Mixed vote on paving proposal

HALEYVILLE - A self-sustaining road resurfacing program for the City of Haleyville, where the street department employees will be trained to resurface streets, is being done as a means to save money, but not all council members are on board with the idea.
After all members of the Haleyville City Council voted Tuesday, Aug. 11, to approve the immediate consideration vote to bring up the issue for an actual vote, the vote to approve the program was 4-2, with Cade Lewis and Colton Corum voting no.
Voting yes were Todd Barton, Brian Berry, Boo Brooks and Mayor Dr. Ray Boshell, so the motion carried on a majority vote.
“Paving is one of the most expensive things the city does,” Boshell explained during the meeting. “And we’ve got a tremendous amount of paving that needs to be done.
“We’ve spent a lot of time researching on how we can get more streets paved while continuing to spend less money,” Boshell stated. “If we keep doing what we’re doing, the more you pave, the more you’ve got to spend and it gets very expensive.”
Boshell said that he and Chris Wilbanks, director of public works for the city, had visited with mayors in other communities about a self-paving program and received quotes on how much it would cost Haleyville to do such a program.
“If we got into doing our own paving, that means our own equipment and our own teams, we wouldn’t have to add any employees,” Boshell explained.
“We would be able to pave two to three times as much with the same amount of money we’re paying right now,” Boshell pointed out.

Lewis, Corum 
explain no votes

After the meeting, Lewis and Corum each explained their reasons for voting no on the project.
“At this time, I don’t feel comfortable with everything,” Lewis said. “There is stuff I would like to see done before we hop on board with that.
“I am proud that we have enough employees,” Lewis added, “but if someone lays out or we have somebody gone, then we are short and that project is shut down.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Lewis continued. “I think it will save money. I just think we need to widen the range and look at a few more things, as far as getting the work done because most places have hired someone who has paved in the past, and everybody up here will be new to it.”
Corum explained the reason behind his no vote on the city paving project. 
 “I think it is a great opportunity for the city to look at doing, if we can financially  afford this project,” Corum began.
“When you look at this project as a whole, not just a year from now but five years down the road when the city would be nearing completion on this, you have to weigh out all options on what could go right and what could go wrong,” Corum explained.
“When you do a huge paving project like this, you have to have an operator/lead person that has been doing this for years and knows paving inside and out,” Corum continued.
“From recently talking to some local people that do paving for a living, it is a trade/skill that takes a lot of time to get great at doing, Corum reasoned.
“This is a paving project that is going to cost over $1 million just for the equipment alone to start out,” Corum emphasized.
“Yes, the asphalt/hot mix per mile is much cheaper, but when you think about machines and parts breaking down, having to repair those, the possibility of having to hire another person or two down the road, additional fuel and insurance costs, it does not, in my opinion, save that much money in the end,” Corum emphasized.
Corum continued it was his job as council member to look over and make financially-smart decisions for the city.
“With several hours put into this, looking/studying over numbers and talking to people in the paving business, I just simply do not think at this point the city is financially ready for a project of this stature,” Corum concluded.

Council members voice support for paving project

Other council members explained their vote for the project moving forward.
“I am so excited for our city to have the opportunity to work with other municipalities that do their own paving and use their advice to guide us to making the correct decisions for our city engineer and our street and sanitation department workers, to do our own paving and save the taxpayers lots of money,” pointed out Brooks.
“Our city engineer has worked to get the real numbers from others, to get us started on the right foot,” Brooks added.
“It is always exciting to me when I can look at saving money and reaching our goal of paving the streets as one,” she added.
Berry added, “Paving roads is the number one question I get. By investing in the paving equipment today, we will help build safer and more cost-efficient roads for our city tomorrow.
“It’s an investment in long-term quality and reliability of our city’s infrastructure,” Berry added. “By purchasing the equipment and performing the work in-house, we will be able to pave longer stretches of highway for less cost, while maintaining control over project scheduling and priorities.”
Barton believes the city handling its own paving is a positive move.

“I am confident that it was an excellent decision.  Mayor Boshell, along with Chris Wilbanks, our director of Public Works and Chris Saylor, the supervisor for Streets and Sanitation, researched the practicality with several local municipalities.  Their findings were all very positive, demonstrating cost-effectiveness and much more control with the paving process. 
“I was particularly interested in having our own street department complete the upcoming projects. The city employs competent and experienced individuals,  led by Saylor and Wilbanks, who are both top-notch. They do an excellent job in  sustaining our city’s infrastructure,”  Barton said.    “The addition of paving equipment will enhance their ability to keep our streets well maintained, making our town more functional and attractive.  
“In the past,  we hired  vendors from outside our community, the lowest bidder usually securing the contract. Now, our own city employees, who have pride in their work, will complete various projects on a continual basis, offering flexibility and a much better outcome. That is a win for our city,”  Barton concluded.