Jones joins Alto Police Dept.

Delayed city trash pickup for the holidays and the possibility of a new city park were some of the topics of discussion at the Alto City Council meeting Monday night.

Code Officer Lee Starling gave his code enforcement report and said that several young people had been making use of the concrete pad and basketball goal that was left on the lot at Avenue B and Sycamore after the structures were removed.

The council discussed the possibility of adding lighting and other items necessary to make the area a city park. City Secretary April Comte will confer with the city attorney about possible liability issues which may need to be in place first and investigate grant possibilities to help cover expenses.

Officer Starling commended city businesses for coming into compliance removing junked vehicles. He said, “Everybody is trying to get into compliance – it just takes a little while. Everybody seems happy.”

Mayor Jimmy Allen informed everyone that trash pickup would be on Wednesday instead of Tuesday during the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s.
Alto Police Department Chief Jeremy Jackson reported 174 citations for the month of November, 116 warnings, 3 misdemeanor arrests, 3 felony arrests and 46 calls for service. Chief Jackson also introduced the newest officer to join the force, Aaron Jones, from Nacogdoches. Councilman El Thacker welcomed him to Alto.

Councilman Carey Palmer made a motion, 2nd by Councilman Thacker, to authorize Ms. Comte to research and provide information to the council on options for purchasing new utility billing software or a cloud based storage system. Increasingly, the existing system has been experiencing technical issues which slow down office procedures while dealing with customers.

In other business, Utilities Department Director Kerry Black gave a brief and optimistic report and there was no court report. The accounts payable and financials reports were approved and last month’s minutes and adjustments were approved as presented. As part of the administrative report, Ms. Comte reported that after the first of the year, she will begin investigating the bond process for street repair.

Also present at the meeting were Council Randy Selman, Councilman Steve Cox and new Councilwoman Kara Lamar-Reagan.