Haleyville City Council accepts bid for CDBG project

HALEYVILLE - The neighborhood improvement project for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Avenues is back on track in Haleyville after the city council approved a low bid for the grant-funded work.

With Haleyville Mayor Ken Sunseri on vacation and council member Royce Benefield absent, the Haleyville City Council met in regular session July 1, with Richard Bittinger, Mayor Pro Tem, presiding over the meeting.  One of the first items on the agenda was to accept the low bid from Double Diamond Construction Co., Inc., of Northport for the Community Development Block Grant Project that will upgrade and repair water and sanitary sewer lines on 6-9th avenues, along with fixing drainage issue and repaving streets.

The grant was initially awarded to the city in 2018, with the project bid out afterward.  However, all of the bids initially came in well above the grant reward and were discarded.
The new round of bids were opened June 13, with Double Diamond’s total base bid coming in at $883,057, which is still higher than the grant reward of $790,790.  After reviewing the bid, however, acting city engineer Calvin Cassady noted that once all six deductive alternates from the project were removed - which total $117,177 - the project cost would come in at $765,880, which will be $24,910 below the grant reward.  Cassady noted that accepting the bid with the deductive alternates will not affect the overall scope of the project.

In other business, the council approved Phase I of a drainage improvement project along Lakeshore Drive in Forest Park subdivision.  The first phase of the project will consist of drainage improvements from Lakeshore Drive to the property where the National Guard’s Joint Armed Forces Readiness Center is located behind the subdivision.  Mark Burrell submitted the low bid for the project at $39,300.  Phase II of the project, which will improve drainage issues along Lakeshore Drive, will be tackled later.

The council approved a one-time pay adjustment for city employees, to be given in December as a reward for longevity in the workplace.  All part-time city employees will receive a $50 one-time salary supplement.  Full-time employees who have been with the city more than one year as of Dec. 1, 2019, will receive $75, plus $10 for each additional year of continued employment as, “an incentive for faithful long-term employment and to show the city’s appreciation toward its employees”, the resolution for the measure read.

Bittinger informed the council that Sunseri had hired Sara Harbin as a part-time Class 2 dispatcher for the city and AJ Brown as a full-time Class 2 dispatcher.  Sunseri also approved the transfer of Hayden Southern from full-time to part-time status as a dispatcher.
Bittinger gave the fire department report for June.  Firefighters responded to two calls within the city limits and two outside the city limits, as well as held four drills.

The next meeting of the Haleyville City Council will be Monday, July 15, at 5:30 p.m. in the courtroom of Haleyville City Hall.