Good Hope Councilmen Maxie Jones and John Harris, with Mayor Jerry Bartlett at Monday night’s council meeting (Christy Perry for The Cullman Tribune)
GOOD HOPE – The City of Good Hope moved forward at Monday night’s council meeting with an as-yet undisclosed economic development project, following an executive session after which Mayor Jerry Bartlett was authorized to enter into an agreement for “economic development project 114.”
Bartlett said he hopes to announce the project in the near future, sharing, “When loans and other details can be finalized, the individuals involved in the economic development will tell him when to announce it.”
Bartlett also pointed to the current U.S federal government shutdown as part of the delay in finalizing some aspects of the project.
The mayor also gave his thoughts on Monday morning’s Rock the South announcement. After some recent speculation that the giant music festival might choose Good Hope as its new home, organizers instead decided to move to a different location within the city of Cullman.
Said Bartlett, “I think it is wonderful! We were excited that they were considering us and a little disappointed that we didn’t get it but, now that I think about it, Exit 305 is in need of a spark and I think this is going to really fire up 305. So, when you look at it, Rock the South, we all share the revenue from it so the most important factor is that it stay here. It’s staying here and that’s what we love and what we wanted more than anything. If you really think about it, it being there at (County Road) 469, closer to Exit 305, if we get a hotel or we get a restaurant, that hotel or restaurant will be here year round. Whereas, if we had it over here and didn’t spark growth there, it’s good for just the event they put on. In the long run, I think it’s a blessing in a disguise. I’m happy.”
In other business, the City’s audit has been completed and Councilman John Harris plans to present the report at the next council meeting.
The Municipal Water Pollution Prevention (MWPP) annual report was also completed, with results presented by Grady Parsons of Living Water Services. The report indicated a few high flows but concluded that the city’s water quality is exceptional. The council approved the MWPP report for submittal to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
The council also passed a resolution to continue using alcohol funds to pay for Air Evac Lifeteam service for residents.
Bartlett said of the resolution, “Any citizen in Good Hope that ever has to be airlifted, we pay for that. We have used it a few times now.”
Good Hope will participate in next month’s Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. Severe Weather Preparedness Week is Feb. 17-22, 2019, with the tax-free weekend being Feb. 22-24. Learn more at www.alabamaretail.org/resources/salestaxholidays/severe-weather-preparedness.
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