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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

Clanton Fire Chief David Driver announced during a July 12 Clanton City Council meeting that the city has maintained its ISO rating of 4.

He said a lower number is a better rating. Looking at the evaluation he said the city is about two and a half points away in the category scoring from being given a 3.

The ISO rating given by the Insurance Services Offices is used by some insurance companies when determining the cost of homeowners insurance.

Driver said the fire department is graded every five years.

Improvements that the Chilton County E-911 has made have also benefited the Clanton ISO rating. Fire department-specific scores and water-related scores have also become more favorable.

A category that the department ranked low was personnel responding to a scene.

Since the department is a volunteer department with only a full-time chief, the number the ISO evaluators calculate response divides the number of personnel actually on the scene by three, Driver said.

Driver said this could be improved by having a full-time fire department.

During the July 12 meeting, an ordinance to repeal the distance restrictions from a school or church for places that serve alcohol was approved 4 to 2. Council members Awlahjaday Agee, Billy Singleton, Wade Watley as well as Mayor Jeff Mims voted in favor. Council members Don Driver and Mary Mell Smith voted against.

Repealing the restriction brings Clanton’s ordinance in line with state regulations, which determined such restrictions to be unneeded and unconstitutional around 2016.

A first reading of changes to the zoning ordinance was also read. If approved the new ordinance would change the height limits for B1 Central Business District to 80 feet or seven stories and for B2 General Business District to 80 feet or seven stories. Buildings would also have to follow Federal Aviation Administration guidelines to avoid blocking flight patterns.

The ordinance is expected to be voted on at a later meeting. A copy of the ordinance is available for reading at city hall during regular business hours.

Also during the meeting, the Council approved:

∙ Declaring a truck surplus.

∙ The emergency purchase of a street sweeper.

∙ A donation to Clanton youth baseball toward a team competing in the world series.

∙ An agreement with United First for uniforms for the public works department.