Dona Bonnett speaks at Argo city council meeting about the functions of a chamber of commerce. 

The City of Argo has hosted two meetings recently for local businesses to gather to discuss the possibility of creating an Argo Chamber of Commerce.  Dona Bonnett with adr Business & Marketing Strategies spoke to the group at the initial meeting about functions of a chamber of commerce and how it can support the local businesses, the city and community.  Don Smith and Candice Hill of St. Clair Economic Development Council spoke to the group at their second interest meeting about how best to go about making the decision to start-up and best practices to follow in the process.  There was a lot of excitement with over 40 business professionals at both meetings.  The next meeting will be scheduled soon for a strategic planning session to be facilitated by the EDC.

The Argo City Council met on Monday night.  Discussions included the current process of residential building permits.  The current permitting process requires the contractor obtaining a building permit, but there is no additional requirement for their subcontractors to complete a permit application.  The need to have a record of all subcontractors who complete work on any property for consumer protection brought up the question and discussion.  The proposed change would require all subcontractors to obtain a permit so that their information would be on file in case a problem arose with the property in which the work was performed.  The new amendment passed with a majority vote.

Another topic of discussion included the park rules and regulations sign.  It was suggested that the sign be simplified like some neighboring cities to make it as simple as possible to read at a glance with one sign posted at the park entrance and another sign at the pavilion with full rules and regulations available on the website.  The council will further develop a plan and vote at the next meeting.

Two proposed ordinances, a distracted driving ordinance and an animal control ordinance was discussed with two local residents speaking in opposition.  The reason for opposition to the distracted driving ordinance was that the residents felt that the bill was too vague.  The city attorney explained that this ordinance was very similar to the state law and identical to the City of Trussville and other surrounding cities.  Also, the animal control ordinance tracks Emily’s Law that the state recently passed and that this proposed ordinance is no more restrictive.  It would not require registration of every dog, but only if an animal had attacked or done something to be considered dangerous.  The council made the decision at Mayor Bradley’s suggestion to distribute more information around town about the two ordinances to give people time to review and vote at next meeting.

The council voted to replace all parking lights with LED lights to save money and then add additional lights in the park and around various locations including city hall and Blackjack Road which would have an added cost of approximately $200 per month on a 60 month contract with Alabama Power.

Other discussions included the purchase of paint for the rental room and the city to obtain quotes for roof spots and leaks.  The council is hoping that the roof can be repaired rather than replaced, but will discuss further when quotes come in.  The auditor has finished their audit and will be at the next council meeting.