VERNON, Ala. — Have some heavy freight that needs to be weighed? The City of Vernon will soon have an industrial scale open to public use.
The ongoing work at the Vernon Industrial Park, which will see K and S Lumber become its first tenant over the next few weeks, has had an industrial scale in its plans since talks with K and S began last year. How it would be financed and used was finalized Monday by the Vernon City Council.
The council voted unanimously to have the city borrow money to finance the $49,000 project, which includes the cost of the scale and filing of paperwork. Mayor Glenn Crawford said the city was able to secure a loan at a “much lower” interest rate (2.5 percent) than the Vernon Industrial Board, thus creating a lower monthly lease payment of $500 per month for K and S. The timber company, which will maintain and operate the scale, will enter into a 10-year lease with the city. The scale will have a five-year warranty.
The location of the scale will make it convenient for citizens to use it and to accommodate heavy traffic in and out of the park, Crawford said.
“Any benefit K and S gets, they’ll make that available to anyone else,” Crawford said.
K and S will have an opportunity to offset the cost of leasing the scale by helping attract other businesses to the park, Crawford added.
In other news:
■ The council voted unanimously to search for a part-time employee for the city’s street department. The search will run through October.
■ The council voted unanimously to raise the pay of the city’s two part-time officers from $10 and hour to $12 an hour, per the request of councilman of Mike Gideon. The part-time officers work approximately 16 hours per month.
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