Issues with Simmons resolved

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

— At the Dec. 14 council meeting, Mayor Bill Montgomery reported he had visited with city inspector Ray Adams and settled the inspection issues that were raised at the November city council meeting.

“Ray is in full agreement,” Montgomery said.

Adams appeared before the council in November and reported that Simmons Foods had not allowed him to do annual inspections at their poultry processingplant like Peterson Farms had in the past.

Montgomery said he had spoken to OSHA officials as well as Simmons Foods officials about the issue.

After his discussion with OSHA, Montgomery recommended not doing personal inspections unless the city gets a request. He suggested ammending the city’s ordinance regulating electrical inspections to give the city inspector the right to inspect manufacturing facilities rather than requiring the inspector to do annual inspections.

“If they were complying with OSHA, they were complying with us,” he said.

News, Pages 2 on 12/23/2009