Elberta working behind the scenes during COVID-19

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 5/5/20

ELBERTA - The Town of Elberta has returned to normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but Town Hall remains closed to the public until further notice, with business being handled via phone, …

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Elberta working behind the scenes during COVID-19

Posted

ELBERTA - The Town of Elberta has returned to normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but Town Hall remains closed to the public until further notice, with business being handled via phone, email, and in person only on a case by case basis.

Even with Town Hall being closed during April, town officials have been working behind the scenes on a multitude of projects.

One such project is a way for the town to show support for their seniors who are graduating from Foley High School, and who have been denied a graduation ceremony as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. In honor of seniors, Elberta is running shout outs from the sign in front of Town Hall showing the class of 2020’s names. Anyone who is interested in giving their Elberta senior a shout out is encouraged to send an email to Caryn Woerner at cwoerner@townofelberta.com including the senior’s name.

Another project moving forward is the safe room to be constructed for first responders in Elberta and neighboring towns in case of an emergency, such as a major hurricane. During catastrophic events, while many people evacuate or are confined to the safety of homes, first responders are still on the roads. Elberta’s safe room will be constructed to withstand hurricane force winds and with enough space for multiple units to utilize the space.

A pre-construction meeting was held via phone prior to the April council meeting, with the building permit expected in early May. Once the building permit is in hand, construction on the project will begin.

Another project still underway is the Sportsplex. Mayor Jim Hamby has recommended to the council the town consider taking money allocated for the splash park and utilizing the funds on the Sportsplex for irrigation. The council supported the recommendation, and an engineer will put together a bid for the project. Hamby hopes to see at least three bids come back to consider.

“With everything that’s been going on, it’s too late in the year to put the donated grass out there now,” Hamby said. “It will be too dry and the grass will just die, and we’ll get no use out of it. The person that’s donating the grass obviously wants for us to get use out of it, and ultimately the fields do need to be irrigated anyway to recover after tournaments.”

Hamby says with current projects underway on the fields, it will most likely be the first of June when the grass is planted. He hopes to put the sprinkler system in before then, followed by planting the grass, and ending with the installation of a fence. The grass will cover all the playing surfaces and sidelines.

The final town project discussed during the meeting was Civic Center improvements. Contractors recently inspected the building and will be getting back to council their suggestions of the scope of work that will be required for bathroom improvements, including new vanities and sinks.

Other Civic Center projects Hamby suggested to council were transforming the center office into a dressing room area for brides and improving the stage surface, which he hopes will open up the opportunity to market the center for weddings.

For more info on Elberta, visit https://townofelberta.com.