Jacobs explained that people will be able to download the app for free and when they see an issue, they can report it through their phone directly to the appropriate city department and include a photo of the problem. The individual reporting an issue will then get an email back letting them know the issue has been reported.
“I’ve been working on this ever since I became mayor,” he said. “It was an idea that I had when I was running for mayor.”
The app is expected to be available June 1. The mayor said other uses will be added to the app later. “In the near future we’ll be adding things like ‘hey, they didn’t pick up my garbage today,’” he said.
The mayor also updated the council on paving projects. “We’ve got a lot paved this year,” he said.
Jacobs said they are trying to spread the paving out across the city.
“We’re trying to be fair. We’re trying to hopscotch around.”
The council also discussed changes to the city’s trash pick up schedule. Councilman Johnny Cook said, “There’s just so much more trash to be picked up with people being home . . . so we’re having to shift things around.”
Starting May 27, trash collection day will move from Thursday to Wednesday for customers on or near Hanceville Road from Brooks Drive SE to Bolte Road SE. The area includes Derby Creek Subdivision, Cobblestone Gardens, Meadow Brook Subdivision, Fox Meadow Subdivision and Oak Meadow Subdivision.
Cook said the recycling program remains suspended because the city’s recycling vendor has not yet reopened.
The city took another step forward in getting a traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 69 and 24th Street, by agreeing to match funds from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The intersection is located next to the Alabama National Guard Armory and Cullman Industrial Park I, and 24th Street is also used to get to AGCOR — Good Hope’s first manufacturer.
Back in February, the Good Hope City Council committed $50,000 to the project. Mayor Jerry Bartlett said half of the road is in the Good Hope city limits, and there have been numerous wrecks that have caused injuries or fatalities, and those factors combined with the intersection’s close proximity to AGCOR make it a project that Good Hope should get behind.
Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer said the light is part of an economic development project with a local company that is looking to expand and add 70-80 local jobs, and the company requested the light to improve safety in the area. The City of Cullman Industrial Development Board has also committed to providing $50,000 to the project.
“It’s good to get that one completed,” said Council President Jenny Folsom. “There have been severe traffic accidents at that intersections.”
In other business, the council approved the annexation of properties on 130 County Road 1401 and 324 County Road 1322 as R-1 Residential, and property on Freeman Road as AG-2 Agricultural.
The council also passed a resolution to approve the purchase of materials for Katherine Street water and sewer improvements.
©2020 The Cullman Times (Cullman, Ala.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
