TARCOG, chamber talk to council

Madison City Council heard reports from Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments and Madison Chamber of Commerce about “Trains on Main” on Dec. 14. RECORD PHOTOS

MADISON – Madison City Council observed presentations from two local agencies at its regular meeting on Dec. 14 in Council Chambers.

Nancy Robertson, director of Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG), presented a video about the organization’s objectives and available services.

The Alabama legislature established TARCOG in 1968. TARCOG helps local governments improve quality of life by bringing in funding for community improvement projects and providing a wide range of services for older citizens, Robertson said.

Former Madison City Councilman Jerry Jennings currently serves as TARCOG board president. Mayor Troy Trulock is a board member.

Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Madison Chamber of Commerce introduced a permanent scavenger hunt through downtown Madison named “Trains on Main.” The hunt, similar to the “Lucky Duck” campaign in Huntsville, will attract shoppers and tourists to walk along downtown streets and businesses.

Council approved payments for the recreation facility project to Jerry Codispoti, $5000, consulting services; Barge, Waggoner, Summer & Cannon, first payment of $5,465.35, engineering services; and Volkert & Associates, payment #8 for $33,500, construction management.

Trulock announced that a second recycling center for glass in Madison has opened at James Clemens High School. Another glass recycling site is located at Discovery Middle School.

Trulock also reported that drama departments from both of Madison’s high schools earned the only two slots at the 2015 Walter Trumbauer State Secondary Theatre Festival to represent Alabama at Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) in Greensboro, N.C. on March 2-6, 2016.

Madison’s one-act plays, “Silenced on Barbour Street” by James Clemens and “The Axeman’s Requiem” by Bob Jones, will compete with high schools from across the Southeast. Trulock pointed out how unusual it was for judges to select two schools from the same town/school district to represent the state.

District 5 Councilman Tommy Overcash commented on the “tremendous turnout” on Dec. 5 to help place wreaths on the graves of veterans at Madison cemeteries.

In public comments, Tim Cowles reminded the mayor and city council that in 2004 a resolution was passed officially naming Dec. 15 as “Madison Bill of Rights Day.”