Council sets public hearing for Oct. 3

Mayor Paul Finley and the City Council recognizes the Hergenroeder family as the 2012 Madison Family of the Year.

Monday night’s Madison City Council meeting was a time of planning.

The council tabled several agenda items at the Sept. 27 meeting, postponing some of the decisions until the new administration takes office in November.

Tabled items included this year’s budget, a proposed nuisance amendment and road improvements.

The council repealed a law that made texting while driving a secondary offense. Alabama passed a law that made it a primary offense.

City Attourney Kelly Butler recommended the repeal, and said repealing it as a secondary offense “will help our guys (police) with enforcement.”

Several residents made public comments on the proposed recommendation to allow the Madison School Board to use funds from the half-cent sales tax for school operations, as opposed to using the funds to only pay down the loan on James Clemens High School.

The council set another public hearing on the matter for Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at Bob Jones High School’s Zompa Auditorium.

David Hergenroeder was one of the residents who spoke for the proposed recommendation. He said it was important to “give them that flexibility.”

He, his wife Melanie and their son David were at the meeting and were recognized as the 2012 Madison Family of the year. Their children John and Laura were also recognized, but they live out of town and did not attend the meeting.

Mayor Paul Finley presented a proclamation designating Oct. 23 as Special Olympics Day.

Finley and the council presented a key to the city to Yvonne Betowt, a reporter and features writer at “The Huntsville Times,” who is leaving the Times after 36 years.
Editorial editor John Peck was also recognized. He is leaving after 28 years at the Times.