July 19 Council Meeting

I had a feeling our first council meeting after the wet/dry vote would be well attended and it was, but not for the reasons I expected. Coach Don Jones attended and brought a number of people in support of him. Coach, with the help of the Marion County Drug Task Force, proposed a resolution to the city council regarding methamphetamine production in the state of Alabama.

As we all know, meth use and production in this region is rampant and statistics provided by the Drug Task Force show that it's only getting worse in Marion County. So, Coach Jones approached the council to approve an ordinance which encourages our state leaders to make pseudo ephedrine a class 3 drug which, in turn, would then require a prescription for any drug containing it. This approach has worked very well, in other parts of the country, to curb the production of meth. Mississippi recently made this law and, in a very short time, they've already seen a decline in the number of arrests for producing this drug. Of course, the mayor and city council approved the resolution and will present it to Senator Bedford and Representative Millican this week. My hope is that our community and our leaders will get behind this important project. Methamphetamine cannot be made without pseudo ephedrine and it's my belief, and the experts' belief, that this is the best route to ending production of this devastating drug. Great job Coach!

In other news:

- The City of Guin presented both schools their quarterly disbursements from the 1% sales tax.

- Guin Elementary School asked for and received money from the school tax reserve fund to make safety improvements to front entrance of the school.

- The city council agreed to purchase a truck from NW AL Gas for $3300. The truck will be used by the street department.

- Discussed building a concrete pad for storage of plant mix used in patching city streets. Action was tabled to a later date so that we may obtain more information, as well as, additional bids.

Bobby

Guin Voters Decide Wet

As most of you know by now, voters decided by a margin of 617 - 388 to sell alcohol within the city limits of Guin. Now that we've completed this part of the process, the real work begins. Your mayor and city council have worked very hard to develop an ordinance which is designed to protect our community and maintain the quality of life we know now. We'll continue to review the ordinance and make changes as needed to provide our community the very best protection possible.

As we move forward from this very divisive vote, we need to remember what makes our community great. And that's the love we have for each other and for our community. Over the last several weeks, I've watched as friendships were strained, faiths were tested, and good names were dragged through the mud. That's not what I came to love about this great city we live in. I hope and pray this community will ultimately heal from the wounds of a very emotional and divisive process and work together to move our community forward.

Bobby Bellew

Hello Again!

It's been almost a year since I posted last. My apologies to those who were reading on a regular basis. My little girl has kept my wife and I very busy leaving little time for blogging. I do hope to get back to posting on a semi-regular basis though. Until then, I want to give you some quick hitters on some of the topics facing our city at this time:

- We have a rather important vote before us next Tuesday. As you are probably well aware, we go to the polls next week to decide if we want to sell alcohol within the city limits of Guin. I encourage you, no matter your viewpoint, to go vote. I also encourage you to read Saturday's Journal Record to get a rundown of the alcohol ordinance we put in place last week in the event of a yes vote.

- The Holiday Inn Express which was announced recently is finalizing paperwork for their financing. Their ground breaking should occur in the coming weeks.

- The Toyota plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi recently announced plans to ramp up and produce vehicles by the fall of 2011. The city of Guin and Marion County are working hard to bring spin off suppliers to our area. Statistics show that for every 1 job created by a auto manufacturer, 12 supplier jobs are also created. With 2000 jobs planned for Toyota, that's 12,000 supplier jobs that have to go somewhere. Why not here?

- We had another great July 4th celebration last weekend here in Guin. The fireworks show was probably the best I've seen since I've been in the area. The crowd was amazing. It's always nice to see those from surrounding communities and counties come to Guin for their Independence Day celebration. And thanks to all those who work hard to put this event on.

That's all for now. There will be more later as we move forward from this vote on Tuesday. Take care.

Bobby Bellew