The City of Andalusia will soon be taking applications for a maintenance supervisor to oversee town facilities.

Andalusia City Council met Tuesday night

and approved funding for the position, as well as funding for two employees working under the supervisor.

No council members opposed opening the position.

"We will start advertising immediately for the job," Mayor Earl Johnson said.

"Then we'll be taking applications, interviewing, and making a selection."

The city currently has no permanent maintenance worker to upkeep facilities.

"Right now we only have two employees who are in charge to maintain all of the facilities owned by the city," Johnson said.

"What (the two workers) do now is take a work order and react to the work order.

We don't have any management."

The two maintenance employees currently respond to calls when a facility is in need of repairs or service, but the three person staff will be used as a preventative measure, said Johnson.

"Say, for example, you have a heating and air conditioning system that needs to be operated on.

You get it serviced after it stops working," Johnson said.

"What we intend to do with this crew is to keep the buildings in our community serviced and to keep them running smoothly so as to prevent the problems from slowing operation."

According to Johnson, it will save the taxpayers money in the long run.

"There are things that have to be dealt with, insomuch as the taxpayers are paying more than they ought to now for city repairs," commented Johnson.

"It's cheaper, in the long run, to pay a staff a salary than it is to constantly pay a worker each time we need maintenance.

(This staff) will also save us the hastle of having to fill out work orders every time we need repairs to facilities."

There will be approximately $30,000 used per year to staff the full-time operative crew, according to Johnson.

He said some of the buildings the staff will operate on include the Covington Center, the Industrial Center, the Recycling Center, the new City Hall, and, for the time being, the present City Hall.

"It will simply reduce the number of problems we're having (with maintenance) now," said Johnson.

"It's something we've been needing a long time, and it will definitely be welcomed."