[AngelWing]

Ok guys, I had nice long chat with Mayor Williamson today and we went over a long list of questions, some of mine and mostly those from some of you. I found out a lot of things I didn't know about on how tough a job a new mayor has when taking over the position from a long running mayor. Let's just say things weren't handled as efficiently as they could been while Caldwell was in office.

Here is summation of the questions and answers we came up with:

Question:
What ever happened to the rifle range project?

Cecil said the biggest problem they've come against with this is finding and obtaining a location where it would be completely safe to shoot different kinds of firearms. It has to be completely isolated since ammo can travel for great distances if it misses it's target or ricochets off.
Even if the land was donated the city would still have to maintain insurance on it and hire someone to be there during open hours due to liability. It is still on the agenda but not at the top of the list of things to get done.

Question:
Why does it seem that ALL major decisions from the mayor tend to happen in executive session?

Cecil was really taken back by this as she doesn't recall any major decisions that have been made in executive session pointing out that it is illegal to do so. She said the executive session is strictly for dealing with personnel issues. She said if someone feels this is not the case for them to please email her with more specific cases that she can reply on.

Question:
What are the plans for the Rosenbush Building?

The Rosenbush building is on hold at the present due to cost of fixing it up. She said insurance and maintanence for the buildings are high and at the moment the primary concern is for the building for the police and fire department to be finished. She said the facility where they are housed at the present is horrible and it upsets her to no end. She has been working hard at getting the necessary funding to complete the building so they can get moved in.

Question:
What is the status of the HWY 43 4 lane project?

She said she has been hounding the state officials over this weekly to get this started. The first priority was finishing the hwy 80 4 laning and since that is pretty much in the can she is hoping that they will start soon on the hwy 43 and get it to come through Demopolis and not Greensboro which is a possibility.

Question:
What is the possibility of putting in an activity center or YMCA in the area?

She said she has looked into getting a YMCA but their requirements are such that we don't have enough population for them to build it and even if we did the starting cost is up around a million dollars, that is same with a bowling alley. It is hopeful that once the walmart supercenter is built that more businesses will be attracted to area and with it more recreational type attractions as well.

Question:
What is her view on the Arch Street Project?

She said she has not made up her mind as yet on this but has been studying every piece of information that has come in concerning it and is asking for those who have an opinion on it to please email her and she will also forward them to the council members for the next meeting. I gave her my ideas on it while I was there.

Question:
Is Jeff Manuel going to continue as Acting Police chief and also Public Safety Director.

The answer is yes. As long as Jeff is willing to take on both positions they feel he is doing a great job and is saving the city the yearly salary needed to hire a separate position.


Question:
What is Demopolis doing or planning to do to bring young professionals back to the community after they finish their degree?

The city has started an entrepreneur class for learning how to develop businesses. They are constantly talking with companies to locate in our area and applying for grants for city developement. A big concern is also the downtown area. She is trying to get funding to create a committee that will travel to other small towns that have done well with revitalizing their downtown areas to get ideas and info that can be brought back and discussed for our town. (This I'm all for!)

Question:
Why is the city license for a home builder so much higher than Linden, $25 versus $125?

Cecil said she did not know about license fees and suggested the person talk with the Probate office or License bureau that issues the License for that information.


Question:
Why doesn't the mayor get on this website where we would facilitate a Q&A section?

Cecil said she would consider doing a Question and Answer section, possibly once a week but only if the questions were posted to her on a pm basis with the actual name of the person asking the question. She said she didn't feel comfortable talking with people about matters and she not knowing who she was talking with. She did say what she is wanting to do is have a possible monthly get together with the media, DemopolisLive included, over lunch for a question and answer session. She wants to be open to everyone and prefers to sit down face to face and discuss whatever is on their minds.

I really enjoyed my talk with Cecil and feel she is doing everything humanly possible to do a good and responsible job as Mayor. I hope you all will give her chance. Instead of bad mouthing her on issues, contact her yourself and talk with her about it. There are a lot of issues concerning different aspects of the projects in question that you need to know before passing judgement one way or another. Email city hall with your concerns and you will hear back.