Town of Somerville, Alabama

		The Mayor's Report Another year has come and gone. The past year was a great year for the Town of Somerville. We watched as so many things got accomplished in our Town. We saw the Old Somerville Courthouse Restoration Project completed. The Courthouse project needed about $300,000 to complete it. It was worth every penny. The Courthouse is the center of our Town pride. Since the restoration project was completed, there has hardly been a weekend that someone wasn’t using it for family events. That is what we want people to do. The Courthouse is a great place to hold reunions, birthday parties, showers, and even weddings. There was a wedding in the Courthouse on Christmas Day.
We saw fire hydrants and bigger water lines installed in the western part of Town. The residents on Black Road, Prayer Barn Road and Barnett Chapel Road now have the same fire protection as the rest of the Town. Their insurance rates should drop, saving them much needed money to use other places. They will now have plenty of water pressure. If you have ever lived where you don’t have good water pressure, you will understand how important this is. The Town started and finished with the installation of our Storm Shelter. It is located behind the Somerville Library. It will be opened when the Weather Station declares our area under a Tornado Warning. The past few years our area has had more than our share of storms. This is a great benefit to our Town. We have finally seen the start of our sewer project. The final documents were signed on December 22 with the contractors and Rural Development and the start date was set for January 4th, 2010. This is something that was one of my major goals when I became Mayor. I wanted to see the Town have a sewer system. The Town Council was just as committed to working toward this goal as I was. Today, it is not just a dream, but a reality. During 2009, more people chose to become a part of the Town. We have had 55 people join our Town during the past year. We are proud to have them as citizens of our Town. We hope that in 2010 more people will see the benefits of being in the Town and join us. If you are interested in annexing into the Town, call Town Hall at 778-8282. As we get started into 2010 we don’t want to slow down. This year should be very busy also. We hope to get Celebration Park in top shape before spring. We still need to install a basketball goal and a horse shoe area. The Town will try to establish a Park and Recreation Board in February. This board will work to improve our park and recreation facilities in Somerville. If you are interested in serving on this board, call Town Hall. Our sewer system will be finished by the end of the year. Our contractor has 270 days to complete the project. Phase 2 will be bid in a few months. This will carry our sewer lines to the intersection of Highway 67 and 36. The State of Alabama has declared 2010 as the Year of the Small Towns. Our Somerville Celebration Committee is working hard to coordinate this with our Celebration in May and hope to bring you the best program our Town has ever had. Councilwoman Tammie Frye has represented the Town at meetings promoting this big event. Watch for more details later. The Town Council will be holding some town meetings during 2010 to see what you, the citizens, would want your town to look like in 10, 15 or 20 years down the road. We have a $28,000 planning grant to draw up a Town Plan. We will need everyone’s input in these plans. Thank you for all of your support during 2009. It was a great year for Somerville. Let’s work together again and make 2010 an even better year as we grow and make Somerville a better place to live.