[WATCH] Police Chief Kelley Johnson presents awards at Sylacauga City Council meeting

SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The Sylacauga City Council met at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday night, May 3.

The meeting came after the regularly-scheduled work session at 5:00 p.m.

The council addressed the following agenda items:

Sylacauga Police Chief Kelley Johnson presented Distinguished Services Awards and the Officer of the Year Award which was voted on by fellow SPD officers.

Recipients of the Distinguished Services Awards were as follows:

-Sgt. Ryan Gaither (15 years)
-Officer Keith Thomas (25 years)
-Lt. Jason McNeill (25 years)
-Lt. Willis Whatley (20 years)
-SRO Harry Brown (20 years)
-Sgt. Chris Vinson (10 years)
-Sgt. Stephen Ledbetter (15 years)

Officer Lamar Taylor was chosen by his peers as SPD’s Officer of the Year for 2021.

The city council adopted an ordinance authorizing the city’s participation in the 2022 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, July 15-17, 2022.

The council approved Resolution 19-2022 which supports a tax abatement application from Heritage Plastics, Inc. to Talladega County Commission for a $10,200,000 expansion at its facility located within the police jurisdiction of the city.

They also approve Resolution 20-2022 that declares repairs to city’s right-of-way primary drainage canal near hospital and nursing home an emergency, and authorizes a contract with InSite Engineering for engineering services including preparation of emergency bid documents and inspections.

The city council approved Resolution 21-2022 authorizing Memorandum of Understanding with Wharf Casual Seafood Sylacauga LLC.

The council renewed a three-year lease with Bobby Ray Green for city-owned parcel of land located on Lake Louise Drive.

They approved travel and training expenses for Interim Code Enforcement Director Mike Whetstone and Building Inspector Wayne Sayers to attend the Elevation Certificate Basics course in Birmingham, June 16, 2022. No registration fee and no expenses will be incurred; employees will carpool in a city-provided vehicle.

They also amended travel expenses for Fire Inspector Chad Toland, who attended the Plans Examiner course in Anniston, April 18-22, 2022, to add expenses for fuel in the amount of $63.20.

Additionally, the city council approved a request from Sylacauga Parks and Recreation to reimburse the cost of a new equipment trailer used for hauling mowers and other lawn equipment from Trailer World, Inc. for the cost of $7,800.

The council approved two request from Police Chief Johnson to purchase vehicles. The first request was for a 2017 Dodge Ram at a cost of $19,100, and the second request for a 2013 4-door Ford Explorer at the price of $7,400.

The council accepted the accounts payable received to date for April in the amount of $110,143.82.