COLONY, Ala. – The Colony Town Council did not hold a formal meeting Tuesday, but still had two big items on the agenda for its work session. Mayor Donnis Leeth and council members hope to see an increase in the number of Colony residents responding to the 2020 Census and want to revamp the Town’s approach to contracting with outside providers for repairs and other services.
Census 2020
Councilman Melvin Hammond presented for review a first draft of a flier that will be mailed out to Colony residents to encourage census participation. The flier, which will be mailed out after finalization and council approval, emphasizes the relationship of the numbers included in the census report to federal and state funding for things like road repairs, mowing and weeding of public thoroughfares, repairs to Town facilities and reduction of Town debts.
Residents, who can respond to the census online but have not done so, are called on to fill out and mail in census forms if they receive them in the mail. They can also contact any member of the town council for personal assistance.
Leeth reported that he has received a laptop computer to use for the census, and that he and Councilwoman Ethel Alexander will be making door to door visits this Saturday to help residents complete the census in their own homes.
Updated service contracts
Hammond also presented a draft of a service contract that will, once finalized, become the standard contract for repairs to Town facilities and other services for which the Town must hire an outside service provider. Hammond and Leeth pointed out issues with previous providers, including asking for partial payment up front then not completing work, as well as taking on other jobs while working on a project in Colony and not showing up to work for extended periods of time, leading to jobs not being completed in a timely manner.
Under the updated contract:
- Contractors and the Town will agree on a set time for completion of the job. If the job is not finished within that time, the contractor will forfeit 5% of the final payment per day. In the council discussion, the need was presented for allowances to be made for work shutdowns caused by bad weather.
- The contractor will be responsible for up-front material/equipment costs and any cost overrides, as well as personal injury and property damage resulting from his/her activities or those of the contractor’s employees. Payment will be made by the Town at the completion of the job, after an inspection has been completed.
Other discussion topics
- The library water system needs to be repaired.
- Timber needs to be cut behind town hall and the Educational Complex.
- Hammond located a source from which the Town can purchase gravel for local road repair for $150 per load.
- Hammond and Alexander discussed the possibility that the Town’s summer children’s program may have to be canceled this year due to health concerns.
- Leeth reported that the Town’s food pantry is currently doing well, due to recent arrivals of items from the Food Bank of North Alabama and the North Alabama Agriplex.
- Due to soil damage near the gym caused by four-wheelers, the Town may ban vehicles from the area behind the building.
- Leeth said that he has not decided if he will run for reelection this year, but he did say that if he does, he will make bringing a Jack’s to Colony a major goal of his next term.
The Colony Town Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays at Colony Town Hall, work session at 5 p.m. with meeting following. The public is invited to attend.
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