Greenfield Receives $31,000 CARES Act Grant; City Employees to Receive Hazard Pay

BY DAVID FISHER

david@dresdenenterprise.com

GREENFIELD (January 12) — The Greenfield City Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved hazard pay for workers through a recent grant when they met last week for their first board meeting of the new year.

Hazard Pay

According to Mayor Cindy McAdams, the City of Greenfield received $31,000 in CARES Act funding for hazardous pay for essential workers.

Mayor McAdams said, “I propose giving the hazard pay to all of the essential workers in the city.” She stated all city employees are “essential.” Mayor McAdams proposed allocating $5,900 of the grant money as follows: $500 for each police officer, $200 for all full-time employees, and $50 each for all 20 of the city’s volunteer firefighters.

The board approved a motion to pay these city workers.

The remainder of the CARES Act funding is earmarked to pay city employees, who get COVID and must be off work, or those who are exposed to the coronavirus and must be quarantined.

Communication from The Mayor

According to Mayor McAdams, sales tax revenues during December totaled $43,686.67. Of this amount, local sales taxes were $25,384.01 and federal sales taxes were $18,302.69. This is an increase of $1,529.60 in total sales tax revenue over November’s collections.

Department Reports

In department reports, Fire Chief Bob Dudley stated Greenfield firefighters responded to 58 calls and worked an average of 3,950 man hours in 2020, including fire calls and training. He noted there were approximately $67,000 in expenditures and $49,000 in income. This amounts to $18,000 in expenditures above revenues to operate the fire department.

“Our response in manpower per call averages a little above 10.5 personnel,” Dudley said. He states additional firefighters have been hired and he hopes to get the number up to 12 or 13 firefighters per callout. Dudley said he has a goal of obtaining a Class II ISO rating next year. This should decrease insurance rates for area residents and businesses.

Chief Dudley informed board members he is applying for an American Firefighter Grant (AFG) to purchase a new fire truck, costing $405,000, plus equipment, with a price tag of $75,000. “The truck we have is 33 years old,” he said. Dudley stated Greenfield has been saving money for the city’s portion of the grant in hopes they will receive it and currently have approximately $40,000 reserved for this purpose.

Dudley, who also serves as the city’s codes inspector, reported the low bid for demolishing a structure and cleaning up a property on Acklen Street is $1,200, which was submitted by Greenfield resident Kevin Davidson. He stated the property owner agreed to repay the city for the cost of the cleanup on a monthly basis.

City Attorney Beau Pemberton recommended the City of Greenfield allow him to place a lien on the property to give the city leverage in collecting the money. He stated once the money is repaid, he would release the lien.

Chief Dudley stated he wants to add properties to the list that need to be cleaned up. One of the properties, located at 319 Garland, is owned by William Kelly; the other is property is on Fairlane Drive, and is owned by Tony Drewery.

“I’d like to send them the first letter to start proceedings,” Dudley said. A motion to proceed as recommended by Dudley was approved by unanimous vote.

Dudley mentioned the only other property, which is already on the list, is on East Main Street, and is being cleaned up by the owner, Jimmy Shelton. Dudley stated he wishes to allow the property owner time to make improvements and revaluate the progress on a monthly basis.

Parks and Recreation

Work on the bathrooms at the ball field will begin this week and should be complete in March. Baseball signups begin in February and continue through April.

Announcements

Mayor McAdams stated the cities of Greenfield and Dresden are facing off to earn bragging rights in the first-ever Battle of the Bloods between the two cities, sponsored by LIFELINE Blood Services. There is a critical need for all blood types. The blood drive will take place from 12-6 p.m. Friday, February 12. Donors are asked to pre-register for the blood battle as each will receive a free, custom T-shirt. Be sure to specify your donation as a Dresden Lion or Greenfield Yellowjacket. The city with the most blood donations that day gets the honor of having Mayor Cindy McAdams or Mayor Jeff Washburn getting a pie in the face by the winning mayor. Blood donations in Greenfield will be taken at Tate Family Foods and in Dresden at EW James and Sons. Visit the cities’ Facebook pages for pre-registration links.