Cullman continues to push census count; Recycling program resuming Monday

Published 8:39 pm Monday, August 10, 2020

With time running out for people to fill out their census form, Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs – with some assists from council members and Cullman High basketball players – unveiled a new video encouraging people to take three minutes to fill out the census form.

The census, a count of people in the United States conducted every 10 years, is used to determine federal funding formulas, representation in Congress and splits of local sales tax, among other things. The Census Bureau began the count in March, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit. The bureau originally said it would extend the count until the end of October, but last week said the count would end at the end of September.

City Clerk Wes Moore said the door-to-door contact with census workers and families began this past weekend. Workers will attempt to contact individuals who have not filled out the form at their homes.

“In Alabama, they’re only going to be going door-to-door until the end of September,” said Jacobs. “We’ve really got to step it up.”

As the count currently stands, Alabama is at risk of losing two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Moore said the Cullman Complete Count Committee will also continue their efforts to increase participation.

In other business, Councilman Johnny Cook announced the return of Cullman’s recycling program. The program had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the city’s vendor stopped accepting materials.

The city recently found a new vendor in Birmingham and bought a larger truck to limit the number of trips needed to take the items to the facility.

Cook said the program will kick off again Monday, Aug. 17 and will follow the same pickup schedule as before. He said they may also eventually expand the types of materials that can be recycled, but that will happen at a later date.

Cook did ask that residents ease back into the program. “I know people have been saving it, but please don’t pile it all out there at once,” he said.

In another return to pre-coronavirus activities, Councilman Clint Hollingsworth announced that St. Bernard hosted an archery tournament last weekend that brought about 1,200 competitors to town. The city has been hosting the tournament at St. Bernard for the past decade. Hollingsworth said the tournament participants followed social distancing guidelines.

“That was a big weekend and had a big impact for our city,” said Hollingsworth, noting the influx of visitors at restaurants and hotels. “Hopefully, the restaurant owners saw positive benefits,” he said.

In other business, the council:

• Approved vacating and selling as surplus, properties at the corner of 2nd St and 4th Ave. SE, and a strip of land besides 5415 Ala. Highway 157 NW.
• Approved its annual transportation plan under the Rebuild Alabama Act
• Appointed election officials for the upcoming municipal elections
• Renewed its membership with Air Med Care Network for city employees
• Granted a cable television franchise to Spectrum Southeast, LLC

They also approved annexations:

• McAfee property as R-4
• J. Kelly Construction LLC property on County Road 497 as R-1
• Pope and Barretto properties located on County Road 1467 as R-1
• Moore properties located on County Road 468 as AG-1 and R-2.