The Andalusia City Council last week approved a $25.07 million budget for the fiscal year ending 2023, which begins on Oct. 1.

Mayor Earl Johnson told council members that city officials took a conservative approach in developing the budget.

“We are budging revenue at the current fiscal year’s actual revenue,” the mayor said, adding that there has been consistent growth in Andalusia’s sales tax receipts each year, which totals a 30 percent growth over the last eight years. Year to date, local sales tax collections are up approximately 7 percent over last year.

The new budget includes pay increases approved in the current fiscal year for first responders and public works.

“You will recall that department by department, we have approved pay increases where we are getting work done with fewer employees,” Johnson said. “This includes the police department, fire department and public works.”

Expenses for the coming year include an approximately $1 million increase in debt services, based on the council’s goal of working aggressively to reduce the city’s long-term debt.

“Outside of these two significant items, we are projecting only a 3.6 percent increase in expenses,” the mayor said. “As a council, you have challenged our department heads to keep expenses down, and they continue to do that. I think you’ll agree that this is a modest increase when we consider current inflation levels.”

The budget was unanimously approved.

In other business, the council:

·        Accepted a bid of $145,389 from Kone, Inc., to replace the elevator in the Andalusia Public Library.

·        Accepted a low bid of $434,675 from Marty Robbins Roofing Co., Inc., of Dothan, to make roof repairs on four city-owned buildings, including the Andalusia Police Department at 102 Opp Avenue; Andalusia Farmers Market at 256 Historic Central Street; 206-210 South Cotton Street; and 222 South Cotton Street.

·        Appointed Chase Shelnutt to the City Recreation Board.

·        Appointed Bobby Johns to the Board of Zoning Adjustments.

The Andalusia Adult Activity Center is putting together a 12-day land and cruise trip through Alaska in 2023 that includes travel by air, road, rail and sea. An informational meeting about the trip is set for 1 p.m. on Mon., Sept. 26, at the AAC.

The all-inclusive trip begins with a flight from Montgomery to Fairbanks, where the seven-night adventure begins. Day 2 puts travelers aboard the Sternwheeler Discovery, with a pause for a motorcoach ride through Denali National Park. Day 3 also will be spent in the national park with a four-hour natural history tour. 

On Day 4, travelers will board a train for a scenic ride to Talkeetna with views from glass-ceiling railcars and open-air platforms. The scenery will continue to delight at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

On Day 5, the group will make stops in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, and at a wildlife preserve before continuing to the port of Whittier, where they will embark on a seven-night Holland-America cruise. While aboard, all meals and nightly entertainment are included.

The ship will take passengers past Hubbard Glacier; through Glacier Bay; to the “Gateway to the Klondike;” to the capital city of Juneau; to Ketchikan, known as the “Salmon Capital of the World and as the “City of Totems; through the Inside Passage; and disembarking in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The 12-day trip, which includes 26 meals, is planned for May 24-June 4. Per-person costs begin at $4,899 for inside double and $7,099 for inside single. An $800 deposit is required upon reservation, and booking prices increase after Nov. 25, 2022.

The price does not include on board gratuities, which are billed automatically to passengers’ shipboard accounts. Because the cruise has ports of call in Canada, passports are required. 

For complete pricing information, contact Sonja Godwin (sonja.godwin@cityofandalusia) or Debbie Carter () or call them at (334) 222-6891.

The Andalusia High School Scholarship Foundation’s Outstanding Graduate Committee will honor five outstanding graduates in a ceremony in the Andalusia City Hall auditorium at 11 a.m. Friday. 

• Dr. Claude Burnett, Class of 1988, is a colonel in the U.S. Army. He currently serves as Deputy Commander of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, where he also is chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

• Sam Craven, Class of 1964, practiced law in Louisiana from 1972 until 2000, specializing in civil litigation. He earned a master in divinity from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest and was ordained as a priest in 2004. He served Episcopal churches in Texas until his retirement in 2016.

• Sam Nichols, Class of 1965, spent his 37-year career as a teacher, coach and administrator in Alabama public schools, and was superintendent of Dothan City Schools at the time of his retirement. He also was a proud Marine veteran of Vietnam. Sadly, he died last spring of lung disease related to his military service and exposure to Agent Orange. His daughter will accept the award in his behalf. 

• Margo Russell, Class of 1961, has exhibited and sold art across the Southeast, and worked as an art administrator. But her most lasting contribution has been as an art teacher in public schools, as a faculty member at institutions of higher learning and in private lessons taught to hundreds of children in Andalusia.

• Dr. Lee Wilson, Class of 1993, is using cutting edge techniques in the pursuit of better outcomes and quicker recoveries for his orthopedic patients. He has been in private practice in Gadsden since June of 2011, and currently is a partner at Northeast Orthopedics.

• Tami Glover McGee also was selected for inclusion this year, but the award will be deferred to next year, as she is part of NASA’s Artemis I launch and was unable to travel to Andalusia this week. 

The public is invited to attend the induction ceremonies at 11 a.m. in City Hall Auditorium on Friday. A private luncheon for inductees and their families will follow the ceremony. 

The City of Andalusia on Thursday announced that five national retailers plan to locate in the Shoppes of Covington in 2023.

The retail center, formerly known as the Covington Mall, is owned by local brothers and businessmen Michael Jackson and Shaun Jackson.

Marshalls, Big Lots, Burkes Outlet, Harbor Freight and Five Below will locate there in the early part of 2023, Mayor Earl Johnson announced in a ceremony Thursday morning. The first retailer, Five Below, is set to open in December. Others will follow with the final retailer, Marshalls, opening in May. Each signed a 10-year lease.

“These are national retailers who analyze markets meticulously before agreeing to open a store,” the mayor said. “ What they know about Andalusia and the people who work and shop here is that we have room in our retail market for expansion, and that thousands of potential customers drive past the entrance to the Shoppes of Covington every single day.”

These five new retailers are expected to generate 150 new retail jobs, and an estimated annual payroll of $3.9 million, as well as $18 million in annual retail sales.

The mayor the path to Thursday’s announcement was a long and winding road.

“This project has fallen apart and been put back together more than once, through no fault on anybody’s part here, but largely due to unforeseen market forces like the pandemic,” Johnson said.

“But the Jacksons believed in this project when they made this initial investment in their hometown. In every project they are involved in – from Fed Ex routes to restaurants to Youth Football -  they are known as people who are not afraid of  hard work, and who will jump in and do whatever it takes to get a job done,” Johnson said. “Their work on this project has been no exception, and the City of Andalusia could not have had better partners. We appreciate what they have done and continue to do for their hometown.” 

Earlier this year, the Andalusia City Council agreed to rebate a portion of the sales taxes collected there in the first five years to help offset the development costs of the project.

On Thursday, the mayor also thanked CCB Community Bank, who has partnered with the Jacksons on this project, and with the city on several other development projects. He also thanked Rep. Mike Jones, Sen. Jimmy Holley, and the Alabama Department of Transportation for working with the city on the bypass entrance to the shopping area, and the city and city utilities workers who have assisted with the project.