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Bids opened for water and sewer service to LP site Bids were opened for the new water and sewer service extension to the Louisiana Pacific mill site south of Thomasville Monday and was approved by the city's water board and city council Monday night. Wilhite Enterprises of Opelika was the low bidder at $1,454,475.50. Eleven bidders offered prices. The highest bid was almost $2 million. The project had been estimated at $1.7 million. Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day said the project is a joint venture with the county. Grant funds will help pay for the services. Mayor's report Day detailed some of the new businesses and industries going up or anticipated in Thomasville. He said work would start soon on the new Walgreens pharmacy and he said Sonic is also looking at building a fast food drive-in. He said he meant no disrespect to "our neighbor to the south" but Walgreens and Sonic looked at Thomasville first. That might be the case but they located in Jackson first. Walgreens is nearing completion there and Sonic has already announced plans to build there. Scott Lewis has purchased the old Bedsole's department store building downtown and will renovate it for retail and possibly residential usage. The old warehouses behind the store will be torn down. Day detailed many other new businesses and recapped work on the hospital and other projects. Day announced that the Twin Rivers Economic Development Partnership has contracted with developer Wiley Blankenship of Coastal Gateway, a regional economic development organization in Escambia, Conecuh and Monroe counties, to help promote Choctaw and Clarke counties. Day said Thomasville would consider Blankenship its "point of contact" for projects promoted through the Alabama Development Office. Day said the proposed new women's prison facility is apparently dead since the Legislature ended its session last week without authorizing any action on the matter. However, he said the matter will likely come up again and could even be brought to the table by Gov. Bob Riley. Thomasville had been vying to be a contender for a new facility that would replace the aging Tutwiler women's prison at Wetumpka. Other business The city executed a loan with Regions Bank for $630,000. The loan includes the refinancing of a city fire truck loan and for a fire station as well as new money for fire station work. Total new money in the loan is about $450,000. Council members hired Jacqueline Robinson as a new full-time dispatcher in the police department. They also heard that the city will have a surplus property sale at 10 a.m. on July 10. An ordinance that would ban the sale of cars and other items in the parking lots of city businesses was approved. It has previously been discussed in detail. It will not prohibit an individual from selling a vehicle on his own property. The intent is to eliminate the displays of vehicles, boats, motor homes and more in parking lots around town. The council reappointed school board member Asa Charleston. It was noted that Charleston is building a home outside of the city limit and will have to resign when he moves there but school and city officials want him to stay on the board as long as possible because of the good work they say he does.
Council members Lewis Herron and Grace Megginson were both absent from Monday's meeting.
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