St. Clair County Commission approves LRSI application, appoints deputy coroner and moves to bid livestream equipment

St. Clair County commissioners approved a resolution on Nov. 6 to initiate a Highway 231 safety project and apply for a Lowell Road Safety Initiative (LRSI) grant that would fund the bulk of a $2,946,699.10 project to add turn lanes and widen approaches near Coosa Valley Elementary.

County Engineer Dan Dahlke presented the project estimate and said the LRSI program could cover roughly $2,000,000 if awarded; commissioners approved initiating the project and included the required 10% local match, recorded in the meeting as $83,539.68. "We need it, sooner the better," Commissioner Joyce Stevens said during the discussion of traffic and safety concerns.

Commissioners also approved several routine and operational items. They voted to accept a short residential road in the Indale/Offshore Drive area for county maintenance pending final inspection despite it falling slightly short of the county's 60-foot right-of-way standard. The commission approved relocating a trailer from airport property to the arena area to support site operations and approved surplus and disposal of a former tourism office rack and other equipment.

On grant matters the commission approved an Appalachian Regional Commission subaward tied to the "Grants to Grow" program and authorized application for an Innovate Alabama Network designation grant. The panel also approved letting bids for audio-visual systems to livestream meetings in the Nashville and Pell City/Pell City (transcribed) chambers after an IT request from Glenn Morley, the county IT manager.

The coroner's office requested appointment of Bridgette Fissel as deputy coroner pending county-attorney review; commissioners approved the appointment by voice vote. The panel also approved a change order for the sheriff's shooting range to complete rough framing and add a bathroom, accepting two line items cited in the meeting (approximately $1,100 and $4,770) as within the project's 10% contingency.

Discussion extended to the county's affiliation with a regional water system. Commissioner Joyce Stevens reported a line-by-line review of county budget lines and questioned whether the county should continue subsidizing the regional water partnership, citing an annual county expenditure figure discussed in the meeting (approximately $98,000) and noting the county currently has limited retail water meters. Commissioners and staff discussed options for transitioning operations or debt to another water entity and noted existing infrastructure capacity figures referenced in the meeting.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved initiating the LRSI project and the 10% match (motion carried by voice vote); accepted Indale/Offshore Drive for maintenance (approved); approved relocation of the hangar trailer (approved); authorized ARC subaward and Innovate Alabama grant application (approved); approved two resolutions honoring telecommunicators (approved); authorized AV bid solicitation (approved); approved surplus/disposal of equipment (approved); appointed Bridgette Fissel as deputy coroner pending attorney review (approved); approved sheriff's shooting-range change order (approved); and cleared grant-review paperwork (approved).

The commission reviewed the month's bills and payroll and moved to adjourn the work session after completing the listed agenda items. The meeting included brief ceremonial remarks and an opening prayer before business began.