Work might not be finished by festival

By Debora Baxter Jackson
Published: May 8, 2008

Clayton Town Clerk T.K. Killingsworth told council members recently that downtown improvements should be completed by July or August.
That means the downtown revitalization might not be totally finished in time for the Unity Day Festival spearheaded by new councilman Gary Henderson.
Shortly after Henderson was sworn in, he started talking about a street festival to show off the town’s new look. Consequently, Mayor Shug Rowland appointed Henderson to chair a committee to plan the festival. In February the council appropriated $3,500 to fund publicity and other costs of putting on a festival.
Henderson asked his fellow councilmen what time would be acceptable for blocking off streets to thru traffic. Councilman Leroy Rumph stated that his business doesn’t close until 2 p.m., so he objected to closing streets off any earlier. Further discussion involved access to the ABC store, but council members decided that customers could still park close enough to walk to the establishment.
Henderson reported that this First Annual Barbour County Unity Day Festival is planned for Saturday, June 14, with a parade starting at 10 a.m. Henderson distributed flyers advertising live music, entertainment, arts and crafts and food vendors. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the parks and recreation and fire and rescue departments of Clayton.
Lt. Aaron Grubbs of the police department offered to volunteer his time to work the festival as needed. He felt that other officers would be willing to do the same.
All councilmen were present at the meeting, and discussed the downtown revitalization. Rumph expressed concern again about water standing in front of the buildings after a big rain, in the block where his business is located.
Rowland assured him that all problems have to be corrected before the walk-through by the Alabama Department of Transportation. Funding will not be released until ADOT is satisfied with the work.
Killingsworth said that any problems could be reported to the job inspector, Jerry Floyd.
Rowland presented a $4,800 bid from a company in Troy to rebuild a drain to correct erosion of the walking trail. Carl Garner asked if the drain was located in the downtown revitalization zone. Killingsworth responded that he tried to get it into the project, but it wasn’t included.
Rumph wanted to table the issue until he could check it out, but other council members voted to accept the bid and have the problem corrected before the walking trail is damaged any further. A temporary fix is holding it together presently.