October 2020

Happy Fall Friends!

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this fall weather. It’s good to feel the crispness in the air.

Halloween

Here’s a message from the Mayor’s Office with regard to Halloween:

For Madison residents with regard to Halloween this year from the Mayor’s Office: “Halloween is and always has been an individual decision. Parents can determine if they want to take their kids…..home owners can determine if they want to participate in handing out candy. Groups or churches can determine if they will hold Halloween events. The city will NOT be holding any events this year for Halloween, taking the side of extra precaution during the pandemic.

Can’t wait until we get through this and our community can get back 100% to its incredible quality of life.”While many may be disappointed there is no Trunk or Treat at Dublin this year I believe this is a good, sound decision in the best interest of our community. Better to be disappointed than sick with Covid. Stay safe!

Mayor Finley’s Weekly Updates

September 28 to October 11

Team,

Hope everyone survived the rain and higher winds throughout the weekend…..sure seemed bearable after our last two beautiful weekends.

A lot has occurred since my last message, here are just a few of the high lights;

·        Our City Council passed our FY2021 budget. I am very proud that it again included a step increase for our employees. City hall never closed during the Covid pandemic and we continued to offer a high quality of service during this tough time.

·        City Council also passed our updated CIP which added the two ATRIP projects at 565/Wall Triana and the final paving of Town Madison Blvd.

·        City Council also passed an updated Inmate Insurance rider that adds catastrophic insurance coverage for Inmates who have serious problems while in our care. Thanks to Cheri Martin and Megan Zingarelli for staying on this as we looked to make sure our city was properly covered.

·        Revenue reports that total sales tax collections for the month of September, 2020 were up 12.69% over collections for the month of September, 2019 and our year to date collections were up 13.08% over the same period last fiscal year. The loss of Publix on Highway 72 to Clift Farm will significantly impact this next year but FY2020 was a banner year.

·        Public Works had busy weeks, servicing our city with actions that included tree removal, ditch cleaning, sidewalk repair, trench failure repair, guard rail replacement, and multiple other “verbs” that continue to positively take care of our city.

·        We don’t give our City Hall facility crew Carl, Wanda Faye, Brooke, and Marvin enough recognition for what they do every day to keep us in a clean working environment, so please thank them when they come around.

·        Elise Kirkland retired after 43 years of service with the City of Madison.  Elise was recognized at the City Council meeting on Monday and we thank her for her wonderful service to our city.

·        The date has changed for the installation of the Air Supported Structure over the outdoor pool in Dublin Park.  The installation will now take place the week of October 12 instead of October 5, 2020.   Arizon communicated they are not available the week of October 5 as previously agreed upon.

·        Our recreation staff added benches, bins, trees, flowers, signs, etc. to the Bradford Creek Trailhead this week. Signage and dog waste stations will be added soon.  

·        Finance reports that ACH vendor payments went from zero vendors to 87 vendors requesting ACH electronic payments in five months.

·        Public Works also reports that as of 10-9 they are down to only 38 open service requests, many of which are waiting for parts and/or material. This is our lowest number in years!!

·        Building reports that they created 153 permits, issued 140, and performed 306 inspections during the two weeks.

·        Court opened 122 cases, closed 197, and issued 32 warrants during the two weeks.

·        Fire reports that they responded to 205 incidents, 140 of which were EMS related, during the two weeks.

·        MPD Command Staff and 1st Shift Officers participated in the “Coffee with a Cop” event hosted by Twice Daily

·        MPD reports that they responded to 2074 incidents during the two weeks.

·        Our City Clerk’s office helped conduct the District 2 runoff election. Madison will now have three new council members (Karen Denzine, Ranae Bartlett, and Connie Spears) that will be sworn in Monday November 2nd.

·        Multiple folks led by Kim Lindsey and Samantha Magnuson redid the Mayor’s Conference room, Council Chambers, and added new pictures down our hallway. It all looks great and represents Madison well.

Thanks again to our fantastic City Hall team for everything you do for our citizens and community. Let’s have a great week!

Respectively,

Mayor Finley

October 12 – 30

Team,

Hope everyone had a safe, socially distanced Halloween. It truly was enjoyable seeing our kids in their costumes smiling and the neighborhood “buzzing with excitement.”

