Albany City Council held its final regular meeting of the 2024 year last Tuesday, December 3, with all council members present and several progress reports were given, along with some presentations by spectators made pertaining to water and sewer issues.
The meeting, barring any further special meetings of the council, was also the final meeting for long-time council member Leland Hicks. He had been serving an unexpired term created by the resignation last year of former Mayor Steve Lawson.
Throughout Hicks’ career, he has been elected and served several terms a member of the council and has also been appointed on different occasions to fill out unexpired council member terms.
After previous meeting minutes were approved on a motion by Councilman Reed Sloan, Albany Mayor James Bray announced that a $1 million CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) had been approved.
The mayor also said that another million of funding under House Bill 73 for master meters has been awarded for new master and residential meters and bids on those meters would be taken soon.
Further, he reported bids were reviewed last week on  new generators for water plants A and B, and lastly, and perhaps most importantly, he noted that KIA applications for a new seven million gallon capacity water treatment facility the city is hoping to eventually fund, is due on December 16 of this year.
The mayor emphasized that a new water treatment plant was vital in allowing the community to grow.
Former City Clerk Sydney Denney then gave the council the monthly financial report, giving some positive news for both the city’s general account side of the ledger and water department as well.
Denney said the city had finished the past month with a $51,000 surplus and the water department had a surplus amount of over $300,000.
Albany Police Department Chief Mark Bell then presented the monthly APD report ending November 30, with a separate breakdown of the report being published elsewhere this week.
Albany Fire Department Chief Robert Roeper gave the AFD report for a three month period, including the months of September, October and November. A breakdown of those runs also appears in a separate article this week.
Also during the fire department monthly report, Roeper informed the council that the new fire truck should arrive one day this week and a ceremony would be held marking its arrival. He invited the mayor and council to be on hand for the ceremony.
Mayor Bray also thanked the Clinton County Fiscal Court for its assistance in purchasing the new fire truck, as the county allotted $150,000 in ARPA  (American Rescue Plan Act) money toward the purchase of the vehicle.
Chief Roper, in thanking the council for supplying the department with the new truck, also noted that in the future, a new tanker truck and other safety apparatus would be needed in the future.
Roeper estimated the cost of a new tanker truck alone to possibly exceed $200,000.
The cost of the other needed equipment then led to another brief discussion on the much talked about Fire Recovery Program the city has been trying to implement, with the mayor asking what the status of that program was presently.
The fire chief said there was tons of paperwork that had to be filled out on each run to try and recover funds under the program and said he had volunteers, one working from home, to try and implement the system.
Mayor Bray and Councilman Junior Gregory said that if need be, the city could pay someone a stipend to do that work and also recommended they look at other surrounding cities that use the program to see how their cities work.
“Other counties are getting this money (from the Fire Recovery program),” Bray said.
Roeper agreed to have the person working in his department on the program to contact city officials and indicated he would cooperate with the city in getting such a program started.
The council also heard monthly reports from the water department/water distribution and street departments, with the latter thanking the county and jail for allowing inmates to help pick up trash along city streets.
Commonwealth Engineer Toby Church then gave a brief progress report, again stressing the need for the new master meters, as well as residential meters installed across the county. He noted the new state-of-the art meters help detect water leaks which otherwise may not be found.
Church told the council it seemed like “we’re finally getting some traction” on infrastructure needs, “but it’s going to take time.”
The mayor agreed there had been a lot going on over the past nine or 10 months.
Two local residents, Tim Albertson and Paul Brown, then addressed the council about possible funding for a feasibility study to run water and sewer lines along the 127 Bypass.
Albertson, who conducted most of the presentation, said the work could possibly take place in steps, and showed the council and engineer a map of the areas where water and sewer lines could be most helpful.
“I know it (project) is worth it, but can we afford it,” said Albertson, noting the (feasibility) study would have to be the start.
Albertson said water and sewer would “open up the area for business and industry,” noting that any corporate America operation will not come to an area without water and sewer.
Brown interjected that such a study was needed as soon as possible.
The northern end of the bypass, they said, was 2.4 miles, with an additional two miles to Hwy. 738, where some businesses are already located, and lines tie back into the side leading back into the Peolia area and water plant.
Commonwealth Engineer Church said the budget numbers (for a feasibility study) “could be worked up quickly…then we could start talking to people about funding (the project),” he said.
The engineer added, “This is a good first step.”
Although no official votes were needed last week, apparently engineers will proceed with getting a cost estimate for a feasibility study and later present it to the council.
Two other city residents then addressed the council requesting an old road behind Albany Cemetery, known as Cemetery Road, be closed.
The residents, who live near the area in question, said there had been some thefts going on in the vicinity in September.
They said people could only access the old gravel road by truck or ATV.
A city street department employee also noted they have had to pick up trash and other substances at times at that location, which is apparently never used by the general public.
After a brief discussion, Councilman Sloan made a motion to close the street, which passed unanimously.
Councilman Randy Speck then thanked Councilman Hicks for his serving as interim councilman and his years of service on the council, prior to the 50 minute meeting being adjourned.
The next regular meeting of Albany City Council is scheduled for January 7, at 5 p.m.