Happy New Year!

Hello friends, your Madison City Council and Mayor’s Office is off to a busy New Year! I have received my Departments and Liaisons for 2017. My Council appointments for City Departments are Police and Fire. I look forward to working with and supporting these two key departments to the best of my ability. As you know, we have an acting Police Chief (Major Jim Cooke) and an acting Fire Chief (Deputy Chief Brandy Williams). These two individuals are doing a fantastic job for their departments as we work to have permanent placements. We have received over 50 applications for Fire Chief and the Mayor’s Office is vetting the candidates for Council interviews. Both positions are still accepting resumes and applications online. I have no doubt that we will select the best candidate for both departments.

Mayor Finley’s Weekly Update for November 27 – December 3, 2016

Team,

What a busy and exciting week for our city.  As with most of you I truly enjoyed my Thanksgiving time and was ready to hit the ground running Monday.

Some highlights from the week are as follows:

• Revenue reports that we ended the month of November with general fund sales tax revenue up 17.85% over the same month last year.  While this does include one very positive anomaly we still would have been up about 11% without it!
• The Planning staff approved a 4,000 sq. ft. addition to Griffon Aerospace at 106 Commerce Circle. The addition will establish a modern, corporate lobby area for their company.
• Legal coordinated with MU, Engineering, and Public Works on our city fueling station project.  We are now in the process of getting everyone on the same page for the agreement, necessary permits, and bid process.
• Legal and Police attended a local drone meeting.  As you can imagine the legality and safety of drones are a hot topic in municipal law.
• IT fixed the Cable TV for Police. J Seriously, with the impending weather concerns earlier this week and our cable “acting up” IT went above and beyond to problem solve, eventually with great success.
• The gym floor at Dublin was refinished over Thanksgiving Break, just in time for recreation youth basketball games to start this week for boys and girls games from ages 7-18.
• Public Works assisted recreation to fix the kiln at the Senior Center.
• We now have over 120 entries for our Christmas Parade next weekend.  Parade starts at 5:30 Saturday night the 10^th.
• The Cabinet Software (archival software) demo for all interested departments was held Thursday and went rather well.  We plan on bringing this to council for a vote at the next council meeting.
• Court reports that we had two very large dockets this week with approximately 350 people on the dockets these last two days.
• HR is continuing to work on the Employee Luncheon scheduled for December 14^th.  Kelly Rolin has collected over 40 prizes for an employee drawing, and we are continuing to work on the program and other details.
• Taylor met with multiple land owners in Downtown Madison to work on securing the required easement for our Phase 3 project with great success.
• Our Economic Development team, led by Mary Beth, had a detailed meeting Thursday on a major destination spot project.  Our updated proposal will be sent early next week as we continue to work to secure this.
• I attended the Redstone Update this week.  Agencies that gave updates were NASA, Army Material Command, US Army Space and Missile Command, PEO Missiles and Space, PEO Aviation, ATF, and the FBI in addition to a keynote speech by AMC Commander General Perna.  The recent Republican win is looked upon extremely favorably by all agencies and both ATF and the FBI are in major expansion modes.  The FBI is scheduled to have over 5000 new job at Redstone during the next 10 years.
• I had strategic meetings with the following folks this week:
  • Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle
  • Decatur Mayor Tab Bolling
  • Athens Mayor Ronnie Boles
  • Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong
  • State Senator Bill Holzclaw
  • Madison County District 2 Commissioner Steve Haraway
  • Outgoing Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler
• Many of these discussions concerned the Limestone County School Tax Funding issue.  It sounds like very solid progress is being made in their mediation discussions.  We defined several areas/meetings that we will be focused on to support these efforts in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks again to all of you for your continued focus on our citizens and the improvement of their quality of life.

Have a great weekend!

