| Local ordinance eliminates Reelfoot Avenue school zone | | Posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 10:00 pm
| By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
Union City’s Reelfoot Avenue school zone will be eliminated following action Tuesday night by the Union City city council.
The council unanimously approved an ordinance eliminating the 25 mile per hour speed limit for the school zone on Reelfoot Avenue where it connects with Miles Avenue.
The council also approved a second ordinance establishing a standard 15 mile per hour speed limit in the school zones around Union City’s three schools off Miles Avenue.
City manager Kathy Dillon informed the council she had notified school officials about the proposed changes, but received no feedback.
“I assume they’re OK with this,” she told the council.
In addition to approving the school zone ordinances, the council approved spending a total of nearly $270,000 for a new truck for the Public Works Department and an engineering contract and for maintenance work on and the repainting of the city’s water tank off Lake Road.
The council accepted a low bid of $178,825 from Preferred Sandblasting and Painting of Shelbyville to do the maintenance work and painting of the 300,000-gallon elevated water tank. The city manager told the council the city had budgeted $300,000 for the work.
The bid from the Shelbyville company was the lowest of five bids received for the project.
Ms. Dillon explained the city has five water tanks and each year one tank is cleaned and painted.
In a related move, the council approved a $30,000 engineering contract with J.R. Wauford & Company of Jackson for a lift station project on Rives Road. The city will now proceed with seeking bids for work on the lift station.
Approval was also granted by the council for the purchase of a GMC two-ton truck from Tri-State International, at a cost of $66,725. The bid from Tri-State International was the only bid submitted for the truck. Ms. Dillon said the city will still have to purchase a truck bed for the vehicle.
“This is a budgeted item,” she told the council.
In other action, the council:
• Agreed to seek bids to demolish two houses in town. The city obtained the property at 604 North Division Street and 722 Greenwood Street due to delinquent taxes owed on the properties. Ms. Dillon said the structures on those properties need to be demolished and so the council agreed to seek bids for the demolition work.
• Appointed Kurt Baggett o a three-year term on the Board of Zoning Appeals. The council was unable to come up with nominations for four other vacancies on three other city boards. The council will continue to look for volunteers to serve on the Municipal-Regional Planning Commission, the Civic Auditorium Committee and two vacancies on the Personnel Advisory Board.
• Briefly discussed a wide range of projects including the city’s new walking track in the industrial park, progress on the former Reelfoot Packing plant, the former Central Elementary School building and the need for lighting on the Ken-Tenn Highway around the intersection with Section Line Road. The city manager said it will likely be a couple of months more before the city is ready to officially open the walking track. She said there is still work to be done before the walking track is completed.
During the discussion of the new walking track, Mayor Terry Hailey suggested a boat ramp be built for the pond at the walking track.
Ms. Dillion was directed by the council to contact officials with the local Boys Club-Girls Club organization to determine their intentions for the former Central Elementary School building. She was also directed to contact County Mayor Benny McGuire to see about lighting the area around the Ken-Tenn Highway intersection, due to it being located in the county. Council members described how poorly lit the area is at the intersection.
As for any new development with the former packing plant, Ms. Dillon said there is nothing new to report.
• Was given a report from Public Works Director Steve Ladd, who said his crews have been clearing away intersections and right of ways around town. He said with the mild winter and spring just around the corner, his crews have been clearing away obstructions that create driving hazards.
“If the citizens would help us with that, we’d sure appreciate it,” Ladd said as he solicited public assistance.
Ladd said city residents can contact his department to have someone come out and evaluate overgrown areas and make recommendations on how to clear away the growth.
Tuesday’s half-hour meeting was opened in prayer led by city attorney Jim Glasgow Jr.
Staff Reporter Kevin Bowden may be contacted by email at kmbowden@ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger 2.22.12 | | | | |
