By By Connie Nowlin Managing editor
Atmore City Council faced a full agenda when it convened Monday afternoon.
After attending to regular housekeeping business such as paying accounts receivable and accepting the minutes of the Oct. 27 meeting, Mayor Howard Shell asked for and was given approval of a resolution in which the council voiced support for the upcoming vote on a 10-mill increase in the countywide ad valorem tax.
"Education is one of the first things an industry looks at before relocating," Shell said. The resolution states that the council has as part of its objective the education of the city's children and that education provides a better general welfare for the citizens.
Council also voted to accept a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The city had applied for the grant to help refurbish West Side Park, especially the old pavilion. The grant is not to exceed $31,600, and must be matched by the city dollar for dollar.
In other business, the city will send out to bid or purchase new computer equipment and software, changed the license for the sale of beer at the old Main Street 66, which has been sold to Diamond Oil, and re-appointed Bishop Lyons to the board of directors of the city library. He has served on that board since 1977.
Carter, Darnell and Grubbs was agreed on to serve as the city's bridge inspectors. That firm has long served as the bridge inspector for the city but state law requires that it reappoint the inspector periodically.
Recycling in Atmore has changed recently. Formerly the recycling of newsprint was done by Browning Ferris Industries, but that company no longer wished to serve that purpose.
Southeastern Recycling is a new company out of Pensacola, and it is the new recycler for the city.
The company has placed drums in at the Farmer's Market on North Presley Avenue, but will replace them with a larger container as soon as one is available. Southeastern will accept any type of paper except cardboard, where BFI would only accept newsprint. Plans are for the company to place containers at schools and other locations around the city for collection of paper. Money from the sale of the paper had been about $50-60 per month, and is donated to the library. Shell called recycling a double saving, because while the money is useful to the library, the real savings, he said, is that the paper does not wind up in the landfill, taking up space there.
The city council will next meet at 4 p.m. Nov. 24 in council chambers at city hall.