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Leah Ingram Eagle
Chelsea Middle School basketball team
Members of the Chelsea Middle School girls basketball team are recognized at City Hall on Feb. 5, 2019.
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Leah Ingram Eagle
Chelsea Middle School basketball team
Members of the Chelsea Middle School boys basketball team are recognized at City Hall on Feb. 5, 2019.
The Chelsea City Council voted Tuesday night to execute an agreement with the Shelby Ridge Utility Systems that was continued from the previous meeting. The agreement will become effective as soon as it is signed and comes with a 10-year term, with both parties having the option to renew at the end.
Two updates were made to the existing agreement. One gives the city the option to terminate the agreement if legislation is passed in Alabama requiring the SRUS System to be regulated by some other entity or if the city takes action to condemn the SRUS within the terms of the agreement of any renewal. The second update is that SRUS will engage a certified public accounting firm to issue a report to the rate consultant, affirming that the financial information included in the Annual Report agrees to the underlying SRUS accounting records.
Some of the highlights of the agreement include:
- Reduced impact fees of 75 percent for new businesses, which the mayor said will be a tremendous benefit to Chelsea.
- A guaranteed stop on rate increases until 2021.
- As long as SRUS operates with a reasonable return on equity (between 10.5-15 percent) they agreed not to raise rates, which makes it possible for a 10-year flat rate.
- SRUS agreed to extend service lines up to 100 feet from the existing trunk line to the property line at their own expense, with no charge to new business.
“I would like to publicly thank the council for their support to push me to hammer out this agreement,” Mayor Tony Picklesimer said.
The council also voted to reject all the Chelsea Community Park grading package bids, as the low bidder’s license was expired. The mayor noted that they are taking every step to preserve the walking trail there and, once the final product is complete, the city plans to tie the walking trails back together.
During the pre-council meeting, Picklesimer announced that the Chelsea Community Center has surpassed 1,000 memberships and will open at 6 a.m. beginning March 4. The mayor will also be meeting with the contractor who built the community center and an architect to discuss building a locker room with showers. Future plans may include two racquetball courts and a second gym.
Additional business during the meeting included:
- A public hearing to approve a rezoning request from Highpointe Properties, rezoning 253 acres of land off Liberty Road from agricultural resident to planned residential development.
- Recognition of the boys and girls Chelsea Middle School basketball teams.
- Approval to pave the driveway at the maintenance shop.
- Approval to purchase a 2018 Ford F150 4x4 truck for the soon-to-be-hired parks and recreation director.
- Approval of a contract with GIS Mapping Services to provide data collection and image processing for updated mapping, to prepare for the upcoming 2020 Census.
- Approval of the purchase of TVs for City Hall. This will provide a monitor in the meeting room and one in the lobby for announcements and information.
- Approval of the bid for the new archery center at Chelsea Community Park.
- The Chelsea COP’s will celebrate their 20th anniversary this month and will have an award meeting and recognize members for achievements.
