The Marion City Council approved two equipment bids for the wastewater treatment plant, renewed the city’s insurance premium financing and added two council members to the city’s line of credit at First Citizens Bank at its regular meeting Monday, Sept. 21, at City Hall.
Mayor Dexter Hinton also announced that the boil water notice issued after the Sept. 16 water main break had been lifted after test results came back that afternoon. The city had posted the notice on its Facebook page before the meeting.
Hinton thanked Lowe’s for donating the water distributed on Friday, Sept. 18, while the city repaired the main break and leaks through the weekend.
Councilwoman Ann Hereford LeCroy gave the invocation. Councilman Tommie Leon Kennie was absent, and City Attorney Ainka Sanders Jackson attended by Zoom.
Councilman Jeremy Arrington moved to approve the minutes of the July 20 and Aug. 3 meetings as presented. Councilman Stanley Kennie seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
No one attended the 5:45 p.m. public hearing, held before the meeting, on the placement of a mobile home at 102 Mason Street, Hinton reported. No motion was made to approve the request, and Councilman Willie Jackson moved to table it until the next meeting. Stanley Kennie seconded.
The first item of new business was renewal of the city’s premium finance agreement with IPFS Corporation of the South through the Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation. The total is $140,469, with a down payment of $14,046.90; the remaining $126,422.10, at an annual percentage rate of 16.459 percent with a finance charge of $8,827.38, would be paid in nine monthly installments of $15,027.72. The council approved the renewal on Arrington’s motion and Stanley Kennie’s second.
The council amended the agenda to take up equipment bids for the wastewater treatment plant and approved a bid of $429,913.31 from Jim House & Associates Inc. of Irondale for a sewer joint and a bid of $119,369.89 from Causey Underground Construction LLC of Greenville for headworks and pump installation.
Hinton told the council that all of the water funds from the city’s $2 million American Rescue Plan Act award have been obligated and that the Causey project will obligate the rest of the ARPA money. The bids cover equipment only, he said; labor will be paid with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds once reimbursements are available.
The council approved Resolution 2026.09.21.01 adding Stanley Kennie and LeCroy to the city’s line of credit at First Citizens Bank on Arrington’s motion and Jackson’s second.
Until then the mayor was the only member of the council on the line of credit. Stanley Kennie asked whether all the members present needed to sign the resolution; Hinton said they could, and that copies could be made before the signed resolution went to the bank. The city attorney said the council needed to sign it while in session to avoid violating the open meetings law, and the council signed it.
Hinton told the council that members registered for the Alabama-Tombigbee Regional Commission’s 56th annual meeting, Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Selma, would need the council to approve a fee of $35 per official for dinner at the event. The city attorney asked whether the council would also pay mileage; Hinton said the fee covered only the dinner. The council approved the fee on Arrington’s motion and Stanley Kennie’s second.
Hinton said department reports would be moved to the next meeting.
LeCroy asked whether the mayor’s report was the time to raise old business, and asked about repairs to Dogwood Lane and West Cornelia Street. Hinton said potholes were being patched but that tar and slag were still needed for lasting repairs.
LeCroy said some residents on Centreville Street were still reporting problems with water pressure, and asked how residents should report water outages and problems. Hinton said they should call City Hall so a work order can be issued to the water department.
On the leaks throughout the city’s water system, Hinton said, “They’re gonna get caught up. And then, when they get caught up we’re gonna have ten more leaks. So really, they never really get caught up.”
Hinton told LeCroy that citizens’ concerns should be brought to his office and that council meetings should pertain to city business.
The council discussed the need for a city department manager to oversee the water department and City Hall. Hinton suggested the council revisit the position when it sets the coming fiscal year’s budget. The council also voted to post an opening for municipal judge.
Stanley Kennie asked for a 10-minute executive session, and the city attorney asked for five minutes more. The council left the chambers for 15 minutes.
When it returned, LeCroy moved, and Jackson seconded, to give the council time to outline the expectations for the department manager’s position while it finalizes the budget.
Patsy Pagan told the council there is no clear process for disputing an incorrect water bill and asked why the minutes of the previous meeting had not been made public. Hinton said the minutes were being uploaded to the city’s website but that City Hall employees should give day-to-day operations priority.
Pagan asked the city attorney whether she would get a written response; the attorney said she would meet with City Clerk Laura Williams-Hinton to prepare one.
During public comment, Matthew Wilson asked the council for an itemized list for citizens of the money allocated to water and sewer projects, with the specifications for each item, and suggested the city publish a timeline for scheduled projects.
The council adjourned unanimously.
The next meeting is Monday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
