Council discusses need for signs on new road

RED BAY – In recent weeks, the Red Bay City Council has discussed options that will hopefully assist the city’s transition to new travel routes due to the Alabama 19/Corridor V exchange.

At their council meeting on Feb. 14, council members discussed the need for more signage near the exchange, specifically in the interests of the city’s businesses.

“I was approached by several business owners who requested an information sign be placed near the exit for Red Bay so people driving on the new road would be aware of what all was offered in town,” councilman Brad Bolton said.

“This would be a sign similar to the ones placed on interstates that list restaurants that are offered or attractions or lodging.”

Bolton said after looking into the issue, he was told by the Alabama Department of Transportation that hose types of signs aren’t placed on state highways.

“If this isn’t something that ALDOT does, I think we should look into possibly getting a license to be able to do our own sign,” Bolton said.

“It would be good to have something that listed what restaurants we have in town, that listed the attractions like the Red Bay Museum, the B&B, and the Weatherford Center, and other things they might not know about.

“For the most part, we haven’t seen a tremendous drop in revenue from our businesses because the city is now bypassed, but some of the restaurants have experienced a slight drop-off.

“We don’t want people to forget about what Red Bay has to offer because they aren’t passing directly through the town anymore.”

In other business, the council took action on the following items:

• Accepted the resignation of employee Rocky Ewing.

• Voted to accept applications for the employment position of landfill operator for a two-week period ending Monday, March 3.

• Approved the Planning Commission’s ruling that a bed and breakfast could be located at 800 Waldrep Drive in Red Bay.

• Re-appointed Linda Nabers to the Weatherford Library Committee.

• Declared a vacancy on the Park and Recreation board. The vacancy will be posted for two week at Red Bay City Hall until March 3 at 4 p.m.

• Approved a roadblock for the Red Bay High School junior and varsity softball teams for July 19.

• Appointed Linda Holcomb to serve as the city representative on the Franklin County Ambulance Committee.