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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

The Clanton City Council unanimously approved declaring a state of emergency due to coronavirus (COVID-19) during a meeting April 13.

This measure will allow the City of Clanton to apply for federal funding that has been made available to combat the spread of the coronavirus during this pandemic.

Chilton County Emergency Management Agency has asked each of the local governments to declare a state of emergency in order to qualify for possible reimbursement of supplies purchased to decrease the spread of COVID-19, Clanton Mayor Billy Joe Driver said.

He said “thank God so far” the city has not needed any help from FEMA.

Leasing a building in Park Plaza to Dollar General was discussed again during the meeting. Councilman Sammy Wilson said he had been in contact with someone from the company discussing some of the terms of the contract and what renovation DG would pay for and what they expected from the city.

“What we are going to have to do is a sprinkler system,” Wilson said.

He explained that the cut off for the current system is now located in the business next door, so a new system would have to be installed.

Council members said they would like a list of what DG was agreeing to cover in writing before a lease was signed.

The Council approved moving forward with the intent to lease to DG pending the specific details of the lease being negotiated.

Wilson said the final lease would be sent to the city from Dollar General to be signed.

Also during the meeting, The Council approved:

• Paying $28,844 to Chambliss King Architects related to the master plan for Interstate 65, Exit 212.
• Paying $67,000 for emergency communication radios for the Clanton Police Department. The radios will be compatible with the county wide emergency communications system which is being constructed.
• Authorizing the mayor to contact a businessman interested in buying land the city owned near the YMCA of Chilton County to let them know that the City Council and Mayor thought it was not in the best interest of the city to sell. Councilwoman Mary Mell Smith said she thought the person was interested in the property to be behind a shopping center. However, what specific business or businesses the person wanted to build was unknown. Councilman Jeffery Price said that the land was between the YMCA and Walgreens and continuous to the park, which made it a good property for the city to keep. Other council members agreed, and the vote was unanimous.