Prescott City Council

The Prescott City Council met in the Senior Center Dining Room on Monday (11-18). The meeting started with the comment that there were many things to feel thankful for. The minutes and financial report were reviewed from the previous month.
Jamie Hillery from the Chamber of Commerce and Mary Godwin from the Economic Development Office gave reports for the month. Hillary talked about transitioning from Halloween to Christmas.  She talked about holding the parade and shopping on one night as well as reported on the giving tree.
Godwin talked about recruiting for the Leadership Team for 2025 and needing suggestions for a few more to fill the slots as they will need to be decided by December. Godwin talked about having applied for a grant and received the majority of what they applied for. The grant the city received was for a total of almost $700,000. The city will need to furnish $80,000. The grant was for water upgrades at the Prescott Industrial Park.  A water line will be replaced by the water plant. The old water line dates back to the 1960s and is copper. It fails quite often. This will increase the size of the line and the options which the city has for moving water around.
A section of concrete that needs to be replaced was discussed. That is not covered by the approved grant.
The cleanup of neglected properties was a big part of the meeting. The Moreland Estate, which includes 20 properties, is complicated by the lack of a will and multiple heirs fighting over it.  But the grass on these properties has been maintained. Prescott has an issue with a significant population that doesn’t feel they have the money to invest in their property. An ordinance was suggested as to providing guidelines to what shape the property must be in before a tenant or property owner can get electricity and water. While the city is looking better, there was discussion as to whether the city could do something to clean up the remaining neglected properties. There are some to which nothing has been done and some also have ownership questions. If a property is condemned the owners will be required to pay the city.
The next issue covered was a discussion of equipment for the fire department. Robert Loe, who has held several positions in city including that of council member, talked about the purchase of an air compressor for compressed air to refill the tanks after use. Three options were presented for purchase. The city did have one a long time ago that ceased to function. The first bid was for $46,500 with an additional amount for a five-year warranty. Since this one would come from Alabama, Loe raised the concern about maintenance service. The second bid would cost $40,000 with an additional $6,000 for a five-year warranty. Loe recommended this one because of the service coming from Texas. The third option would cost $23, 900 for delivery, would be purchased via Ebay, and wouldn’t include a warranty or set up.  The city is currently taking the tanks to Air Gas which costs $45 for the trip plus $85 for each of the four tanks to be filled for a total of $385. This isn’t a monthly trip but when the department answers to big fires the tanks quickly get depleted.  A scenario was raised should the tanks be emptied on the weekend and could they be refilled then or would the department be minus tanks. Loe said he didn’t know.
The police chief was at the meeting and introduced three new staff members filling vacancies. There were two new certified and one new uncertified staff member at the meeting. They talked about where they served previously with one coming from Henderson, Texas while another came from Murfreesboro and served for a year at the county jail.
There were no citizen’s communications this month.
Forgiving water use overruns was discussed.  It was decided the city can waive these fees as it would cost the city at least $150,000.
A couple of upcoming events were mentioned. One of them was the Curry’s Outreach Awards Banquet in the Junior High Cafeteria on November 30th.
The meeting adjourned.

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