Commission approves ALDOT contract for improvements at railroad crossing

The Shelby County Commission tonight approved a contract for improvements at a railroad crossing in Chelsea. These improvements will be made at the crossing on County Road 433.

The changes are “not major upgrades,” said County Engineer Randy Cole, but include signs and striping and other indicators that the area is a railroad crossing. The contract is with the Alabama Department of Transportation and denotes that “passive warning devices” will be put down and 100 percent of the total cost will be paid with federal funds.

The contract is to agree that the county will maintain these devices after they are installed, Cole said.

“They’re going to put them down,” Cole said. “They just ask that we maintain them after that.”

Once all of the work has been completed, the state will perform a final inspection. After the state notifies the county of “completion and acceptance of this project by the state,” the county will take over maintenance, according to the contract.

Also during Monday night's meeting, the commission:

• Approved resolutions to award multiple bids for items including doors and door hardware, hydrated lime, cold mix and liquid soap.
• Approved a business revenue interest rate change. County Chief Financial Officer Butch Burbage said during the most recent legislative session, an act that changed interest rates on tax delinquency from 1 percent per month to a quarterly percentage was passed. This resolution brought the county in line with that state procedure, which is required.
• Approved a business revenue change to the tobacco tax. Burbage said this was also a state change, which brought the discount given to jobbers or wholesalers on County tobacco stamps down from 7.5 to 4.75 percent.
• Discussed a timeline for budget discussions. Commissioner Lindsey Allison said the commission would have a revenues presentation following the Aug. 14 meeting, would hear presentations from elected leaders on Aug. 28, would hear the full budget — including revenues, expenditures and any other big changes — on Sept. 11 and the budget would come before the commission on Sept. 25. 
• Approved an agreement between the county and Jesse Creek Mining regarding bond substitutions. Cole said all the paperwork had been reviewed and the highway department did not have any issues with the substitution.
• Heard from Cole regarding an invoice for final settlement from ALDOT. With this particular invoice, the county contributed to a bridge project back in 2004, but Cole said they received the invoice only a few weeks ago. The invoice came following reconciliation, and said the county owed just over $58,000. Cole said this wasn’t the first time for it to happen, and with items like this, the county doesn’t know when the reconciliation will come through. That, he added, can pose issues for budgeting.