Growth, CIP projects on agenda

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle Mayor Dwight Tankersley says his number one goal in the new year is to bring new businesses to the I-65 and Highway 31 corridors. He sees them as a means of generating more needed tax revenue for the city's general fund.
"I'm thankful our tax revenues are up. We had a 11.2 percent increase in sales tax in December and we're 3.7 percent ahead of what was budgeted for the first quarter of this fiscal year," he said. "But even if this trend continues for the remainder of the year we still won't have the money we need to do all the things citizens want done.
"I feel the answer to more tax revenue is business growth."
He said two commercial developers have recently indicated an interest in locating restaurants at the I-65 and Highway 36 interchange and other developers have shown an interest in the Highway 31 corridor.
"They are considering restaurants, strip malls and general retail business establishments," he pointed out. "Things are in the taking stage at this point but I'm hopeful we'll have some commitments in the near future."
Tankersley said he will meet with Alabama's congressional delegation at the nation's capitol next month in pursuit of grant funding for several local initiatives. They consist of phase two of the proposed north downtown bypass; industrial park infrastructure upgrade; emergency sirens; a proposed north-south drainage mitigation project; and a wireless computer network for city departments.
He will be accompanied on the trip by council members and representatives of the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce, Hartselle Development Board, Hartselle Utilities and Morgan County Commission.
Drainage improvements are another need he plans to pursue.
"Public works has identified a number of localized drainage problems that need immediate attention," he pointed out. "One of these is located to the west and south of the Indoor Flea Market (Old Wal-Mart building), where a larger drain pipe is needed to move water away from businesses in the area. We have $30,000 budgeted for projects like this one. If that is not enough to get the job done, I may have to go back to the council and ask for more money."
Tankersley said he also will stay focused on budgeted capital improvement projects totaling $456,912 to make sure they are completed in a timely manner.
One of these projects is the renovation of the lobby area at city hall as a safety measure. Bulletproof glass enclosures will be installed in front of customer service counters for the protection of the city clerk/controller and her staff and the municipal court clerk with $20,000 budgeted for this project.
Other capital improvement appropriations are listed as follows:

Morgan County

20 under 40: Trey Chowning

Falkville

20 under 40: TJ Holmes

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Spencer Bell

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Shelby Keenum

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Rachel Howard

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Mary Virgina Halbrooks

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Maggie McKelvey

Decatur

20 under 40: Maegan Jones

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Lindsey Tapscott

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

‘He lets us have sex’: More details emerge on Hartselle man accused of child exploitation 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Hartselle church creates Easter-themed escape rooms 

Danville

Family tradition: State livestock show legacy spans generations

Editor's picks

Baseball for Beau: More than $8k raised for scholarship named after Hartselle child  

Falkville

20 under 40: Lela Weeks

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Kalleigh Thomas

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Jaime Hatcher

Hartselle

Veteran Hartselle firefighter charged with possessing child porn

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Cerrowire expansion named finalist in Business Alabama Awards  

At a Glance

Work begins on repairing two bridges over I-65 in Morgan County in coming weeks

At a Glance

Tickets for Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame banquet available

Falkville

Morgan County volunteers celebrated at annual fire department banquet 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Man jailed for stealing car from jail after earlier release 

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

Police: Hartselle man encouraged children to have sex inside his apartment

FRONT PAGE FEATURED

20 under 40: Chris Rigoni

x