The Sneads town council held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 6 p.m. central.
Following approval of the minutes from the February meeting and the paying of the town bills, Council President Mike Weeks and Town Manager Lee Garner asked outgoing Chief of Police Michael Miller to come forward.
Miller, who will be leaving his position in Sneads on March 28 to accept his new role as Chief of Police in nearby Chattahoochee, was presented with a plaque from the town in appreciation of his service, which began on December 11, 2018.
Chief Miller stood in the council chamber, flanked by Weeks and Garner, as the town manager read from the plaque.
“Chief Miller has reflected great tenacity during turbulent times with the town, and has led the Sneads Police Department with distinction during his tenure as police chief, and it is with a great deal of regret that we say farewell to Chief Miller, and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.”
New candidates for the chief of police position may apply until March 24, after which applications will be reviewed and recommendations made to the council.
The town manager recommended that Sgt. Brett Preston served as interim police chief, to which Preston agreed and the council approved.
The next item on the agenda was a proposal to change the date of next month’s council meeting from Tuesday, April 11 due to the town election scheduled for the same date.
The council voted unanimously to change the meeting date to Thursday, April 13 at 6 p.m.
The council then considered a request to ratify a one year extension of the town’s agreement with Sunrise Consulting, which was approved unanimously.
Next, the council discussed authorizing a four month agreement with SteepSteel Inc. to look for possible ways to monetize income from leasing the T-Mobile facility located at the town’s water tank, at no cost or obligation to the town.
After some discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the agreement.
The council also voted to surplus and auction several older police vehicles.
The initial proposal was to sell all of the vehicles to a single junk dealer, but after discussing the matter the council elected to auction the vehicles individually, with minimum bids of $700 on cars and $1,000 on a bus.
Approval was then given by the council for engineering consultants Baskerville Donovan Inc. to design a new boat ramp and floating docks at Sneads Park.
Two resolutions were discussed and approved by the council.
Resolution 23-02 allowed application to the Florida Department of Transportation for a grant to make renovations on Pope Street.
Resolution 23-03 will increase water and sewer rates by 10 percent, beginning with the April 2023 billing cycle.
Stephen Klein – Gadsden County News Service
