Clanton City Council members unveil signs and banners to be displayed around town to promote the local peach farming industry.

Clanton’s City Council on Monday approved a cost increase for the project to upgrade the city’s water treatment plant.

Mayor Billy Joe Driver told council members that an extra $12,794 was needed to complete the project.

Driver said a need for additional concrete and steel was unforeseen when the council originally approved a bid for the project.

In other business, the council:

•Scheduled the council’s next meeting for 5 p.m. on May 23. Originally, the council was to meet next on Memorial Day.

•Allowed the mayor to apply for a grant for the replacement or widening of a bridge on Lake Mitchell Road. The city is already set to receive grant money to resurface the road.

•Approved a contract with the Chilton County YMCA to manage the city’s pool this summer, as has been the arrangement in previous years. The pool would be open May 20 until Aug. 30.

•Allowed the Chilton County Arts Council to use a vacant building owned by the city at 703 Second Avenue, the former location of the Chilton County Industrial Board.

•Unveiled peach-themed flags and banners that will be used to promote Chilton County’s annual Peach Festival. The flags will line streets in Clanton, while the banners will be placed at each of the city’s Interstate 65 exits. The flags and banners should be up by early June. “This is just to show the community that we support the peach industry here,” council member Mary Mel. Smith said.

•Heard from Chilton County Chamber of Commerce Director Mike Robertson about an upcoming “Shop Local” campaign. Robertson talked to council members about why the effort is important and how the chamber plans for promotion. “The goal of all of this is to encourage all our citizens to shop locally and keep those tax dollars here,” Robertson said.

•Approved a wholesale table wine license for Alabama Small Wine Wholesalers. The company will distribute out of a storage unit at 1703 Lay Dam Road.

•Approved Police Chief Brian Stilwell reassigning three employees to new positions within the police department.

•Accepted a resignation in the sanitation department, as well as hired a truck driver for the sanitation department. Two part-time workers were approved to replace two others at E.M. Henry/West End Park. Also, a part-time worker was hired for the summer in the Beautification Department.

•Allowed Fire Chief David Driver to attend a work-related conference in Orange Beach.