Regular Session Minutes of the
Council of the City of Dora, Alabama
November 16, 2023
The Council of the City of Dora, Alabama met in the Dora Municipal Building at 6:00 p.m. We
were led in prayer by Gary Thomas. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Pro-Tem
Norman Holt.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Pro-Tem Norman Holt. Roll call was taken by Stacy
Turner. Present at the meeting were David Box, Chris Edwards, George Sides, Jr., Randy Spears,
Gary Thomsas and Hezikiah Walker, Jr. Mayor Stephens was absent. A quorum was in
attendance.
Item #5-Approval of Minutes-The minutes of the October 26, 2023 council meeting were
reviewed. A motion was made by Hezikiah Walker, Jr. to accept the minutes as written. The
motion was seconded by Chris Edwards. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #6-Old Business- Walking Trail Highway 78 Light-David Box made a motion to approve adding a light for the parking lot at the entrance of the Horse Creek Walking Trail on Highway 78 near the Marathon Gas Station. Randy Spears seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried. New Construction behind Hole Two at Horse Creek Golf Course-A letter was received from Jim Brakefield regarding his opinion regarding the golf course being liable for golf balls causing injury to the construction workers or homeowners or damage to the home itself. A discussion was held about this letter and Jim Brakefield’s findings. There will be no changes made to the tee box on hole two at this time.
Item #7-Bill List-George Sides, Jr. made a motion to approve the bill list dated November 8,
2023 and November 15, 2023. Randy Spears seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #8-Departmental Reports: Randy Spears made a motion to approve Departmental
Reports A-H. George Sides, Jr. seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion passed.
Item #9-Police Department Take Home Vehicle Coverage Area- Chris Edwards made a
motion to increase the coverage area that police officers are allowed to take their patrol vehicle home to twenty-five miles. It is currently a fifteen-mile limit. Randy Spears seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #10-Police Department Vehicle-Chief Hall presented a quote from Donohoo Chevrolet
for a 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe 2WD PPV for the police department for $49,375.00 (forty-nine
thousand three hundred seventy-five and no/100). He presented the current police department vehicle inventory which includes a 2015 Dodge Charger with current mileage of 130,000 and a 2014 Dodge Charger with 170,000 miles and additional repairs needing to be performed on this vehicle. The 2024 Tahoe would be paid for out of the court fund but may not be available for up to one year but we can reserve this unit. Chevrolet vehicles are no longer on the state bid. This item was tabled until further bids can be received.
Item #11-Full Time Custodian-George Sides, Jr. made a motion to change the custodian
position from a part-time to a full-time position. This will allow for accrual of paid time off and holiday pay. The custodian will be required to work at least 32 hours weekly to be considered full-time for this position. There is no offer of health insurance coverage and uniforms will be paid for by the City. Chris Edwards seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #12-Street Department Vehicle- The street department only has two vehicles at the
moment, the street department supervisor’s vehicle which is a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado so there are currently five employees having to share the vehicles. A government bid from Carl Cannon Chevrolet for a vehicle for the street department supervisor for a 2023 double cab GMC 4×4 for $44,532 (forty-four thousand five hundred thirty-two and no/100) plus title fee of $16.50 (sixteen and 50/100) and any applicable taxes was reviewed.
George Sides, Jr. made a motion to approve the purchase price of a vehicle up to this price of
$44,532 (forty-four thousand five hundred thirty-two and no/100) if that price matches the state bid list price of a truck. David Box seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #13-Horse Creek Rate Increase- Don Cummings discussed the current daily rates at the
golf course as well as the rates at the driving range. George Sides, Jr. made a motion to increase cost of range baskets effective December 1, 2023 to $5 (five dollars and no/100), $7 (seven dollars and no/100), $9 (nine dollars and no/100) which is a $2 (two dollars and no/100) increase per basket size of range balls. We will consider increasing the daily rates in the spring and will revisit the subject at that time. Gary Thomas seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion passed.
Item #14-Employee One Time Lump Sum Merit Increase- Chris Edwards made a motion to
approve a one time lump sum merit increase of $1,076.50 (one thousand seventy six and 50/100) for each full time employee and $538.25 (five hundred thirty eight and 25/100) for each eligible part time employee to be funded by the Horse Creek Golf Course Account for a total of $35,524.50 (thirty-five thousand five hundred twenty four and 50/100). David Box seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #15-Government Email Addresses-Randy Spears made a motion to purchase Microsoft
government email addresses for the City of Dora which will cost $5.43 (five and 43/100) per
user per month. These government email addresses are more secure than the current email
addresses being used. David Box seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion passed.
Item #16-Park Department Request-Chris Edwards made a motion for the park fund to be
used to purchase the basketball jerseys for the children who have registered to play basketball for $50 each per player which will cost approximately $1,500 (one thousand five hundred and no/100). George Sides, Jr. seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item #17-Horse Creek Golf Course Website-There was a discussion regarding the status of
Horse Creek Golf Course’s website (horsecreekgolf.com). We are unable to gain access to the
website to be able to edit it due to not having any of the password information when Rick
Watson passed away so as a result the website is outdated with incorrect rate information. There was a discussion about various solutions to this problem.
Chris Edwards made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Randy Spears seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion carried.