Daniel Prince
City authorized to acquire easements for Carlisle wastewater project
In other news from Tuesday’s Union City Council meeting, council approved first reading of an ordinance pertaining to an annexation and zoning request for property at 320 Buffalo-West Springs Highway. The 5.18-acre property is across the road from the far end of the Walmart shopping center. The owners are asking for the property to be annexed into the city and be granted A-2 Highway Commercial zoning. The owner plans to sell the property for future construction of a retail business. Council voted unanimously to approve first reading of the request.
Council also voted unanimously on a resolution to acquire easements for the Union/Carlisle sewer project. The city is looking to purchase two easements and a parcel of land through purchase, while a third easement will be acquired through condemnation. Two of the easements are on Janie Glymph Goree Boulevard, while the third is on English Avenue. The property is on Santuc-Carlisle Highway. Compensation amounts range from $451 to $2000, based on the size of the land. The acquisitions will help allow for the construction and installation of new force mains and pump stations for the Union/Carlisle sewer project.
City Council unanimously agreed to revisions made to the City of Union’s Personnel Policy Manual. The manual was reviewed by Labor Attorney Kevin Sturm, and his recommendations and comments were incorporated in the document. Changes were made to the disclaimer, equal employment opportunity, affirmative action policy, anti-harassment policy, overtime compensation, meal allowance under general operating procedures, and harassment report form. Also, the word “Mayor” was changed to “City Administrator” throughout the manual.
The council reappointed Bobby Joe Gibbs and Lynn Eaves to the Planning Commission. They also voted to appoint Sonja Craig, a former city council member, to the Planning Commission. Stacy “Hutch” Hall also applied for another term on the commission, but he did not receive enough votes to retain his seat on the commission.
Council approved McKinley, Cooper and Co., LLC, to prepare the city’s financial statements and provide audit services for the next three fiscal years. The cost is $34,000 a year for three years. The only other bid received was by Mauldin and Jenkins, whose fees went up from $40,000 in 2023 to $46,000 in 2025.
We’ll have a couple more highlights from the meeting in tomorrow’s news.