By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Shelby County Municipal Clerks Association met for its quarterly meeting – and its first meeting in 2016 – at the Chelsea Community Center on March 16.

A dozen clerks from cities throughout the county enjoyed a steak lunch before reviewing business and the minutes from the group’s previous meeting in December.

Association President Becky Landers presented Chelsea Mayor Earl Niven with a plaque of appreciation for his support of the group. Niven’s fifth and final term as mayor will end on Oct. 31.

“You have been a giver to us,” Landers said to Niven, whose wife June stood by him for the presentation.

Landers then invited the clerks to share updates from their cities.

Columbiana City Clerk and Treasurer Mark Frey talked about the Shelby County Arts Council’s plans for a proposed capital project to build a nearly $8 million, 10,000-square-foot facility on the old Summer Classics property in Columbiana.

Frey said the SCAC has started fundraising for the project, for which bids will be advertised in the coming weeks.

“We’re all excited about it,” Frey said of the project. “This is a huge thing for Columbiana.”

Niven talked about Chelsea’s community center, a 29,000-square-foot facility the city completed last year to serve the recreational needs of young families and senior adults throughout the city.

He also mentioned the sports complex, an ongoing project next to Chelsea High School that will house eight baseball fields, football and soccer fields and six competitive tennis courts.

Harpersville Town Clerk Stacy Walkup noted Harpersville has new signage in place, and said, “We’re real proud of it.”

The sponsor of the March 16 meeting was Rux Carter Insurance Agency.

The next Shelby County Municipal Clerk’s Association meeting will be held on June 22.