HANCEVILLE — One Hanceville resident will hopefully sleep a little more peacefully at night after the city council approved a resolution to end a neighborly dispute over a recently upgraded streetlight located in an alleyway off Ohio Street.
Rob Fitzgerald complained to the council last month that after the light, located just beyond his property line, had become a nuisance after it had been upgraded to new high-intensity LED bulb several weeks ago. He said the light had become so bright, even inside his home, that it had begun to disrupt his sleeping schedule.
“You can almost count the blades of grass. I can’t even sit on my back patio and look at my fire pit without being blinded. It is like headlights going down the road when somebody left their high beams on,” he said in June.
Former Hanceville Mayor Katie Whitley said the light had been installed more than 25 years ago to provide a sense of security to elderly, widowed women living in the area and asked for the light to remain.
The council opted to put the matter on hold until it could gather more information about whether the light’s brightness could be adjusted. Mayor Jimmy Sawyer didn’t provide any information about the capabilities of the light during Thursday’s, July 11, meeting, but did say he was able to identify only one other alleyway security light in the city limits located on the opposite side of Ohio Street behind lots 307 and 311.
Whitley attempted to address the council to further plead her case as to why the light should remain on Thursday, but did so after the public comments portion of the meeting had been brought to a close.
The council ultimately decided to have both security lights disconnected.
A more cordial agreement between two other Hanceville residents allowed the city to extend Elm Street an additional 50-60 feet beyond its intersection with Alabama Street.
Sawyer said the city’s right-of-way currently ends where Elm Street transitions into a gravel drive located on privately owned property. He said the property owner was approached by a neighbor requesting to use the gravel drive to access his property, where he hopes to build a house.
Sawyer said an agreement was reached for the gravel drive to be deeded to the city and for it to become part of Elm Street. He said both property owners were satisfied with the gravel and had not requested the city make any paving efforts on the new section of the roadway.
In other business the council:
— Approved a $1,000 donation be made to Hanceville High School to go towards the purchase of new band uniforms.
— Approved a request to allow First Source for Women to demolish an existing block structure located on city owned property behind the establishment and the construction of a covered awning to park the business’s van. The council also approved for the owners to install an additional electrical outlet on the building’s rear outside wall to be used to charge the van.