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Huntingdon Council Approves Changes to Parks Grant

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HUNTINGDON (January 22) — Huntingdon’s town council met in a brief session to take action on a few items. The first was a request by Walter Smothers, Director of Public Safety, to add a section to the Fire Department Policy and Procedure manual to make it OSHA compliant.
The added amendment states: “The use of respiratory protection is required by the Tennessee Occupational Safety & Health Administration (TOSHA) in the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors when effective engineering control measures are not feasible. Such is the case for the fire service; therefore, the use of respiratory protection is required where hazardous atmospheres are likely.”
The fire department already has this equipment in place and uses it when necessary but the policy manual did not address the fact that it is a requirement to use this equipment. This amendment takes care of that. The council approved the amendment unanimously.
The council approved a suspension of the rules of order to address a change order for the LPRF (Local Park and Recreational Fund) Kelly Sports Complex Phase II contract with Miller Contractors.
The change order came about after there were no bidders for HVAC work for the concessions building. Miller Contractors expressed interest in providing this work to prevent further construction delays for the project.

The project engineer determined that the cost proposed by Miller was acceptable as it was below the preliminary budget and they were a state licensed contractor. The change order increases the price from $57,700 to $94,600. The change order must be approved by the state’s Local Park and Recreational Fund department. The change order was unanimously approved.
A resolution for the control and elimination of tobacco and secondhand smoke in Huntingdon’s public parks and playgrounds was unanimously approved by the council. The resolution states that tobacco use, including electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products, shall be discouraged within all parks and playgrounds owned, operated, or leased by the Town of Huntingdon and that “Kids Breathing Thank You for Not Smoking” signs shall be placed at all parks and playgrounds owned, operated, or leased by the Town of Huntingdon.
Mayor Dale Kelley reminded council members that they are required by the Ethics Reform Act of 2006 to file a “Statement of Interest” with the Tennessee Ethics Commission by January 31, 2019. Mayor Kelley also announced that the local TN Downtown Steering Committee has met with representatives from the State of Tennessee Economic and Community Development Main Street program concerning the TN Downtowns grant.
The grant allows for downtown properties to apply for Façade Improvement grants up to $2,500 with a 25% match by the local business/property owners. More information will be available to interested parties once final approval is received from the State.
With no other action, the council adjourned until their next meeting on February 12.

Huntingdon, Council, Parks