Thornton officially named interim Athens fire chief

Dec. 16--Bryan Thornton has been officially appointed interim fire chief of Athens Fire & Rescue.

Athens City Council members made the decision during their regular meeting Monday. Thornton, a 20-year firefighter and the city's deputy fire chief, has been serving as an interim chief since Chief Tony Kirk retired in July.

The council's action officially makes Thornton interim chief, which also means a pay raise for him.

Council members decided to wait to hire a new fire chief until after a new City Council takes office next November. Under state law, a city's fire chief, as well as some other city department heads, serve at the will of its council. That means the council has to approve their employment each year. The current council decided to delay hiring a fire chief until after a new council is elected and takes office in 2016. Doing otherwise could result in a newly hired fire chief being rejected by a newly elected council after serving only a year.

Mayor Ronnie Marks, who praised Thornton, said he is stationed at Fire Station 1 instead of at the temporary city hall on Wilkinson Street, which is where Kirk had been stationed. The mayor said this has improved morale among firefighters because the chief is right there with firefighters in case they have questions or concerns.

Other action

Also Monday, council members took the following action:

--Agreed to pay $44 in travel expenses for the Electric Department;

--Agreed to pay $40,000 to Dixie Waste LLC for a 2007 John Deere backhoe for the Street Department;

--Set a public hearing for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 25, 2016, to hear comments on a request to vacate a public alley between Sanders and Horton streets. The Healthcare Authority of Athens and Limestone County, which owns all abutting property, made the request so it could expand the parking lot at Athens-Limestone Hospital;

--Approved fiscal 2015 budget amendments, including $450,000 from the special revenue fund to cover retiree health insurance; $600,000 from the capital expenditures fund; $102,750 from the capital projects fund to cover two projects -- $50,000 for the new All Kids Inclusive Playground at the Kids Dugout at the Sportsplex and $52,750 for the city's share to obtain the TAP grant for downtown improvements. The above expenses will come from the budget surplus;

--Approved appropriations for various governmental agencies, including $130,000 for the Athens-Limestone Public Library plus up to $2,000 more for maintenance, and $16,000 for the Houston Memorial Library and Museum for operating expenses plus up to $10,000 more for maintenance;

--Approved appropriations for nongovernmental agencies, including $20,000 for the Healthcare Authority of Athens and Limestone County to cover transportation for kidney dialysis patients in the community, and $13,000 for the Limestone County Commission for the Cowford campground;

--Approved appropriations for nongovernmental agencies, including $10,000 for Limestone County Council on Aging, $5,000 for SNIP spay and neuter program, $10,000 for Boys & Girls Club of Limestone County, $87,000 for tourism, $23,000 for Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful, $18,000 for Family Resource Center, $5,000 for the Beautification Board, $8,000 for Athens-Limestone ARC, $10,000 for Learn to Read Council, $25,000 for Spirit of Athens, $6,000 for Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives, $10,000 for Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama, $48,000 for Athens Recycling Center, and $10,000 Child Advocacy Center;

--Approved appropriations for nongovernmental entities, including $10,000 for Athens-Limestone Community Association and $2,500 for RSVP;

--Approved spending $228,953 to hire Grayson Carter and Son Contracting to extend sanitary sewer to Cast Products Inc. Marks said the company had sewage on the ground and that extending sewer line saved it from having to move elsewhere, which would have put 150 people out of work;

--Approved a $62,940 contract with J.A. Dawson & Co. Inc. to build the All Kids Inclusive Playground at Kids Dugout;

--Agreed to spend $4,750 in gasoline tax money to stripe Nick Davis Road from Mooresville Road to Briarwood Drive. Councilman Joseph Cannon questioned why the city would stripe the road now when it will be paved in less than a year. Public Works Director James Rich said existing striping is a safety issue. Council President Wayne Harper said he recently drove the route and confirmed it was very dark and the striping was not visible. Rich said the city will buy the two- to three-year striping paint for this task because the state will use very durable 10- to 12-year "thermoplastic" material when it stripes following the paving project;

--Agreed to pay Shannon Brothers $58,250 for tile and materials for the new city hall;

--Agreed to pay Morell Engineering $15,000 to engineer intersection improvements at U.S. 31 and Alabama 251. The matter would have to come back before the council before improvements could begin;

--Approved an amendment to the power supply contract between the Tennessee Valley Authority and the city of Athens, increasing from five to 15 years the termination notice;

--Approved the demolition of a dilapidated house at 714 Westview St.; and

--Approved the purchase of walk-off entrance pads for the new city hall. The pads remove particulates from shoes and objects entering a building.

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