Storm shelter, restroom combo an option for the city
During Tuesday night’s precouncil meeting at Chelsea City Hall, Mayor Tony Picklesimer discussed the possibility of adding combination storm shelters/restrooms at several locations around the city. The building features a men’s and women’s restroom on the front, and a 25-person storm shelter on the back. He said he is getting estimates for these to share at a later meeting, but the cost is around $125,000.
“We would like to put one on the grass parcel between the tennis court parking lot and the highway, one at the archery range and one at the Highway 11 sports park,” Picklesimer said. “The basement of City Hall is currently the only certified storm shelter in Chelsea.”
Wayne Morris gave an update that annexation requests can now be completed on the city’s website, and the launch date for the new city of Chelsea website is set for the end of September.
During the regular meeting, a resolution was passed to purchase a volleyball system and supplies from Metro Goals to install a second volleyball net at the Community Center totaling $4,995.
“The volleyball program at the Community Center has been amazingly successful and has outgrown our court, so we are adding a second one,” Picklesimer said. “This will double our practice capacity and give us the option to use one or two nets, one large one for tournaments and two for practices.”
During the community forum, Fire Captain Wayne Shirley thanked those who attended the dedication ceremony for the new ladder truck on May 25. The staff is currently doing in-house training.
“We want to make sure everyone is trained on it before we start making calls, but it will be on the road soon,” he said.
He shared that the new transport truck should be in service soon, and the final inspection is scheduled for June 17. He hopes to have it in service for the Big Kaboom event. This will help alleviate the need to call Cahaba Valley Fire and Rescue to help with transports.
Shirley also addressed the burn ban instituted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
“Each year ADEM has Shelby County listed under a burn ban,” he said. “We are not allowed to issue permits for outdoor burning from May 1 through Oct. 31. It has nothing to do with dryness or weather, but is about improving air quality during the hot summer months."
Upcoming events:
- Every Thursday: Chelsea Farmers Market from 3-7 p.m. in front of City Hall
- June 29: ChelseaFest and the Big Kaboom from 5-9 p.m.
- July 2: Chelsea Historical Museum will pass out goody bags to first 20 children in attendance and will be open from noon-5 p.m.
- July 28: Chelsea Historical Society quarterly meeting from 2-4 p.m. featuring Jenny Bartlett’s presentation on old landowners.
The next city council meeting will be Tuesday, June 18, with precouncil at 5 p.m. and council at 6 p.m.