VALLEY GRANDE — Monday’s City Council meeting in Valley Grande wasn’t the busiest one he can remember, but Mayor Wayne Labbe said there several important questions answered.

Alabama Teen Challenge was announced as the winner of two separate bidding competitions, earning themselves contracts to pick up trash along the city’s busiest roads and to also mow the grass on the city’s properties.

Labbe said Teen Challenge had performed both tasks for the city in the past, and that he was confident that they would continue to do good work.

Monday’s council meeting also saw the approval of two new housing developments within the city limits.

Labbe said the owners of Diamond One Construction and Real Estate Inc. of Valley Grande had petitioned the city to build several houses at two different locations in the city, and the topic was discussed at Monday’s council meeting.

“The city owes it to people that when they buy a house in the city of Valley Grande, it should be a quality house,” Labbe said. “And several of our council members had questions about these projects, and about our subdivision regulations, and we all want to be very careful with this topic.”

Labbe said the city has regulations for large and small subdivisions, the difference being that a small subdivision is a collection of houses built around and existing roadway while a large subdivision needs new roads to be built.

“We have a stipulation for small subdivision, like the two we approved here, and we are able to put restrictions on the sizes of house and rules on farm animals and what not,” Labbe said.

One of the two new subdivisions will be built on County Road 81, near William R. Martin Middle School and the second will be on County Road 37, across the road from Lazy Acres.

Labbe said the codes are meant to protect home buyers.

“We are looking forward to having some new houses built in the city of Valley Grande,” Labbe said. “We want people who buy a house to not buy trouble.”