By Randy Garrison

Well, we are already into the second week of a new year, and 2021 has turned out to be one for the history books as well.  

I will steer clear of national politics and just say I am thankful God placed me in Hartselle many years ago. I love Hartselle, and I consider it a blessing to call our city home. 

Since the national media is full of negative stories and sometimes questionable information, regardless of which political party you might affiliate with, I am going to share some good news.  I am excited about the improvements this investment will bring to our city. 

Just a few days ago, the City of Hartselle accepted delivery of a new street sweeper.  

This piece of equipment, needed for some time, will improve the look and cleanliness of our city streets. While the city has used a company in the past few years to sweep our streets, this was only done once or twice each year. This new machine will allow the city’s street department to keep a schedule and work on streets throughout our city during the entire year.  

City parking lots will also be cleaned and swept with this new piece of equipment. 

While leaves are picked up during the fall and winter months, no other cleaning of streets has been done on a regular basis. This will now change, and the sweeper will be in use on a regular basis.  

One of the places we will target very soon is our downtown area. Since this is the gateway to much of our city, sweeping of this area will begin soon.  

The vehicle also includes a pressure washing attachment that will allow city employees to clean downtown sidewalks, as well. The vehicle has a self-contained water unit, so access to water for pressure washing will not be an issue.  

This will enable the street department to help rid the sidewalks of the contributions pigeons make on the sidewalks, as well. 

One of the selling points of the street sweeper was an included vacuum hose attachment. This will enable our park and recreation folks to vacuum up trash left behind in spectator sections of city athletic fields. Until now the staff has had to blow the trash from under the bleachers and then pick the trash up and dispose of it.  

This will save much time and effort and will be safer for our employees, not having to handle leftover trash.  

Being able to keep our city cleaner and fresher will assist our efforts to recruit more business to Hartselle, as well as make it more appealing for those who come to shop here. We all benefit from new businesses locating here and from folks who support our businesses.  

Keeping our streets, parking lots and sidewalks cleaner also instills pride in all of us and, hopefully, inspires all of us to keep our properties looking good and inviting. We want everyone’s opinion of Hartselle to be a positive one, whether it be a new business prospect, families looking to relocate or just each of us as we drive through our city.  

The purchase of this street sweeper was made possible by the continued support of each of you by shopping in Hartselle. You not only help the City of Hartselle but also your business neighbors, as well.   

Working together and supporting each other, Hartselle will continue to grow and prosper in all areas.