Erica Techo
Commissioners Robbie Hayes and Lindsey Allison at the June 13 Shelby County Commission meeting.
The Shelby County Commission has approved a resolution to produce a bicycle and pedestrian plan for the county.
The resolution, approved at the June 13 meeting, does not specify any projects or areas for the county to install sidewalks or bike lanes. Rather, the agreement is to undergo a study to determine potential areas for bicycle and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.
The agreement included in the resolution is between the county and the state of Alabama through the Alabama Department of Transportation. According to the agreement, the cost for the project will be financed by federal and county funds; federal funds will cover 80 percent of eligible costs, and the county will cover 20 percent of costs. Any costs that are not eligible for federal participation will be financed 100 percent by the county.
The commission unanimously approved the resolution.
During the water services report at the meeting, water services manager Michael Cain discussed levels of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) in the water. Those levels have been in the news lately, Cain said, following an EPA health advisory regarding PFOA and PFOS in Alabama water systems.
“One of them was Gadsden, which is directly up stream of our Talladega-Shelby,” Cain said. “They have since come back and proven they don’t have that in our system above the health advisory.”
Cain also passed out copies of the Shelby County Water Services 2015 Consumer Confidence Report, which is passed out to all Shelby County Water Services customers. The report included a chart of contaminants and the levels in the county’s water system.
“You’ll be happy to know they all show non-detect for us,” Cain said. “So we have looked at that as well. We actually had in place one of the treatment for those chemicals … so we’ll be keeping an eye on that as time goes on.”
Cain said the county is meeting all standards set for the water system.
Also at the meeting, the commission:
- Awarded bids for engineered playground surfacing material, field uniform items, concrete pipe and box culverts.
- Approved property tax insolvents, errors in assessment and litigations for the 2015 Tax Year Report. The final figures included $6,417.45 for insolvents, $80,708.29 for errors in assessment and $58,733.61 for litigations.
- Approved an available funds resolution for the emergency solutions grant program.
- Approved a resolution to submit an application for the emergency shelter grant program.
- Approved a recommendation to establish two full-time positions for HVAC management in the county’s 38 buildings. This appointment will not cause a change in budget, as the positions will be funded through money previously budgeted for contractual services.
