Christian Peterson
reporter.riverbendnews@gmail.com
On Thursday, April 18, the Jasper City Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting began with the approval of the agenda, at which time the council added one item to the general business before approving it. The council then approved its consent agenda, which included the minutes of previous meetings and checks for the month of March. The council then approved the new procurement procedure ordinance. The council then called for City Manager Mark Meyers's report. He told the council that the budget calendar was available and that staff was hard at work preparing the budget for the upcoming year. He also told the council that between public works and utilities, there are three job openings, and he hoped they would share the news with any interested parties. Meyers then clarified a concern that some citizens had about animal control in Jasper. He explained that animal control is under the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, and therefore any issues should be directed to them. He did clarify, however, that currently there is no animal control, as the county is looking for a new building. Meyers also took the time to thank the employees of the town for their hard work. He ended by letting the board know that the library was requesting a donation for the summer reading program. The council agreed to donate $300 to the program. The council then turned to hear the director's reports from the different departments. First was finance, which reported that the town was "basically breaking even right now," with over $6 million in the bank. It was also clarified that the finance department is looking at new software because the current software is glitching regularly. The following report was from the Jasper Police Department. The council was told there had been a total of 520 calls and 20 arrests. They were also told that the department had hired a new officer, bringing the force to nine in total. Utilities followed, telling the council that the arch and gate at the cemetery were back up. The council then called for their scheduled persons to appear, which was Jennifer Gisonni. She told the council she was there to give a shoutout and a huge thank you to Public Works Director Frankie Hunter. She presented him with a certificate, tool set, cup and shirt, all detailing him as the "Best Public Works Director." "I can't say enough about the way you approach things," Gisonni said. Hunter was humble when he received the gifts, saying, "It's not just me; it's the guys I work with." The council then moved on to new business. The first item was a discussion on the poultry ordinance. City Attorney Rhett Bullard explained that the city had recently been receiving some complaints regarding a rooster within city limits. In his research, he discovered that the city has an ordinance that does not allow livestock within the city limits. Bullard recommended to the council that they repeal the ordinance as many people within the town have chickens. The council requested that Bullard work on a new ordinance dealing particularly with poultry, the amount of poultry allowed and roosters. The council then approved the purchase of a generator for the well fields at the price of $58,693. The council then called for public comment. Gisonni stood up to speak again, talking about the cleanup that HamCo Helping Hands has been doing around the county. She then told the board about a program she discovered called Tidy Town, where the different districts in the city compete to see who can make their district the cleanest. She just wanted to introduce the concept to the town and let them research and see if it is something they would be interested in. After this, the meeting was adjourned. The next Jasper City Council regular meeting will be held on Thursday, May 15, at 6 p.m. in Jasper City Hall, located at 208 Hatley St. W.