Demopolis Times

UNIONTOWN – Although there were many items on the agenda for Tuesday night’s Uniontown City Council meeting, one issue was continuously brought up – the odor in the air.

The smell from the Uniontown’s Southeastern Cheese Plant has residents and council members fed up with the city’s stinky status.

“I met with Pat Rankin at the cheese plant and he said they’ve had the cover installed, but they are waiting on a blower to blow the methane gas, which is creating the smell, into a pipe to be burned off,” Uniontown Mayor Phillip White said.

After receiving information from Rankin on when the parts are to be delivered and installed, White said, he will inform the Council and any citizens who wish to be updated.

If something is not done about the smell soon, one concerned citizen said she will report the stench to ADEM as an odor ordinance violation.

As of May 1, White said all city employees will be able to participate in the city retirement system, and with a high matching rate of 52 percent, the Uniontown mayor said he is also working on lowering the rate for the program.

The four churches that form The United Christian Community Association, or TUCCA, are still working on a partnership with the city to use its softball fields and allow Uniontown students to use the TUCCA facilities.

“We are trying to teach our students and kids an appreciation for other sports,” councilman Toulis Jones said, “not just basketball.”

Fire chief John Williams told the Council the city had already faced three grass fires this month and told citizens to make sure they have a permit number before burning trash.

“We need to find another solution for residents to dispose of their trash,” White said.

Williams and his firemen are also searching for possible causes to the high percentage of water loss this year and urges residents to report any leaks and monitor water use.

“If you see any leaks let us know,” he said. “We know it’s hot and people will use a lot of water, but we don’t want to waste it.”

Council members also suggested to Uniontown police chief Donald Rhodes that he and his officers work harder to enforce noise ordinances and speed limits, keep an eye out for late night racing and cars with expired tags, or no tags at all.

Lester Williams will return to the next council meeting with another bid from his trucking company with the estimated price of hauling materials to a landfill to clean up King Pharr.

Also at the next meeting, council members will address payments to those who cleaned the property behind Union Drugs and levying a lien against property belonging to Lena Lowery.

Progress on the fence at Don and Ron’s salvage yard on Highway 80, and the loading and unloading which occurs in the street in front of the business was also tabled.

The council is trying to find a better route for trucks to get from the scales to the junkyard in attempts to decrease the number of items left behind in the Village area.

“I’ve received numerous complaints about stuff falling off the trucks when they hit those speed breakers in the Village,” Jones said.

The idea to reopen James Avenue with a 26,000-pound weight restriction was suggested, but not voted on.

The only motion passed during the meeting concerned abating property on Highway 183 to complete the cleanup and charge the fees to the owners, Broderick and Anthony Files.

R.C. Hatch will host its annual math and science initiative on May 13 and White invites all residents interested in home ownership to the May 16 workshop and home ownership clinic. Contact the Uniontown City Hall for more information.

The next Council meeting is at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 1. Any citizens wanting to be on the agenda for this meeting must call City Hall before 4 p.m. the previous Thursday.