Photo: Recently elected and re-elected Union City Council Members (left to right) Randy Barnes, Katie Keathley, Patrick Smith and Jim Douglas. Jim Rippy, Hal Mosier and I were not up for election this cycle. City of Union City photo.
Union City, Tenn.–Meeting Tuesday night, the Union City City Council welcomes new and re-elected members, who include Randy Barnes, Katie Keathley, Patrick Smith and Jim Rippy. Mayor Terry Hailey was reappointed.
In other reorganizational action, Randy Barnes was appointed Mayor Pro-Tem. Jim Douglas reappointed to the Union City Energy Authority Board. Katie Keathley reappointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Randy Barnes reappointed to the Obion County Industrisl Development Corporation board. Hal Mosier and Randy Barnes reappointed to the Chamber of Commerce Board. Patrick Smith appointed to the Board of the Obion County Fair Association. Jim Rippy reappointed to the Mainstreert Union City Board. Johnny Bacon was appointed to the Board of Housing Appeals.
Council agreed to gift the city’s 1999 fire truck to the Elk Mills Volunteer Fire Department in Carter County in East Tennessee. They lost their fire station and all their equipment in the recent flooding there. The city has just received our new fire truck and council thought this would the best use of the old one as we could not get much for it if we tried to sell it. Council thanked Fire Chief Karl Ullrich who requested that the city do this.
Council also agreed to apply for grants of $16,000 to buy equipment to wash turn out gear for the fire department. That gear requires a special type of cleaning as it is exposed to soot and other kinds of carcinogens as it used in protecting our firefighters. The grant requires a 5% local match.
Council will also apply for a $300,000 grant to buy a new brush truck for the fire department. Again a 5% local match.
And the city hired a professional grant writer to write the grants for the above. He gets nothing if grant is not awarded. He gets 5% if it is.
Council also agreed to fund one third of new windows for the Obion County Public Library. The County picks up the other two thirds. There is also a grant involved with this. In all 114 windows will be replaced, six set of doors will be replaced and a wall between two rooms will be removed. The Library is 21 years old.
Bryan Keathley appreared before the Council to request relief from flooding that has happened several times at Green Acres Mobile Homes. He said that the only thing that would help would be a watershed lake south of Lowes. The Council told him it would require state of federal approval and funding to do that. City officials actually have been in talks with the State about the flooding problem in that area. We are awaiting some sort of guidance from them. Hoosier Creek needs attention from UC all the way to the Obion River if flooding is to be mitigated.