Your Mayor,

Paul Finley

Weekly Update from mayor Finley for December 4 – 11, 2016

Madison City Team,

Hope everyone is staying warm today.  As is always the case we had a busy week throughout the city.  Here are a few high lights:

• I had the honor Tuesday of representing Madison at the Army Community Partnership Program Awards at the Pentagon in Washington DC.  Team Redstone was awarded one of only 5 national awards, each of which is given to communities who partnered with Army installations on mission capability improvements, cost savings, and/or infrastructure improvements.  The awards were given by Under Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy.
• Our Revenue Department mailed out approximately 5,700 business license renewals on Thursday as we get ready for license renewal time during late December and January.  Collecting this revenue means about $2.8 million to our top line revenue numbers.
• Multiple Departments worked with Taylor to obtain the return on investment information Council requested for the $30k appropriation to support the Dizzy Dean baseball tournament in July.  This information will be shared at the 12-12 council meeting by Councilman Seifert.
• Taylor continued to hold meetings with land owners associated with the Downtown Development Phase 3 project.
• Councilwoman Wroblewski and I met with Alex Riley of MadisonUp.  Alex continues to work on community improvement’s to the Wall Triana corridor between Gillespie and Eastview.  We came up with several next steps that we collectively will take to move some of the projects forward.
• We held two meetings with our new council members (2 in each meeting) to bring them up to speed on the Town Madison project.  While it may sound quiet now a lot of very positive actions are taking place.  January 2017 should start  the announcements for the first businesses that will land at both the east and west portions of the development.
• We continue to receive applications for our Fire Chief position. (25 total so far)
• Our Police Department had an incredibly busy yet successful week.  Unfortunately Christmas season brings an increase in burglaries.  The detective team has made multiple arrests in support of our citizens and businesses in a very timely manner.
• THANK YOU to all city personnel who have put in countless hours to make tomorrow night’s Christmas parade a success.  The parade starts at 5:30 and culminates in Historic Downtown.
• Our Fire Department responded to a fire at Austin’s Furniture on Madison Blvd. Cause is under investigation but everything is a total loss.
• Also, our Fire Department held a simulated Christmas tree burn yesterday.  Everything went very well with this and local media was present.  This is a very positive community service and much appreciated!
• Multiple Police, Fire, and City personnel will join me tomorrow in participating in the “Shop with a Hero” event at the Madison Wal Mart.
• HR is working diligently on our annual City Employee Luncheon next Wednesday.  I hope everyone has signed up to attend.

I know there are events/actions that I am missing but please know how much we (Mayor/Council) appreciate your actions.  My ratio of positive/negative comments this week was 7-1….I will take that every time.  Thanks to all of our employees for your efforts.

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Mayor Finley

Weekly Update from Mayor Finley for December 12-19, 2016   

Good Afternoon Madison Team,

Wow….2016 is almost in the books.  Time sure flies when you are busy and having fun!

Our week between Christmas and New Year’s still had plenty going on.  Here are just a few of the highlights:

• A very “low-light” was the senseless murder that happened Monday at Sonic, Madison’s first of the year.  The highlight was our incredible Madison Police Department team which from first call through press conference worked together to quickly (within 12 hours) apprehend the suspects.  Twice during my call to the victim’s mother she complimented their actions, thanking them for helping her family bring closure to one part of their nightmare.
• We installed a new flag light at the entrance to the City of Madison sign on Hughes Road to illuminate the American Flag 24/7. The electrician also replaced the 4 sign lights to match because of electrical issues the current lights had. They were arcing and had insufficient grounds to possibly cause tripping of breakers.  We are now legal and brighter!!
• We continued our neighborhood paving project with Public Works paving Cedar Acres Drive.
• Through Thursday of this week Revenue renewed 195 licenses were resulting in approximately $47,000.00 of Revenue.
• Finance met with representation from Cabinet Archival Software – setup is approaching completion and they will start uploading archive files to archive web-site.
• Via a request from the Finance Committee Finance will bring three updated/new policies (Travel & Training, Cell Phone, and Purchasing/Credit Card) to Council for approval at the January 9, 2017 meeting.
• IT completed the New World System upgrade Tuesday with strong success.  Thanks to Jason and his team for working with departments to minimize the inconvenience.
• Our Police Officers distributed Secret Santa gift cards on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which were donated by an anonymous Madison resident.
• I started my Department Head meetings this week, meeting with Fire, Public Works, IT, Recreation, Engineering, Revenue, and Legal.
• I enjoyed a very positive meeting with John Olshefski of Huntsville Utilities.  Multiple areas including water, fiber, smart meters, and franchise fees were discussed with more detailed follow up meetings scheduled for next year.
• Taylor continued working on our Downtown Phase 3 project.  Along with Councilman Powell and others he is working to secure the needed right-of-way and making some substantial progress.
• We received good news from Fresh Market.  Their Madison store on Highway 72 is “back on track” and should be up in going sometime in 2017.

