Five pieces of business the Gadsden City Council handled this week

J.J. Hicks, The Gadsden Times
·3 min read

The Gadsden City Council held its weekly meeting Tuesday. Here are five pieces of business the group handled during the assembly that you might want to know about.

Gadsden City Council: Five things the Gadsden City Council dealt with this week

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  • District 4 council member Kent Back issued a proclamation from Gadsden Mayor Sherman Guyton honoring Alabama City native and Gadsden resident Peggy Elder Butler, naming Aug. 9, 2022 as Peggy Elder Butler Day in Gadsden. In 1947, Butler, who turned 93 last week, was chosen as Miss Alabama at age 17 and recently was honored in Birmingham in the latest Miss Alabama pageant for her 75th anniversary of being chosen for the title. Butler also won the swimsuit contest in the 1947 Miss America pageant and placed third overall in the competition. Butler still was a student at Emma Sansom High School at the time. "I am so glad to be here to accept this; of course, at my age, I'm really glad to be anywhere," she said, drawing laughs, before listing the places she's lived, including California, New York, Birmingham and Cullman. "I always come home to Gadsden. I love the city, I love the people in it and I am so happy to accept this because now when somebody says, 'Weren't you Miss Alabama?,' I have proof."

  • District 3 council member Thomas Worthy announced that the eighth Gadsden Area Job Fair will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at The Venue at Coosa Landing. He encouraged anyone looking for a job to attend. He said approximately 53 employers have signed up and will be represented at the event.

  • City of Gadsden Clerk Iva Nelson announced a reminder that absentee voting will wrap up next week. She said if applications are mailed to her, they must be received by Tuesday. The deadline for applying in person is Aug. 18, she said. Also, if you want to vote absentee, she said you can call 256-549-4517 or come to the city clerk's office at Gadsden City Hall on the fourth floor, Room 401. She said you also can download the application from www.cityofgadsden.com and look for the 2022 election banner on the website's front page and mail the application in, and a ballot will be mailed to you. She also pointed out that a few polling places have changed: In East Gadsden, it has moved from Starnes Park community building to the East Gadsden Community Center, while if you previously voted at Wallace Hall, you now must vote at The Venue. If you previously voted at Elliott Community Center, you now must vote at Dwight Baptist Church. Finally, Nelson said a public test of voting machines will be Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Etowah County Courthouse.

  • The council unanimously adopted a pair of resolutions authorizing agreements with Token Transit (to allow public transportation riders to purchase tickets through the Token Transit app) and Trip Master (for scheduling and dispatch software for the Transportation Department at a cost of $1,703.46 per month).

  • The council unanimously adopted an ordinance amending the 2022 fiscal year budget to reflect the receipt of a grant of $22,518 from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The funds will be used to purchase a pickup truck for the recycling center.

J.J. Hicks is a news reporter at The Gadsden Times. He can be reached at jhicks1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Here are five things the Gadsden City Council considered this week