Chelsea council approves funding to repair damaged fire engine
On the second day of 2018, Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer told the Chelsea City Council it was time to get back to work.
After the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Picklesimer said he was ready to get started on new projects and other items in the upcoming year.
“It’s time to get back to work. We’ve got several projects we hope in 2018 to get kicked off,” Picklesimer said to council members as the Jan. 2 pre-council meeting adjourned and councilors made their way into the regular meeting.
The night’s agenda held several items, including one resolution for needed repairs to one of the city’s fire engines.
The proposed resolution declared the damage to fire engine No. 39 as “an emergency affecting public health, safety and convenience” and authorized up to $60,000 for the repairs.
Engine 39 was damaged in a single-vehicle accident, Picklesimer said, which resulted in some cosmetic damage as well as damage to the vehicle’s undercarriage. The council unanimously passed the resolution.
Also on the agenda were two proposed ordinances. Prior to considering the ordinances, the council approved a motion to suspend the rules and to immediately vote on the ordinances.
The first ordinance was regarding a property annexation on Chelsea Road. Miranda Kirby submitted the annexation request for a 3.04 acre property at 10468 Chelsea Road, and the council approved the annexation.
The second ordinance was in regard to tax exemptions for covered items for the 2018 Severe Weather Preparedness Holiday. Similar to the tax free holiday for school supplies, this holiday is for severe weather preparedness supplies. The city has approved the holiday and exemption in the past, Picklesimer said, but by considering it as an ordinance the participation in the holiday will carry from year to year. If at any point the council chooses to not participate, it can do so through another ordinance, he said. This year's tax-free weekend will take place Feb. 23-25.
The council also received a rezoning request from Shafig Samji of Evolution Holdings LLC. Evolution Holdings owns multiple Shell service stations in the area, Picklesimer said, and the request to rezone from B-1 commercial to B-2 commercial is the first step toward potentially expanding to include a used car lot at the gas station on the corner of Highways 36 and 11.
“They’re expanding the business,” said council member David Ingram.
The need for rezoning, Picklesimer said, is because a used car lot is not allowed under the B-1 zoning.
No action was taken on the rezoning request, and the council will hold a public hearing regarding the matter during the Feb. 6 meeting. If the rezoning request is approved at that meeting, council member Scott Weygand said Samji would come back before the planning commission for final changes to the property.
“This is just step one of several,” Weygand said.