By By BILL CRIST – Publisher
East Brewton Mayor Terry Clark said he is fed up with what he called "trash" being in front of and around the Helping Hands Mission store on Forrest Avenue.
Shipp said that the building is a business and that the bags the mayor was referring to are actually merchandise that people have donated to be sold at the store. He also said that the owners are working on collection boxes that will be located behind the store.
Councilwoman Betty Jordan has repeatedly asked the council to address the issue of Helping Hands, stating that the manner in which the items were stored in front of the building made it an eyesore.
The council also voted to table a proposed ordinance that deals with moving homes into and around within the East Brewton city limits. The ordinance was presented in November and Clark instructed the members of the council to review it. Currently, city code states that no building older than one year may be moved into the city, or within the city limits. The proposed ordinance would allow such moves, but make buildings subject to an inspection, after which, the owners would have 120 days to bring the building up to code. If the improvements were not made, the city would demolish the building at the owner's expense.
Some council members questioned the city's ability to collect money for the expense of the demolition. They instructed Shipp to contact the city's attorney, Bill Stokes, to discuss options for payment.
Clark informed the council that East Brewton had received a state grant of $8,775 that could be used to purchase a surplus vehicle from the state for use by the police department. He reported that the new vehicle is at the department and is in use already.
Jordan and Elaine Parker asked Clark why they had not been made aware of the grant before Monday's meeting. Clark said it was because the council had missed and cancelled several meetings and that he could not call each councilperson and let them know about every detail of city business.
Clark appointed several committees at the meeting. Jordan and Byron Palmer were instructed to meet with the water board and compare pay scales. Parker and Huey Johnson are to meet with city clerk Karen Singleton to examine different long distance company options the city has available. Shipp and Dewayne King are studying the ordinance that relates to mobile businesses coming into East Brewton and setting up temporarily. The current city ordinance prohibits such business within the city limits.
In other business the council;