Picklesimer takes the baton

Opening the mail every day.

It sounds like a simple, sometimes irritating task, but Tony Picklesimer said it is the way he will start to acquaint himself with the day-to-day operations of Chelsea.

“Really, all I’ve had to this point is pomp and circumstance,” Picklesimer said about the week following the runoff mayoral election in Chelsea. “That’s really not what this job is about at all. I need to learn the day-to-day operation.”

Picklesimer has been on the Chelsea City Council for 10 years, but he also maintained a full-time job during that time. The period between being elected and taking his oath of office Nov. 7 is a time to learn as much as he can from Mayor Earl Niven, he said.

“I’ve been assigned to be chief steward of the citizens’ money, so I need to learn where it comes from, and I need to learn where it’s going,” Picklesimer said. “So that’s one of those things that I’ll do from the outset — just opening the mail every day to see what I can learn.”

Throughout the campaign process, Picklesimer heard and discussed Chelsea residents’ concerns on multiple issues affecting their city. Three of those topics were traffic and road issues, public safety and bringing in new businesses. The first step for these matters is establishing relationships, Picklesimer said.

There are already personal relationships established, but as mayor, he plans to establish professional and business relationships at the county and state levels.

After serving with Picklesimer on the Chelsea City Council, David Ingram — the sole incumbent on the 2016-20 council — believes Picklesimer can build on the city’s relationships and continue its forward progress. 

“He’s a good team builder, and it comes from his work experience,” Ingram said. “He’s a good leader. His key to success is going to be surrounding himself with good people and allowing them to put his expertise to work.”

Chelsea benefits from a positive legacy left by Niven, Ingram said, where key leaders respect the city for its fiscal responsibility and willingness to step up on new projects.

Traffic issues

U.S. 280 is the heart of Chelsea in many ways. It brings shoppers and diners through the city, and it is the location of many of Chelsea’s larger retailers as well as locally owned shops. But it also brings traffic issues.

Problem areas include the intersection of County Roads 39 and 47 in front of City Hall, the intersection in front of Chelsea Park and the intersection in front of McDonald’s. 

The CR 39/47 intersection is “a major artery” for Chelsea, and the bottleneck in that area also causes issues in front of Chelsea Middle School. Because they are county roads, however, the city cannot jump-start projects to fix them.

“The county will take the lead in those projects,” Picklesimer said. “What I want them to realize is that I am eager to partner — Chelsea will do its share. We’re not the little brother that always has his hand out. We will do our share.”

Because the county will head up these projects, Ingram said the city can speak up without the extreme financial commitment. In his opinion, it is the council and mayor’s responsibility to voice the city’s needs. After all, they will see the issues on a daily basis, while ALDOT and the county may not.

“We have to be advocates for the city and push the issues, but it’s not a big ticket item on our budget because those are state highway department-type issues,” Ingram said. “We’ve just got to let our voice be heard to the department of transportation.” 

Public safety

Providing city services serves a twofold purpose in Chelsea, Picklesimer said. Not only do sheriff’s deputies and an active fire department keep residents safe, but they also make the city more appealing.

“The parcels that touch us, that aren’t in the city, these people can come into the city if they want to,” Picklesimer said. “Offering protection and city services to them is really the only motivation that we can create for them to come into our city.”

One goal for public safety is to close the city’s circle of fire coverage, Picklesimer said. A fire station for the southwest side of Chelsea is one of the first projects Picklesimer plans for the city’s 2016-2017 capital budget. 

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office also factors into public safety. As the city continues to grow, the city’s contract for service needs to grow as well, Picklesimer said.

“They do a great job, but we have outgrown our coverage model, so I want to sit down with them [Sheriff John Samaniego and Chief Deputy Chris George] and work to get our coverage model caught back up and to exceed [our needs],” he said. 

With Lt. Cody Sumners in the Place 1 council seat, Picklesimer plans to lean heavily on his knowledge when re-engineering the city’s coverage. 

“I know this will be an example where Tony will turn to Cody Sumners,” Ingram said, noting Picklesimer has plans of using the expertise of each council member and employee. “Cody has been running this beat — Chelsea, [U.S.] 280 — for 15, 20 years. He knows what we need.”

Attracting businesses

Chelsea does not have a property tax, and its main source of revenue is sales tax. This makes bringing in new businesses a high priority for Picklesimer and the council. Two days after he was elected, Picklesimer reached out to a commercial recruitment firm about presenting to the new council.

Chelsea has “sat back” and waited on businesses in the past, Ingram said, but plans to be proactive going forward.

“It takes people getting out and advertising Chelsea all over the country to businesses, and that’s what we’re going to have to do,” he said.

Hiring a recruitment firm is “early on the agenda” for Picklesimer, as is familiarizing himself with the property available and the city’s needs.

“Our new athletic complex will really create some opportunities for our city, it really will,” he said. “We need to be ready with restaurants. We need to be ready with a hotel. We need people to come to Chelsea and stay in Chelsea and eat in Chelsea. That’s another way to grow our tax base.”

As Chelsea moves forward with new leadership, it is important to continue the practices keeping the city successful, Ingram said.

“The foundation is there,” he said. “It’s not going to be a totally different city because we have a new mayor or a new council … we just have to continue what we’re doing and be fiscally responsible while we’re managing the growth.”