The Rainsville City Council presented a report on the achievements made by the council over the last two years, during the work session of the February 21, 2019 city council meeting. Refreshments were provided by Sandy Goff and the Rainsville Chamber of Commerce to all those present at the meeting. Councilman Rosson presented the information to the group with other councilmen adding information about their particular departments.
The Tom Bevil Enrichment Center (TBC) was highlighted first. This facility serves as our city’s Senior Center. It is opened to senior citizens weekdays from 8:00am to 12:00pm for lunch and programs. The facility also houses the Rainsville Chamber of Commerce. The TBC host numerous community events, both private and public, throughout the year as a service to the community. During the last two years, 136 events occurred at the venue with fourteen being free events and 122 events requiring rental fees. Rainsville City Council approved and completed many new updates to the center including upgraded landscaping, addition of commercial gutters, new paint job, bathroom remodels bringing the bathrooms up to code, installation of new front doors as well as six additional doors, and the addition of 100 new chairs.
The Rainsville City Council completed three road paving projects at a city cost of $202,000.00 and a state cost of the same amount. Roads paved included George Wallace, Lofton Avenue, and Dilbeck Road. Another road improvement orchestrated by the council was the addition of a turning lane on Dilbeck Road to the Industrial Boulevard. This $57,000.00 project was necessary to make access easier for RTI, Emerson, and Industrial Boulevard. Over 80 trucks use this road daily for product transport.
City bridges were also in need of repair and the council took action. $60,000.00 was spent to replace the collapsing George Wallace Street Bridge. This bridge was built in the 1960s and needed replacement. The Chavies Bridge Project began. This project’s mission is to replace the one-lane bridge with a two-lane bridge in order to allow school buses and emergency personnel access. The cost of the project is $2,168,468.00 with the state paying 80% and the city contributing 20%. The grant for the project was approved in 2012, but the project has been stalled until recently.
To improve the safety of citizens, city culverts and drainage systems have been updated.
Improvements have been made to the Sanitation Department at a total cost of $305,000.00. The city purchased a new garbage truck at a cost of $280,000.00 and a new dump truck at a cost of $25,000.00 allowing the city to do many jobs in house. The department has also added additional customers through a contract with Sylvania. The customer base has grown from 560 to 606.
Many technological advances have been added the Rainsville Police Department. The city purchased new Tahoes and an Emergency Response Command Vehicle for the department, along with new cameras, tough books (computers), evidence bar code machine, and $123,253.00 in radio upgrades. Police officers have also been provided new outer vest carriers for equal weight distribution and easier movement. Rainsville has added two new positions to the department with the first city resource officer and the first city animal control officer.
The Rainsville Fire Department (RFD) received new updates as well with the purchase of a new radio system and improvements to fire response training. The fire chief also received a new Tahoe. The RFD has launched a new educational program through collaboration with the DeKalb County Board of Education. The city is the first in DeKalb County to partner with the board to teach Fire Science and Public Safety classes to high school juniors and seniors.
The Farmers Market and the Freedom Festival have found a new home at the Field of Dreams. The city council invested $73,805.00 to make this happen. The new Farmers Market Pavilion hosts a state certified farmers’ market. The pavilion has state of the art restrooms, vendor space, and an ample parking area. With a move to the Field of Dreams, the Freedom Festival has a new stage, 42 vendor spaces, and an upgraded fireworks show along with entertainment lasting all afternoon.
Many other city improvements were highlighted during the presentation. The list is too great to include in this article, but a complete presentation can be found on Mountain Valley News’ Facebook Page under the title “Your Tax Money at Work”.