By Morgan Bryce
Opelika Observer
Councilwoman Patsy Jones held her quarterly ward meeting Thursday night at the Covington Recreational Center, discussing issues and problems within her district.
Items on the agenda included the following: safety/community involvement, a potential cleanup day and the impact of the Carver-Jeter plan’s implementation on the district.
The focal point of discussion was about safety for residents, and Jones mentioned that the publicizing of church educational programs outside of school is a way to reduce violence and impact the lives of the youth in the community.
“We’re going to build a cadre of people and agencies so that people can be informed and know these things are going on in conjunction to what the Opelika city schools is already doing,” Jones said. “Because they are offering many, many programs that we’re going to publicize, more than it has been. We’re trying to hit those targeted areas where children can come.”
Councilman Larry Gray, who was in attendance at the meeting, gave his opinion on increasing safety not only in Ward 1, but in the entire city.
“It’s going to take all of us as a village to get rid of what’s been going on,” Gray said.
Based on feedback and complaints about overgrowth in the district, Jones has tentatively scheduled a clean-up day in early August, with further details to be announced and published on www.opelika-al.gov.
Jones ended the meeting with a discussion on the implementation of the Carver-Jeter plan, and Jones announced that the first wave of renovations and beautification will take place on Auburn Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, with other streets and locations to be named at a later date.