Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Immediately after beginning the work session at 4:45 p.m., the council went into closed executive session for almost 20 minutes. Upon return, they briefly discussed the existence of food truck ordinances, quickly ran through the night’s upcoming agenda, and then adjourned the work session.

At 5:15 p.m., with all council members present, the scheduled council meeting began.

Concerning dilapidated buildings within the city — always a topic of discussion in an attempt to clean up abandoned properties — 811 Ford Ave. was mentioned. City workers have been unable to contact the owner of the property and may soon proceed with further action.

The council unanimously passed a public assembly request for “Eastern Hills Residents-Past/Present neighborhood unity” on July 5 from 10 a.m. -10 p.m. It was determined that the group would require a section of road blocked off and police presence for the safety of the participants, which is expected to include “a lot of older folks.”

Also passed, an assembly request including an entertainment zone for “Bikes, Carts, and Beignets.” A beignet is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin that is very popular for New Orleans aficionados. 

Next came the topic of resurfacing Broadway Street. According to Councilman Charles Jones, he received an estimate for the project of under $60,000, which would allow for an overall estimate with contingencies of $100,000. This, he said, was based on a report that the subsurface of the road was good and would not need to be replaced. The estimated cost presented came in at roughly one-third to one-half of estimates previously received by Councilman Nathan Hardy. 

It was also suggested that the county could “chip in” half, covering as much as $65,000 for the 1.5-inch asphalt overlay proposed by Jones. At this revelation, discussion turned to ownership of the road itself — a topic of some contention. In an attempt to determine if Broadway Street, which has previously held several different names, was owned by Demopolis City or Marengo County. As such determining responsibility for its upkeep, the council tabled the subject for two weeks so that this question and other project details could be answered.

“This has gone on long enough,” Councilman Jones stated of the further delay.

The creation of a position for and hiring of a Development Coordinator/Grant Administrator brought heated discussion with confusion over everything from departmental budget to potential personnel to fill the role. The root of confusion seemed to be in the proposed maximum salary of $125,000, which some had understood to be in fact $200,000, an amount most of the council seemed unwilling to pay. After clarification that the $200,000 was to be the entire department budget, including the $125k salary, several council members were still hesitant to go forward, with no details as to where the other $75,000 would go. They also discussed the possibility of finding someone for less than the proposed max salary.

Jay Reynolds, Chairman of the Demopolis Water Board and member of the Demopolis Area Business Council, spoke from the audience with frustration, stating that the city “need[s] someone to push it over the line,” describing how the role should be filled by someone with experience and capability to coordinate various aspects of funding and business development within the city, adding that someone who should be hired would not, based on his experience, take the job for less than the $125k.

Reaching a point of maximum frustration resulting in Reynolds leaving Rooster Hall, the council decided to table the issue until a future meeting, following which the meeting was adjourned.