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VALLEY — Two new buildings will be going up on a 15-acre site off 55th Street, not far from the junction with Fob James Drive, to house two Chambers County businesses that are relocating to Valley.

They will house Brumfield Electrical and Communications, Inc. (BEC) and Riggers, Fabricators and Millwrights, Inc. (RFM). BEC is presently located in Cusseta and RFM in Lanett.

At the Monday meeting of the Valley City Council, the land was purchased by LHD Properties LLC at $25,000 per acre.

BEC has been in business since the year 2000. Its experiences range from troubleshooting complex and straightforward electrical and power problems to installing commercial and industrial wiring. RFM has been in business since 1997. It’s a full-service rigging, welding, and fabrication contractor that works with plastic 3-D printing, new models, prototypes and small parts.

In other action on Monday, the council approved an amendment to its zoning ordinance to rezone a 2.7-acre parcel of land from R-5 (medium density residential) to C-3 (community business district). The site is located near the intersection of Cusseta Road and Fairfax Bypass. It’s across the road from where the Camellia Crossing subdivision is being built, and plans are to have a mini-warehouse storage facility there.

The action was approved following a second reading. There was no opposition expressed to the change, and the council approved it in a unanimous vote.

Following a first reading, the council suspended the rules and adopted the sale of some property. The site is located on Bennett Street and is approximately 72 feet by 198 feet in size. Travis Baker has offered to purchase the site for $500, and the council agreed to that offer in a unanimous vote.

The council has approved funding for the remodeling of the council chamber at City Hall. The project will cost a little more than $65,000. Alabama Contract Sales will provide new seating for a little over $30,000, Creative Coatings will re-do the stage area for $21,566 and Harris Carpets will put in new flooring for $13,589.50.

Logan’s Tree Service, Valley, was awarded a contract to remove 26 dead or dying trees in the city. Its offer to do the work for $28,600 was lower than bids submitted by Matthew and Jody’s Tree Service and Hodge Tree Service.

The council approved a request for an expenditure swap at Valley Community Center. Instead of spending $12,000 on new basketball goals, that same amount of money will be spent on a fire alarm upgrade.

Public Works Director Patrick Bolt reported on recent street paving in the city. He said that work had been finished on 29th Boulevard in Shawmut and that a 10 miles per hour speed limit that had been put in place there had gone back to 25 mph. He said that paving had been completed on Towel Avenue but that road striping still needs to be done. That city street is now seeing a lot of traffic with the start-up of the new John Soules Foods plant.

“We have been doing a lot of paving lately,” Bolt said. “I want to thank Valley Police Department for directing traffic and keeping us safe in the work zone. We have finished paving at River Oaks, at Riverwood in Fairfax and 14th Place in Todd Addition. We still have work to do on 31st Avenue, MLK and Morgan Street.”

Martin Luther King Drive is the longest stretch yet to be paved.

Bolt said his department had been assisting the East Alabama Water, Sewer and Fire Protection District on a sinkhole problem in the Crestview area. A collapsed pipe has caused a sinkhole some 15 feet wide, 40 feet long and 12 feet deep to open up in the neighborhood.

“We hauled dirt all day long to fill it and hope to lay a new pipe on Tuesday,” Bolt said.

Council Member Jim Clark thanked Building Inspector Reid Riley for offering some help on some street light problems in his district. He also thanked Patrick Bolt and his department for getting some potholes repaired.

“There’s lots of leaves in the streets right now,” Clark said. “We need to get our street sweeper working.”

Council Member Henry Cooper thanked Bolt and Public Works for getting some needed work done in his district.

Mayor Leonard Riley said he had contacted Alabama State University about having someone come to the city to talk to them about doing some needed redistricting in the city. Riley said they would have someone to discuss that at the next work session.

Valley Parks & Recreation Director Laurie Blount said she expected the Christmas merry-go-round to arrive before Thanksgiving and be ready to run on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 28. The season will extend to 5 p.m. EST on Christmas Eve.

The weekend of Saturday, Dec. 11 and Sunday, Dec. 12 will have some special activities. A Sleigh the Course 5K run will be taking place on the CV Railroad Trail starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The start and finish of the race will be near the merry-go-round. Also on Saturday, Dec. 11, Santa Claus and other Christmas characters will be at the merry-go-round to meet the children and have their pictures taken with them.

The afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 12 will be Gingerbread House Day. Kids will have the opportunity to make their own gingerbread houses. Materials will be provided, but registration is required.

Basketball registration will end on Tuesday, Nov. 16, and there will be two more sessions of the Valley Farmers Market from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19 and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19.

The city’s annual Christmas party for employees will be at the Community Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2.

The annual Christmas tree lighting in front of City Hall will immediately follow the 6 p.m. council meeting on Monday, Nov. 29.

City Hall will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day. The Community Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day.

The Community Center will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Black Friday. The Community Center will be open on Iron Bowl Saturday (Nov. 27) from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.