Dublin City Council approved some spring cleaning for the city as several items are up for auction and a new lease agreement was approved with the Dublin Baseball Softball Association.
Among the items approved for auction was an old fire engine and 10 MSA air packs with the winning funds to go back to the Dublin Volunteer Fire Department. Interim City Manager Cameron Ray said DVFD Chief Paul Warner made the request as they replaced the engine and had no place to store it.
Similar engines had reportedly gone for $51,000 and $22,000 recently so it was expected to get around $30,000 at auction. Councilmembers present unanimously approved the sale (with Jacob McCullough and Sammy Moore absent). The council also unanimously approved a request from Chief Warner to develop plans and get an estimated cost for a storage building for the DVFD. It is planned to be near the generator and not interfere with the parking lot.
The council also approved selling old equipment and scrap metal not in use by the public works department including an old street sweeper, a skid steer and more. It is hoped that the funds will help with the purchase of a roller and chip spreader to assist the city in paving and repairing roads.
Ray also presented a recommendation for the abandonment and sale of the right of way between Central Street and Grady Street with adjoining property owners interested in buying the land. Ray said there were no utilities and should be no complications. However, he said he would likely not be recommending the sale of alleyways in the future as it has caused complications in the past and the city will sometimes need to access these areas after they’ve sold. He assured the city would not be telling people they can’t drive on them or use them, but the city needs to retain them if they allow for the access of infrastructure or vital areas. Darren Turley and Barrett Joiner approved the sale while Nancy Williams voted against. The councilmembers present later denied the sale of the alleyway between Hurt and Eagle with Ray citing some difficulties if this alley were closed off.Council also unanimously declared rifle resistant vests replaced by Dublin PD as surplus. This will allow Dublin PD to provide the vests (which are still in good condition) to other departments in need.
The council unanimously approved a lease agreement with Dublin Baseball Softball Association with council and city staff commending the work Tyler Stone and DBSA does in the upkeep and management of the park’s baseball facilities. Ray said the city has not been charging for the use of the field and there have been scheduling conflicts with Dublin teams needing to practice. The agreements will have potential renters approach DBSA to ensure those conflicts don’t happen.
Two proclamations were approved: one to Laura Gambino for “Stop the Silence,” recognizing Dublin’s support of Cross Timbers Family Services (and cooperating agencies) in aid of victims of violence and the Stop the Silence event set April 29 at 6 p.m. by the courthouse; and another to Tina Sanders for Safe Digging Month reminding everyone to call 811 before digging to ensure keeping people safe and protecting infrastructure.
The meeting ended with a closed session after which the council approved paying outstanding medical expenses of $6,000 for two previous incidents with employees. (Details regarding personnel are not allowed in open session.)