The Demopolis City Council met Thursday evening and approved the Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce’s request to host Freedom on the River and the Highway 80 Songwriter Festival the first weekend of July.

Freedom on the River will be held on Thursday, July 4, and there will be a Children’s Patriotic Parade, fireworks and other events around town. The Highway 80 Songwriter Festival will be Saturday, July 6 from 6-10 p.m.

Demopolis resident Tarlee Brown came to the council with requests to change the name of Kaufman Drive to Abe Brown Court, and to change the name of Elmore Drive to a continuation of South Ash Drive. The council approved the request to change Kaufman Drive to Abe Brown Court because all residents in that area were in agreement. There was one resident in opposition to changing the name of Elmore Drive, so the council asked that Brown and other residents of that community come to the next meeting to discuss it.

The council also approved Resolution 2013-13, which was a request from the Alabama Department of Transportation to change the truck route through Demopolis from Walnut Avenue and Capitol Steet to Fulton Street and Cedar Avenue, as it had been in the past.

“Because ALDOT is recommending this change,” Mayor Mike Grayson said, “it means they will also keep up with the maintenance on this route.”

Grayson said that repairs would also be made to Walnut where the trucks had damaged the roadway.

In other business, the council did the following:

•Approved a three-year lease for lawn mowers for the Park and Recreation Department

•Rescheduled the July 4 council meeting to Monday, July 1

The next council meeting will be held Thursday, June 20.