Special election to be held for Comer seat

Bryan Fortson has submitted his resignation as the City of Comer’s council member for District 2, citing “personal” reasons.

The council has called for a special election to fill his seat. The next available election date is the third Tuesday in March. Mayor Jody Blackmon urged the remaining council members to do some recruiting to find good candidates for the office.

In other matters, city clerk Steve Sorrells informed the council that the city audit would be under way within two weeks. He encouraged council members to contact the auditor with any questions or suggestions they may have.

Police Chief Dennis Bell reported that three burglary cases were solved and suspects arrested. He also turned over a case of alleged statutory rape to the Madison County Sheriff’s office. His office responded to 99 calls in December. They wrote eight incident reports, made three arrests, issued 10 citations ad eight warnings.

The council discussed the possible sale or use of a 2.31-acre tract on West Pine Street. The lot is landlocked and would require an easement from an adjacent landowner for access. From time to time, adjacent landowners have expressed interest, or it may be a good site for a new city well.

Blackmon gave his assessment of his first year in office saying that the year was positive.

“We made some real progress” he said.