Votes at a glance: Jasper City Council approves event permits, contracts, budget amendment and nuisance abatements

Jasper City Council members voted on a series of routine and substantive items during the meeting, approving minutes, event permits, several contracts, a budget amendment funded from opioid dollars, and nuisance abatement actions.

Approvals recorded on the transcript include:

- Minutes: The council approved minutes of the Oct. 7 regular meeting and Oct. 17 special-called meeting after motions and seconds on the record.

- Event permits and street blockages: The council approved a fall festival requested by Northside Baptist Church for Oct. 26 in downtown Jasper with specified street blockages; approved the Walker County Christmas Parade on Dec. 2 with parade-route blockages; and approved an added street blockage for the Festival of Lights tree-lighting ceremony on Dec. 1 at Courthouse Square.

- Overnight travel: The council approved overnight travel for Mayor-elect Josh Gates and several council members to attend Alabama League of Municipalities orientation in Huntsville (overnight travel, dates stated as November); the council also approved overnight travel for sanitation superintendent Coleman Harris to attend a forum (dates November 5–7), with staff noting the travel is in the budget.

- Surplus property: The council declared a 2006 Keystone 31-foot travel trailer assigned to the police department as surplus property unneeded.

- Procurement and contracts: For the Jasper City Hall landscaping contract, two bids were received: Pine Valley Landscaping ($165,220) and Professional Landscaping ($46,200). The council accepted staff27s recommendation and awarded the contract to Professional Landscaping as the lowest responsible bidder. The council also approved renewal of the city27s portable-restroom contract with A Plus Portable Restrooms for a third year under the same terms and pricing.

- Budget amendment (opioid funds): The council approved a previously introduced budget amendment to use opioid funds totaling $95,000 to purchase two police vehicles and a command unit, as requested by Chief Poe.

- Nuisance abatements and code enforcement actions: The council adopted a resolution setting the cost to remove an unsafe structure at 61020 Third Street West (property of William and Margaret Shepherd, District 5) in the amount recommended by the street department, $5,849, after a public hearing with no one appearing to speak on behalf of the property. The council also authorized initiation of removal for four inoperable vehicles at specified addresses and approved two grass-and-weeds nuisance abatements for properties at 2705 Corona Avenue (District 5) and 607 West Seventh Street (District 4).

Each of the above items was moved, seconded, and approved on the record; the transcript records affirmative "yes" responses for every vote noted and does not record any roll-call vote with named individual tallies on the public transcript.