As I close for the week (and year) I wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year.  2017 promises to be one of the best and busiest Madison has seen….looking forward to supporting our community with you!

War Eagle, Roll Tide, and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Mayor Paul Finley

Christmas Message from Mayor Finley for December 19 – 25, 2016

Happy Friday Morning,

In lieu of my normal weekly message I am pleased to say that beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Friday December 23rd, Department Heads may authorize up to two (2) hours of administrative leave for employees to allow some offices to close operations at 2:00 p.m.  This leave is to be granted only to those employees actively working on Wednesday.  All other employees who are already on leave or are scheduled to take time off during this closure period will utilize their already approved leave as planned (or sick leave if the employee is sick).

Department Heads are to use discretion in granting this administrative leave, such that public safety and essential City functions are not compromised.  Essential functions will primarily include Police and Fire Departments, and any other positions Department Heads feel are essential to work during this time.  Any leave time granted will be solely up to the Department Head.

Please be safe in your Christmas travels and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Your Mayor,

Paul Finley

Weekly Message from Mayor Finley for December 16 – 31

Good Afternoon Madison Team,

Wow….2016 is almost in the books.  Time sure flies when you are busy and having fun!

Our week between Christmas and New Year’s still had plenty going on.  Here are just a few of the highlights:

• A very “low-light” was the senseless murder that happened Monday at Sonic, Madison’s first of the year.  The highlight was our incredible Madison Police Department team which from first call through press conference worked together to quickly (within 12 hours) apprehend the suspects.  Twice during my call to the victim’s mother she complimented their actions, thanking them for helping her family bring closure to one part of their nightmare.
• We installed a new flag light at the entrance to the City of Madison sign on Hughes Road to illuminate the American Flag 24/7. The electrician also replaced the 4 sign lights to match because of electrical issues the current lights had. They were arcing and had insufficient grounds to possibly cause tripping of breakers.  We are now legal and brighter!!
• We continued our neighborhood paving project with Public Works paving Cedar Acres Drive.
• Through Thursday of this week Revenue renewed 195 licenses were resulting in approximately $47,000.00 of Revenue.
• Finance met with representation from Cabinet Archival Software – setup is approaching completion and they will start uploading archive files to archive web-site.
• Via a request from the Finance Committee Finance will bring three updated/new policies (Travel & Training, Cell Phone, and Purchasing/Credit Card) to Council for approval at the January 9, 2017 meeting.
• IT completed the New World System upgrade Tuesday with strong success.  Thanks to Jason and his team for working with departments to minimize the inconvenience.
• Our Police Officers distributed Secret Santa gift cards on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which were donated by an anonymous Madison resident.
• I started my Department Head meetings this week, meeting with Fire, Public Works, IT, Recreation, Engineering, Revenue, and Legal.
• I enjoyed a very positive meeting with John Olshefski of Huntsville Utilities.  Multiple areas including water, fiber, smart meters, and franchise fees were discussed with more detailed follow up meetings scheduled for next year.
• Taylor continued working on our Downtown Phase 3 project.  Along with Councilman Powell and others he is working to secure the needed right-of-way and making some substantial progress.
• We received good news from Fresh Market.  Their Madison store on Highway 72 is “back on track” and should be up in going sometime in 2017.

As I close for the week (and year) I wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year.  2017 promises to be one of the best and busiest Madison has seen….looking forward to supporting our community with you!

War Eagle, Roll Tide, and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Mayor Paul Finley

Appointments

I was also selected to be on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce, Madison City Disability Advisory Board, Madison Animal Rescue Foundation and the Human Resource Committee. I am very grateful to Council President Tommy Overcash for these assignments as I believe I can positively contribute to them.

The Police Department was blessed to receive a donation of $1,000 from a Madison resident. The Department put this gift to good use by buying gift cards and blessing Madison residents during routine patrols on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I am thankful to live in a community with such generous and humanitarian residents. It is a wonderful blessing to both be blessed and be able to bless others.

I was invited to attend both the Bridgefield and Park Meadow Home Owner’s Association’s annual meetings. I enjoyed meeting the residents and hearing their questions and concerns. Thank you also for allowing me to post information about District 1 on your Facebook pages. I am also able to do this for the Walden, Oakstone, Mill Creek Crossing, Franklin Station, Plantation Pointe, Windsor Parke and Chapel Hill Facebook pages. One of my priorities is effective and timely communication and I am grateful to these neighborhoods for giving me this access.

