DPD to tow golf carts; council re-appoints Stanford to BOE

Demopolis parents who allow their kids to drive golf carts on public streets may soon face the unpleasant task of retrieving those carts from the police station.

At Thursday night’s city council meeting, District 5 council member Cleveland Cole expressed concern over the increase of golf cart traffic on the streets, mostly driven by children. He said he expects the problem to worsen when school is out this summer.

Police Chief Tommie Reese responded that he has a plan to address the problem. “This year, the carts are going to be towed to the police station and we’ll make the parents come pick them up,” Reese said.

In other business during Thursday’s 45- minute meeting, which included a 20-minute executive session to discuss financial matters, the council unanimously re-appointed Jim Stanford to the Demopolis Board of Education. Mayor Mike Grayson told the council that Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Dr. Al Griffin recommended Stanford for re-appointment.

The council also appointed Shawn Lomax as an alternate to the Board of Adjustment. Lomax received four votes, while nominees Scott Stapp and Sylvia Malone each received one vote. The council also received the nominations of Mark Dollar and Marvin Johnson for a Cemetery Board seat vacated by Linda Burnham. The council will vote on the appointment at its next meeting.

At the beginning of Thursday’s meeting, Grayson updated the council on various matters, including the fact that the design phase of the Sunset Road paving project is complete and the construction phase is beginning. Also, Grayson noted he had signed the contract for repair work on the Rosenbush Building. Mike Moss was awarded the bid at last meeting.

The mayor said the city had received a letter from Alabama State Parks stating that Chickasaw Park may be among several parks that will soon close due to financial constraints. The park is located on U.S. 43 between Demopolis and Linden.

“They’re not asking the city to take over the park,” Grayson said, “but the implication was that they wouldn’t object to it.”

The council did not offer comment on the matter.