, at city hall. Five of six members were on hand for the brief meeting, which lasted approximately 20 minutes.

After approving previous meeting minutes, councilman Reed Sloan asked about the COVID-19 relief funds the city is awaiting in the amount of approximately $144,000. Those funds were used in conjunction with emergency response relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic under the relief act passed in Congress earlier this year.

City Clerk/Treasurer Melissa Smith, in noting the city is likely to receive the funding, said the Memorandum of Agreement for those funds had been forwarded, but a time line on when the funds may actually be received isn’t known at this time.

David Bowles of Monarch Engineers and Kenneth Delk of the Albany Water Department briefly discussed easements being obtained for the much needed and already approved Duvall Valley water improvement upgrade project.

It was noted that most of the easements for that project had already been obtained and the city was hoping for all to be received by the end of this calendar year.

Further, actual construction, after all necessary formalities and agreements have been approved, will begin sometime next summer.

Bowles also noted that the 127 Bypass water line project, which has also received approval for funding, is still on schedule.

Albany Mayor Lyle Pierce then thanked the street department employees for decorating the outside of city hall for the holidays, saying all city department employees did great work.

Councilman Sloan then thanked outgoing members Tony Delk and Rene York for their service to the City of Albany.

Delk, who has been a member of the council at least 24 years or longer from various years, and York, who served one term, both opted not to seek reelection to the council in 2020.

York, in thanking everyone she had worked with over the past couple of years, said she had learned a lot about government, but decided not to seek a second term since it may interfere with her retirement. “This has been a good group of people to work with,” she added.

Councilman Delk, whose father, the late Oliver “Bud” Delk, also served a few terms on the city council, thanked a host of people, past and present.

He thanked all current city council members, those he had worked with in the past, mayor Pierce and former mayors, city clerk Melissa Smith and past clerks, long-time city attorney Norb Sohm, David Bowles of Monarch Engineers and the local news media, radio station WANY and the Clinton County News.

Citing a lack of time to serve on the council due to work, Delk said he felt the city was “moving in the right direction,” especially due to the already funded water projects that are, or soon will be, ongoing in the months to come.

Mayor Pierce also paid tribute to the late long-time dispatcher and EMS employee Charles “Chuck” Stockton, saying that “730,” Stockton’s dispatch number, would be missed.

The mayor also asked citizens to remember and pray for all those people affected with the COVID-19 virus, “They need our prayers,” he said.

He and the council also wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Also during the meeting, the mayor presented plaques of appreciation to both Delk and York for their service to the city while serving on the Albany City Council.

The next regular meeting of Albany City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 5 p.m. at City Hall.