By Sherri Blevins
Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce Director Jennifer Chitwood McCurdy visited the June 6, 2023, Fort Payne City Council meeting to share with the Council the Chamber’s activities so far this year. Below is a basic summary of the happenings:
- Enrolled 28 new members making the Chamber’s total membership 370
- 20 members attended the Legislative Drive-In in Montgomery
- Created a Business Checklist for anyone wanting to start a new business that complies with the rules of the Zoning and Ordinance Board
- Created a webpage dedicated to helping those starting a business on the Chamber website
- Partnered with the JSU Small Business Development Center to offer free one-on-one advice sessions for new business owners or those wishing to grow their business
- Chamber now has open spaces for coworking with new businesses
- Partnered with the Fort Payne High School Career Coach Christie Clifton on a job shadowing program with 25 students and 45 businesses enrolled
- Restarted the Rising Leaders Program and made plans to create a Young Rising Leaders Program in the fall to train aspiring leaders
- Formed a partnership with JSU and eventually with NACC to provide a 20% tuition discount to Chamber members and their employees
- Created the podcast Business is Booming to share business tips
- Continuing the Breakfast and Business program and the Business After Hours networking program
McCurdy ended her presentation by saying that the Chamber is an extension of its members and aims to partner with each one and help their businesses grow.
Before McCurdy spoke, Mayor Baine presented his Mayor’s report. His main emphasis was thanking all involved in making the Alabama June Jam 2023 a huge success. Baine said the City experienced few problems with traffic or parking, which had been a great concern before the event. Baine thanked Alabama for agreeing to host the Jam along with a long list of others, including every City employee in all City departments that participated in any way whether in preparation for the event, working the day of the event, or cleaning up after the event. He stated that thanks to the preplanning meetings by the Fort Payne Police and Fire Department along with several outside agencies – DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, ALEA, Alabama State Troopers, Bomb Techs, ALDOT, Fort Payne Street Department, DeKalb EMA, Marshall County EMA, DeKalb County Association of Fire Departments, DeKalb County Rescue Association, State EMA, State Fire Marshall, and the National Weather Service- the Jam ran smoothly.
During the business portion of the meeting, the Council approved the following items:
- Ordinance 2023-09, amending the Building and Fire Codes to authorize the collection of expenses due to property demolition and removal via Tax Lien, which would be paid at the time the property taxes are paid as opposed to when the property is sold
- Ordinance 2023-10, amending the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance to authorize the collection of expenses incurred in the abatement of nuisances via tax lien or property lien
- Resolution 2023-15 granting tax abatements to G.H. Metal, raising it from $5,700,000 requested in January to $8,200,000
- Resolution 2023-16, placing a property lien on the property located at 1011 Williams Avenue N.E. and owned by Maria Gallegos Cervantes for $4,400 for the demolition of the structure and debris removal
- Resolution 2023-17, placing a property lien on the property located at 1109 Turner Avenue S.E. and owned by Ivan and Lisa Hawkins for $4,000 for the demolition of the debris removal
- Authorized a contract with the City of Rainsville for the loan of a sanitation truck
- Authorized the adoption of the Internet, Social Media, and Email Policy that the Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation has required as part of its ongoing efforts to mitigate cyber security risks
- Allocated $20,000 to the VFW for equipment
The Council held an executive session after the meeting with no action taken. The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for June 20, 2023.
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