Lanett council makes conservative decision on new city equipment
Published 8:05 am Wednesday, February 5, 2025
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LANETT — At its Monday meeting, the Lanett City Council gave consideration to purchasing a key piece of equipment for the city’s electrical department but decided to hold off on it for now to make sure the needed digger derrick truck can be gotten if it’s not on the state bid list.
A resolution was on the meeting agenda to purchase the truck from Altec Capital Services LLC via Purchasing Group Sourcewell but was tabled after some concern came up that the item may appear on the state bid list. If it’s not there, the sale can go through. It’s just a matter of checking. If it’s not listed, the purchase can be acted 0n at the next council meeting.
The big truck costs $284,568 and can dig a hole in the ground up to 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet deep.
Electrical Department head Allen Summers told the council the truck is needed to replace one that has been in service since 1998 and is frequently in need of repair.
“I don’t know how much longer we can keep it running,” he said. “It’s an important piece of equipment for us.”
Craig Stapleton, the city’s new airport manager, updated the council on what’s been going on at Lanett Regional.
“A lot is going on out there right now,” he said. “We should see some improvements in the apron and taxiway this year. We are working to have jet fuel at the airport and to start building hangars. A lot has been planned, but it will take some time to get it done.”
Whether or not any of this gets done this year could hinge on whether President Trump is successful in freezing spending that was approved by Congress this past year. A federal judge has put that on hold for now
Council Member Tony Malone asked Stapleton about how much space at the airport is being used by a flight school that’s currently operating there. The school presently leases an office, six tie down spaces and some hangar space.
Council Member Tifton Dobbs said he thought it would be better if the flight school had a conventional classroom setting rather than an office.
Stapleton said there were common areas inside the terminal they could use when they needed the space.
Carrie Wood and Tarin Parrish of the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce were at the meeting to update the council on what the Chamber has been doing for the past few months.
In October, the GVACC hosted a quarterly meeting for local realtors.
“Our realtors are very important to the community,” Parrish said. “Oftentimes they are the first to speak to newcomers to the area. We want to make sure they have the tools they need to sell our community.”
Parrish added that the Chamber currently has a total of 47 Junior Ambassadors. All are from area high schools.
“They meet monthly and are able to hear from local leaders and to learn more about local government and business,” Parrish said.
Rockingfest on the Square in downtown LaFayette was a highly successful event in mid-November, A total of 85 vendors were there, and an estimated 2,500 people turned out. The 2025 Rockingfest will be taking place on Saturday, November 15th.
The Chamber hosted two ribbon cuttings and a Catch Up Over Coffee event in December. December 5th was Teal Thursday with 18 local businesses taking part. They offered discounts and bogo (by one-get one) deals.
“We marketed the day as a whole,” Parrish said. “Every business was provided a teal and red bow to be recognized as a participant.”
At the end of the day a drawing was held to award gift cards to two local grocery stores. A total of 581 tickets were collected by the participating merchants.
The Chamber’s tenth annual Real Life 101 will be taking place on Friday, February 21st on the Valley campus of Southern Union State Community College. Some 700 local high school students are expected to take part. Nine different topics will be discussed.
A ribbon cutting will be taking place on the Valley campus of SUSCC at 5:30 on February 24th. Another one will take place during the noon hour the next day at the RC-D Lane Agency.
The Chamber’s Lunch N Learn events are scheduled for April 8th to discuss the Childcare Act, May 7th to discuss Small Business Health Insurance and on August 13th to discuss Social Media in Business.