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Alcoa Electric Department won a third place nationwide award in its size category for working over four years with only one lost time accident.

Alcoa Electric Director Eddie Tramel presented the safety award from the American Public Power Association at an Alcoa City Commission meeting Tuesday night.

Tramel presented the award to Mike Taylor, lead line technician and a service crew leader, and Gene Branson, Alcoa associate engineer and chair of the City of Alcoa Safety Committee.

APPA is the national service organization for more than 2,000 municipal electric systems which serve electricity to 45 million people.

In other action, the commission voted to require Alcoa residents to have break away mailboxes and newspaper delivery tubes.

Commission passed an ordinance on second and final reading banning permanent brick, masonry or any other non-break away boxes in the public right of way. This goes along with U.S. Postal Service regulations requiring break away boxes. Permanent mailboxes can cause serious injury if struck by a vehicle.

Exempt from the regulation are subdivisions with curbs and a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less.

Current permanent mailboxes that do not meet the regulation are allowed as a grandfathered use.

Parking rules changed

An ordinance was passed on first reading to lower the parking requirements from 2.5 to 2 spaces each per multi-family units, including apartments, condominiums and townhouses.

Alcoa Planner Chris Hamby said that a number of developers asked the city to look at city parking regulations and consider lowering the number required. "This is a lot more comparable with areas surrounding us," she said.

The measure cuts the cost of parking lots and reduces excessive stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces, she added.

A public hearing was held and then annexation and a plan of services for the Crabtree property on West Hunt Road were approved on first reading.

The award for maintenance repairs to the Alcoa/Maryville/Blount Cunty Public Landfill air curtain destructor was awarded to sole bidder, McPherson Systems Inc. for a total cost of $59,680.

The company built the burner and is the manufacturer of the refractory panels.

Also passed on final reading was an ordinance to allow Farmers Markets as a special exception in General Business District E.

Several board appointments were made.

Linda Roberts was reappointed to the Blount County Library Board for a three-year term; Mike Pasqua and Ray Ramsey were reappointed to Alcoa Industrial Development Board for six-year terms; and Alcoa City Commissioner Clayton Bledsoe was appointed to Blount County Community Action Agency for an indefinite term, replacing Ralph Jenkins who resigned recently.