Main Avenue paving greenlit for summer

Benjamin Bullard, The Cullman Times, Ala.
·3 min read

Apr. 14—City leaders say it's been a long time coming, but the drive on one of Cullman's busiest roadways is about to get a whole smoother — and just in time for new development.

The Cullman City Council agreed this week to sign on with ALDOT for a funding and construction agreement that will repave West Main Avenue SW, from its intersection at U.S. Highway 278 all the way to its southern terminus at Alabama Highway 69. Construction on the project, which follows the recent Main Avenue repaving project that covered the road's northern portion to U.S. Highway 31, is expected to begin this summer.

"This is something that we've been working on for months and months," said mayor Woody Jacobs. "We've been trying to get the funding and all the details worked out. With the help of Senator Garlan Gudger, highway director Mr. [John] Cooper, the governor, and our other local reps, we're finally ready. Early this summer, construction will begin on rehabilitating and resurfacing that roadway, and that is a big, big deal."

Costs are being covered entirely through state transportation funds, leaving the city with no financial obligation toward the project. The resurfacing comes just ahead of significant municipal development in the area, with the city set to begin new construction on a planned civic complex, as well as a swimming area expansion at the Cullman Wellness & Aquatic Center.

In other business at its regular meeting, the council:

* Approved a special event request for the Strawberry Festival to be held May 1 in the city's special events district.

* Approved a special event request from Tommie Sanders of Wellstone Cullman for a De-stress Fest, to be held at Depot Park on May 15 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

* Approved a special event request from Andrew Spratlin of the United States Army for a block party and food truck rally with Army aviation simulators, the Army Band, and a DJ, to be held in the vacant parking lot behind Buffalo Wild Wings on June 4 and 5, from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. each day.

* Approved a special event request for the 2021 AHSAA state track meet to be held at Cullman High School from April 30 through May 1.

* Approved the minutes from the March 22 regular council meeting, as well as the April 1 specially-called meeting.

* Awarded a sewer pipe bid to low bidder Consolidated Pipe & Supply Co., in the amount of $47,424.

* Entered into an agreement with Computer Network, Inc. for professional billing services and software intended to streamline water and sewer billing, while introducing online and remotely-scheduled payments for customers.

* Adopted a resolution to accept the streets in "The Flatts" of the Fischer Farms subdivision into the city maintenance system.

* Adopted standards for the construction of sanitary sewer systems, a needed measure, according to council president Jenny Folsom, ahead of future development.

* Adopted similar standards for the construction of water distribution systems.

* Amended the city's public records request policy to include, set guidelines, and provide a fee schedule for the records request process relating to municipal court records. The change does not affect current guidelines relating to administrative public records requests.

* Approved a change order for Pipeworks Plus, Inc. in the amount of $16,150 to improve sanitary sewer cleanouts, following a bidding oversight that left the procedure out of the initial bid.

* Held a first ordinance reading, and subsequently suspended the rules of procedure to vote on and approve, the 2021 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday set for July 16 through July 18.

* Approved audited financial statements for fiscal year 2020.

* Amended a position control detail in order to create a Clerk II employment position for the city sanitation department.