The Jemison City Council voted Monday to approve a resolution accepting a gift of 1.168 acres of land from Central State Bank in Calera.

Mayor Eddie Reed told the council the land was given to the city as a gift, and it would be at no cost to the city to accept the gift.

“This is truly awesome,” Reed said. “It has been far and beyond our expectations, and we as a city are very grateful for this.”

The land, located at 545 West Sycamore Street, has a church on the property, and is valued at $15,000.

Currently, it is undecided what the land would be used for, but Reed told the council the city could explore different options.

Council members George Brasher, Donnie Lane, Sam Reed and Mayor Reed voted in favor of the resolution to accept the gift.

Council member Robert Morris was absent from Monday’s meeting, and Rex Bittle abstained from the vote due to a conflict of interest.

The council also heard from Grady Parsons and Tyler McKeller of Southwest Water, who presented a proposal to the council regarding the purchase of new equipment to renovate the George sewer pump station.

Parsons told the council there was an issue with the George pump station, and a portable pump was temporarily put in place.

The city has been renting the portable pump for roughly $2,000 a month until a permanent solution could be resolved.

“This pump has given us a headache,” Reed said. “The pump has to be fixed.”

Parsons’ proposal included a lump sum of $48,000 for new equipment to fix the pump station.

The proposal included the option for the city to pay $3,200 a month for an 18-month period.

Bittle looked over the proposal during the meeting and suggested the council consider other financing options before voting to approve Parsons’ proposal.

Bittle clarified with the council that he was in favor of Parsons doing the work, he just wanted to look into other possible financing options to help save the city some money.

The council decided to research alternative financing options until July 13, and if no other options could be found, they would proceed with Parsons’ proposal.

During the meeting, the council went ahead and approved Parsons’ proposal.

Parsons told the council he would go ahead and begin ordering equipment, and looked forward to working with the council.

In other news, the council:

•Met in executive session to discuss the purchase, sale, exchange, lease or market value of property. The council did not take any action after the execution session.

•Heard an announcement by Reed that the robotics program at Jemison High School recently attended a competition in Texas with 50 states and two countries competing, and JHS placed second in the competition.

“This says a lot for our school, our students and the teachers,” Reed told the council. “This is something to be very proud of.”