By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – We are inching closer to Aug. 23, which means we are close to Election Day for the city of Chelsea.

Casey Morris, who is running for City Council Place 5, is the youngest candidate running and said if elected he believes he would be the youngest guy to serve the city of Chelsea.

Morris graduated from Chelsea High School in 2005 and has since owned his own business in Chelsea, which he sold, and now manages the coffee house at Snider’s Discount Pharmacy.

“When I started that business I got involved with different chamber’s of commerce and saw what all went on in the city,” Morris said. “That just really challenged me to serve our city, not only as a business owner, but just to help people where I could help them. Just seeing what all it takes to make the city work really motivated me even more to serve the city.”

Morris said that business is a major focus of his because of how it gets him and others involved in the city, mentioning what he does and sees every day at the coffee shop.

“Every day I’m talking with people like the UPS driver that comes in who lives in Chelsea, costumers that come in or students who stop by after school to have a cup of coffee and talk with friends,” he said. “Just being that involved in the community and having a finger on the pulse of the city, I feel like I am in tune with what our citizens are wanting.”

Morris also said that he has the knowledge and burning desire to go out and recruit new businesses to Chelsea. He said he would love to see a store like Target or Costco/Sams come to the city because right now people are having to drive to Hoover weekly to visit a store like that and stock up.

“I know many gas station and business owners in Chelsea that have to drive Costco or Sam’s on a weekly basis to stock up on supplies for their business, which means we are missing out on a lot of sales tax dollars,” he said.

Morris said another major focus is growing the schools and keeping all of its students safe.

“We need to expand and grow what we have,” he said. “A lot of our schools are overgrowing the amount of kids that they can fit. You hear the needs and wants of our schools, so we need to have an open relationship with the board of education.”

He also said the high school and several of the elementary schools are over capacity so upgrades will have to be made at some point. Chelsea already has a student resource officer in every school, but would still like to expanded the city’s contract with the sheriff’s office.

“I would like to see us have at least two deputies patrolling at all times,” Morris said. “Chelsea is a large area in square mileage and it needs more protection. If there is ever a break-in or accident, it would be nice to have more officers in the area to be there quickly.”

Communication, he said is also another important aspect to public safety because people need to know when something dangerous has happened or if something is going on in the city.

When it came to one of the hot topics of this election, a municipal court, Morris said he was still unsure on what to do, but said if the city needs one then they will have to establish one.

“The idea of it seems like something we really need to look into,” he said. “A lot of cities have said if they didn’t have to one then they wouldn’t because it loses money for the city, but what that means to me is they obviously need one or they wouldn’t have it. If it meets the needs of our citizens that’s all that matters.”

Morris said he loves the heritage of Chelsea and he wants to preserve that, but can’t wait to see the city continue to grow and blossom into what he knows it can.