Hope City Board

The Hope City Board met on the first day of October for their first meeting of the month. First up, the board looked at a replacement for Kathy Akin on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Akin had moved from Hope. Mayor Steve Montgomery suggested Allen Flowers to finish Akin’s term which ends in 2021. The board voted to approve Flowers. The board looked at scheduling a tour of City Facilities and goals meeting. The board voted to start at 8am in October 22nd. Board member Mark Ross suggested the board visit the fire stations and parks. The board heard a request from Randy Odom who wants to build a commercial building on Rogers Lane. This was formerly county road 1020. The land is outside the city limits near the college but Odom.would like to hook on to City utilities. Odom says he intends to exceed city requirements. He also discussed where the property was in a flood plain. Odom said the building would simply be a commercial building with two offices. City Manager Catherine Cook noted the process to annex had been discussed with Odom. Vice-Mayor Don Still said he had a problem with giving access to City Services without an agreement to annex. Odom said he plans to request annexation and said being in the city would be better for him due to fire protection. The board agreed to allow Odom.to utilize city services. Assistant City Manager J.R Wilson gave the board an update on efforts to get Union Pacific from blocking the downtown rail crossings for long periods of time. Wilson said he found a contract, explained the problem,and the representative of the railroad has addressed it. The Assistant City Manager said now they know who to talk to in regards to asking for help on railroad issues. Cook gave an update in the city rail project. She also said the North Side Park playground equipment is being installed. Under Citizens Requests, John Odom.asked about the wrecked wrecker at Bypass Wrecker in Highway 29 north that is visible from the road. He asked if it was supposed to be behind a fence. Cook said they’d check. Odom also asked about the portable buildings for sale on South Main. He said it was his understanding they would be moved when the ground dried up and it has been dry for some time but none have been moved. The City Manager noted code enforcement would look into the matter. Hazel Simpson asked about signage for North Side Park and Cook indicated she and board member Kiffenea Talley are working on it Board member Mark Ross asked about the fence around the former salvage yard in West Third and the former Garrett Insurance office on West Third. City staff indicated these have been ongoing code enforcement issues. The meeting then adjourned.