By JAN GRIFFEY/Editor

COLUMBIANA — The Columbiana City Council is pondering revamping one city position and on Tuesday night agreed to add another to help market the city.

Columbiana Mayor Dr. Stancil Handley, making good on a campaign promise, was granted permission by the city council to begin advertising for potential candidates for the newly created Columbiana marketing coordinator position.

“It will be a public relations and small business and light industry recruiting position,” Handley said.

The city will take applications for that job for the next two weeks. The council left the hiring of the person to fill the position up to Handley’s discretion. However, Handley said, once he determines a candidate, he will take his recommendation back to the city council.

“I don’t want to hire anyone without the council’s approval,” he said.

Also, the council tabled action on transferring ordinance enforcement to the city’s police department and eliminating the ordinance enforcement officer’s position.

The current ordinance enforcement officer, Lisa Lively, would then transition into a planning and zoning adminstrator, Handley said, if the council approves the move.

“The ordinance enforcement position is a relatively new one. I think it was created about five years ago,” Handley said. “I’ve talked to our police chief, Lamar Vick, and he agrees the police are best capable of doing our enforcing. Let’s put somebody out there who has power to enforce.”

Handley said the planning and zoning administrator position stems from jobs left unassigned after the death of long-time city employee Hilry King. King, who died in June of this year, served as the city’s planner and public works director.

The city council wants to see a finalized version of the planning and zoning administrator job description before making its decision, Handley said.

He said he has been pleased with the increase in citizen attendance at Columbiana city council meetings. A minimum of 30 residents have attended each meeting since the new administration took over in November, and he said that number is growing.
“We welcome input from citizens on what they think. I would love to get phone calls from citizens telling me what they think. We mean it when we say ‘by the people for the people’,” Handley said. “We want people to express their opinions.”

For more information about the newly created marketing position, or other information about city council meetings, call city hall at 669-5800.

The Columbiana city council meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.