Leeds council approves Falletta House office rental

By Lora Carroll/The Leeds News

The Leeds City Council voted on Monday to accept an ordinance to lease office space at the Falletta House. Mayor Eric Patterson, who was back in his first session since an automobile accident on December 16 that left him seriously injured, said that the ordinance would allow the city to lease office space to Reid Construction and Kellogg, Brown and Root for $800 a month for 18 months. He added that Pat Hall had approached him asking if she could rent her room used by the Scenic Byway Committee to Reid Construction and in turn, take the money to pay for repairs at the location.

“The place is not in too good of shape,” said Patterson. “I hate to take regular city funds and repair it with those because we are tight right now. We are also trying to work out a way for them to rent the space.” He added it needed to be fixed because the city does use the location frequently.

The council agreed to an ordinance that would lease the office space to the city with the rent being used only for repairs at the location.

Other items included:

• welcoming Mayor Patterson who said he was glad to be back working with the City. He also thanked mayor pro tem Kenneth Washington who served as mayor during his absence;

• addressing the condition of Zeigler Road. Patterson said he has received numerous calls and emails about Zeigler Road especially since traffic was detoured from Grants Mill to the location. The Grants Mill Bridge is expected to be closed for at least six months or more. Patterson said that he believed extensive repairs would be worthless considering the increase in traffic is estimated at 8,000 daily. However, the city is looking into patching some of the potholes at this time;

• approving Resolution 2010-01-01 relating to the authorization to release storm water fees to be paid to the Storm Water Management Authority. Mayor Patterson will serve on the Authority Board of Directors; and

• approving to reappoint Sandi Nicholson to the Saint Clair County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Board (MRDD).

The Leeds City Council will meet for their next regular session on January 18 starting at 6 p.m. at the Leeds Civic Center.