SILVERHILL, Alabama — Much of the discussion at the Tuesday, Jan. 17 meeting of the Silverhill Town Council centered around the town’s volunteer fire department.

It was announced during the meeting that the town’s fire chief, Gary Patrick, who has served nearly four decades in that capacity, had taken a voluntary leave of absence. Reasons for the leave of absence were not discussed during the meeting.

“He has not resigned and we have not received any letter expressing his desire to resign,” said fire department volunteer George Watters. “I have talked with him repeatedly trying to get him to come back, but he is still on a leave of absence.”

Watters was introduced during the meeting as the acting fire chief. Mayor Tim Wilson confirmed on Wednesday that, during a meeting held Tuesday after the council meeting, the fire department voted to appoint Josh Rice as acting chief.

Several concerns between Wilson, council members and volunteers present were discussed during the council meeting.

“This department is broken,” Watters said, “and I believe it is largely because of the micromanagement of the department from people outside the department who do not understand how the department works.”

Council members Jared Lyles and Wayne Gruenloh both expressed their concern over that statement saying that the council is only acting in the best interests of the town.

“First and foremost I want to say that we understand and appreciate what you do for the town,” Gruenloh said. “There might be things going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about, but from the town council’s perspective, I don’t think it’s an issue of micromanagement. Our actions are taken out of concern for the department and the community.”

Watters addressed concerns over proper equipment maintenance and concerns over the department being short-handed.

“We currently have about 20 on our roster, but only about six on average show up for calls,” he said. “As far as the equipment issues, as far as I know we have never had an issue with equipment failure and we might have had a few minor injuries, but we’ve never had any major injuries. The main issue is that we’ve been shorthanded and had to call in other departments for support.”

Last year, Watters said, the department handled nearly 300 calls and has responded to 16 calls already in 2017.

“I don’t think you’re going to find a more dedicated group of people,” he said. “We all have jobs and we all work hard, but when a call comes in at 4 in the morning, we get up and we go without complaint.”

Another issue expressed is the department utilizing volunteers that do not live within the town’s police jurisdiction.

“There is currently an ordinance on our books that states that volunteers must live within the police jurisdiction,” Wilson said, “and as long as that is in the ordinance, it needs to be enforced.”

Watters disagreed with the issue, stating that there were volunteers that joined when they lived within the town’s police jurisdiction that chose to remain with the department when they moved outside the police jurisdiction.

“Those volunteers are still a vital part of our department,” he said. “I want someone to show me what we have to gain by enforcing this ordinance, because I don’t see a benefit.”

Wilson said the council is currently considering a modification to the ordinance allowing volunteers to live within the town’s fire district, which in some areas extends beyond the town’s police jurisdiction, which is 1 ½ miles beyond the town limits.

Concerns were also expressed over the appointment of a new fire chief. According to the ordinance, Wilson said, the council has the right to appoint a new chief if the position is vacant.

Wilson stated after the meeting that he would like Patrick to continue in the position of chief and the appointment of a new chief would only happen is Patrick decides he does not want to continue in that capacity.

“Our task is to appoint the most qualified person for that position,” Wilson said, “and there is no one more qualified than Gary Patrick.”

The town council passed two resolutions at the Tuesday evening council meeting the first regarding a checking account for the fire department and the second regarding a bank credit card for the town, to be used by the fire department.

The first resolution moved the checking account for the fire department from Regions Bank to Citizens Bank to take advantage of better rates, Wilson said.

The second resolution closed the town’s credit account with Regions Bank and opened up a credit account at United Bank in Silverhill. Wilson said the town would be acquiring a pre-paid debit card that would be used to make petty-cash purchases for the fire department.

In other business an ordinance concerning the use of golf carts within the town limits was introduced to the council was introduced during the Jan. 17 meeting.

The ordinance was proposed following the passage of a statewide legislative amendment in November, allowing municipalities to set their own ordinance regarding the usage of golf carts.

Police Chief Kevin Brock said the ordinance was formulated based on ordinances from other municipalities.

According to the ordinance, golf carts must meet minimum safety standards (equipped with working headlights, taillights, seat belts and other safety features), must be properly insured and operated by a licensed driver over the age of 16.

“Companies who manufacture golf carts are ahead of this issue,” Brock said, “and all new golf carts already have the proper equipment. If the golf cart has a VIN number, it should meet the proper standards. My concern is with older golf carts that may not be properly equipped.”

Wilson asked all council members to review the ordinance and request any changes that need to be made to present the ordinance for passage at a future meeting.

The council also discussed with property owner Gil Barnard regarding helping provide water service for his subdivision on County Road 48 and West Boulevard.

After discussing several logistical points about what would be provided by the town and what would be provided by Bernard, council members asked Bernard to contact the town’s attorney – who was not present at Tuesday’s meeting – to draw up a contract.