ELBERTA, Ala. — At Tuesday night’s town council meeting, Public Works supervisor Bob Broseus sat alone in front of the council as he gave his officer’s report. Missing from the table directly across from Broseus was Gary Peaden, now the former Police Chief of Elberta.

Peaden turned in his resignation last week and served his last day as Police Chief Monday, an act that surprised many in town.

“We lost Peaden unexpectedly,” Mayor Marvin Williams said. “He was here a long time and always did a great job. He will be missed.”

The council voted Joey Brown of the Orange Beach Police Department to serve as interim Police Chief until the position can be permanently filled. The application process was also extended 30 days.

In other council news, the issue of fences encroaching on town property between Main Street and Chicago Street was revisited. The issue was one of the first Williams presented to the council upon taking office after he received a complaint.

Earlier in the year, the town hired a surveying company to assess the fences and determined that a fence did need to be moved. The fence belongs to Steven Stanley who voiced his concern over the fact that he believes his fence is being handled differently than other properties.

“We need to stop spending the money on this issue,” Stanley said. “You need to look at every alley or none. Why mess with parts? You need to decide what to do with all of them.”

After several words were exchanged, and Stanley said he “did not want to file any lawsuits,” Williams stuck to his original decision.

“The fence is in the alley,” Williams said. “I have not changed my mind. You must remove the fence.”

In other council news:

- A disaster relief committee comprised of Jim Hamby and Randy Kurtts will review three bids from companies hoping to cover the town in the event of a natural disaster.

- Kurtts hopes the sidewalk project will go to bid in about six weeks.

- Don Koontz reported the budget was keeping pace with projections despite the town falling short at about $1,500 a month in revenue.

- The town will go forward with a waste water grant if a zero match is received.