With the spring tornado season approaching, the Chilton County Commission discussed its severe weather warning sirens at Monday’s meeting.

Local businessman A.J. Doody said he could save the county a considerable amount of money on maintenance to the sirens—county Administrator Vanessa Hendrick said the commission spends about $35,000 annually on the sirens—but the commission decided it would need to seek bids on the service.

“Another thing to take into consideration as we discuss this, is we’re about to enter peak tornado season,” Commissioner Bobby Agee said.

The commission also discussed a siren near the new West Chilton Fire Department.

Permission was granted for the siren to be taken down during the construction of the fire department, but during the siren’s reassembly it was discovered a piece had been lost, making the siren inoperable.

“It needs to be put back up, whether we pay for it or West Chilton pays for it,” Commissioner Heedy Hayes said, representing the group’s consensus.

In other business, the commission:

•Scheduled a work session for 6 p.m. on Jan. 17 at the request of Hendrick.

•Decided to pay $17,941 in annual dues to the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham.

•Granted $1,700 for fees associated with Minooka Park Manager Gerald Arrington’s work to obtain new signage on roadways to inform passers-by of the park.

•Listened to Probate Judge Bobby Martin’s request to change the name of a voting precinct. Martin wanted to officially change the name of the “Veterans Club” polling place to “American Legion Post 6” to match the facility’s new name. But commissioners had reservations because of the upcoming elections. They said voters are used to the old name, and there was uncertainty about whether voter identification cards would need to be issued to everyone in the precinct. Martin said he thought the change would reduce confusion, and the parties agreed to revisit the issue.

•Heard Martin’s request for hiring a part-time worker. Commissioners said the county’s financial situation would become clearer in the next few weeks as property tax payments are added up.

•Allowed Engineer Tony Wearren to use county equipment to repair a road in Jemison, based on Wearren’s estimate for the project.

•Heard from a resident of County Road 185 about the need for the road to be resurfaced.

•Heard from a resident concerned about an apparent opening of a methadone clinic in Clanton.

•Approved a 30-day medical leave of absence for an employee in the Road Department.