Haleyville Council moves ahead with sewer rehab

HALEYVILLE - At its Sept. 6 regular monthly meeting, the Haleyville City Council passed a resolution that authorized Mayor Ken Sunseri, on behalf of the city, to enter into an agreement with The Cassady Company to provide engineering services for a sewer rehabilitation project that is intended to stop future pavement settling. It will include cleaning various sewer lines, testing them for leaks and then sealing any found. The resolution authorized the Cassady Company to provide its services at a cost of no more than $31,200.
Council Member Drew Thrasher, who is superintendent of the Waste Water Department, abstained. All other council members present voted in favor of the resolution. Blue Russell was not present.
In another unanimous vote, the council approved a resolution that authorized the city to apply for a grant for Rocky Ravine trail improvements, which will be discussed in depth in a future edition of the Alabamian.
The council also approved a variance recommended by the Zoning Board of Adjustments for the Richard Wood property off Highway 13.
When council members were asked if they had other business to introduce, Thrasher offered condolences to the family of Ethelene Teas on behalf of the mayor and council.
A resident, who declined to give her name to the Alabamian, addressed the council about concerns she has about the condition of Haleyville street signs, her neighbors’ dogs and the dogs she believes are being dumped in her neighborhood.
She said Jessica Drive had no markings and added, “A lot of the other signage around the city is very old and faded, which I feel presents some safety concerns, especially stop signs.”
She went on to say that she had heard the city’s animal control ordinance was under review, and she asked whether the council was “going to be making it more strict or more lax.”
Sunseri explained that while the council considers the issue of animal control once or twice a year, there is little that can be changed about the existing ordinance because it is already in line with state law, specifically Emily’s Law. He noted that he believed the resident had a copy of that law already.
Emily’s Law provides for the impoundment of a dog that an animal control or law enforcement investigation has determined to be a “dangerous dog,” a dog that has bitten, attacked or caused physical injury or death to a person. It stipulates a court hearing will follow the investigation and lays out what will happen to dogs found by the court to be dangerous. No dog will be considered dangerous and be impounded under Emily’s Law if it was on its owners property or if the victim was trespassing at the time of the alleged attack.
Sunseri went on to explain that the county is responsible for animal control and that the city contracts with the county to remove strays, paying $600 a month plus an additional $5 or $10 dollars per animal picked up, depending on the size and species of the animal.
“I hate it,” he added, “but when we pick them up, they’re going to be euthanized” after 5-7 days.
Animal control will not remove animals that are wearing a collar or known to have an owner, Sunseri said. In the case of these animals, the city sends a registered letter to the owners, giving them 15 days to comply with the animal control ordinance, he explained, adding that he believed the woman’s neighbor, to whom the city had already sent such a letter, still had some of the 15-day period remaining.
After that period elapses, if the neighbor is not in compliance, the town will present the matter to the magistrate, who will issue the neighbor a court summons, said Police Chief Rodney Lewis.