A lot has gone on in the past few weeks….here are some of the high lights;

·        Our recreation team at Palmer Park received huge “kudos” for their preparation and support of a major high school cross country meet.

·        Building reports they created 272 permits, issued 280, and completed 429 inspections during the last three weeks.

·        Court reports they opened 97 cases, closed 174, and issued 118 warrants during the last three weeks.

·        Court also passed along that their total cases last year dropped 15% but disposed (closed) cases decreased only 10%. In addition innovative implementations like our online driving school and primary defendant communication via texting had improved efficiency.

·        In reading through the weekly reports I saw where MPD donated a large quantity of new blankets/sleepers to NICU at Huntsville Hospital. Nice job gang!

·        MPD Officers along with public works and recreation employees, provided traffic control for the James Clemens and Bob Jones Homecoming Parades with no issues to report.

·        K-9 Officer Elam Wallace was selected for the Partnership for a Drug Free Community 2020 Law Enforcement Appreciation Award.  Chief Jernigan and  Officer Taylor-Duncan attended the virtual Partnership for Drug Free Community Board meeting where Officer Wallace received his award.

·        Chief Jernigan conducted a tour of the Police Department and 911 Center for our new Council Members

·        MPD’s Drug Take Back Event last Saturday was successful in collecting 580 pounds of meds from 224 vehicles, all while there was a driving rain.

·        We continue to improve our Downtown WirelessWe have swapped out all of the wireless equipment downtown with equipment that should allow greater range and speeds.  We have some adjusting to do, but this projects is complete for the most part.

·        Our Madison Fire & Rescue team is preparing to transition from the 3rd grade workbook to video format for classroom delivery of Fire Safety due to Covid. Great to see we adjusted to make sure we continued early education for our kids.

·        Madison Police responded to 2920 calls for service during the three weeks while Madison Fire had 275 responses of which 195 were EMS incidents.

·        Our City Prosecutor worked 349 City Court cases and 11 Circuit Court cases during the three weeks.

·        Commercial development is progressing in Town Madison.  A four tenant building is under construction at the corner of Zierdt and Town Madison Blvd; site work for Outback and J. Alexander’s is underway; the City has approved the improvement plans for the first two tenants in the neighborhood commercial center opposite the ballpark; and all of the parcels along Zierdt Rd are now spoken for.  Expect additional restaurant announcements in the next few months!

·        The City has approved the site plan for a new Alabama Credit Union on County Line Road, south of Palmer and looks forward to the grand opening of Filthy Gorgeous on Main, a new women’s clothing boutique opening on Main Street later this month.

·        Our Public Works team completed their parking lot project at Toyota Field.  Paving was completed on “the square” and the short term overflow gravel lot was also completed. Our crew now returns to the Mill Creek Greenway extension project.

·        Thanks also to our Public Works crews for their support of the storms which came through this week. Heavy rains and high winds mean they were cleaning out ditches, cutting downed trees and limbs, and multiple other duties which help our city greatly.

·        The Madison Station Historical Preservation Society informed the City of Madison that under our partnership agreement they are beginning critically needed restoration activities to the Roundhouse on the Village Green. Through the organization’s membership and private, and public contribution, the Society has raised funds sufficient to achieve substantial progress for vital repairs as well as exterior aesthetics, which will focus on the structure and appearance.

·        At Monday night’s Council meeting we said goodbye to 32 years of City Council experience. Tommy Overcash (District 5, 16 years), Steve Smith (District 2, 8 years), and Gerald Clark (District 6, 8 years) have made an incredibly positive impact for our community and we were proud to thank them for their service!

As we now move into November (crazy talk I know) let’s all continue to stay focused on helping our community in every aspect we can.

Lastly, if you haven’t already please vote this Tuesday November 3rd.

Have a great week,

Respectively,

Mayor Finley

In Closing

As always, I will be frequently updating this blog. Please check back during the fourth quarter for another update. You can also provide your email address in the box below for a subscription and be notified when the blog is updated  I can be reached at Email Maura or 256.337.2408. Thank you again for your continued support!

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