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The City of Andalusia has officially accepted three parcels of property that were donated by a local family.

Properties on Church Street, Tanglewood Drive and Fletcher Road were each accepted by unanimous vote of the city council during a meeting Tuesday night. The property was donated by the McClain family.

The city had approached the McClains about purchasing the property on Church Street as it is situated in the city’s garden district. “Instead of selling it to us, it is being provided as a donation to the city,” said City Clerk John Thompson.

The following items were also discussed during the council meeting:

• The council approved to increase the Business License Issue fee to $12. The maximum amount for the fee is set by the State Legislature. The vote to approve came after a second reading of the ordinance.

• An amendment to the city’s current Clean Air in Public Places ordinance was approved following a request from Andalusia High School students to place the same restrictions on vapors and other electronic smoking devices as traditional smoking products. The amendment was adopted by unanimous vote of the council.

• The council agreed to purchase a Kenworth T800 dump truck that it leased about a year ago. The truck is said to have maintained its value and is expected to for the next year, prompting the council to use the truck at least one more year before selling. The purchase price for the truck is $174,000 and will be purchased from capital funds.

• The council re-appointed to the utilities board James Smith. No other nominations were made.

• The council agreed to hold a special meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 5, noon, to discuss the Quadrennium Strategic Plan. “This is a time for us to look at where we want to go as a city and decide what we need to do to get there. The idea is to set our workload for the next four years,” said Mayor Earl Johnson.

• During a work session that preceded the council meeting, Andalusia resident Trip Jones spoke and presented the council a petition he said was signed by each homeowner on Three Notch Court requesting speedbumps along the street. Trip said speedbumps were in place prior to a repaving project. “There are a lot of children on the street and we think it is a serious issue,” Jones said.

The council took the petition to be considered for discussion at an upcoming council meeting.

• Also speaking during the work session was Andalusia Superintendent Ted Watson provided a report to the council, stating he is pleased with how students, faculty and staff handled the first semester, which is coming to an end.

“We feel we’ve been very fortunate. We had no mass quarantine situations and we managed to keep the virus in check for the most part. That is due in large part to our school nurses and our teachers doing an outstanding job,” Watson said.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 5, 6 p.m., at city hall. A work session precedes at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.