Both Fresh Market and the Movie Theater are back on track for opening in 2017. We look forward to welcoming both to the Madison family of businesses. Speaking of which, are you familiar with the Find More Madison program? Madison city lines can often be confusing as to what is a Madison business and what is not. You can read more about it this program here:Find More Madison

One of the requests that several of us on Council have received from our constituents is regarding the multitude of signs that are scattered along our roadways. There are Realtor, yard sale, stump and tree removal, furniture and employment signs just to name a few. We do have a sign ordinance in Madison that there are not to be signs on the right of way is they are a distraction to the driver and defeat our Beautification of Madison program. We are removing the signs and contacting the businesses letting them know where and when they can place their signs. For example, Realtors may have a sign outside a subdivision beginning Friday for the weekend. They are to be picked up on Monday. Thank you for your patience as we work to “Keep Madison Beautiful”.

On Friday, January 20th the Mayor and City Council had a joint work session/retreat. It was a very productive four-hour meeting where new Council Members had the opportunity to hear from several Departments about key development projects that they were working on. My thanks to the Mayor’s, City Clerk’s Offices and Department Heads for coordinating this very informative event.

On Monday, January 23rd Council approved the Engineering Department’s request to add a traffic light at the intersection of Hughes Road and Gooch Lane. I will keep you updated on the progress. The County Line Road project has had its final inspection. There is a punch list to be addressed and when completed, the barrels will be removed and the speed limit will return to 50 mph. Until then this area is an active construction zone and I urge caution as these last few details are finished and it passes final inspection and is released back to the City. Coefer Road that runs from Plaza Road just north of the County Extension Office is now open and should make traffic from Hughes Road to Kroger easier to travel. Work continues on the Hughes Road overpass. On January 9th Engineering and Public Works announced a 90 day time frame for completion so the expected completion date is April 9th. This project is weather dependent.

On January 26th the Madison Board of Education approved Mr. Robby Parker as our third Superintendent in Madison City School history. I am thrilled with Mr. Parker’s selection as I believe he is the heartbeat of our school system. I know this is a ministry for him and he will be a blessing to many. Our school system projected growth has consistently been 20% per year so that is an addition of approximately 2,000 students in the 10 years. The BOE believes it will need two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school within the next ten to twelve years. As Council we will work to support the crown jewel of our city, our school system.

On January 27th Ron and I and about 800 friends attended the Madison Chamber of Commerce Connect 2017 event at the Space and Rocket Center. We were able to hear Mayor Finley’s current State of our City address but also his vision for the next four years. I am excited for what the future holds for our City and I strongly believe that our Mayor and Council will continue to work hard and bring continued success to our community.

On February 2nd I will attend Orientation for EMA (Emergency Management Agency) training. I am looking forward to learning about the department and what my role would be to help in an emergency. My thanks to the Huntsville-Madison County EMA office for providing this instruction.

On February 21st I will be attending, along with Council Member Seifert, the League’s Annual Municipal Legislative Advocacy CMO (Certified Municipal Official) Program in Montgomery. I look forward to learning about Legislative Channels and Opportunities, Legislative Leadership and Session Outlook and Municipal Officials Grassroots Strategy. I am sure we will come away with a lot of useful information as our Legislature heads back into session.

My congratulations to Doctors David and Michele Parker as they are our 2017 Family of the Year. They are truly an inspirational family and will represent us all very well in the coming year. You can read more about them as well as the other finalists, the Allison and Lien Families here: Family of the Year

Congratulations to the Parker’s and all who were both nominated and were finalists!

We continue to do the exploratory work in investigating the need of a new Animal Shelter for Madison. Our current shelter is to the north of City hall in a small cement building. We have a committee that is investigating the location and cost to have a more full service animal shelter with office space for Madison Animal Control and better facilities for our lost and abandon cats and dogs. I will keep you updated on our progress.

On a personal note Ron, Sarah and I had the opportunity to go and visit our son Zach who is teaching in Slovakia this school year. We had a wonderful week together seeing the sights of Munich and Vienna. Zach is writing a blog and so here is a shameless plug for it: Slovakia Stories-A Fulbright in Krompachy

It was great to see him but best of all was just the four of us being together again! I wish you and your family a very Healthy and Happy New Year! As always if you have any questions or concerns I can be reached at Email Maura. or 256.337.2408. Thank you for your continued support!