While much was discussed at Monday’s Alba City Council meeting, most of the items were moved to the November meeting.

Council members and Police Chief Juan Ramirez, talked once again about making Ramirez’ position exempt (salaried) rather than hourly. However, the council noted that, should they change to an exempt position, the compensation would be different, and they would also have to pay 164.5 hours of compensatory time. A document outlining Ramirez’ desired salary was handed to board members immediately before the meeting.

“We’re not gonna go with this agreement,” said Mayor Paul Kelbe, after some discussion.

“That’s a no from me,” agreed council member Tammy Kirkpatrick.

City Secretary Lindy McCarty chimed in, saying that “Y’all would be totally foolish to vote on that…. You haven’t even had a chance to read it.”

The council ultimately voted to move the discussion to November, “so we can study (the document) a little bit harder,” according to council member Donna Lansdowne.

They also voted to move a discussion about implementing a water/sewer/trash clerk position to November. Public Works Director Shawn Newland said that “We don’t need anybody in here for 13, 14 dollars an hour…everything is going good right now.”

Citizen Amanda Bohannan commented with a different viewpoint during public comments, however, saying that “this (position) would free up (public works employees’) time to focus on their primary duties.”

“This approach is not an emotional decision,” said Bohannan. “It is about building a more resilient, versatile and fiscally responsible city. By adopting this structure, we are moving from a reactive position to a proactive one.”

The council voted to rescind the April 17, 2024 Request For Quotation (RFQ) regarding a plan to implement generators at the city’s water tower and north well. The 2024 plan, which was for a grant of $75,000, did not include a bid for engineering, but by rescinding the old plan, the city is in line to receive a grant for $235,000 instead, which will include a bid for engineering.

The council also discussed establishing an ad valorem tax freeze for residential homestead owners of the City of Alba who are disabled or 65 years of age or older.

Kirkpatrick suggested that they “do some kind of financial analysis first, to see what the hit is going to be.”

Kelbe said that he would talk to Wood County Tax Assessor-Collector Angela Luman this month, and the council would re-discuss in November.

Alba Economic Development Corp. President Tim Koonce spoke to the council about the possibility of changing the bylaws. The bylaws state that the EDC must have seven board members, “not more than three members, nor less than two” of which must be city staff or city council members.

Koonce asked that they change it to say “not more than three members, nor less than one.” After much discussion, the board said that the EDC must submit an amendment to their bylaws at an EDC meeting, vote on and pass it, submit it to the city council, and then the council will vote on it. The city council will put it on the November agenda.

The board voted to deny the request to change the name of Luther Street in honor of previous mayor Sonny Hass. According to the council, the street was named in honor of Alba resident Luther Cranford, who lived in the town in 1900 and “helped bring natural gas into this town” among other foundational donations to the city; thus, they said, it should not be renamed.

“There’s a lot of people in this town that I know have been here for nine generations…but if we start naming streets after somebody now, then you’re gonna rise and fall, because you’re just opening a can of worms,” said Lansdowne.

The council will look into other ways to honor Hass and other previous mayors and will discuss in November.

The council voted to give Michael Angler and Kenneth Angler each $100 in compensation for their efforts in helping with a water line break on Quitman St. on Sept. 10. The city will draw up a waiver of liability form for the men to sign next time they participate.

The board took no action on a notice about construction at 301 College St. The construction is completely outside of any zoning requirements, says City Attorney Leigh Thompson; however, because the homeowner intends to connect the two separate houses with a breezeway, which is inside zoning requirements, the city will allow the construction. The council will consider looking into contracting with a company that will handle all construction permits and zoning rights for the future.

The council voted to set up a bank account for the EDC so that it can set up a Venmo, CashApp, etc. This will make refunding deposits and renting the community center easier, said Assistant City Secretary Jenna Trussell.

Kirkpatrick requested that the council move a discussion on employee job descriptions to next month’s agenda, which they approved.