By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

CLANTON — The Clanton City Council approved a bid to replace the YMCA of Chilton County’s roof at its Jan. 23 meeting.

Previously, the council had discussed whether to replace the entire roof or just the section that needed attention.

Two bids were received for the project. Each bid listed the cost to replace the back portion that was damaged, the front portion of the roof and a total for replacing the entire roof.

The council unanimously approved Steel Built Systems of Maplesville because it was the lowest bid. Council members decided to replace the entire roof for $319,600, which includes materials, labor, insulation and removing old roof.

There had been concern that if only a portion of the roof was replaced, then the old portion would still have to be replaced later.

In the bid documentation, Steel Built Systems states it could begin the project in 60 days.

Moving forward with purchasing four police cars was also approved. Clanton Police Chief Keith Maddox said the city had previously purchased new cars through the state contract and recommended using this method again.

“Financially, I think it is probably going to be more feasible for us,” Maddox said.

He explains the state contract is usually the best price because of the volume of cars it buys. Maddox said the state approves a two-year contract with the supplier and researchers for the lowest bid at the end of the contract.

The cars would be replacing older vehicles used by the department.

Also during the meeting, the council heard a proposal by Brian Everling to gauge interest in   new housing model — disposable homes. He said the homes would be built for efficiency and affordability with a lifespan of 20 years. The target audience would be recent college graduates and others who could not afford a traditional single family home. The idea would be to put these homes on 3/ 16th of an acre with all of the necessary utilities. Everling has never built one, but Auburn University has built a few. The Council asked Everling to meet with the building department to discuss the idea further. The idea would also have to receive approval from the zoning board before any such project could be done.