LOCALS TO SEE DECREASE IN GAS BILL? INSIDE, PAGE 9
TUESDAY
THE
SPORTS, PAGE 11 Area basketball begins
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
February 6, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 26 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
LOCAL NEWS, PAGE 9 Wills presents ‘Forgotten Alabama’
Sales tax collections slow, but show growth By MITCH SNEED Editor
The boost in sales tax revenue that came with the construction of the Sabal Trail Pipeline appears to be over, but numbers show there has still been sub-
stantial economic growth in Alexander City over the last three years. Those findings come from an analysis of sales tax revenue recently released by Alexander City officials. Alexander City had a record tax year last fiscal year, seeing more than an 8
January 2017. Compare those totals with the $816,632 taken in during December 2017 and the $890,560 taken in last month and the tax revenue is down $93,773 in December over the previous December and $31,853 See TAX • Page 3
percent growth in tax collections. But in December 2017 and numbers just in from January 2018, the numbers are starting to trend below those of the same months of the previous year. In December 2016, the city took in $910,405 and another $922,413 in
Wind Creek ready for tournament onslaught
Council move gives green light to Lee Street Streetscape project
By MITCH SNEED Editor
As competitors and visitors make their way to Wind Creek for the Bassmaster Elite tournament this week, they will find the park in ship shape. Wind Creek State Park officials spent the better part of the last two months getting ready for the tournament and the hard work really shows. The park has rolled out decorations at the entrance to welcome visitors. New signage had been installed and what hasn’t been replaced has been painted so that it jumps out and is very visible to those who come to the park. The bathrooms have been freshly painted and are sparking clean. There are signs of two controlled burns to help clear underbrush and the grounds are very well manicured, even though it’s the middle of winter and not long after two heavy rains and a snowstorm. “We’ve done some things that were special, but a lot of what we have done are just part of our off-season maintenance,” Park Superintendent Bruce Adams said. “We do whatever we can to help support See PARK • Page 10
“We do whatever we can to help support the tournament ... We are just happy to have them here. It means a lot to the park in terms of exposure.”
— Bruce Adams
Park superintendent
By MITCH SNEED Editor
FISH LIKE A PRO
Garrick Dixon / B.A.S.S.
Bassmaster Elite angler Brett Hite, top, prepares to release a fish during Monday’s practice fishing on Lake Martin, while another angler launches at Wind Creek State Park, above. Practice rounds will continue today on the lake as 110 competitors prepare for the beginning of the tournament Thursday.
Big time fishing costs big time bucks By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
So you want to fish with the Bassmaster Elite professionals and have a chance at the $100,000 first prize? What does it take?
The Elites first cut their teeth competing in local tournaments, working their way up the ladder to bigger tournaments like those on the Alabama Bass Trail and the Bassmaster Opens when they finally get the call to the “bigs.” See FISHING • Page 10
The Alexander City City Council accepted a gift of about a third of an acre Monday night that will enable a sidewalk and streetscape project that is funded mostly by grant funds to be completed from Highway 280 all the way into town. An artist’s rendering of the project shows the sidewalk starting just beyond the former Russell Corp. headquarters building and continuing down Lee Street to the Dairy Queen property. The design includes wide sidewalks, a green buffer, street lamps in the same design as those used downtown as well as selected trees, plants and shrubbery. The idea is not new. Streetscapes in that area were part of the city’s strategic plan that was formulated in 2014. The project is estimated to cost about $401,000 costing the city $155,000 in matching and engineering funds. It would include about a half mile of sidewalk, lights and trees while reshaping some of the right of way to make sight lines for traffic better along the stretch of Lee Street. The parcel that was donated to the city by Russell Brands is the portion of right-of-way near Plant No. 5 up to Lee Street. “This was the only parcel that we were missing,” Alexander City Community Development Director Al Jones told the council. “The project has already been approved and the grant See COUNCIL • Page 3
Dadeville Kiwanis Club hears from ARISE director on public transportation By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Bus service and the public transportation options available for Tallapoosa County residents was the lesson offered to the Dadeville Kiwanis Club Thursday by ARISE Public Transportation Director Michael McKenzie. “ARISE is a non-profit organization started by Ben Russell 42 years ago,” McKenzie said. “The group identified that public transit was a need in this area.” Currently, McKenzie said the group has five buses that can transport people around the county to places like work, the grocery store, a doctor’s appointment or just to meet a friend for lunch. While the ARISE buses are seen predominantly in and around Alexander City, McKenzie said they can go virtually anywhere in Tallapoosa County, and would like to expand their services by offering more
Today’s
File / The Outlook
days operating in Dadeville and other communities. “Right now, we come to Dadeville twice a month, on the second and fourth Tuesday, but we really would like to expand our services here,” he said. “We would love to see it grow to where we See KIWANIS • Page 3
Lake Martin
Weather
Lake Levels
67 55
Reported on 02/05/18 @ 3 p.m.
High
Low
484.17 LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
6
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
8
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Donald Campbell / The Outlook
ARISE Director Michael McKenzie talks to the Dadeville Kiwanis Club Thursday afternoon about the program, the services it offers and how ARISE would like to expand services in places like Dadeville. Left, McKenzie navigates one of the ARISE buses.
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