Chelsea City Council acknowledges LLS Student of the Year nominees

At the first meeting of the new year, the Chelsea City Council hit the ground running, tackling some of the most pertinent issues surrounding the city.

During the pre-council work session, concerns were raised about the implementation of a temporary stop sign at the intersection of CR 280 and CR 11. Although the city had a plan in place for a temporary traffic signal to be installed at the intersection, which had even been approved by the County Commission, some changes will have to be made after a meeting with Alabama Power about the technicalities of the installation.

Also noted during the pre-council work session was the issue that some county residents living in areas just outside of the city depend on their fire services department for assistance in the case of emergency, having not paid their fire services dues to ensure that they will be able to continue to utilize it.

“We will be posting to our website and social media the addresses of the properties that no longer have automatic coverage from the city of Chelsea because they haven’t paid their fire dues.” Mayor Tony Picklesimer said in a statement.

Picklesimer noted that many mortgage and insurance companies require that homes have fire protection, and that many of the properties in question are contiguous to Chelsea; meaning that their property touches another piece of property that lies within city limits.

“They can annex into the city of Chelsea at no charge,” he said. “Fire coverage is just one of the benefits of being part of the city of Chelsea.”

During the regular meeting, as part of his mayor’s report, Picklesimer issued a proclamation stating that January 2019 be known as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in the city, signing a light on crimes that too often go unseen.

Three Chelsea High School students, Elliot Gage, Katie Nail and Sarah Hyde, were present during the meeting to give their presentation for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Students of the Year competition.

The competition runs for seven weeks, starting Jan. 18, and encourages students to utilize and develop project management and marketing skills among others, as well as getting them to convince others to contribute to LLS’s cause of fighting blood cancer. Gage, Nail and Hyde hope that their efforts in the competition this year will start a legacy of Chelsea students getting involved with the competition. They first learned about the organization after a Chelsea High School teacher got involved with it when her daughter was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer as an infant. Their team name, Kenna’s Warriors, is in honor of her.

Also mentioned during the meeting:

• The council approved a proposed resolution establishing rule and procedures for public speaking at council meetings.
• The Citizens Observer Patrol (COP) announced that 2019 marks 20 years of service that their organization has done for the city.

The next city council meeting will be Jan. 22.