HANCEVILLE — Public outdoor events in Hanceville will get a slight boost, after the Hanceville City Council approved a local request in December to establish a permanent entertainment stage in the city’s downtown.

Agreeing with local merchants’ association Friends of the Festival (FoF) that annual events like the Grilled Cheese Festival and the Mud Creek Arts and Crafts Festival could use a more stable spot for entertaining, the council voted to permit FoF to build and pay for a permanent outdoor stage adjacent to the public storm shelter just east of the Hanceville City Hall.

Funded entirely by Friends of the Festival, the project will come at no cost to the city, and the city will continue to own the property on which the stage is erected. When completed, the stage will provide a reliable platform for musical performances and other entertainment, taking the place of temporary stages, typically set atop flatbed trailers, that served the same purpose during previous events.

In other business at its regular Dec. 19 meeting, the council:

— Tabled until its next regular meeting discussion of adjusting the overall pay scale for Hanceville municipal employees. “We’re looking at coming up with a workable pay scale that would make Hanceville competitive with surrounding municipalities,” Mayor Jimmy Sawyer explained afterward. Hanceville currently retains approximately 65 full-time and part-time employees.
— Tabled until its next regular meeting consideration of an agreement between the city and the AirMedCare Network that, if approved, would offer medial air transportation service to city residents. The council expects to consider the measure further after conducting a Jan. 9 conference call with the service.
— Tabled until its next regular meeting action on creating and placing new signage for the Hanceville branch of the Cullman County Public Library to reflect its recent name change in honor of retired employee Shirley Burden. The council will take up the measure again after quotes on the project have been submitted.
— Approved the minutes of the council’s Dec. 12 regular meeting.
The next regular meeting of the Hanceville City Council will be held Thursday, Jan. 9 of 2025 immediately following a public 5 p.m. work session. Both the work session and the meeting will be held in the council meeting room at Hanceville City Hall.