Jack’s Family Restaurants will be opening a Linden location after the city council approved two resolutions authorizing the sales agreement and the execution of all necessary documents for the agreement.

The sales agreement remains the same as the one included in prior discussions in late spring and early summer of 2018 before Jack’s representatives decided to build a Greensboro location before revisiting Linden.

That included the property being sold to the company for $7,500, a 60 percent sales tax abatement during the first five years of operation and a 50 percent sales tax abatement during the second five years.

“To me, the first five years we’re going to get forty percent that we wouldn’t have had, the second five years we’re going to get fifty percent that we wouldn’t have had and then afterwards a hundred percent,” City Attorney Woody Dinning said.

Following the council’s May 7 meeting, Linden employees will see a phone service change to Southern Linc from Verizon Wireless due to a recent council decision to transition between the two services. Eight employees total have actual cellular service, while the rest use a push-to-talk service.

The 15 push-to-talk lines will cost $20 per month, and the cellular phones will have a one-time $50 set-up in addition to $28 per month. Employees will receive new phones with this switch. The eight city employees with cellular lines are the fire chief, Mayor Charles Moore, Police Chief Robert Alston and police officers.

City Clerk Barbara Cannon said that services through Verizon cost $854 a month. “It should be a good bit cheaper than Verizon,” Cannon said.

The switch comes after complaints from employees of poor wireless service from Verizon.

Councilor Vonda Wilson said “If you’re not getting the service you need out of Verizon, I say change it.”

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, May 22 issue of the Demopolis Times.)