The Weekly Post
Time for a change in Fyffe
By Chance Gray
The Weekly Post
Published August 9, 2007
By Chance Gray
chance(at)theweeklypost.com
FYFFE—Living in a small town, many citizens are often frightened by the word “change”. But for one local town, a change is coming.
Led by Mayor Larry Lingerfelt, the town of Fyffe is making some much-needed revitalizations in order to restore the beauty of the historic town, attract more businesses and increase revenue for the city.
Just recently, three old buildings that lined Main Street across from the City Hall were demolished in efforts to strengthen the town’s economy. “The objective here is to revitalize the town, and a lot of these old stuctures have to come down in order for us to do that,” said Mayor Larry Lingerfelt. The demolition of the dilapidated buildings will allow more space and safer parking for citizens and also provide more incentives for businesses to come to Fyffe.Two other vacant buildings on Main Street are also set to come down in the future Lingerfelt said, and eventually, Town Hall. “Some of the things that we are trying to do is build the infrastructure of the town for the future,” said Lingerfelt.
Besides tearing down old buildings on Main Street, Fyffe is also going through an array of changes that may not easily be recognized. After taking office, Lingerfelt and his administration began work on a new sewer lift station. The new sewer station allows all sewers from various pumps to come into the main lift station and the station then force-feeds the sewage up the main line down Highway 75 to Rainsville. When Lingerfelt took office, the sewer station was a run-down facility, but with grants from the government and help from people in the community, the station was completed. Looking to the future, Lingerfelt and his administration built the station large enough to send sewage three times the current size of Fyffe to Rainsville, leaving room for future expansions in the sewer system.
Fyffe also has a beautification program in which businesses and residences are awarded a monthly prize for their efforts in sprucing up the town. Lingerfelt said most people in regard to cleanup are very cooperative. “The complaints coming to the city are complaints of other people not cleaning up, not people complaining the city is making them clean up,” said Lingerfelt. The town also has proper equipment for mowing road banks and keeping the right-of-ways clean. Increased road work and street pavings are also helping the town makeover.
The Fyffe police force has also been modernized with state-of-the-art equipment such as bullet-proof vests, tasers and two new Dodge Chargers. The Fire Department is also on its way to becoming one of the elite departments in DeKalb County said Lingerfelt. “We have a good Fire Chief [Thomas Ridgeway] who knows his business,” said Lingerfelt. “He is dedicated to the Fire Department.”
Renovations are also under way to the new Fire Hall to turn part of it into a new Town Hall. Lingerfelt said the un-used part of the Fire Hall will make a great place for a new Town Hall. The renovations include building awnings to accomodate people if the weather is bad, widening the hall to make it handicap accessible, placing benches outside for people to sit on during court or while voting, a drive-thru for people to drop their bills into a slot, and providing much needed and safer parking spaces for citizens.
Lingerfelt said he has also written a grant and is working hard to bring a 2700ft. industrial access road estimated at $440,000 to the city. The road would run beside Liberty Steele and continue behind the business on approximately 42 acres owned by the town. The new access road would work to bring new industries to Fyffe’s new Industrial Park. Lingerfelt said he has already spoken with a few companies who might be interested in the location at Fyffe provided there was an access road. Lingerfelt said many people may not realize it, but Fyffe is changing and taking steps in a positive direction to improve the city.
“I want to make it clear that our city council works well with me toward those visions to make the necessary changes to get Fyffe headed in the right direction for the future,” said Lingerfelt. “It’s an ongoing process and I just hope the leaders of the town in the future have some vision for Fyffe and work as hard as this group has to make changes because there has to be a vision for the future.”
Copyright © 2007 The Weekly Post
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