Dispatch services addressed by Anna council

The Anna City Council continues to review a proposal to have all of the city's dispatch services handled by the Union County Sheriff's Office.

The proposal was on the agenda at last week's regular meeting of the Anna City Council.

The meeting was Tuesday evening, Nov. 5, at Anna City Hall.

Union County officials recently met with the Anna City Council to discuss the dispatch proposal. The cost of providing the service has been a key point of discussion for the city.

Mayor Jim Cross asked that the city council decide whether or not to move forward with the county's proposal.

Council member Michael Bigler said that he would like to continue talks with the county "if we can get a fair price." Bigler said there are a wide range of issues that need to be discussed in connection with the proposal.

"This is not a simple decision, but I don't think it needs to be made hastily," Bigler said.

Council member Martha Ann Webb said she wanted to know how the city would be helped by the county providing the service.

Council members Al Kamp and David Isom indicated that they were undecided about the proposal. Both said they were willing to discuss the matter further.

In the end, it was decided that the mayor and other city officials would meet further with county representatives to discuss the matter.

In other business at last week's meeting:

City administrator Steve Guined reported about repair work which is needed at Anna's waste water treatment plant. The plant is located along Limekiln Road.

Work needs to be done on air and electric lines connected to two treatment tanks at the plant.

Guined said that the repair work is expected to cost about $50,000 for each tank. The city has resources available for the repair work in its capital improvement project fund.

Plans call for the repair work to be done on one tank at a time. The city council agreed to move forward with accepting bids for the repair work.

Local businessman Steve Hornbeak discussed a lighting issue with the council. Hornbeak asked the city to look into the installation of lighting near his business along South Main Street in downtown Anna. Mayor Jim Cross said the matter would be pursued further.