Council votes to replace library roof

The Demopolis City Council voted Tuesday to put a new roof on the public library, a venture that will cost $48,530 from the general fund.

The project bid, which went to J&M Construction, will call for the replacement of the roof with an accompanying warranty of 20 years.

Demopolis Public Library Director Morgan Grimes reported that the roof has a history of leaks and is currently leaking in the vicinity of the children’s floor. As a result, library staff has had to close off a hallway on the second floor of the building.

A resolution in opposition to House Bill 257 and Senate Bill 217 that had been tabled from a previous meeting failed 6-0 Thursday with little discussion preceding the vote.

The council voted to give Demopolis Police Department Chief Tommie Reese the authority to apply for a hiring program grant from Community Oriented Policing Services. The COPS grant would provide 75 percent of the salary and benefit cost of up to two officers for a three-year period.

“It opened on April 22 and it will close on May 22. It will cover 75 percent of an approved entry level salary and benefits for three years of a newly-hired sworn officer,” Reese said of the grant. “The total concentration on this is rehiring military veterans and also hiring them as school resource officers. They will also give some kind of tax credit to cities for the hiring of vets.”

The COPS grant would call for a 25 percent local match of the cost of the new officers.

Other action Thursday saw the council vote 5-1 to place Marvin Johnson on the cemetery board with Demopolis Mayor Mike Grayson standing as the lone vote to back Mark Dollar for the spot.