The Clifton City Commission met in regular session on Monday, July 27th, 2020. Commissioners in attendance included Mayor Randy Burns, Eva Ruth Warren, Mark Staggs, and Bill Willoughby. Also in attendance were City Manager Doug Kibbey and City Recorder Barbara Culp. Vice Mayor Layton Packwood was absent.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Burns. The invocation was offered by Austin Clark, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. A motion was made by Commissioner Warren to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Willoughby, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
The first item of new business on the agenda was an ordinance for the updated Occupational Safety and Health Program Plan. City Manager Kibbey explained that some items in the plan had been updated, and that the last update of the plan had been about three years ago. Commissioner Warren made a motion to approve the ordinance for the updated plan. Commissioner Willoughby seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.
Under Departmental Reports, Public Works Director Austin Clark said that the inmate labor had once again been put to a halt due to the coronavirus, and they were very much missed and appreciated for the work they do. County Commissioner Stephen Pevahouse inquired about getting county inmates for the work crews, and Clark said that as far as he knew, the only problem with that is the transportation issue. Commissioner Willoughby said that the possibility of working the county inmates should be looked into, and Clark said that he would try to find out more.
Parks and Recreation Director Eddie Simmons said that his department is doing okay, just trying to stay caught up with the mowing.
Fire Chief Lindsay Roberts told the commission that he has a truck in the shop for the next couple of weeks. He also noted that drill meetings have been temporarily suspended due to coronavirus concerns.
Police Chief Jerroll Henderson said that everything was going well in his department. All the contraband evidence has been sold, and the department is waiting on vests and body cams. He also mentioned that officer inservice training is still postponed due to the coronavirus.
City Manager Doug Kibbey then said that he and Public Works Director Clark recently had a meeting with County Executive Jim Mangubat and engineer Mr. Heathcoat about the water situation. He said that representatives from other cities in the county had also met with Mangubat and Heathcoat about the water situation as well. Kibbey commented that the general consensus seems to be that “the county does not need to be in the water business.”
A lengthy discussion followed, with Mr. Clark at one point commenting that in the future, the Tennessee River could potentially supply water to the entire county. He went on to say that Waynesboro and Collinwood people had acknowledged this as well. County Commissioner Pevahouse asked if the new water plant would have the capacity to support that much usage, and Clark said with its 3 million gallon per day capacity, it could sustain the entire county.
City Manager Kibbey then suggested that the commission consider changing their meeting time from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. After a brief discussion, Commissioner Staggs made a motion to change the meeting time. Commissioner Willoughby seconded the motion, and the meeting time was officially changed.
Commissioner Willoughby next asked if the location of the future splash pad is set in stone. City Manager Kibbey said that it has been agreed upon, but they are still waiting on the final confirmation. Commissioner Willoughby said that he thought a public swimming pool would be a great asset to the city in the future, considering how well the city pool in Waynesboro is doing. He went on to say that the splash pad should be installed in a place where a swimming pool could be installed nearby. Mayor Burns commented that he had thought about a city swimming pool as well, but the insurance premiums would be very high. City Manager Kibbey said that if the location of the splash pad were to be changed, there would have to be new environmental studies, and it would take much longer before it could be installed. He did agree to look into options for a public swimming pool.
Commissioner Willoughby then asked about the possibility of conducting city meetings at a different location where it would be easier to practice social distancing, such as the fire hall. He went on to make a motion to change the location of the meetings, but the motion failed for lack of a second.
County Commissioner Pevahouse asked about a memorial of some kind to be installed at the park that was recently renamed in honor of WWII veteran David Brown. City Manager Kibbey said that he would look into a monument similar to the one at the fire hall.
With no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned.
