With COVID-19 sidelining one diagnosed elected leader and keeping two others home as a precaution, Monday’s meeting of the Cullman City Council was an agenda-light affair. The council addressed the rollout of the city’s new garbage pickup system, an industrial tax abatement, and not much else.

With the city sanitation department’s conversion to automated trash pickup trucks slated to officially begin on Nov. 9, council member Johnny Cook (who chairs the council’s utilities committee) said he’s heard some confusion from residents who’ve yet to receive the new trash bins that must be used with the new system.

“We’re getting questions, and we welcome those and we’ll work through those,” said Cook. “Some people haven’t gotten their cans yet, and I’m one of those people.” The key things for residents to remember, he added, are to only place bagged trash in the new containers, to avoid disposing of hazardous materials along with their regular trash, and that residents won’t see an increase in sanitation fees under an upcoming ordinance that will change sanitation costs for commercial customers.

“We welcome questions, and if you have any, just call the sanitation department or speak with myself or any of the council members,” said Cook. The council also held a first reading of the new sanitation ordinance, but will take no action to adopt it until the second reading at the next regular council meeting.

The council also approved a property tax abatement on a $5 million capital investment from ST Holdings, Inc., which is converting a warehouse space along John H. Cooper Drive SE near Goat Island Brewery into a distribution center. As with all local industrial tax abatements, the company will still pay all applicable education-earmarked taxes. The new center is expected to bring 24 jobs to the area.

Council president Jenny Folsom was not present at the meeting owing to a recent diagnosis of COVID-19. Though neither has been diagnosed, both Mayor Woody Jacobs and council member Andy Page also were absent, with Jacobs reporting a family member who has tested positive, and Page staying away, at the council’s request, out of an abundance of caution. Council member Clint Hollingsworth said that Folsom has shown mild symptoms, and appears to be in good overall health as she self-quarantines and recovers at home.